Shaikh Mushir Husain Kidwai (1878-1937) was a multifaceted personality — an Islamic scholar, writer, lawyer, politician, and freedom fighter. Born on August 17, 1878, in Gadia, District Barabanki (UP), he came from a Zamindar family of Gadia, Awadh (UP).
After completing his education in Lucknow, he went to England where he passed the bar exam. He started his practice at the Allahabad High Court in 1921 and became a consultant to the British Indian Association and also held the post of Senior Judge at the Lucknow Bench.
He was one of the active leaders of the Khilafat and Non-cooperation Movement and was the Joint Secretary of Anjuman-e-Islam London, a branch of the Pan Islamic Society.
In early 1913, he formulated a scheme for the establishment of a society for the protection of the Haramain Sharifain along with Maulana Abdul Bari Firangi Mahli so that these holy places would not be attacked by non-Muslims during the First World War. This scheme was first published in Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s Al-Hilal on 30 April 1913. In this regard, Maulana Abdul Bari and his colleagues founded the “Anjuman Khuddam-e-Kaaba” on May 6, 1913, with Mushir Husain Kidwai as its Secretary.
He wrote a pamphlet entitled “Future of Muslim State”, which was published by the Central Islamic Society of London in 1921, in which he wrote that Turkish exploitation and disintegration would destroy the Muslim World. He also published a manifesto in London which was widely circulated in support of Turkey.
In March 1920, he also signed a manifesto with Maulana Abdul Bari, Maulana Azad and Maulana Shaukat Ali, which was drawn up in the background of the conspiracy to dismember Turkey.
In May 1920, he presided over the Awadh Khilafat Congress at Faizabad.
Sultan Abdul Hamid II awarded him Order of Osmaniah for his outstanding contribution to Pan-Islamic causes.
He was a member of the All India Muslim League meeting, which was a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the causes and events of the Mopla Rebellion, which was constituted by the Muslim League in December 1921.
In May 1926, he was also a member of a committee formed by the League whose purpose was to draw up a scheme for a constitution for India.
He participated as a distinguished delegate in the Nationalist Muslim Conference at Lucknow on July 20, 1930. He was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly four times (1924, 1930, 1935 and 1936) and was elected unopposed each time.
He was also a prolific political writer, both in English and Urdu, and his articles on Islam, Khilafat, Socialism, and politics of the Subcontinent appeared in several English and Urdu periodicals of that time. He also authored several books on Islam, Khilafat and politics. Some of them are:
Swaraj and How to obtain it
Pan-Islamism and Bolshevism
Islam and Socialism
Islam and Woman
Taleem-e Niswan
Duniya ke teen shohdae Salasa.
He passed away on 27th December 1937.
source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Mili Gazette / Home> News> History / by The Milli Gazette Online / by Dr Asad Faisal Farooqui, Aligarh / November 22nd, 2024
Munshi Mazahar Ali was a freedom fighter of Belgaum who lived near HESCOM counter at Kacheri Road, Shaniwar Khoot, Belgaum.
He was said to be a butler in the British army at the Belgaum regiment and being a staunch Muslim, was a follower of Wahabi moment. This movement was strictly against British rule in India and played an important role in First Independence war of 1857.
The Belgaum gazette (page 133) refers this great son of the land as “One Muslim Munshi in the army at Belgaum, who had been a Wahabi, was discovered instigating the others, transported for life in the connection “
Munshi Mazahar Ali was involved in the “Reshmi Rumal Movement “and was arrested by the British. He was assassinated at the Race Course grounds in presence of thousands of people.
The Corporation of the City of Belgaum has given the name of Kacheri Road as “Munshi Mazahar Ali Road”. But even now Kacheri Road is used by Govt and the public.
source: http://www.allaboutbelgaum.com / All About Belgaum / Home> History / by editor / August 14th, 2009
On November 10, the 274th (or 273rd) birthday of Tipu Sultan was celebrated peacefully in his erstwhile capital, Srirangapatna, amid heavy security.
The date of his birth is disputed – there is little agreement on whether it is November 10, November 20, or December 1, or whether that event happened in 1750 or 1751. (File photo)
This past Sunday, November 10, the 274th (or 273rd) birthday of Tipu Sultan was celebrated peacefully in his erstwhile capital, Srirangapatna, amid heavy security. The security was necessary because Tipu has become, in recent years, a polarizing and politicised figure, with successive state governments casting him alternately as monster and Messiah. Even the date of his birth is disputed – there is little agreement on whether it is November 10, November 20, or December 1, or whether that event happened in 1750 or 1751.
Be that as it may, one well-documented fact about Tipu is that he commissioned, around 1795, the famous Tipu’s Tiger, a mechanical automaton built by local craftsmen using local materials, possibly with inputs from French engineers. It featured a painted wooden tiger mauling a man who, judging from his costume, was decidedly European. The hollow toy housed various mechanisms that were worked by the turning of a crank handle. Each time it was turned, one of the man’s arms moved up, seemingly in a (futile) bid for self-defence, while the bellows inside pushed air out of the man’s throat and several openings in the tiger’s head, producing what sounded like a wail of distress from the man alongside a growl from the tiger. Symbolic of the self-styled Tiger of Mysore, the tiger was as large as life; the hapless European just a little smaller.
Tipu’s Tiger may well have been a product of Tipu’s fancy, meant to inspire him after his defeat in the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792, following which he not only lost half his kingdom but was obliged to give up two of his sons as hostages to Lord Cornwallis. But there is a popular theory that the visual of the tiger attacking the soldier was based on a real incident that happened later the same year.
On 21 December 1792, so the story goes, the goodly ship Shaw Ardaseer, bound for Madras, stopped to take on cargo at Sagar Island, situated at the mouth of the Hooghly in Calcutta, at the point where the Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal. On the ship was 17-year-old Hector Sutherland Munro, a ‘cadet for Madras’ who had only arrived in India on the 8th of November. Along with his fellow cadets, young Hector went ashore to try his luck at hunting deer, but was unsuccessful. The party had just sat down at the edge of the jungle to eat a meal when they heard, in the words of eyewitness Capt Henry Conran, ‘a roar like thunder,’ and saw ‘an immense royal tiger spring on the unfortunate Munro.’ In a moment, continues Conran, Munro’s head ‘was in the beast’s mouth,’ and it had raced into the jungle, carrying Munro with it. Conran and the others shot at the tiger and killed it, but Munro could not be saved.
Conran’s sensational prose, and the fact that young Munro was the son of the celebrated General Sir Hector Munro, the hero of the Battle of Buxar (1764) and the capture of Pondicherry (1778), and one of the main players in the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780) against Tipu‘s father Hyder Ali, ensured that the story went viral in England, perhaps even inspiring William Blake’s famous 1793 poem ‘The Tyger.’ Given that his sons were being held in Calcutta at the time, the story almost certainly also reached Tipu. In the aftermath of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, in which Tipu was killed, Tipu’s Tiger, which had little intrinsic but much emblematic value, was carried back to England in triumph, and installed, in July 1808, in East India House on Leadenhall Street.
Today, Tipu’s Tiger sits behind glass at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London, where it has long been, according to the museum’s website, ‘one of the V&A’s most popular exhibits.’
(Roopa Pai is a writer who has carried on a longtime love affair with her hometown Bengaluru)
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home / by Roopa Pai / November 12th, 2024
Bijnor District / executed in Moradabad, UTTAR PRADESH :
Koi gul baqi rahega na chaman reh jaayega
Par Rasoolullah ka deen-e-hasan reh jayega
(No flower will be left, nor will any garden remain; but the beautiful religion of Muhammad (pbuh) will forever endure.)
Maulana Syed Kifayat Ali Kafi, a prominent Islamic scholar, poet, and freedom fighter, was executed by the British on May 6, 1858, at the crossroads of Moradabad. His execution marks a significant, yet often overlooked, chapter in India’s struggle for independence.
Early Life and Education
Born in Bijnor district, Maulana Kafi hailed from a respectable Sadat family. He pursued his education in Moradabad, Bareilly, and Badaun, gaining expertise in religious studies, traditional medicine (Hikmat), and poetry. His teachers included Sheikh Abu Saeed Rampuri in religious knowledge, Sher Ali in medicine, and Maulvi Mehdi Ali Khan and Zaki Moradabadi in poetry. Maulana Kafi was not just a scholar but also an accomplished poet, with works such as Diwan-e-Kafi, Diwan-e-Tanha, Kamalat-e-Azizi, and Naseem-e-Jannat to his name.
A Patriot’s Call to Arms
As British rule continued to oppress India, Maulana Kafi’s determination to see a free Hindustan grew stronger. When the First War of Independence erupted in 1857, Maulana Kafi actively participated in the struggle. His fatwa of Jihad against British rule, posted on the walls of the Jama Masjid in Moradabad, was a rallying cry for Muslims to rise against the oppressors.
Joining General Bakht Khan Rohilla’s forces, Maulana Kafi fought bravely from Delhi to Bareilly and Allahabad. After liberating Moradabad, he helped establish a local government under Nawab Majiduddin Khan, also known as Nawab Majju Khan. Maulana Kafi was appointed Sadar-e-Shariat, where he oversaw judicial matters according to the Sharia law.
Betrayal and Capture
Despite the initial successes, the freedom movement in Moradabad faced significant setbacks due to betrayals by local traitors and the Nawab of Rampur who had aligned with the British. As a result, the British recaptured Moradabad, and on April 30, 1858, Maulana Kafi was arrested, following a tip-off by a local informer named Fakhruddin Kalal.
Martyrdom
Maulana Kafi’s trial was swift and brutal. On May 6, 1858, after enduring severe torture and refusing to renounce his faith and commitment for his motherland, he was hanged by the British. His final moments were marked by an extraordinary sense of calm and composure.
Maulana Syed Kifayat Ali Kafi’s sacrifice remains a poignant reminder of the countless unsung heroes who fought and gave their lives for India’s freedom. His legacy, though forgotten by many, continues to inspire those who remember the courage and conviction of one of the nation’s noble martyrs.
source: http://www.themilligazette.com / The Milli Gazette Online / Home> News> Special Reports / by Sahil Rizvi / August 18th, 2024
Maqbool Sherwani, a 19-year-old National Conference party worker, has been credited with singlehandedly stalling the advance of Pakistan-sponsored tribal raiders to Srinagar.
On 26 October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession with the Government of India. Despite the official accession, the situation on the ground was in a real state of flux.
(Photo above: Left-Maqbool Sherwani, Right-Indian soldiers in the ’47 War. Source: Facebook/Wikimedia Commons)
There was an invasion by Pakistan-sponsored tribal raiders from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The Indian armed forces were still days away from getting troops on the ground. At the same time, the Pakistan-sponsored raiders had already made their way to Baramulla, a mere 54 km away from Srinagar, just days before the signing of the Instrument of Accession.
If Srinagar had fallen to the tribal raiders, many commentators believe that the outcome of the 1947 war would have been very different. But it was the sacrifice of one 19-year-old political worker of the National Conference party from Baramulla, Maqbool Sherwani, ensured that the Indian armed forces had enough time to thwart the raiders.
One Hero, Many Versions
There are two popular versions of how he ensured that the raiders would not proceed to Srinagar. According to one version, Maqbool told the raiders that he would show them the way to Srinagar and led them astray. This gave the Indian Army time to land at Srinagar airport on 27 October.
Another version of the story notes that on 22 October, when the Pakistan-sponsored raiders stormed Baramulla, Maqbool thought of a ruse to put them off track. He told them that the Indian Army had already landed in Srinagar. This reportedly stalled their advance towards Srinagar. Eventually, they were intercepted by the Indian Army at Shalteng, a few kilometres outside Srinagar on 7 November and driven out altogether.
However, what’s not in question is that the raiders brutally executed him for misleading them. Sherwani was in Sumbal, which is about 35 km away from Baramulla when the Pakistan-sponsored raiders found out about his ruse and brought him back.
According to report filed by the Times of India correspondent, who visited Baramulla on 9 November, the day after the Indian Army captured the town, “the most popular local leader of the National Conference, Meer Maqbool Sherwani, went through torture for his politics and was finally bound to wooden bars and shot dead—14 bullet holes were found in his body.”
Other reports spoke of how the raiders had even posted a note on his forehead in Urdu stating, ‘He is a traitor, his punishment is death’ before nailing his body to a wooden plank. Many Indian commentators believe he is a hero who turned the tide of a 1947 war. After the raiders were driven out of Baramulla, his body was buried with full military honours.
Mulk Raj Anand, the author, wrote a novella in his honour called ‘Death of a Hero’.
Novel – Death of a Hero – author: Mulk Raj Anand / pix: amazon.in
“To his grandchildren, my grandfather, who was Deputy Commissioner (Wazir-i-Wazarat, as the position was known then) of the district from 1948 to 1954, described Sherwani as the one man who saved Kashmir for India,” notes Amitabh Mattoo, a Professor of International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, in The Hindu .
As a political worker in Baramulla for the National Conference, a party established by Sheikh Abdullah, Maqbool idolised Sheikh Abdullah and did the party’s bidding in Baramulla.
In a conversation with Scroll.in , Khaliq Parvaiz said how one day when he was sitting on a ghat by the Jhelum river in Baramulla, he saw Maqbool being chased by some rival political workers.
However, he escaped their clutches after jumping into the river and swimming to safety. Although many didn’t agree with his politics, what people agreed on was that he was “something of a hellraiser, a swashbuckling character who could impress the crowds”.
In fact, Parvaiz adds, “He did not know how to ride a bike, he learnt in three days to lead the raiders astray. Kashmiris knew he was a khatarnak [deadly] person.”
Similarly, there are stories of how he tried to disrupt a public address of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who had arrived in Baramulla on 25 July 1944.
Margeret Bourke White, a reporter for Life magazine, who visited Baramulla in December 1947, described Maqbool as an “a sort of Robin Hood character, from the stories the townspeople told me” and portrayed him as a staunch believer of religious tolerance who sought to frustrate the raiders in their advance towards Srinagar.
In fact, according to some accounts, moments before the raiders executed him, Maqbool is believed to have shouted “Victory for the unity of Sikh, Hindus and Muslims”. In a prayer meeting later, Mahatma Gandhi recalled how Maqbool’s act “was a martyrdom of which anyone, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim or any other, would be proud [of].”
Others, however, are less charitable in their description of Maqbool. Historian Andrew Whitehead, a renowned scholar of the region, writes about his encounter with Muhammad Yusuf Saraf, a rival political activist from Baramulla, who referred to Maqbool as a “semi-literate man of about 40 years” who had become “very unpopular for his goondaism.”
“Saraf, however, acknowledged both Sherwani’s devotion to Sheikh Abdullah and the courage with which he sought to impede the lashkar advance and approached his own death,” writes Whitehead.
In fact, Saraf went on to recall events as he remembered.
“He was brought down to Baramulla and after several days of interrogation, was tied to an electric pole in the centre of the town and nails were driven into his hands and forehead. Ultimately he was shot dead. How fanatically devoted he was to his leader and basically how brave he was, maybe judged from the fact that even while he was so nailed, he continued to shout ‘Sher-e-Kashmir Zindabad’ [Long Live the Lion of Kashmir – a title for Abdullah],” said Saraf.
Whitehead recalls another encounter with Pran Nath Jalali, who had spent time in the Maharaja’s prisons with Maqbool and went on to join the National Conference militia.
“Jalali told me that Sherwani was among those who offered to go undercover into areas controlled by the tribesmen. ‘In fact, there was a list of 22 volunteers which we framed to go behind the enemy lines. [Sherwani] was one of them. But being an adventurer and a bit showy—he held public meetings village to village and rode into the enemy on a motorbike. That motorbike undid him.’ Sherwani was, as far as Jalali recalled, the only one of these behind-the-lines militia volunteers to lose his life,” writes Whitehead.
The bravery and subsequent martyrdom of Maqbool Sherwani in 1947 and the story of his role during the Pakistan-backed invasion of Kashmir needs to be mainstreamed throughout India- Prof. @amitabhmattoo /National Symposium and Virtual Exhibition Live on the ‘Memories of #22OCT1947‘ pic.twitter.com/q17ljOjBAF
— Ministry of Culture (@MinOfCultureGoI) October 18, 2020
Whatever said and done, Maqbool lost his life in service of a nascent Indian nation that was still struggling to come to terms with the violence and chaos surrounding its birth. In risking his life, he significantly contributed to giving India a serious foothold in the Kashmir Valley when all seemed lost.
(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)
source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India /Home> Stories> History> Jammu & Kashmir / by Rinchen Nobu Wangchuk / edited by Vinayak Hegde / October 21st, 2020 / Notes pix of Novel – Death of a Hero – author: Mulk Raj Anand, pix: amazon.in added /
Rockets, Nagara Fort, India(Courtesy Karnataka Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage (DAMH))
More than 1,000 unexploded rockets have been recovered from an abandoned well in the state of Karnataka in southern India.
The excavators believe the corroded shells date to the eighteenth century when the Muslim warrior King Tipu Sultan ruled the region.
The cache was uncovered when the well, located at Nagara Fort in the Shivamogga District, was being repaired. “The rockets, which are of several sizes, are metallic cylinders filled with some powder, possibly saltpeter or some form of explosive propellant,” says R. Shejeshwara Nayaka, assistant director of the Karnataka Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage (DAMH), who led the excavation in 2018. “They have circular end caps on oneside, while on the other side there is an opening which lights like a fuse. We have also found some equipment that might have been used for assembling or making them.”
G. Venkatesh, commissioner of DAMH, adds, “Records say that Tipu Sultan’s father, Hyder Ali, was the first to use metal-cased rockets. He also had an armory and factory at Nagara Fort, a strategically very important city. There is a strong possibility that this site was used as a storage point or a factory for the rockets.”
His fort at Kurnool was turned into an ordnance factory
Ghulam Rasool Khan, the Nawab of Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, who created terror among the officials of the East India Company, came to power in 1823.
Since his childhood, Ghulam Rasool Khan never cared foreign rulers. After coming into power, he took every care to protect his state from the British. He was sure that he had to fight against the British, and was prepared for the same. He befriended Gohar Ali Khan alias Mubariz-ud-Doula, a prince of Nizam state. He turned his fort at Kurnool into an ordnance factory.
The jealous cousins of Nawab Ghulam Rasool, who wished to capture power, colluded with the English and hatched conspiracies against him. They informed General Fraser, who was the British Resident, about the preparedness of Ghulam Rasool for war on 23 August 1839.
Alarmed at this, the East India Company appointed Edward Armstrong to probe into the matter and report it immediately. Edward wrote a letter to General Fraser stating that ‘the armoury of the Nawab of Kurnool is enormous. His preparedness for war is hard to describe. He turned the gardens and the royal palaces into ordnance factories.’ This information sent shivers down the spine of General Fraser, who sent the East India Company forces immediately under the command of Colonel A .B. Dyce to capture the fort of Kurnool and arrest Nawab Ghulam Rasool Khan.
East India Company troops attacked and rounded the Kurnool fort on 12 October, 1839. After six days of fierce fighting, the enemy was able to detain Ghulam Rasool Khan, on 18 October, 1839 at Joharapuram, a village near Kurnool.
Later on, they took him to Tiruchinapalli and imprisoned Rasool Khan in Tiruchinapalli Jail. The British rulers wished to eliminate the Nawab of Kurnool. So they bribed his personal servant into serving poisoned food to Nawab, due to which Nawab Ghulam Rasool Khan died on 12 July, 1840.
The Company charged the servant of murder and sentenced him to death. The British rulers tried their level best to hide this conspiracy, but history revealed the fact in course of time.
Ghulam Rasool Khan is still remembered by the people of Rayalaseema region of Andhra pradesh, where they still eulogize him singing the ballad titled ‘Kandanavolu Nawabu Katha’ (Story of Kurnool Nawab).
Syed Naseer Ahamad is a Telugu writer and journalist who has written several books on the role of Muslims in the struggle for the freedom of India. Many of his books have been translated into other languages. He can be contacted at naseerahamedsyed@gmail.com and cellphone number 91-9440241727.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Sued Naseer Ahamed / September 04th, 2022
BRITISH INDIA / Rae Barelli ( United Provinces of Agra & Oudh), UTTAR PRADESH :
Freedom movement in Bihar
The British used the policy of dividing Indian resistance against their rule based on religions, castes, languages, regions, etc. They used historians to write about Indian history as a constant conflict among different religions, especially between Hindus and Muslims. The propaganda was so successful that even today, after more than seven decades of Independence Indian scholars repeat these distorted versions of history.
A Slice Of History
Syed Ahmad Barelvi, or Syed Ahmad Shahid, of Rai Bareilly, is a freedom fighter whose image was distorted by historians employed by the british. The perception is that Syed Ahmad was a fanatical militant Muslim leader who waged war against Sikhs and Hindus. His movement was erroneously called Wahabi by colonial officials to create rifts among Muslims in particular and Indians in general.
The fact is that Syed Ahmad was a military leader who wanted to reform Muslim society during the early 19th century. He organised Muslims against extravagance, promoted widow remarriage, and asked people to follow the path of religion. Like most of the movements of that period, his movement also became political. Foreign rule was considered one of the major reasons for the backwardness and corruption among the Indian Muslims. His teacher, Shah Abdul Aziz was the first to pronounce a fatwa to boycott and fight against British rule.
Contrary to popular opinion, Syed Ahmad did not raise arms to establish an Islamic state. His movement was not limited to Muslims, let alone Wahabis. In 1957, K. K. Datta wrote History of the Freedom Movement in Bihar, which was a project by the Government of Bihar.
In the book, he published a letter by Syed Ahmad which was given to him by his research assistant F. Balkhi. This letter was written to Raja Hindu Rai, a Maratha chief of the Scindia clan.
Syed Ahmad asked Raja to join hands with him against the British. The letter reads, “It is apparent to you that unfriendly foreigners of a distant land have become master of the country, that traders have assumed the dignity of ‘Sultanate’ and destroyed the rule of great rulers and chieftainship of high-placed chiefs by depriving them of their respect and honour.”
“Since the rulers and statesmen have sought refuge in privacy, a band of poor and helpless persons have girded up their loins. This weak band does not aspire to any worldly gains. They are inspired by the spirit of service to God without the least desire for wealth and power.
“The moment India is cleared of the foreigners and the arrow of efforts reaches its target, the offices and rulership shall remain intact for those who want it and their dignity and power shall be strengthened. This weak band wants only this much from the great rulers and high dignitaries that while they occupy the masnad of rulership, service to Islam with heart and soul should be done.
“Although this poor band has not got ample means, yet by the desire of the Lord, it is glad and cheerful and detests the desire for power and pelf, and keeps its hands off from wealth and riches which they do not want to enjoy either now or in future.
Any one of the rulers of old states that may come forward to help will only be strengthening the foundation of his state. The purport of this affectionate letter will truly be explained to you in detail by Haji Bahadur Shah who is an old associate of mine.”
In another letter, Syed Ahmad wrote that his intent was not to carve out a state for himself to rule, or to establish a new system. He wanted to kick the Europeans out of India and let Indians, Hindus, and Muslims, rule among themselves like they were living before British imperialism.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Saquib Salim / September 28th, 2024
Many believed that the Azad Hind Fauj or the Indian National Army led by Subhas Chandra Bose during the Second World War was made of Indian Prisoners of War captured by Japan. This is a misconception, far away from reality.
A Slice Of History
The reality is that INA was a military unit of Arzi Hukumat-i-Azad Hind (The Provisional Government of Free India). Popularly known as Azad Hind Sarkar, this government led by Subhas Chandra Bose had all the working departments of a civilian administration as health, women empowerment, research, civil services, and banks. It also has its currency. The provisional government was recognised by several countries.
Initially, the government was being run on crowdfunding from the Indian Diaspora of Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, and other Southeast Asian countries. Soon, Bose felt the need to have a central banking system and currency.
An official notification from the Azad Hind Sarkar declared, “His Excellency Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose inaugurated the National Bank of Azad Hind Ltd., on Wednesday, the 5th April, 1944. His Excellency the Finance Minister of Burma, His Excellency the Ambassador of Nippon, and other distinguished members of the Burmese Government and high ranking Officers of the Imperial Nipponese Army were also present.
“The aims and objectives of the National Bank of Azad Hind Ltd., are primarily two-fold Firstly this Bank will help to mobilise the financial resources of Indians as a part of our programme of Total Mobilisation, and secondly this Bank will serve the interests of Burma where it is now established.
“The Bank will also render service to the Provisional Government of Azad Hind by acting as its Agents.”
In April 1944, Bose was discussing plans to establish a central bank of Azad Hind Sarkar. Everyone was worried about the money. A woman officer of the INA in her book Jai Hind: Diary of a Rebel Daughter noted, “Netaji was discussing finance problems with a Muslim multi-millionaire here in Rangoon. He suggested to him that we must have our own Bank because a Government without a bank is unheard of. Again as soon as Imphal falls, our Government would be issuing its currency, and a bank would be invaluable then. Netaji asked our friend, the multi-millionaire, for his suggestions for it.
“The reply came in the form of a question “Netaji, with how much capital do you wish to make a beginning?” Subhas Babu suggested that fifty lakhs would suffice for the purpose. Prompt was the answer ‘Oh-ho, is that all you want? Then, I myself shall give 30 lakhs, and the rest of the twenty lakhs I guarantee to present to you in a week. And within a fortnight our Bank had taken legal shape and opened its doors to business.”
The man in question was Abdul Ghani. He was an Indian businessman settled in Burma, who had donated his wealth to Bose and Azad Hind Sarkar.
Lt. M. G. Mulkar of the INA later recalled, “Ghani paid more than what he said. He gave a contribution of 63 lakhs of rupees in cash and goods for the maintenance of the Indian National Army. In addition to his princely donation, he also gave an estate called the Ziawari Estate, which is worth several crores of rupees.”
S. A. Ayer was appointed Chairman of the bank while Dina Nath was one of the directors. When the war ended, the bank had 5,343,946 Dollars deposit. Apart from this, jewelry and gold worth 86,310 Dollars were also in the funds of Azad Hind Sarkar.
The bank issued its currency notes which had Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Lakshmi Sehgal printed over them.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Saquib Salim / October 07th, 2024
India has one of the greatest traditions of paintings on walls. Called murals or frescos, we see a high level of technical excellence, grace and sublime beauty among Indian murals right from the time of Ajanta.
In 1335 AD, the remarkable city of Vijayanagar or the ‘city of victory’ was established in south-central Karnataka. In no time, the city and the empire became a fertile ground for creativity, thanks to the patronage of its powerful King Krishnadeva Rai. A remarkable style of painting evolved with ideas merging from Deccan, Cholas of Tamil Nadu and Jain tradition. When the Vijayanagar Empire collapsed after the battle of Talikota in mid-16th century many of state artists moved to Serirangapatna, a pristine and sacred land surrounded by Cauvery River on all sides. Here they thrived under the royal patronage of the Mysuru Wodeyers. In 1761 AD, the island became the seat of power of Haider Ali Saheb. He and his son Tipu Sulatan established Mysuru as a vibrant Sultanate and continued to patronage the artisan of Vijayanagar ancestry.
Daria Daulat Bagh is a palace situated in the island near the village Ganjam at Seringapatna. The village is set amidst beautiful gardens. It was built by Tipu Sultan in 1784 as his summer palace.
Built entirely out of teakwood, the architecture of the palace shows remarkable fusion of Deccani, Persian and Rajput styles. The most stunning feature of the palace is that all the space available on the walls, pillars, jharokas and arches have colourful fresco work in the style of Vijayanagar-Mysuru paintings.
On the western wall right to the entrance is depicted the battle scene of second Anglo-Mysore war or the battle of Pollilur. The battle had been fought between Haider-Tipu and the British forces, in which Haider and Tipu combated splendidly and won.
The paintings executed by the artists at the instance of Tipu Sultan where primary aim was to glorify their victory over the British. Colonel Bailley, the defeated British officer was taken to Serirangapatna after his defeat. The battle mural is seen in four different panels portraying Tipu and Haider marching in procession towards Pollilur near Kanchipuram. Tipu is depicted in all finery, himself leading the army towards Pollilur riding a beautiful white horse. Baillie sits in a palanquin as he is wounded and biting his pointing figure – a gesture employed by many to signify defeat in dismay.
The climax of the battle scene depict Baillie’s defeat giving special prominence to the explosion of tumbril and to the consternation of the British square colonel.
On the eastern part of the building there are a number of small frames containing figural motifs, architecture in brilliant composition. The most special is the one where the queen is seen seated on a carpet smoking a hookah. Some of the layouts strongly resemble Rajasthani miniature. The other panels illustrate incidents in the lives of princes, rulers and grandees of Tipu’s contemporary and also includes several rajas defeated by him. There are also neighbouring nawabs and kings including the Hindu Rani of Chittore, Rajas of Tanjore, Benaras, and Balajirao Peshwa II.
Come, lets discover the murals of Daria Daulat Bagh and appreciate the legacy of Tipu Sulatan, a brave son of the soil and perhaps one of the earliest freedom fighters.
YOUTUBE
source: http://www.blogvirasatehind.wordpress.com / September 26th, 2016
