The Jinnah Tower, a popular landmark in Guntur, Andhra - needs restoration

Jinnah Tower, Guntur, Andhra state. en.wikipedia.org

With the exception of some people and Indian history freaks, many of u are not aware of the presence of jinnah Tower on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Guntur District, Andhra. By the same token, none of us is aware of  Chicago's main thoroughfare in Devon Avenue, part of it is named  Gandhi Marg after Mahatma Gandhi and its extension Jinnah Road, after the founder of Pakistan. This was done with approval from Chicago's city council; one part of the road dominated by Indian shops and the other part by Pakistani shops.  Jinnah Tower in Guntur is a popular landmark in this city and is considered a symbol of harmony and peace. That there has been no harmony and peace between these two nations since partition in August, 1947 is a well-known fact and the  revelry between these two nations  has not yet  shown any sign of  decline ever since the illegal invasion of the Princely state of Kashmir by Pakistan that lasted October 1947 and January 1949. 
   

Mr. Jinnah and Jinnah Tower,Guntur,Andhra Greatandhra.com

Jinnah Tower exhibits a typical Muslim architecture with a dome atop the tower supported by six well-built pillars. Like other monuments across India,  it is poorly being maintained and negligence is writ on this  historical structure and in some places it is crumbling. It is said that  efforts were made to repair and restore this tower dedicated to a man who was, in his early stages, worked hard for the Hindu-Muslim unity  and whose family came from Gujarat.

How the tower came into being is matter for 

discussion and there are two versions to it. During the pre-independence day,  Jinnah's representative one Judaliyaquat Ali Khan visited Gunter and as part of felicitation, Lal Jan Basha, grand father of Telugu Desam party leader S. M. Laljan Basha, had the tower built in honor of Mohd. Ali Jinnah. The other version being, two Municipal Chairman, Nadimpalli Narasimha Rao and Tellakula Jalayya , during their tenure, were instrumental in building this tower as a symbol of harmony and peace. But,it hangs in the thin air like LA fog and it is a reality we ought to face!!

 According to many people Gunter city has nothing to do with Mr. Jinnah, the man after whom the tower was named  and who split the subcontinent and, in the aftermath of independence,  several lakhs of innocent refugees  died in the name of religion during trans migration across the border. How can you consider this tower as a symbol of peace and harmony? Putting aside the past dark  days, some argue, that this monument  needs restoration to preserve its heritage.

Maps of India

Anyway, the central and state governments should preserve such monuments so that the vestiges of past history should not get lost in the melange of political opinions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah_Tower

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/Jinnah-Tower-in-a-state-of-neglect/article1