Rampur, UTTAR PRADESH :

OBITUARY

Almost 19 years after her death, Nawab Aftab Dulhan Sakina-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba, the wife of the last Nawab of Rampur, Syed Murtaza Ali Khan Bahadur, has found her final resting place in Karbala, Iraq.

Hailing from Peerpur estate in Lucknow, the Begum died on August 4, 1993. Before dying, she had reportedly expressed her desire to be buried in Karbala. Since the Nawabs of Rampur are Shias, they favour a burial in Karbala, and are even reported to have a reserved place there.

But for all these years, the family failed to get the Iraqi government’s permission. So, the body was kept at the ancestral Imambara of Kothi Khas in Rampur. Till last week, when the body was finally taken to Iraq.

It is learnt that the Iraqi government finally gave the required permission in October last year.

After completing the necessary formalities, including obtaining a no-objection certificate from the district administration, the Begum’s body was finally taken to Iraq on February 23.

Confirming this, Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, nephew of the late Nawab, said the burial had been carried out in Karbala. “It was her wish, but somehow the matter was delayed,” he said.

The Begum, who contested the 1984 Lok Sabha elections under the banner of Sanjay Vichar Manch which was floated by Maneka Gandhi, is survived by two children — a Delhi-based daughter, Nighat Abedi, and a Goa-based son, Mohammad Ali Khan.

source:  http://www.archive.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Archive / by Faisal Fareed / Lucknow, Wednesday – February 29th, 2012