It was the noon of March 16, 1963 and the employees of the Haa Alif Atoll Store in Maldives Capital, Male' City were bringing, and gathering the stones and rock needed for the expansion of the atoll store from the northwest end lagoon of the city and preparing to demolish a few structures under the direct edict of then Prime Minister.
The final structure to be demolished in order to construct the new atoll store was the palace wall where Maldivian Sultan Mohamed Fareed-ul-Awwal resided.
Demolition of the ancient palace's wall did not come without its share of hurdles.
Axing at the coral-rock wall had little to no effect since the structure had rocks sticking in a neat formation over layers of mortar created from traditional 'dhiyaa-hakuru' (coconut honey). Sugar mortar was comparatively stickier than limestone mortar giving sturdier structures.
First bouts at bringing the wall was not met with a favorable outcome, which resorted to the workers utilizing iron rods with one end flattened out to a sharpened edge and the other with grooves around the circular bar; imagine a crow-bar, but with a Maldivian touch.
The workers had used these iron rods to penetrate the brick wall and make sizeable holes on the structure, after which they inserted wirings through the hole, tied the other end of it to a tractor and used the strength of the vehicle pulling against the structure to bring it down - classic demolition maneuver at its best!
As the wall went down, onlookers and workers at the vicinity felt strong tremors from the ground.
The wall was not the only thing that was met with demise at the hand of man that day, but the lengthy history of the country's Sultanate as well.
Famed local historian, 'Kolige' Hassan Manik viewed the palace as a "site of cultural and historical landmark entrusted to the people to preserve and protect for eons, for generations, for centuries; a long sustained treasure."
What followed next was the desecration of an ancient ground, which today has become a vestige of what it once was.
This gives rise to an important question.
What led to the then Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir to release an edict demanding the demolition of a cultural site which was a surviving symbol of the island nation's sovereignty and the sacrifices of the country's forefathers in its protection.
Nasir, from statements, declarations and opinions of several historians, was a patriot. But he had little to no consideration towards the tenets of nationalism.
He is the first figure in a position of authority who ordered the romanization of traditional Maldivian letters (Thaana).
He was a leader who turned a blind eye to the island nation's rich tradition.
The desecration of the monuments that stored the ancient history of the Maldives did not end here. Nasir ordered the demolition of sentry towers and armories across Male' City; sites that acted as safety dragnets since the island nation's capital was no stranger to forced incursions by foreign parties.
One might say that Nasir had a personal agenda, committed to the completely perishing the country's history - monuments, landmarks, palaces; his agenda felt non-discriminatory, but dangerously destructive.
Among the most unexpected attempts at rewriting history by the former Prime Minister included complete removal of burial sites, graveyards and allocating these places to develop houses for residents.
His aspirations for an economically sound Maldives came at the expense of cultural and historical degradation. Any place that held insignificant materialistic or intrinsic value were ordered to be removed in favor of commerce.
Certain historians and political analysts suggest for a different motive behind Nasir's edict to demolish "Bodu Ganduvaru."
Their claim is that with such an order for the complete destruction of such historical sites, Nasir was attempting to wipe any trace of Sultanate rule in the Maldives - which makes sense since his order for the demolition of the palace in 1963 coincided with his active efforts to bring the reign of then Sultanate to a conclusion.
On March 22, 1963 the main entrance of the palace, dubbed "Hiththan Dhoroashi" was discarded, which was followed by removal or demolition of two sentry towers, the king's quarters in the palace as well as the amphitheater reserved for viewing various gladiator like games and other sports, in November 2 of the same year.
On June 28, 1966, the king's flag bearing the Sultanate's sigil was hoisted on the mast at the center of the sporting ground in front of the "Bodu Ganduvaru" instead of the mast inside the palace.
A warning from then Prime Minister to the sultan, implicating that the Sultan's reign was coming to an end.
The Sultan, Mohamed Fareed-ul-Awwal is said to be a man of composure, even when the country's politics was on the verge of a transition, he had not interfered with its governance.
He instead, had entrusted all matters concerning the governance to the Prime Minister.
Despite the Prime Minister vested with all authority in running the sultan's administration, it was still, by all means and manners, the sultan's rule; Fareed-ul-Awwal remained as the highest authority of the country, something Nasir was preparing to end.
Around this period, Nasir's agenda to shift all governing authority under him including the top-most position of governance, had begun.
He was planning to move forward with a similar strategy he devised to oust the his predecessor Ibrahim Faamuladheyri Kilegefaaanu - who was removed under the pretext of the British Rule - in removing the Sultan from his position of power.
Nasir succeeded in doing this by amending the Maldivian Constitution in 1968, which had shifted the island nation's governance from a sultanate to a republic.
Not long after Nasir took oath of the Presidential office, he ordered for the removal of every single structure in the sultan's palace with the exception of the "Usgekolhu" on January 2, 1969.
Prominent local historian Abdulla Saeed claims Nasir was ardent in his commitment to block all possibilities for a renewal of the sultanate in the Maldives.
Saeed postulates Nasir's move to demolish the sultan's palace was motivated by his conviction to ensure such a renewal never came to fruition.
Another historian, Mohamed Shathir, had a different opinion for Nasir's motive. Shathir claims the former Prime Minister who had by 1969 elevated as the country's President, ordered the demolition of the palace to pave way for economic progress and gentrification.
Shathir posits that, in Nasir's perspective, the most viable route for a sustained Republic can only be achieved after completely erasing traces of king's or sultan's rule in the country.
Nasir had taken several other measures to maintain his rule. One such instance is exiling his own uncle to neighboring Sri Lanka without any permission to repatriate to the Maldives; a move, which many argue was a preventive measure by Nasir.
His uncle, Velaanaage Ibrahim Mohamed Didi is one of the main conspirators and the primary revolutionist who brought the reign of Mohamed Ameen's presidency to an end.
Ameen had been the first President of the First Republic of the island nation before it was once again reverted back to a sultanate.
Nasir's motive to ensure his uncle could not step foot on his home country, was perceived as a careful tactic by the President to ensure another uprising to oust a republic did not occur.
Regardless of what the motive behind Nasir's edict to demolish the sultan's palace may be, the removal of a culturally and historically significant landmark, a surviving sign of the journey traversed by the island nation, should not have been met with an end.
In his transcripts, famed French traveler Francois Pyrard de Laval, who visited the Maldivian islands in 1602, describes the palace as a place of jubilant glory, reverence and beauty.
He describes the palace resembled an Eden with rich gardens and intricately detailed buildings.
The sultan's palace has three major quarters; which is the 'Bodu Kibaa' or the quarter where the sultan engages in matters related to governance, 'Kuda Kiba' and 'Veyoge'.
The sultan conducts his matters of governance at the 'Mathige' within the quarters; the veranda of it is called the "Katakaraamathi"; a structure made from wood with copper sheets bolted together to form its roof.
The sultan's palace, due to its significance the status of the people it sheltered within, was of strategic importance. A factor that many enemy forces attempted to exploit, albeit unsuccessfully for the most part.
In 1609, Indian Malabar pirates attempted to siege the palace, which resulted in significant damage to the palace interior.
Following this incursion, safety parameters of the palace were strengthened which included the construction of a wall surrounding the palace interior, fortifying the palace, as well as gun bunkers, and moats surrounding the palace which were deep ditches that prevent any potential attempts to breach the palace.
The moats surrounding the palace are deeply dug ditches, which are either filled with protruding wooden pikes with sharpened edges, water or any other element that will either slow down or obstruct enemy advancements into the castle grounds.
This said fortification of the palace was executed under the direction of Sultan Muhammad Imaaduddeen, who prior to his reign as the island nation's sultan, had been an ill-fortunate hostage of the Malabars, taken by them to Kannanur; a village in Tiruchirappalli District of Tamil Nadu State, India, following their attack on Male'.
There had been a second attempt by the Dutch during 1752, who attacked the palace and blazed some parts of the structure which led to the complete destruction of all the palace doors and structures inside the grounds.
During their reign, the Dutch had executed their rule stationed at the 'Veyodhoshu Ganduvaru'.
A new palace structure was erected from the ruins, by famed hero Dhon Bandaarain; who had ousted the Dutch from Maldives.
According the documented history of the Maldives, most of the structures that survived into the modern day were in fact built by Dhon Bandaarain, who was the first sultan of the Huraa dynasty.
The reconstruction of the palace was further rejuvenated during the rule of Sultan Muhammad Shamshuddeen, who had replaced the roofs with tin and placed a wooden staircase for entry.
Though the reign of Hasan Nooraddeen who succeeded and Shamshuddeen, and their successor Mohamed Fareed's reign were largely nominal, the palace had still retained its status, valor and reverence - which came to a harrowing end during Nasir's tenure as the country's Prime Minister.
For Nasir, the progress and transition of the island nation towards a sovereign republic exceeded the cultural and historical significance of the palace that had been not only enamored for its place in the Maldivian identity, but also had been the home for several sultans who ruled the nation.
Years later, the former President would admit to his grave mistake of ordering the demolition of the palace.
Translated for The Edition by Mohamed Rehan
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