Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mangaluru: Muslim welfare association, Bahrain distributes food kits to Covid victims`

Bahrain :

Mangaluru :

Bahrain based Dakshina Kannada Muslim welfare association distributed food kits to Covid-19 victims at Kote mansion, Valencia here on Sunday, August 30.

Karnataka NRI forum Bahrain president Leeladhar Bykampady was the chief guest for the programme. Food kits were distributed to about 100 people.

World Kannada cultural conference committee founder president K P Manjunath Sagar said that the Dakshina Kannada Muslim welfare association has been relentlessly indulged in social work since its inception.

Former MCC deputy mayor Saleem, Dakshina Kannada Muslim welfare association vice president Ummar and founder member Moidin were the guests of honor. Former MCC mayor Ashraf who presided over the programme said that the welfare association has continuously helped poor people and is a model organization.

Programme convenor Mubarak was on the dais. Port trader Mohsin Bava welcomed the gathering while author Dr Kasargod Ashok Kumar compeered the programme. Sayyed Bahrain rendered the vote of thanks. 

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Rons Bantwal / Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (EP) – September 01st, 2020

London Blue Plaque honor for Indian Muslim ‘spy princess’

MYSURU / FRANCE / London, UNITED KINGDOM :

The late former British secret agent Noor Inayat Khan plays a Veena.(File/AFP)
  • English Heritage described her as “Britain’s first Muslim war heroine in Europe”
  • Khan was the first female wireless operator sent to Nazi-occupied France but was captured, tortured and shot dead

London :

A woman of Indian-origin dubbed “the spy princess” on Friday gets a new memorial in Britain honoring her espionage work and refusal to betray secrets in World War II.


English Heritage is putting up a Blue Plaque honoring Noor Inayat Khan outside 4 Taviton Street in the Bloomsbury area of central London where she lived from 1942-43.

In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II’s daughter Princess Anne unveiled a bronze bust of Khan in nearby Gordon Square Gardens.


Her biographer, Shrabani Basu, said Khan, born into a princely Indian Sufi family and descended from Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysore, was an “unlikely spy.”


She believed in non-violence and religious harmony but gave her life in the fight against fascism when her adopted country needed her, she said.
“It is fitting that Noor Inayat Khan is the first woman of Indian origin to be remembered with a Blue Plaque,” said Basu, who wrote “Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan.”


“As people walk by, Noor’s story will continue to inspire future generations. In today’s world, her vision of unity and freedom is more important than ever.”


Khan was the first female wireless operator sent to Nazi-occupied France but was captured, tortured and shot dead aged 30 at the Dachau concentration camp in September 1944.

English Heritage described her as “Britain’s first Muslim war heroine in Europe.” She was killed after refusing to give away secrets under repeated torture by the Gestapo.


Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross and is one of only four women to have directly received Britain’s highest non-combat award for gallantry.

English Heritage has acknowledged that the proportion of women celebrated by its blue plaque scheme remains “unacceptably low.”
It is planning to unveil tributes to the secret agent Christine Granville at a west London hotel where she lived and the sculptor Barbara Hepworth in north London.


Another is planned for the headquarters of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, which campaigned successfully for women to be allowed to vote.

source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home> World / by AFP / August 29th, 2020

Breaking away from tradition, Shia Muslims donate blood on Moharram

Khirwa Jalalpur Village (Meerut), UTTAR PRADESH :

In view of the ban on the procession of Moharram due to the COVID 19 pandemic this year, those who used to mourn the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain in Karbala by shedding their blood with blades came up with a unique idea of donating blood that could save human lives.

Replacing the ages-old tradition of injuring themselves by blades while mourning the supreme sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain on Moharram, members of the Shia sect of Islam in village Khirwa Jalalpur donated blood on Sunday.

In view of the ban on the procession of Moharram due to the COVID 19 pandemic this year, those who used to mourn the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain in Karbala by shedding their blood with blades came up with a unique idea of donating blood that could save human lives.

This, however, was made possible by the suggestion of Indian Medical Association (IMA) secretary Dr Anil Nausaran to one of the villagers of Khirwa Jalalpur, Saiful Hassnain Zaidi, who was known to the doctor. The idea clicked him and he shared it with other villagers.

Initially, hardly five people in the village were ready for blood donation but gradually the idea became a hit and the Shia Muslims of the village came out for this cause to mark Moharram, informed Zaidi.

A team of Indian Medical Association`s blood bank reached the village on Sunday morning for conducting blood donation. Forty Shia Muslims, all clad in black outfits which they wear as a mark of mourning during Muharram, came out for blood donation.

IMA secretary, who is also the in-charge of its blood bank in Meerut, Dr Anil Nausaran said that 40 men in the age group of 18 to 59 years donated blood on Sunday to mark Moharram and pledged that they would continue doing so in the years to come.

Dr Nausaran appreciated this exemplary move of the Shia Muslims of Village Khirwa Jalapur and said that this could be an inspiration to others as well.

Zaidi, who was one of the donors himself, said, “By donating blood we wanted to contribute in saving mankind as directed by Imam Hussain and it reminds us of his teaching of ‘Jio aur Jeene do’. ”

Zaffrul Hassnain Zaidi, another donor said that it was altogether a different feeling to have donated blood that could be life-saving to someone. Initially, people in the village were unhappy over the ban on Moharram procession but later after the decision of blood donation, they seemed happy.

According to the ages-old tradition, Shia Muslims while mourning the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his family about 1400 years ago feel the pain by shedding their blood with sharp blades on Moharram.

This had been our tradition but this time instead we decided to donate the same blood to save human lives, said Sayyed Ali Bin Haadi.

Khirwa Jalalpur is a Muslim dominated village with a population of about 10,000. The village is having around 200 Shia Muslim families who commemorated Muharram as ‘an act against terrorism this year’. “We are against terrorism and are there to serve the country by good deeds and donating blood was one such deed,” said Haadi.

Appreciating the villagers, Dr Nausaran said that one unit blood donated by a person could save two lives hence 40 units blood donated by them could save the lives of 80 persons. That is why it is rightly said that blood donation is a supreme donation. He called upon people to come forward for such a cause.

source: http://www.thestatesman.com / The Statesman / Home> India / by Swati Sharma, Meerut / August 30th, 2020

Who is this Freedom fighter from Bihar?

Muzaffarput, BIHAR :

Dr Maghfoor Ahmed Ajazi

He was born in village Dihuli of District Muzaffarpur, in Bihar on 3 March 1900.

His father Moulvi Hafizuddin Husain was a zamindar. He first went to a Madarsa, then to North Brooke Zila School, Darbhanga, from where he was expelled for opposing the Rowlatt Act. He passed the matriculation from Pusa High School and was admitted in B.N. College, Patna, for higher studies.

His mother died in his childhood. His elder brother Maulana Manzoor Ahsan was also a freedom fighter.

He was married to Azizul Fatima. His marriage was all Khadi i.e. Bride and Groom both wore hand woven Khadi clothes. After nikah marriage function was transformed into an a public meeting for freedom struggle.

He left his studies at B.N. College to follow Gandhi and joined the non-cooperation movement in 1921.

There after he actively participated in the freedom movement. He mobilised masses against Britishers by organising volunteer corps, Ramayan Mandali, and also collected fund for freedom struggle through ‘Muthia’ drive. ‘Muthia’ meant to take out a muththi or fist of grain before preparing every meal to fund freedom struggle. Once Ajazi unknowingly reached at house of his cousin sister in a remote village. He asked for a ‘Muthia’. He got answer in negative. His sister recognised him and requested him to take meal. But Ajazi refused to take not only meal but even a glass of water. When his sister promised to take out muthia and donated the dues then he agreed to take meal.

He organised ‘Sewa Dal’ established by Sarojini Naidu and formed ‘Ajazi Troop’ to promote and train youngsters for freedom struggle. He first time attended AICC session held at Ahmedabad in 1921 and supported the motion of Maulana Hasrat Mohani on ‘Complete Independence’.

He represented Central Khilafat Committee at the All Parties Conferences. On the direction of Mohd Ali Jauhar he took the charge of Khilafat Committee Calcutta. There he was arrested in a protest march led by Neta ji Subhash and was arrested and released at a farther most place from Calcutta.

He obtained degree from Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College. In August 1942 movement his house was searched and he worked under ground, though his promising eldest son Muzaffar Husain Ajazi died at young age on 25 July 1942.

Ajazi opposed Jinnah’s Two-nation theory. Muslim League workers used to come in batches at his residence, virtually spitting and shouted slogan. Ghaddar-e-Qaum.

He was also a poet and writer in the Urdu language as well as an orator. His papers, diaries, letters and files are preserved in national libraries.  

After independence Ajazi devoted his whole life for the welfare of the downtrodden and for protection of rights as well as development of Urdu language. He was also actively associated with trade union movement.


Ajazi died on 26 September 1966 at his residence in Muzaffarpur city.     

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> News> Family & Kids / The Milli Gazette / October 14th, 2020

Novel ‘Rashk E Iram’ Released

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Mysuru:

Rashk e Iram, a novel in Urdu by Shahida Shaheen and published by Karnataka Urdu Academy, was released at Bazm e Batool in N.R. Mohalla recently.

Syeda Niloufer Nayab, President, Fatima Women and Children’s Welfare Association, releasing the book, wished success and encouraged the novelist to continue writing. 

Prof. Jahan Ara, retired, Head, Department of Urdu, spoke on the book.

The programme started with Quranic verses by Yasmin Taj, Hamd by Uzma Sultana, Naat by Salma Bano followed by introduction of Novelist by Momina Mukhtar. Salma Siddiqua and Mushtaq Sayeed were the chief guests. Prof. Shahida thanked all those who assisted her in bringing out this novel. Nyamathulla Khan compered.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 14th, 2019

Pathbreakers: The 20th-Century Muslim Women of India

Do not miss this exhibition that extols the contribution of 20th-century Indian Muslim women

An interesting travelling exhibition is set for a re-run in New Delhi once the pandemic containment rules are eased further. Titled ‘Pathbreakers: The 20th Century Muslim Women of India’, it showcases 21 Indian Muslim women who broke the proverbial glass ceiling and refused to be stereotyped. The exhibition was earlier held in the national capital in 2018.

Speaking to the media in 2018, Syeda Hameed, chairperson of Muslim Women’s Forum (MVF), the organisation which assembled the exhibition, had said that the main idea was to bring to the forefront a galaxy of Indian Muslim women who contributed to nation building in various ways but largely remained unrecognised and unsung.

Past Events – MUSLIM WOMEN'S FORUM, INDIA

The women featured in the earlier exhibition include Anis Kidwai, Atiya Fyzee, Attia Hosain, Aziza Fatima Imam, Fathema Ismail, Hamida Habibullah, Hajrah Begum, Masuma Hosain Ali Khan, Mofida Ahmed, Mumtaz Jahan Haider, Qudsia Zaidi, Qudsia Aizaz Rasul, Razia Sajjad Zaheer, Saeeda Khurshid, Safia Jan Nisar Akhtar, Saliha Abid Hussain, Sharifa Hamid Ali, Siddiqa Kidwai, Surayya Tayabji, Tyeba Khedive Jung, and Zehra Ali Yavar Jung. Most of them left their marks in fields as diverse as politics, literature and social work.

Muslim Women’s Forum / 5 months ago / facebook.com

Tyeba Khedive Jung, the first Indian Muslim woman to receive a university degree in 1894, wrote a feminist novel ‘Anwari Begum’ way back in 1905 that spoke about women’s emancipation, and also chaired an annual conference of Brahmo Samaj, a Hindu reformist organisation. Sharifa Hamid Ali was a member of the Constituent Assembly. Although the jury is still out about who designed the Indian National Flag, according to many it was Surayya Tayabji who was responsible for the inclusion of the Ashok Chakra. Qudsia Zaidi, among other things, is famous as the founder of the Hindustani Theatre in 1955, said to be Delhi’s first post-independence professional theatre troupe. Fathema Ismail was instrumental in opening rehab clinics for children suffering from polio.

The exhibition was visiting Bengaluru just before the COVID-19 related lockdown was implemented.

source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook Traveller / Home> Explore > Story / by Uttara Gangopadhyay /August 14th, 2020

Tribeni, Mosque & Dargah of Jafar Khan Gazi – Hooghly, West Bengal

Tribeni (Hoogly District), WEST BENGAL :

Triben generally refers to the confluence of the three rivers GangaYamuna and the illusive Saraswati near Allahabad.

But the Hooghly district of West Bengal also houses another Tribeni, where the Bhagarati or Hooghly River disintegrates into three branches. The three branches are HooghlySarswati and Jamuna (Kanchrapara Khal).

Zafar Khan Gazi Masjid, Tribeni, Hooghly

So like the Prayag near Allabahad, the Tribeni of Hooghly has also attracted pilgrims for centuries and is mentioned in ancient Bengali literature like the Mansamangal and Chandimangal .

Today Tribeni is located about 70 km north of Kolkata on the Bendel – Katwa rail line and is approachable both from Howrah and Sealdah by train.

Dargah of Zafar Khan, with a grave outside it, Tribeni

Today the prime attraction of Tribeni is the Dargah of Zafar Khan Gazi. The dargah is located on a small mound over looking the Hooghly river.

It is housed inside a walled complex which also contains a mosque and several other scattered tomb. It remains an active religious site.

The mosque is not only the oldest Mosque in West Bengal but also happens to be the oldest Islamic structure in the whole of undivided Bengal.

Zafar Khan was a general of Delhi Sultan Feroze Shah, who invaded Hooghly in the late 13th century, he defeated the local Hindu king and established the Turkish rule in Bengal.

Zafar Khan settled in Tribeni as he was mesmerized by the beauty of the Hooghly River. The locals started considering him as a learned man and he came to be know as Zafar Khan Gazi. But soon after Zafar Khan was killed in a battle with another Hindu king of the region.

Inside the Zafar Khan Gazi Dargah. L: Eastern Chamber, R: Western Chamber with Zafar Khan’s grave at the extreme right

The Dargah was constructed in 1315 and is located on the eastern end of the walled complex. It has two chambers and the roof has long collapsed. The western chamber contains the grave of Zafar Khan along with the graves of his two sons Ain Khan Ghazi and Ghain Khan Ghazi. The fourth grave in the complex and the wife of Ughwan Khan, another son of Zafar Khan Gazi.

The eastern complex houses the grave of Zafar Khan’s third son Barkhan Ghazi. He is buried along with  and his two sons Rahim Khan Ghazi and Karim Khan Ghazi. The identity of one tomb remains unknown but it shape suggests it belongs to a woman.

The Dargah is located on a high plinth and both the chambers are approached by flight of stairs. Both the chambers are provided with Jali screens allowing sunlight to filter into the chambers.

Both the mosque and the dargah are built with a combination of stone and bricks, some thing quiet unusual in the land famous for terracotta.

Both the most unique feature of the Dargah and the Mosque is the presence of several Hindu motifs and symbols in its walls.

Hindu ornamentation from the outer walls of the Dargah of Zafar Khan Gazi, Tribeni, Hooghly

Both the structure contains stone panels of Hindu deities but most of them have been chiseled off leaving an faint imprint. It is quiet likely these motifs were removed from abandoned or demolished Hindu Temple and were used in the construction of the Mosque and Dargah.

Mosque of Zafar Khan Gazi, Tribeni

The rectangular Mosque measures 76 feet by 36 feet and dates back to 1292. It has five arched entrance in the front and two aisles create 10 squares, each of which is topped by a dome. Sadly only 6 of the 10 domes can be seen to this day.

The Zafar Khan Mosque, Tribeni. L: Central Mihrab, C: An Arabic Inscription and R: Arched aisle

There are five mihrabs on the western wall, out of which three are more or less intact. The central mihrab is ornamental and is made of stone. The two miharab flanking the central mihrab is made of bricks with beautiful terracotta ornamentation. Like the Dargah the Mosque also contains ornamentation from temples.

Ornamentation inside the Zafar Khan Gazi Mosque, Tribeni, Hooghly 

A trip to Tribeni is never complete without the visit to nearby Bansberia Bansberia famous for its Haneswari Temple  and Ananta Basudev Temple.

source: http://www.rangandatta.wordpress.com / Rangan Datta / Home> Bengal Archaeology, Bengal History, General / by Rangan Datta / photographs : www.rangan-datta.info / December 01st, 2016

OBITUARY – Mohammad Yasin: A versatile artist, a humble, warm human being

Mugalgidda Village, Hyderabad / NEW DELHI :

Mohammad Yasin passed away peacefully on August 19. He was a versatile artist calligrapher, print maker and pioneered the technique of Lithography in Department of Graphics, Jamia Millia Islamia.

Mohammad Yasin

“laa.ī hayāt aae qazā le chalī chale
apnī ḳhushī na aae na apnī ḳhushī chale”

(I came as life had brought me, as death takes me, I go.
I came not of my own accord / nor of my own I go.)
-Sheikh Ibrahim Zauq

This was one of the customary couplets that Yasinn Sahab loved to recite whenever I visited him. It seems that he was always ready for his heavenly abode and wanted to cheer his remaining life with enthusiasm.

Mohammad Yasin at the age of 92, passed away peacefully on August 19, 2020 at his residence in Shaheen Bagh, New Delhi. He was born on January 4th, 1928 at Mugalgidda village, Hyderabad (Andra Pradesh). Under the aegis of Aseem Asha Foundation, I understood him while making an hour-long documentary film on his work and life in association with Dagar Family i.e. Pictorial Calligrapher Qamar Dagar, Dhrupad Singer Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar etc. Later I consociated with him.

He was a versatile person, calligrapher, print maker and pioneered the technique of Lithography in Department of Graphics (Print Making), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. It was great endeavor in meeting with veteran artist Mohd. Yasin for the first time. This was the first full length documentary on Art & Artist by me which I enjoyed making a lot. I learned many new things on each and every step that enriched me to understand the variety, depth and details of his work.

I took Yasin ji’s interviews in many schedules. Every time I found a new and very interesting story from him. He himself was a great storyteller. His stories are detailed and very informative, a learning experience for everyone. I learned a sense of perfection, purity, innocence, humanity, selflessness and foremost devotion for the arts from him.

His film was appreciated and screened at various places such as The Attic, Delhi, India International Center (IIC), Delhi, Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur etc.

He painted till his last breath. The integration of OM and Allah in his paintings were mesmerizing. Throughout his life, he conveyed the message of Peace and Harmony that are in line with the principles of Aseem Asha Foundation as well. He was a poetry enthusiast too, and used to recite Urdu couplets while sharing anecdotes with an amused face. In 2017 Aseem Asha Foundation was honored to confer a life time achievement award on him at IC’s hotel, Okhla.

He was also selected for several important scholarship and fellowship programs.
During his scholarship at east-west center, Honolulu, Hawaii, he studied at the department of Art, University of Hawaii and at Pratts graphic Art center, New York.


Yasin had about 37 solo exhibitions including one in Paris in 1991, among others, one titled, “A decade in Retrospect 1974-84” was held at the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi in 1984, another one titled, “Retrospective of Paintings, Drawings and Graphics” spanning 1958-2005 was held at Castelo Branco, Portugal in 2005.

The remarkable work of Yasinn Sahab has inspired many students of Aseem Asha Foundation to take apprenticeship in arts and now they are doing extraordinary work in this field. To commemorate his work, we renamed our project as “M Yasin Community Visual Art Project”. He is not with us physically but spiritually his soul will always remain with us and pour the blessing on every work that we do.

He would invite me in each birthday since 2013 and I was the only outside person in his birthday celebrations. He was loquacious with me when I used to visit with my students, he used to give them blessing as well and hold the conversations very affectionately. He always advised us to make the Art as a part of the life in order to become good person. Art connoisseur Laurence Bastit who deceased recently played a very significant role in promoting him as a painter at national and international level.

I still remember an incident when he got the news from All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi about his life time achievement awards and honorarium of rupees 1 lac with a commemoratory lunch. He called and invited me first, I hurried to his home, we were in euphoria, and selected the attire for his awarding ceremony such as Sherwaani, Topi, Jootis etc. His face was as bright as an innocent child. Unfortunately, due to lockdown it could not be conferred upon him in his presence.

I feel, people like Mohd. Yasin don’t require any award or honor, in fact he awarded his life to us, to the young generation. He himself faced lot of physical, financial and mental challenges throughout his life. He was also affected with Tuberculosis and Paresis but never compromised with the quality of his work, he was never bothered about any acknowledgement though his work should get a great recognition from the government. Later in his life he taught at Delhi College of Art and Faculty of Fine Art, Jamia Millia Islamia. His works are in permanent collections of galleries, Art Institutions, museums and in private & individual collection in India & abroad.

I cannot forget the cherished moments with him specifically attending his birthdays, art exhibitions, award ceremonies and personal meetings. His legacy will be a great source of inspiration for the contemporary world and to the generations coming ahead.

source: http://www.nationalheraldindia.com / National Herald / Home> Obituary / by Aseem Asha Usman / August 20th, 2020

Streetwise Kolkata: How Tollygunge is linked to Tipu Sultan

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Decades before the birth of the city of Calcutta, the area that is now Tollygunge was a dense forest land called Russapugla with an abundance of mangrove trees.

The clubhouse on the grounds of Tollygunge Club in Kolkata. The club is preparing for its New Year’s Eve party with stage equipment on its grounds. (Express photo: Neha Banka)
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Most know Tollygunge as a neighbourhood in south Kolkata rather than the long stretch of road by the same name that cuts through a large swathe of the area.

Decades before the birth of the city of Calcutta, the area that is now Tollygunge was a dense forest land called Russapugla with an abundance of mangrove trees. Over the centuries, the land was cleared for settlement and urban planning but some traces of the forest can still be found in the expansive property belonging to Tollygunge Club and the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in the neighbourhood, some of the oldest social clubs in the city.

Tollygunge Club, established in 1895, derives its name from the neighbourhood of Tollygunge, that in turn got its name from William Tolly, a colonel in the British Army in 1767. Calcutta was a city of creeks, although many have been entirely or partially filled up. Today, few of those creeks remain, winding slowly across the city, trying to find their way into the Bay of Bengal, but one would have to search beneath cramped, illegal urban settlements and mounds of garbage to find them.

Tolly’s Nullah behind the grounds of Tollygunge Club in Kolkata. (Express photo: Neha Banka)
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In the outer peripheries of the property that belongs to Tollygunge Club, a narrow creeks snakes past, as if conjoined to the boundaries of the club’s walls. On both banks of the creek, slums have developed over the years and garbage floats on the water, emanating a foul stench.

According to historian P Thankappan Nair, who has documented the city’s history extensively, this creek was originally called the Govindpur Creek. There is no historical documentation for why the creek was so named, but perhaps it acquired its name from that of the village of Govindapur, one of the three villages that went on to form the city of Calcutta. According to Nair, another name for this creek in Bengali was Adi Ganga or the original River Ganga that flows past the city.

This map is a conjecture map and shows the path of Adi Ganga. Tolly’s Canal is named ‘The Creek’ in this map and runs past Tollygunge when it was still the village of Govindapur. (Map credit: Chattopadhyay 1990/Jenia Mukherjee)
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In 1775, Colonel Tolly wrote to Warren Hastings, the Governor-General of India, with a proposal of leading an excavation to connect the village of Balliaghat, now called the neighbourhood of Beliaghata, in the wetlands of the eastern fringes of the city, to the neighbourhood of Tollygunge through a waterway.

Slums have come up on both banks of Tolly’s Nullah. (Express photo: Neha Banka)
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According to published letters in the Fort William-India House Correspondence Vol.7 (1773-1776), Tolly wrote to Hastings saying he can do the same on a contract with the East Indian Company or lend his services for Rs 80,000, along with a levy on tolls paid by boats passing through the creek for a period of 12 years. This plan was agreeable to the Company, and Tolly was directed to survey the land. This creek, 27 kilometres long, was then renamed Tolly’s Nullah after the colonel and opened for navigation in 1777.

After the opening of the Nullah, the neighbourhood became more developed and came to be known as Tollygunge. After Tolly’s death, his widow was unable to continue collecting the tolls and the maintenance of the waterways. The Company took over the management of the Nullah and auctioned its leasehold rights in March 1794 to an Englishman in the city, John Hooper Wilkinson. In 1804, the Bengal Government took control over the Nullah and the Collector of 24 Parganas was authorised to maintain it.

Passersby stand on a small bridge that connects the banks of Tolly’s Nullah. (Photo: Neha Banka)
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There is no document to independently verify this fact, but according to the Tollygunge Club archives, the premises of the club was originally an indigo plantation home of Richard Johnson, a merchant in the East India Company, set up in 1781.

Around 1806, the British dispatched Tipu Sultan’s family to Calcutta and gave them a living allowance. Tipu Sultan’s son Ghulam Mohammed Shah purchased the plantation grounds from Johnson to be used as a residence and the family spent a considerable amount of time in the neighbourhood.

After the family’s fortunes changed, they sold some portions of the plantation and leased out other sections to William Dixon Cruickshank, a Scottish banker, who was looking to build a sports club for the British that would also allow residential facilities and provide space for the British to socialise.

After the fortunes of Tipu Sultan’s family changed, they sold some portions of the plantation and leased out other sections to William Dixon Cruickshank, who was looking to build a sports
club for the British. (Express photo: Neha Banka)
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Over time, Tipu Sultan’s family divested complete control of the estate and the lands came under the direct control of the Tollygunge Club, a name that the institution acquired because of the neighbourhood it was located in and because of the location of the creek that runs just behind its premises.

Over the decades, most of the open spaces in the club were converted into an 18-hole golf course and the forest land was cleared to make space for other structures and facilities inside the club premises.

Today, there are no signboards that indicate the location of the Tolly Nullah in the neighbourhood of Tollygunge. Haphazard modern construction has changed the facade of Tollygunge and to find the nullah, one would have to engage in a self-conducted walking tour using an old map of the city for guidance.

An offshoot of the main road in Tollygunge, a narrow lane, through which only one vehicle can pass at a time, is the only way to access the nullah these days. Slums occupy both banks of the waterway and an overwhelming sense of garbage permeates all around. Tollygunge Club itself has changed over the decades and its history can only be found in pockets.

Haphazard modern construction has changed the facade of Tollygunge and to find the nullah, one would have to engage in a self-conducted walking tour using an old map of the city for guidance. (Express photo: Neha Banka)
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Although most of the dense forest has been cleared away over the years, jackals still roam its greens in the darkness of dusk and late into the night. On any given day, one can spot diverse species of birds on the club grounds, like kingfishers and cattle egret. Few city residents know of how the institution and its neighbourhood got its name and perhaps even fewer know of the existence of the waterway that lies beyond the high walls of the club.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kolkata / by Neha Banka / Kolkata , December 27th, 2019

The Real Prince of Awadh

Awadh, UTTAR PRADESH / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Following up on The New York Times article on the imposters who called themselves the descendants of Wajid Ali Shah, we trace the last prince of Awadh and the story of a family that settled in Kolkata after decades on the move.

Dr Kaukab Quder Meerza, a direct descendant of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, in his home in central Kolkata. (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh)
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Dr Kaukab Quder Meerza, 86, doesn’t keep well these days. Long conversations are challenging for him and his children and grandchildren have to help him walk short distances inside the house. His home, deep inside a bylane in the heart of Kolkata, an old, unassuming, one-storey building, is easy to miss if one isn’t paying attention. The modest interiors of his residence give no indication of who Meerza is or his family’s legacy. They are the last remaining descendants from the ruling line of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler of the kingdom of Awadh in India.

In November, The New York Times article titled “The Jungle Prince of Delhi ‘, brought focus back on the descendants of the Nawab after the story revealed that a family living in the ruins of a 14th-century hunting lodge in New Delhi for decades, claiming to be the descendants of the Awadh rulers, were actually imposters.

An ‘absurd’ story

Meerza and his family in Kolkata are familiar with the story of Wilayat Mahal, as are most people who have been associated with the former princely state of Awadh in various capacities or have spent time researching on Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. Wilayat, the woman at the centre of the deception, along with her son Ali Raza, also known as Cyrus, and her daughter Sakina, entertained journalists, mostly those from overseas, with her claims of ancestry, and the journalists, in turn, dedicated hours of time and spools of newsprint in telling their dramatic story.

“It was absurd,” says Meerza, recalling his meeting with Wilayat Mahal in the 1970s-80s. When Wilayat made her first appearance at the New Delhi railway station, Meerza and his brothers Anjum Quder and Nayyer Quder agreed that it was necessary to meet her to learn more about the basis of her claims. The family decided that Meerza would travel to Delhi for that purpose, having studied the family history most extensively. He doesn’t remember his first meeting with her very well—some four decades have passed since—but the second visit is more vivid in his memory.

A photograph of a painting of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah found in the Imambara Sibtainabad. Unlike the commonly seen paintings of the Nawab, here he is fully covered and is not depicted with one exposed nipple (Photo credits: Sudipta Mitra)
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Sometime after his first meeting with Wilayat, Meerza took another trip to Delhi and met her at the Maurya Hotel, now called ITC Maurya. “She said many things about herself,” recalls Meerza. “With great difficulty, she met me because the place (the room they met in) was reserved for VIPs. The lady talked about nothing in particular.” It isn’t immediately clear why it was a challenge to meet Wilayat because Meerza’s age and health have impacted his speech.

A few of Meerza’s children and grandchildren who still live in Kolkata are gathered around him and his younger daughter Manzilat Fatima, 52, and son Kamran Ali Meerza, 46, express surprise at the revelation. Although Wilayat’s story is familiar to the family, this is the first time they have heard about their father’s second meeting with her. As he begins his tale, his voice becomes louder, emphatically denouncing the stories Wilayat and her children had spun over the years.

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“It was a dark place and the meeting was absurd,” Meerza continues. Wilayat wore a sharara, he recalls, just like women did centuries ago in Lucknow, in the royal courts, not a sari, perhaps to add more credence to the character she had been attempting to play. “She wasn’t wearing jewellery. It was absurd. She spoke to us in Urdu and sometimes in English.” During their conversation, not once did Wilayat disagree that Meerza’s family members were descendants of Wajid Ali Shah. “We were interested in knowing the background of the lady. Of course, we told her about us. She never denied that we were from Wajid Ali Shah’s family, but she presented herself as a representative of the family. I told her that she was not a representative and that she was talking (about) absurd things.”

Meerza remembers that Wilayat showed some newspaper cuttings, not legal documents, to lend credibility to her claims. “Whenever I said anything about the branch of Birjis Quder’s family, she never (responded). I said that whatever she was talking about the background of the family was absurd. That she was not talking correctly about the family.” In this meeting, Meerza says, there was no sign of Wilayat’s daughter Sakina. “Only her son was there. A little older than Kamran now,” says Meerza, gesturing towards his son. “I’m sorry that I met her.”

Kamran Ali Meerza browses through letters written by his family to the Indian government over the years, denouncing Wilayat Mahal’s claims of ancestry. (Photo: Shashi Ghosh)
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After The New York Times story was published, Manzilat told her father that the world now knew what the family had been trying to tell people about Wilayat Mahal for decades. “What is there to say about that?” asks Meerza about the story. To Meerza and his family, and to many others who met Wilayat over the years, the revelation came as no surprise.

The Nawab’s 300 wives

“There is a saying that if you throw a stone in Lucknow, it will fall on a Nawab’s kothi (house). All fake. Most of them are fake,” says Manzilat. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was a documented hedonist, who found joy and solace in music, women and extravagance and had some 300 wives, many of whom he divorced when the period of his decline started, presumably in an attempt to lessen his financial burden and responsibility. It is difficult to state the exact number of his descendants, but the figure would be somewhat in proportion to the number of Wajid Ali Shah’s consorts, in addition to his official spouses and the children he had with them.

The British officials who deposed and drove Wajid Ali Shah out of Awadh and imprisoned him in Calcutta in 1857, recorded the names of 185 officially recognised wives of the Nawab and his children. This list was published in the Awadh Pension Book of 1897 after the death of Wajid Ali Shah’s son and successor, Birjis Quder, the last official ruler of Awadh.

A type-written replica of a letter written in 1896 by EW Collins, Collector of 24 Perganas and Superintendent of Political Pensions to Nawab Mahtab Ara Begum informing her of the political pensions granted to her and her children by the British government. (Photo: Shashi Ghosh)
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The descendants mentioned in the Awadh Pension Book of 1897 were allotted political pensions, first given by the British government in India, a responsibility that later transferred to the government of independent India in 1947. The central government made no alterations to the names of the descendants mentioned in the Awadh Pension Book of 1897 and has continued paying the required monthly pension ever since. The Awadh Pension Book, however, hasn’t prevented pretenders in Lucknow and elsewhere from sprouting, claiming ancestry to the family, because few bother to check official documents to verify such claims.

Meerza’s family are direct descendants of Birjis Quder, the son of Wajid Ali Shah and his wife Begum Hazrat Mahal, a courtesan who became the second official wife of the Nawab. But it would be doing Hazrat Mahal a disservice if she were to be dismissed as a mere court dancer whose fortunes changed when she captured the Nawab’s fascination and favour.

An undated hand-painted portrait of Birjis Quder. (Photo credit: Manzilat Fatima)
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“She was a warrior and she was a purdah nasheen,” says Manzilat of her ancestor, who lived wearing a customary veil that she removed to launch into war with the British. When Wajid Ali Shah was dismissed and dispatched from Awadh, Begum Hazrat Mahal actively engaged in opposing the British during the Rebellion of 1857 on her own accord, without having been given any special political appointments by the deposed Nawab.

Her resistance against the British proved to be futile and she was compelled to flee Awadh. Taking her son Birjis Quder, she sought asylum in Nepal under the protection of King Jung Bahadur Kunwar Rana who demanded hefty financial compensation in return. The mother and son spent close to two decades in Nepal, but not much is known about their circumstances or where they found the finances to live in the country. Hazrat Mahal died away from her homeland, in a nameless grave in Kathmandu, forgotten till only recently.

The last Nawab of Awadh

Sometime in 1893, according to her father’s research, says Manzilat, Birjis Quder, now the ruler of Awadh in exile, was coaxed by the other wives and children of Wajid Ali Shah who had followed the Nawab to Calcutta, to join them in the city. “It was a conspiracy,” says Meerza, a statement he repeats several times during the interview with indianexpress.com. “It was a conspiracy among the other families of Wajid Ali Shah and the British because Birjis Quder was the last legal heir. The conspiracy was hatched and he was invited by deceit. They told him that he was the head of the family now and Birjis Quder was taken in by the sweet talk. So of all the places, he came to Calcutta. He could have also gone to Lucknow,” says Manzilat.

This rare photo depicts the main entrance of the family home of Birjis Quder and Mahtab Ara Begum in Metiabruz, Kolkata, now demolished. In the foreground, birds that appear to be storks are seen flocking near the entrance. (Photo credits: The private archives of Dr. Kaukab Quder Meerza and his family)
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According to the story passed down in the family, Birjis Quder and his eldest sons Khurshid Quder and Jamal Ara were invited for dinner by the other families of Wajid Ali Shah on the night of August 14, 1893. All three died the next day, having been poisoned. When news reached of their murders, Birjis Quder’s wife, Mahtab Ara Begum, who was the granddaughter of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor of India, fled Metiabruz, the neighbourhood in Calcutta where they had been staying, while she was pregnant with Mehr Quder, along with her remaining daughter, Husn Ara and reached central Calcutta in search of a safe house.

“When news of the death arrived, she ran from Metiabruz, along with her precious potli of jewels. These things I don’t know (much about), but my father will know,” says Manzilat. The house where the family now live in is not only unique because of its residents, but the building itself is of little-known historical importance.

“Perhaps she didn’t buy this house that very night itself. But she put up in another place somewhere close by in some small room, while she was trying to find some protection. From that time onwards, we are here and it’s my father’s wish that as long as he is around, we cannot construct anything here,” says Manzilat, looking around the living room of their home. Mahtab Ara Begum’s son Mehr Quder had three sons and one daughter, including Manzilat’s father Kaukab Quder Meerza.

(From Left to Right) Prince Nayyar Quder, Prince Anjum Quder, Dr. Kaukab Quder Meerza pose for a photo with Meerza’s daughter Manzilat Fatima at Imambara Sibtainabad in Metiabruz, Kolkata, sometime during 1985-1986. (Photo credit: The private archives of Dr. Kaukab Quder Meerza and his family)
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“The last pension holder is Dr. Kaukab Quder Meerza, the last living member of that generation,” says Sudipta Mitra, author of the book ‘Pearl by the River: Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s Kingdom in Exile’, who has conducted research on the Nawab for more than a decade. The various provisions of this pension mean that Meerza is the last remaining recipient of this monthly pension that will not be transferred to Manzilat or her five siblings, Irfan Ali Meerza, Talat Fatima, Saltanat Fatima, Rafat Fatima and Kamran Ali Meerza. Prince Anjum Quder died in 1997, years after the death of his daughter Parveen. His two sons, Yusuf and Burhan live elsewhere in the country with their families and don’t spend much time in Kolkata these days. Prince Nayyer Quder never married. Unlike his brothers, Kaukab Quder Meerza never used the title of ‘Prince’ before his name, preferring to use the title of ‘Doctor’ to signify the Ph.D that he earned, explains Manzilat.

Mitra says this list and its provisions, left by the British, documenting the descendants of Wajid Ali Shah, not only provide a monthly pension to listed descendants, but it also serves to provide recognition to the descendants because it is the most authentic documentation available of the Awadh royal family tree. It also helps weed out pretenders like Wilayat Mahal and her children, who find no mention in either the Awadh Pension Book of 1897 or in other historical documentation and research on Awadh.

Asked about Wilayat Mahal, Mitra dismisses her entirely. “I did not find their names in the records and was hence not interested in them. They did it for publicity,” says Mitra.

Fake nawabs of Lucknow

The controversy surrounding claimants who say they are descendants of the Nawab or of the larger Awadh royal family is nothing new, but according to Mitra, there is very clear historical documentation that helps sift out fraudulent claims for those bothering to do the research. “When Wajid Ali Shah lived in Lucknow, there were many taluqdars who lived like kings themselves. So their descendants call themselves ‘royal’,” says Mitra of some such claimants. Mitra believes that although the Awadh Pension Book of 1897 is not the full and final record of all of the Nawab’s wives and children, it is the most authentic record available.

A photograph of a painting of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, depicting the Nawab with white hair. (Photo: Sudipta Mitra)
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So why then did the Uttar Pradesh government or the Indian government not do anything to weed out the imposters? “The belief is that the imposters are harmless. They aren’t taking anything. They aren’t asking for anything,” says Manzilat. She points to some individuals who live in Lucknow and have made the make-believe their business where they attempt to cash in by claiming to recreate the Awadh of the Nawabs and Awadhi cuisine, purportedly representing food as it was cooked in royal kitchens, especially for foreign tourists. “It is difficult to deny Dr. Kaukab Quder Meerza’s ancestry,” says Mitra. “The government has recognised the family and that is why they get the pension.”

There is little doubt that Wilayat Mahal and her family were a nuisance for the Indian government. She was attracting crowds and journalists and was occupying the VIP room at the railway station, filled with her children, fripperies, dogs and carpets. During their second meeting at the Maurya Hotel in Delhi, Meerza remembers that there were talks going on between the Indian government and Wilayat that were perhaps not heading in the direction in which she would have liked. Although the government eventually gave Wilayat consent to live with her children and dogs in Malcha Mahal, the dilapidated 14th century hunting lodge in the middle of Delhi, Meerza says in no way should it be considered official recognition of her claims.

“She did not get any recognition from the government. Forcibly living in the (railway) station was not the right thing (to do),” says Meerza. Two years ago, after the death of Wilayat’s son Cyrus, when he was able to speak more clearly, Meerza told his family that the Indian government gave Malcha Mahal to Wilayat not to give recognition to them, but because they were creating nuisance in public. “In order to keep them quiet, the government gave them ruins and she accepted it. No royal would accept something like this,” says Manzilat. “She was also offered some flats in Lucknow but she refused to accept it.”

Battling historical inaccuracy

The family continues to battle misinformation about their ancestors, particularly Wajid Ali Shah, especially concerning the time the Nawab spent in Calcutta. Government apathy towards correcting historically inaccurate information frustrates the family, but they say there is little they can do. Nobody has conducted as much research on Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and his wife Begum Hazrat Mahal, the line from which the Kolkata family descend, as Dr Kaukab Quder Meerza, but few are listening.

A few years ago, says Manzilat, heritage walking tours in the city held in conjunction with the city government began claiming that the Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) House in Kolkata, a large mansion in the Garden Reach neighbourhood of the city, was where Wajid Ali Shah once stayed in during his time in the city. A plaque was also installed in the premises of the mansion stating that this fact had been verified by her father. Local newspapers and blogs began repeating those claims and the myth took a life of its own, including a mention on Wikipedia. “My father’s name has been used to claim that the BNR property was a place where Wajid Ali Shah stayed. But my father is the sole authority (on the family history), and there is no evidence that (the BNR building) was associated with Wajid Ali Shah,” says Manzilat.

After graduating from St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata with a Bachelors in Economics, Meerza went on to do a double Masters in Political Science and Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University. When he started a Ph.D at Aligarh, his advisor told him to consider conducting research on his own family’s history, on Wajid Ali Shah. The family believes the thesis written in Urdu is the most comprehensive documentation of Wajid Ali Shah and his wife Begum Hazrat Mahal, and Manzilat’s elder sister Talat Fatima, 62, is in the process of translating it to English.

Helping Satyajit Ray write ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’

In October 1976, when Satyajit Ray began writing his screenplay for the film ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’, set in the backdrop of Awadh during the First War of Independence of 1857, the filmmaker made a trip to the Imambara Sibtainabad in Calcutta to learn more about the subject. Wajid Ali Shah’s descendants in Kolkata are trustees of the Imambara and Anjum Qudr directed Ray to his younger brother Meerza, who was at that time teaching Urdu as a lecturer at Aligarh Muslim University and simultaneously researching on Nawabi Lucknow and specifically, Wajid Ali Shah.

Pictured here are the interiors of the Imambara Sibtainabad in Metiabruz, Kolkata. The descendants from the ruling line of Wajid Ali Shah are the trustees of this property. (Photo credits: Sudipta Mitra)
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That was how Satyajit Ray came to engage with Meerza in a long-term correspondence through letters, to better understand the character of Wajid Ali Shah for his screenplay. Over the course of weeks, Ray and Meerza discussed less well-known aspects of the Nawab’s life and Nawabi Lucknow, and conducted in-person meetings where the director made trips to Aligarh where Meerza had been occupied with his teaching and research.

“In my screenplay, I show (Wajid Ali Shah) as a tragic figure who realises that he should not have sat on the throne but should have pursued an artistic career. Do you agree with this viewpoint?” asks Ray in one of his first few letters to Meerza. The purpose of the correspondence, Ray says in his letter, was to fill in gaps of information that the filmmaker had found in his own research on Wajid Ali Shah.

Meerza doesn’t bring up his correspondence with Ray during the interview. His son Kamran shares this information, remembering at least one visit that the filmmaker made to their Kolkata home when Kamran was still a young boy, and opens up a folder containing letters exchanged between his father and the filmmaker. ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’ would have probably still been made even if Ray had never corresponded with Meerza, but would it have been the masterpiece that it is without Meerza’s contributions? It is difficult to speculate but perhaps for this very reason, Ray invested time and funds pursuing Meerza’s insight and knowledge of his ancestor, and travelled around the country while Meerza was dividing his time between Kolkata and Aligarh.

Two of Dr Kaukab Quder Meerza’s children (R-L) Kamran and Manzilat and Kamran’s children Mohammad Sulaiman Qudr Meerza (aged nine) and Zainab Fatema (aged 11), gather around to watch as Kamran’s wife, Nuzhat Zahra, helps her father-in-law translate the inscriptions written on the royal seals. (Photo: Shashi Ghosh)
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Last remaining royal artefacts

The family doesn’t have many belongings of historical significance, in part due to the circumstances in which their ancestors fled for their lives. But two royal seals, carefully wrapped in a large square piece of red velvet fabric, are exceptions. One is a small rectangular metal seal with etchings of daggers and an inscription in Urdu that reads: ‘Nawab Hazrat Mahal Sahiba’. The etchings on Hazrat Mahal’s seal are unique because they feature daggers instead of floral motifs, signifying her role as a warrior queen who defended her kingdom against the foreign invasion of the British, explains Manzilat.

The second seal is slightly larger, featuring the royal coat of arms of Awadh, with elaborate etchings of floral motifs and an inscription in Arabic and Urdu. The calligraphy is elaborate and the family struggles to translate it; they’ve never done it before. Due to his age, Meerza finds it difficult to read the finely etched calligraphy of the seal. The family turns to Kamran’s wife Nuzhat Zahra, a 36-year-old lecturer in Urdu and a research scholar in the city, for help. Her Urdu language skills are better than those of her husband and his siblings.

Birjis Quder and Hazrat Mahal’s descendants in Kolkata only have two royal seals belonging to the last Nawab and his wife in their possession. The small rectangular metal seal (left) belonging to Begum Hazrat Mahal has etchings of daggers and an inscription in Urdu that reads: ‘Nawab Hazrat Mahal Sahiba’. The larger seal (right) features the royal coat of arms of the kingdom of Awadh, and belongs to Birjis Quder. Birjis Quder’s royal seal bears inscriptions in Arabic on the top, followed by his royal titles in Urdu below, saying, “NarsuminnAllah Fatun Qareeb” (Help from Allah and a near victory) and “Sikander Iqbal Shah, Khudullah Mulkohu Mirza Birjis Quder Ramzan Ali” (His Highness Keeper of Allah’s heaven-like nation. Mirza Birjis Quder Mohammad Ramzan Ali.) (Photo credit: Shashi Ghosh)
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Not much is known about the circumstances that Birjis Quder found himself in, in a foreign land, far away from his home and inheritance, or even his thoughts at watching the British loot and strip his father of everything that he ever had. But perhaps the sentiments of the last Nawab of Awadh can be found in the elaborate calligraphy of the inscription denoting an Arabic phrase, followed by his royal titles, alqaab, on his seal:

“NarsuminnAllah Fatun Qareeb”; Help from Allah and a near victory.

“Sikander Iqbal Shah, Khudullah Mulkohu Mirza Birjis Quder Mohammad Ramzan Ali”; His Highness keeper of Allah’s heaven-like nation. Mirza Birjis Quder Mohammad Ramzan Ali.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / Indian Express / Home> Research / by Neha Banka / Kolkata – January 04th, 2020