‘It was no misfortune that the Nawabs were freed from the control of the Mughals’.
‘The city of Ayodhya, 40 miles from Lakshmanpur, was informed of having great wealth…’.
‘Safdargunj got success through his son…Shuja-ud-daulah..’
‘King Nasir-ud-daulah climbed the throne…’
These are some of the gems that have found their way to the website of Lucknow maintained by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). Since there is no dearth of accurate and detailed literature on Awadh’s rich history and culture; the only probable explanation seems to be a computer-generated, artificial intelligence-produced translation job.
And lovers of the city’s heritage are enraged.
Syed Mohammad Haider Rizvi, an advocate who has championed the cause of Lucknow’s heritage for long, on Thursday sent a representation to the state and district information officers, the district magistrate, the chief development officer and the Commissioner, Lucknow division to draw attention to the ‘egregious misrepresentation’ about Lucknow on a website that should be an authoritative source.
‘….it is submitted that the NIC's website, ostensibly a beacon of authenticity, has unfortunately succumbed to the pitfalls of misinformation. The historical narratives presented therein are riddled with errors, bereft of credible sources, and appear to be the result of a cursory "cut and paste" exercise. This travesty has far-reaching consequences, as researchers, tourists, and historians worldwide rely on this platform as a primary source of information…’, reads the representation.
The translations, literal and non-cohesive, when read in Hindi give erroneous impressions such as that the nawabs of Awadh were debauched. It also misrepresents some of the city’s most iconic buildings- such as the Chota Imambara which the website maintains serves to display life-size portraits of the nawabs. Fact- it is a mausoleum.
The Hussainabad picture gallery is an entirely different monument.
Backed by many Lucknow citizens- among them historians, Haider had earlier urged that the site be taken off for a while and that the task of providing complete and accurate information be handed over to them.
The representation urges ‘…an immediate review of the website's content, ensuring the accuracy and validity of the information presented, with the assistance of a renowned historian/academician of repute’.
