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Mazar-e-Shoara: The Forgotten Dead

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Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR :

The cemetery and those who lie buried in the soil of time and fate are the witness to the the lost romance, their epitaphs bear a testimony to a history of prose and poetry.

The forgotten poet cemetery of Kashmir /  Photo: Shakir Mir / Internet

خاک میں کیا صورتیں ہوں گی کہ پنہاں ہو گئیں

 (In the soil- what faces must be hidden) 

Beauty finds its way at odd places; away from the flamboyant commotion of Boulevard, far from the amorous colours of Zabarwan and distant from the prospects, perspectives and spectre of present. Beauty finds its way at odd places: along the sombre shores of the lifelessness, in the weed, litter and rubbish of a graveyard, the withered tombstones of a cemetery,  

The Cemetery of the Poets   

The cemetery and those who lie buried in the soil of time and fate are the witness to the the lost romance, their epitaphs bear a testimony to a history of prose and poetry.  

Laala tooram, na humchoon ghuncha gulboo zadaem 

 Shaula jae bakhya bar chaak-e-gereban meezenam 

 (I am the Tulip of Sinai and not the bud borne of a rose 

 To my torn collar, I apply the needle of my fire to stitch it)

Cries out poet Mazhari, having penned down 6000 Persian verses throughout his travels from Iran, Khorasan, Hindustan to Kashmir, but now lost in graves and indifference of another necropolis, Malkhah.  

Founded in year 1587 C.E during by the Mughal emperor Akbar, the cemetery of poets, also called Mazar-e-Shoara is situated along the banks of Dal Lake. The burial ground for the once eminent poets seems to have been selected carefully to give the dead souls a serene eternal sleep. The historical records show that there were five poets and men of letters buried in the cemetery, all of them the eminent avant grade of Iran, associated with the literary upper class of Mughal court. However, as of today only three of the tombstones can be located in the mazar, rest covered in debris of time and apathy. 

There seems to be some confusion regarding the first grave in the cemetery, largely appearing due to the mistakes in copying the previous historical accounts. In this regard the first reference comes from the great historian and author, Mohammad Azam Dedmari in his Waqiat-e-Kashmir. Dedmari was a scholar, researcher, and also a poet of his time and was born during Aurangzeb’s era when Abu Nasr was performing the duties of sobedar (Governor) of Kashmir. Therefore, due to his temporal proximity to the rule of Akbar and his other meticulous documentations, his record can be taken as more authentic. 

According to him the great Iranian savant and scholar of his time, Shah Fatehullah had come from Iran to Deccan. According to M. A Alvi and Abdur Rahman’s seminal work, “Fathullah Shirazi: The great Indian scientist of 16th century” and Mohammad Akmal Makhdum’s, “A Great Man: Shah Fateh Ullah Shirazi”, Fatehullah was brought up in Shiraz and learnt under great teachers like Kamal-ud-din Masood Sherwani and Khwajah Jamaluddin Mahmud, a disciple of the logician Jalal-al-din-Davani. Shirazi furthered his knowledge in medicine, mathematics, and science under the instruction of Mir Ghayasuddin Mansur. After completing his education, Shirazi embarked on a career in education in Shiraz. Among his notable students was Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, who served as the close confidant of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. In 1583, Shirazi received an invitation from Mughal Emperor Akbar and subsequently joined the imperial court in Agra.He soon earned the title of Amir and a rank (mansab) of 3000. Two years later, in 1584, Akbar appointed him as the Amin-ul-Mulk, also known as the Trustee of the State.Shirazi’s first task was to reexamine and rectify the Mughal Empire’s vast transaction records, which he accomplished with diligence and success. Along with his administrative work, Shirazi also undertook the task of regulating the intrinsic and bullion values of coins. He identified and corrected discrepancies in the currency, ensuring its reliability and trustworthiness. Shirazi’s skills and talents also earned him various honors and titles. In 1585 and 1587, the emperor selected him to lead diplomatic missions to the Deccan, where he was recognized for his efforts with the title of Azud-ud-Dawlah, or the Arm of the Emperor. He also received a horse, 5000 rupees, a robe of honor, and the office of the Chief Sadr of Hindustan. 

A great poet, he also made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy and logic, particularly in his work, Takmilah-i-Hashiyah. Additionally, he played a crucial role in compiling the Tarikh-i-Alfi, a thousand-year history of Islam, demonstrating his vast knowledge in the field of history. 

Page of disasters, from Tarikh-i-Alf

One can try to estimate the scholarship of Shah Fatehullah by the brief introduction Abul Fazal (Grand Vizier of Emperor Akbar the Great) writes about him. Abul Fazal being a royal minister and himself a great scholar did not recognise anybody at par with his own scholarship, but about Shah Fatehullah he writes: 

“if all the books of all the subjects and sciences and crafts are destroyed then Shah Fatehullah, with his scholarship and knowledge, and with his memory, will create a parallel new library of books.” 

Emperor Akbar mourns his death in following words: 

“Had he fallen in the hands of Franks and had they they demanded all my treasures for him, I would gladly have entered such profitable traffic and brought the jewel cheap” 

Shirazi was a great inventor and is credited with numerous innovations like improved cannons and guns, wagon mllls, mirrors that would make far things appear closer, travelling baths etc.  

Two references are made to the death of Shah Fatehullah by Kashmiri scholars, one by Dedmari who says that he developed Typhoid and self treated it by over-eating Harisa. Another reference is made by Hassan Kuehami in his Tareekh-e-Hassan in which he refers to him (probably mistakenly) as Shah Abu Fateh and cites tuberculosis as his cause of death. The mistake (viz a viz name) seems an error while copying from Waqiat-e-Kashmir, where a poet called Mir Abu Fateh is mentioned immediately after Fatehullah, whom Kuehami seems to have skipped and probably mixed with the former. The location of his burial is mentioned atop Takht-e-Sulaiman, in Mazar-e-Shoara. 

M.A Alvi and Abdur Rahman refer to Abdul Qadir Badaoni’s, Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh, which narrates a story similar to that of Dedmari in which Fathullah Shirazi dies because of over-eating porridge made of meat while having an episode of febrile illness. But there is a very important historical fact that is referred to in this version. According to them Fathullah was buried on koh-e-sulaiman, in the monastery of Sayyid Ali Hamadani. However, today we do not know any such monastery that exists on koh-e-sulaiman (or takht-e–sulaiman). So could this be reference to the lost monastery of Sayyid Ali Hamadani’s student Mohammad Ismael Kubravi which is historically known to exist around the same place. It was a matter of reverence to teachers that the students would name their schools and shrines after them. The great scholars would be buried in graveyards adjacent to these monasteries. So, is the location of the Mazar-e-Shoara the place where the monastery of Mohammad Ismail Kubravi actually stood?

(The lost monastery has a history of its own, allegedly destroyed by Chak rulers, the location where it stood has been a centre of academic debate in archaeological and academic circles.) 

Cemetery

Second grave in the cemetery is of Haji Jan Muhammad Qudsi Mashadi popularly called Qudsi Mashadi. He was a native of the Mashhad in Iran. He joined the court of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan where he rose to become Malik-al-Shura (poet laureate). It is said that Mughal empire had Qudsi weighed in gold, which was then presented to him as a reward for his poetic excellence. On the occasion of the installation of the famous Peacock Throne in 1635, for example, Qudsi composed a dedicatory chronogram that was cast in glazed tile and inserted inside the throne canopy. Qudsi wrote several topographical poems as well, the most famous of which is his description of the journey to Kashmir. 

When his son Mohammed Baqir died in the prime of his youth in Mashhad, Qudsi was heartbroken and decided not to go back to his native land but remain in India. Later he settled permanently in Kashmir. His works includes the poetical composition Zafarnama-yi Shahjahani, devoted to the king’s conquests, containing some 7000 rhymed couplets, and covering the first fourteen years of Shah Jahan’s reign and is by far Qudsi’s longest work, though it remained incomplete at the time of his death it was later completed posthumously by Kalim Kashani; a mathnawi entitled Wasf-I Kashmir. The poet remains buried in the Mazar-e-Shoara. 

The third poet lying at rest in the graveyard is Abu Talib Kaleem. A native of the Persian city of Hamadan when Abu Talib Kaleem heard about Qudsi’s reception at the court of Shah Jahan, he was perturbed and said, “The man who was to be held by neck, it is strange, was weighed in gold”. He travelled Deccan and other Indian cities and later became a courtier of the Emperor at Shahjehani Darbar. Kaleem soon attained fame as a poet. The great Urdu poets Sauda and Mir Taqi Mir have written Tazmeens (poems formed by inserting verses from another’s poem) of his ghazals. Kaleem was assigned the task of writing a history of the Mughals, Padshah Nama or Shahnama Shaham Chugtia, in poetic form and sent to Kashmir so that he could do his work undisturbed. Hw wrote qasidas and mathnawis about every important event of his time, be it the fight of young Aurangzeb with an infuriated elephant, the famine in Deccan or his visit to a paper mill in Kashmir. He also composed a poetic chronicle sahgihannama Like Qudsi, he was a great admirer and friend of Ghani Kashmiri who wrote an elegy on his death (in 1650 C.E) in which he also remembered Qudsi and Saleem as great and noble poets. In the elegy he compared his friend to Moses ‘Kalimullah”, the pen being his miraculous rod, and gives chronograph of his death in the line: 

The Sinai of inner meaning became radiant by Kalim 

The fourth poet, another native of Iran, Mohammed Quli Saleem went to India in the reign of Shah Jahan. He joined the court of the prime minister Nawab Islam Khan. He was a man of high poetic calibre and is famous for his works ‘mathnawi-qadha-wa-qadar’ and another mathnawi in praise of Kashmir. Saleem was accused by the Iranian poet Sa’ib of plagiarising his poetry. During his stay in Kashmir he fell ill and passed away to be buried in the cemetery of the poets. 

The last poet buried in the graveyard is Tughra Mashadi. Nothing is known of Tughra’s childhood and youth, other than that he probably was born in Mashad. Tughra moved to Mughal India and the court of Jahangir towards the end of the latter’s reign. During the reign of Jahangir’s successor, Shah Jahan, Tughra joined the court of one of Shah Jahan’s sons, Murad Bakhsh, and accompanied him on the Mughal campaign in Balkh (1646). Although unsuccessful, this campaign is nonetheless commemorated by the poet as a victory in his panegyric to Murad Bakhsh, Mir’āt al-futūḥ (Mirror of victories), which appears near the end of the present collection. Tughra subsequently settled in Kashmir, where he lived in a shop at Rainawari on the banks of Nayidyar canal, where he died in solitude. Tughra composed verse in all the popular forms of Persian poetry, but he is most famous for his prose works known as risālahs (epistles) which include Risālah-ʼi Firdawsīya and Mir’āt al-futūḥ.  

Every grave in the cemetery has thousands tales to tell. Every epitaph bears signs of a glorious past. However, today the cemetery, just like our past, lies in shambles, withered and perishing.  

References: 

Waqiat-e Kashmir by Muhammad Azad Dedmari 

Tareekh-e-Hassan by GH Khuehami 

Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh by AQ Badyuni 

The Islamc literature of India by Annemarie Shimmel 

Haji Jan Muhammad Qudsi by Prof. Zia-i-Ahmad 

Fathullah Shirazi: A Sixteenth Century Indian Scientist by MA Alvi 

A Great Man: Shah Fateh Ullah Shirazi by MA Makhdum 

Encylcopedia Iranica

source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> Culture & Society / by Khawar Khan / October 06th, 2024

India’s new UNESCO site museum reveals Mughal emperor’s life, legacy

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Museums, Libraries (wef. April 16th, 2022), Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), Travel & Tourism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

  • Humayun World Heritage Site Museum in New Delhi opened for visitors on Tuesday
  • Latest addition to 16th-century tomb complex ‘brings alive 700 years of heritage’

Visitors look at artifacts at the Humayun World Heritage Site Museum — the newest addition in Humayun’s Tomb complex — in New Delhi on July 29, 2024. (AN Photo)

https://arab.news/4zpjh

New Delhi :

The second Mughal emperor Humayun was widely known as an avid reader fond of journeys, architecture, and storytelling. Almost half a millennium after his death, a new museum in the heart of New Delhi highlights his role in shaping India’s cultural heritage.


Opened for visitors on Tuesday, the Humayun World Heritage Site Museum is the newest addition in Humayun’s Tomb complex — a landmark 300-acre area in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin that features dozens of historical monuments and includes Sunder Nursery, a 16th-century heritage park.


The advent of the Mughal dynasty, which ruled the Indian subcontinent between the 16th and 19th centuries, marked the global revival of Islamic architecture, with works that until today are examples of the highest quality and refinement.


Originally from Central Asia, the Mughals carried cultural elements borrowed from Arabs, Persians and Ottomans. As they settled in India, they fused these with the various local styles found in their new domains.


Humayun was the son and successor of Babur, founder of the dynasty, and ruled the empire from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 until his death the following year.


The new museum, established by the Agha Khan Trust for Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India, traces Humayun and his descendants’ lives, as well as the 700-year-old history of the whole Nizamuddin locality and its influence on Indian culture.


“There are hundreds of stories to be told, which the stones don’t speak,” Ratish Nanda, conservation architect and projects director at the AKTC, told Arab News. “The idea is to bring alive 700 years of heritage.”


The museum is located in Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the first of the grand mausoleums that became synonymous with Mughal architectural innovations and, three generations later, culminated in the construction of India’s most iconic monument, the Taj Mahal.
About 7 million tourists from across India and abroad visit the complex every year.


“The idea is that people who now visit the World Heritage Site come with a deep understanding of the site,” Nanda said.


“We’ve been able to … combine architectural elements with incredible manuscripts, miniature paintings, calligraphy, textiles, coins, metalware, architectural elements — one is two one scale — with lots of films and digital technology, and models and so on.”


Spanning five galleries, the underground museum has over 500 artefacts sourced from the collections of the National Museum in New Delhi, ASI and AKTC.


“It captures the 700 years of history that is associated with the region of Nizamuddin and the World Heritage site of Humayun’s Tomb …This museum really captures the history,” said Ujwala Menon, AKTC conservation architect.


“The principal gallery talks about Humayun. There’s very little known about this emperor, and one of the things with this museum is to really address that … Then we have a second section of this gallery which talks about the personalities that are associated with Nizamuddin.”


Among the famed figures featured in the second gallery are Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusro.
Auliya was an 13th-century Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the Indian subcontinent. His shrine and tomb are located near Humayun’s complex.


Khusro was a 13th-century poet and scholar who remains an iconic figure in the culture of the subcontinent.


Both Auliya and Khusro lived during the period of the Delhi Sultanate, which Humayun’s father conquered, leading to its succession by the Mughal empire. The museum shows how the empire did not come to its bloom in a cultural vacuum, but drew from and incorporated the culture of its predecessors.


“There was this idea of pluralism that existed during the Mughal period,” Menon said.
“And this (museum) really captures all of that.”

source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home> World / by Sanjay Kumar / July 31st, 2024

Daria Daulat Bagh – an Incredible Painted Palace

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Martyrs of the Nation, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), Travel & Tourism

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

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

The Mughal Mapmaker and his Remarkable Hajj Maps

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Museums, Libraries (wef. April 16th, 2022), Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), World Opinion

MUGHAL INDIA :

Safi ibn Vali’s Mughal Hajj maps

The Salamat Ras departed Surat in India on the 20th September 1676, carrying hundreds of pilgrims from Gujarat. On board was Safi ibn Vali; unlike the other pilgrims, his journey was sponsored by Zib al-Nisa, daughter of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707). Along with completing his Hajj, Safi ibn Vali was given the task of creating a Hajj guidebook for future pilgrims. Presumably aimed at Indian pilgrims like himself, the ‘Anis al-Hujjaj’ (The Pilgrim’s Companion) contains advice regarding all aspects of the pilgrimage, including the journey to Jidda by sea.

His book is but one of many surviving pilgrimage guidebooks, from various parts of the Islamic world, forming a long-established tradition. They are typically accompanied by diagrammatic views of the holy sites, and Anis al-Hujjaj is no different in this respect. What sets it apart, however, is its use of colourful illustrations depicting various scenes of the pilgrimage, as well as the remarkable accuracy of its maps.

Safi ibn Vali’s Anis al-Hujjaj (‘Pilgrims’ Companion’), possibly Gujarat, India, circa 1677–80. Ink, gold and opaque watercolour on paper; modern leather binding. 3 separate folios show here side by side.  Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Copyright Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

The illustration below is a map of Jidda. Jidda was a major port for pilgrims arriving for Hajj, and is thought to have been founded by Caliph Uthman in 647 AD. Safi ibn Vali, arriving at the port himself, maps major parts of the city. Archaeologist Dr Geoffrey King examined the map and found that the vast majority of places and landmarks depicted lie in the same position today.

Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Copyright Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

The upper section of the map depicts Hawa cemetery, thought to be the burial place of Eve, the mother of humanity. While the pink markers represent other graves, the black square indicates the head side of the resting place of Eve (peace be upon her), the white square her naval, and the gravelly area her feet. In Safi ibn Vali’s time, her grave, which is more than 100 feet in length, would have been marked by some sort of edifice. It is possible that the structure that can be seen in the image below, an illustration from 1894, or one similar to it, was what he saw two centuries earlier. The structure is no longer standing; it was destroyed in 1975 and covered with concrete by Saudi religious authorities.

Illustration of the Tomb of Eve in 1894, Jidda.

The middle section of Safi ibn Vali’s map shows the old city of Jidda. When examining the area, Dr King found that everything was accurately placed; a parade of shops and houses in the old city, as well as the surrounding roads, are all found in the same position today. There is however, one surprising discrepancy; an obvious landmark was mapped by Ibn Vali on the wrong side of the road. The green-domed Shafi’i mosque is shown in the Anis al-Hujjaj on the east side of the main street, whilst today it can be found on the west side; “This confuses me- was this main street in Jidda on a different alignment when the Anis al-Hujjaj was composed, or is it a simple error?” Given the remarkable accuracy of the map in every other way, King says this discrepancy is especially puzzling. The Shafi’i mosque is the oldest mosque site in Jidda; its floor is well below street-level, a fact that, according to Dr King, indicates that it predates the Shafi’i period. The oldest standing part of the mosque today is its Ayyubid minaret, dating back to the 13th century.

Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Copyright Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

Since there is no question over the identity of the mosque depicted by Safi ibn Vali, further research needs to be conducted to reach a clear conclusion over the discrepancy. In the foreground of the Jidda map, the governor of the city is shown welcoming pilgrims. There are numerous such illustrations in Safi ibn Vali’s book, depicting various scenes of the Hajj. On the folio below, pilgrims are shown on the day of Eid al-Adha. In the top right hand corner, pilgrims in ihram throw stones at the three pillars representing shaytan, while others have their heads shaved after completing the rites of the Hajj. In the foreground, animals are being slaughtered for the Eid sacrifice.

 Safi ibn Vali also made mention of various holy places to visit that are not part of the Hajj itself. The illustration below is a typical diagrammatic view found in the tradition of Hajj guidebooks. According to the captions, the building in the upper section marks the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In Ibn Vali’s time, the blessed area was marked by a small mosque with a courtyard and dome. Today a simple library building built in the 1950’s stands over the area. Depicted beneath the upper section are the birthplaces of Lady Fatima and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may God be pleased with them both) as well as the Madrassa of Sultan Sulayman and a Sufi lodge of the Bektashi order. The clothes worn by the visitors indicate their various nationalities.

Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Copyright Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

While Safi ibn Vali’s Anis al-Hujjaj is not unique in its function, the accuracy of its map of Jidda, and possibly others, such as Surat in India and Mocha in Yemen, which are also represented, is remarkable, setting it apart from other guidebooks of the same genre. Its colourful illustrations give the viewer a sense of the energy of the pilgrimage, as well as the diversity of the pilgrims represented. Given that many of the sites Ibn Vali illustrates no longer exist in the same form, his work takes on added historical importance, preserving a past all but lost to modernity.

Bibliography 

L. York Leach, Paintings from India, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume VIII, London 1998, cat.34, pp.124–9.

J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.332–41, pp.284–7.

source: http://www.sacredfootsteps.com / SacredFootsteps.com / Home>Asia> Arabia> History / by Zara Choudhary

A forgotten page of the Freedom Struggle: the Khanpur Estate and Bara Basti villages

Freedom Fighters (under research project), Martyrs of the Nation, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022)

UTTAR PRADESH :

Ruins of Haveli of Basi Bangar, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

The history of the Khanpur Estate and Bara Basti (twelve villages) goes back to the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir when a son of a Daudzai Afghan chieftain, Sheikh Ruknuddin Afghan founded a village on the banks of Ganga and gave it the name of “Basi Bangar”.

As a valiant warrior, Ruknuddin was inducted in the Mughal army. Later, his fortunes rose to the rank of Mansabdar and the title of Sher Khan was given to him. After his death, the emperor bestowed a portion of his jagir and rank to his brother and children. Later, his younger brother, Shaikh Allu Afghan was also inducted into the Mughal aristocracy and was awarded many grants.

Resting place of Shaikh Allu Afghan founder of Khanpur estate

A village with the name of “Khanpur” was established by Shaikh Allu Afghan. During his lifetime, he built a large mud fort, mosque and other structures in this village. This is how Khanpur became the administrative headquarters of Bara Basti, the settlements of Daudzai Afghans in the area.

Ruins of Khanpur fort

Role of Erstwhile Khanpur estate in the Great Uprising of 1857

During the Mughal era, there were only few taluqdar estates in the current Bulandshahr district and these were Khanpur Chattari, Kuchesar, Pahasu and Shikarpur. When the great Uprising of 1857 broke out, there wasn’t much force at Meerut camp.

Brand Sapte wrote letters to the taluqdars of district Bulandshahr asking for assistance of troops and horses. This request was positively responded immediately. However, the Khanpur Estate decided to join the Uprising.

Nawab Walidad Khan of Malagarh came to the Doab with a sanad from Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Azim Khan alias Azam Khan was the deputy of Nawab Walidad Khan of Malagarh in the Bulandshahr district of the former United Provinces. The family owned the erstwhile Khanpur Estate in the same district.

During the Great Uprising of 1857, Nawab Walidad Khan, who was related the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar by virtue of marriage within the royal family, was chosen as a leader of this movement to overthrow the colonial government.

On 10 October 1857, British forces attacked Malagarh. Azim Khan put up a stiff resistance under the overall command of Nawab Walidad Khan at Khurja and paralysed the British for a few days. He was finally arrested by Khusi Ram, the Police Officer of Anupshahr, while trying to cross the Ganga to move into Rohilkhand. He was tried by a court martial and subsequently hanged.

Haji Munir Khan was the only son of Azim Khan, the landlord of the Khanpur estate in Bulandshahr district. Munir Khan was the chief commander of the revolutionaries of the Bulandshahr district during the Great Uprising of 1857.

In the famous second battle of Gulaothi which was fought on 29 July 1857, British forces wanted to take control of the whole of the Bulandshahr district.

To stop their advance, Nawab Walidad Khan of Malagarh deputed his main commanders, Haji Munir Khan and Ismail Khan, to Gulaothi. Both of them established a picket on the canal just before Gulaothi to stop the colonial forces from entering the Bulandshahr district. In the ensuing battle, both Haji Munir Khan and Ismail Khan received severe sword cuts on their faces. Later, Haji Munir Khan crossed the Ganga with Walidad Khan and joined Khan Bahadur Khan’s forces and fought at Kachhlaghat and also served as Naib Kotwal under government of Khan Bahadur Khan rebel government. He continued fighting until his last breath.

Abdul Latif Khan was the nephew of Azim Khan, the landlord of the Khanpur’s estate in the Bulandshahr district. Abdul Latif Khan was the second wealthiest landholder in the district and the proprietor of 225 villages, with its headquarters in the Barah Basti villages.

During the Great Uprising of 1857, the British District Magistrate of Bulanshahr called upon all the principal landholders of the district, including Abdul Latif Khan, to help him by furnishing troops to suppress the revolt. Abdul Latif Khan initially refused to help the British, but when on 4 October 1857, Bulandshahr was occupied by the British force under Lieutenant Colonel Farquhar, he paid his due balance of land revenue to the British government. But he soon shifted his allegiance to Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Mosque in Basi Bangar on the shore of river Ganga and it’s very first village of Bara Basti settlement.

Though he never came to the battlefield, Abdul Latif Khan gave shelter to the revolutionaries of Bulandshahr district including Nawul Gujjar, Raheemoddeen and the Pathans of Barah Basti villages when they were engaged in fighting the British forces. For these acts, he was tried by a military court and sentenced to transportation for life to Andamans or Kala Pani for aiding the revolt of 1857.

The family’s erstwhile Khanpur estate in Bulandshahr district was subsequently confiscated by the British after the 1857 uprising was crushed by the colonial forces.

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> News> Special Reports / by The Milli Gazette Online / by Musa Munir Khan / July 31st, 2024

Heritage walks uncover new angles of Indian history

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), Travel & Tourism, World Opinion

DELHI :

Historians and enthusiasts are taking public education into their own hands to tell the story of the country’s Muslim communities.

Chaotic narrow lanes lined with opulent old mansions, shops selling spices, dried fruits and kebabs, all overhung by dangling power cables – any trip to Old Delhi, a bustling Muslim hub built by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, is a full sensory experience.

Abu Sufyan weaves through the crowd with about 20 people in tow, making his way through streets smelling of flatbread soaked in ghee, the call to prayer at a nearby mosque mingling with the bells of a Hindu temple.

He is on a mission to change negative perceptions of Muslims by showing visitors more of their history in the capital.

“People in old Delhi were labelled as ‘terrorists’ and ‘pickpockets’ because they were predominantly Muslims from the lower economic background, and Mughal rulers were vilified as cruel invaders, as they were considered the ancestors to Indian Muslims,” Abu Sufyan, 29, says.

“My walks involve the local community members including calligraphers, pigeon racers, cooks and weavers with ancestral links in the Mughal era to showcase old Delhi’s heritage beyond these stereotypes.”

Abu Sufyan is one of a growing crop of enterprising men and women using the medium of heritage walks to educate the Indian public and tourists on the nation’s lesser-known history.

He started his walks in 2016, when hatred against Muslim communities was on the rise after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party introduced several anti-Muslim policies.

In 2015, a BJP politician urged the local civic body in Delhi to change the name of Aurangzeb Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road. The civic body immediately obliged, removing the reference to the Mughal ruler from the road by naming it after the former president of India, who was always considered a “patriotic” Muslim.

Later, the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act caused further division, as critics said it could be weaponised against Muslims, who are designated as “foreigners” under the National Register of Citizens.

Occasionally, divisions lead to violence: Thirty-six Muslims were killed in Hindu mob attacks for allegedly trading cattle or consuming beef between May 2015 and December 2018, according to Human Rights Watch.

‘A sense of belonging and togetherness’

Over 2,000 kilometres away in Chennai, documentary filmmaker Kombai S Anwar hosts walks in Triplicane to tell stories of Tamil Muslim history, Tamil Nadu’s pre-Islamic maritime trade links with West Asia, the arrival of Arab traders, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s rule, the appointment of a Mughal minister’s son Zulfikhar Ali Khan as the first Nawab of Arcot, and the lives of the subsequent nawab’s descendants.

“Predominantly, non-Muslims participate in these walks because they are ‘curious’ about local Muslims and their heritage. During [Ramadan], they are invited to the historic Nawab Walaja mosque, where they experience the breaking of fast and partake in the iftar meal,” Mr Anwar says.

Tickets for heritage walks across India range between 200 and 5,000 Indian rupees ($2-60).

Historian Narayani Gupta, who conducted heritage walks in Delhi between 1984-1997, said any controversy related to history generates more interest.

“Whether history is right or wrong or good or bad, it has to be backed by research findings,” she said

Saima Jafari, 28, a project manager at an IT firm, who has attended more than 30 heritage walks in the past five years, says it is hard to ignore the historical monuments in the city since they are almost everywhere.

Delhi-based Ms Jafari recalled one of her best experiences was a walk, in 2021, trailing the path of “Phool Waalon Ki Sair”, an annual procession of Delhi florists, who provide sheets of flowers and floral fans at the shrine of Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki and floral fans and a canopy at the ancient Hindu temple of Devi Yogmaya in Mehrauli.

“When I walked along with others in that heritage walk, I realised that heritage enthusiasts across religion walk together in harmony,” Ms Jafari says.

“One of the best parts of heritage walks is the storytelling that connects places with lives of people of a certain period. Plus, it always gives a sense of belonging and togetherness.”

Anoushka Jain, 28, a postgraduate in history and founder of heritage and research organisation Enroute Indian History, which holds walks to explore the erstwhile “kothas (brothels),” and “attariyas (terraces)” of old Delhi, said during pandemic lockdowns, posts on Instagram helped sparked interest.

“Before the pandemic, barely 40 people participated in two weekly walks as opposed to 50 in each of the four weekly walks which we conduct now,” she says.

But it is not all smooth sailing.

Ms Jain says some people feel uncomfortable when they are given historical facts and research that show Hindu and Jain temples constructed by Rajput rulers were repurposed during the rule of Delhi Sultanate, Qutb ud-Din Aibak.

Iftekhar Ahsan, 41, chief executive of Calcutta Walks and Calcutta Bungalow, adds that sometimes, participants come with preconceived notions that Muslims “destroyed” India for more 1,000 years – but walk leaders hold open conversations to “cut through the clutter” with authentic information.

For some, heritage walks often change perceptions.

“Until I visited mosques in old Delhi during a walk, I didn’t know that women were allowed inside mosques,” law student Sandhya Jain told The National.

But history enthusiast Sohail Hashmi, who started leading heritage walks in Delhi 16 years ago, cautions that some walk leaders present popular tales as historical fact.

A mansion called Khazanchi ki Haveli in old Delhi’s Dariba Kalan is presented as the Palace of the Treasurer of the Mughals by some walk leaders, Mr Hashmi says. The Mughals, however, were virtual pensioners of the Marathas – Marathi-speaking warrior group mostly from what is now the western state of Maharashtra – and later the British and had no treasures left by the time the mansion was built in the late 18th or early 19th century.

Another walk leader had photo-copied an 1850 map of Shahjahanabad, now old Delhi, passing it off as his own research, he adds.

“The walk leaders must be well-read and responsible enough to ensure that the myths are debunked,” Mr Hashmi says.

source: http://www.thenationalnews.com / The National / Home> International Edition> World> Asia / by Sonia Sarkar / June 01st, 2023

Yesterdate: This day from Calcutta’s past, June 19, 1756

Amazing Feats, First War of Independence 1857 / Naval Mutiny 1946 / Others PreIndependece (wef. July 27th, 2022), Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), , , , , , ,

BRITISH INDIA / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

On this day, Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah was at the gates of Fort William in Calcutta with an army of 50,000 soldiers, 50 cannons and 500 elephants.

Siraj-ud-Daulah / File image

On this day, Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah was at the gates of Fort William in Calcutta with an army of 50,000 soldiers, 50 cannons and 500 elephants. By that time the British had retreated to the British East India Company’s ships. John Zephaniah Holwell was in charge of the British side, which had less than 200 soldiers left at the fort. Holwell surrendered to Siraj on June 20 afternoon.

June 20, 1756, is marked by “the Black Hole Tragedy”. According to Holwell, the surrendered British were forced into a small chamber at the fort by the Nawab’s army.

More than a hundred of the prisoners died. Only 23 of them survived, Holwell’s account said. Later, commentators and historians have questioned Holwell’s account and claimed that fewer people had died.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal / by Chandrima S Bhattacharya / June 19th, 2024

Breaking Barriers: Nimrah Ali, first woman lawyer from Nawab of Arcot family tops Law University, bags dual Gold Medals in Law

Amazing Feats, Education, Education - Gold Medallists, Toppers, Merits, Achievers (wef. June 12th, 2023), Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU:

Nimrah Ali receiving Gold Medals and certificates of merit from Shri R.N. Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu on February 24, 2024

Chennai :

Nimrah Ali, wife of Hasnain Ahmed, has been honored with two prestigious Gold Medals and certificates of merit, the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University Gold Medal Award and the Justice Subbiah Ratnavel Pandian Gold Medal Award from Madras Bar Association, for achieving the 1st Rank in the 5-Year B.Com. LL.B. (Hons.) Degree course at the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University’s 13th Convocation held on February 24.

She was also awarded the P.B. Sanjana Endowment Scholarship cash prize and certificate of merit for her exceptional performance.

The above awards were presented to her by Shri R.N. Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu, in the presence of Mr. R. Venkataramani, Attorney General of India, a distinguished Constitutional Lawyer and Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, Mr. S. Regupathy, Minister of Law, Courts, Prisons, and Prevention of Corruption of Tamil Nadu amongst other distinguished dignitaries.

In addition, she cleared ICSI (Institute of Company Secretary of India) course on the first attempt.

The awards recognize her outstanding accomplishment as the top-ranked law student at the prestigious Law University School of Excellence in Law, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai.

She belongs to the illustrious Nawab of Arcot family.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards / by Radiance News Bureau / February 28th, 2024

75 years of Independence: Muslim women in India’s freedom struggle

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

INDIA:

Several Muslim women were an active part of India’s freedom struggle, some of whom emerged from Hyderabad.

The list includes Abadi Bano Begum, Bibi Amtus Salam, Begum Anis Kidwai, Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani, Baji Jamalunnisa, Hajara Beebi Ismail, Kulsum Sayani, and Syed Fakrul Hajiya Hassan.

As India celebrates 75 years of Independence the country often recalls those that were instrumental in the country’s freedom struggle. But often those who aren’t talked about enough evanesce into the archives of history.

As men who took lead roles in the movement were put behind bars, the women ensured that the movement would not die down and the country attained the freedom a vast majority of it’s residents and citizens enjoy today.

The country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, on Monday, hailed women and the part they played during the times including, Rani Laxmibai, Jhalkari Bai, Durga Bhabhi, Rani Gaidinliu and Begum Hazrat Mahal among others.

These are a few among the many names that are a part of the country’s Independence struggle. Apart from Begum Mahal, who made it to the list of the PM’s speech, today, Muslim women have made their mark in Indian history.

Abadi Bano Begum, Bibi Amtus Salam, Begum Anis Kidwai, Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani Baji Jamalunnisa, Hajara Beebi Ismail, Kulsum Sayani, and Syed Fakrul Hajiya Hassan are among those who are often forgotten or lost in public memory.

Abadi Bano Begum (Born 1852- Died 1924)

Abadi Bano Begum was the first Muslim woman who actively took part in politics and was also a part of the movement to free India from the British Raj. Abadi Bano Begum referred to by Gandhi as Bi Amma, was born in 1852, in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha.

Bi Amman was married to a senior official in the Rampur State, Abdul Ali Khan.

After the death of her husband, Bano raised her children (two daughters and five sons) on her own. Her sons, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali become leading figures of the Khilafat Movement and the Indian Independence Movement. They played an important role during the non-cooperation movement against the British Raj.

Bi Amma, despite her poor financial condition, from 1917-1921, donated Rs 10 every month to protest against the British Defense Act, after Sarojini Naidu’s arrest.

In 1917, Bano also joined the agitation to release Annie Besant and her sons, who were arrested by the British after their failed attempts to silence her home rule movement in 1917, launched alongside, Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Despite being a conservative Muslim for the most part of her life Bi Ammah was one of the most prominent faces of Muslim women in India’s freedom struggle.

To get the support of women, Mahatma Gandhi encouraged her to speak in a session of the all-Indian Muslim league, she gave a speech which left a lasting impression on the Muslims of British India.

Bano played an important role in fundraising for the khilafat movement and the Indian Independence movement.

Bibi Amtus Salam (Died 1985)

Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘adopted daughter’ from Patiala Bibi Amtus Salam was a social worker and his disciple who played an active role in combating communal violence in the wake of the partition and in the rehabilitation of refugees who came to India following the partition.

She has on several occasions risked her life by rushing to sensitive areas during the communal riots in Calcutta, Delhi and Deccan.

Bibi Salam was a Muslim inmate of the Gandhi ashram and had over time become an adopted daughter to Gandhi.

After the Noakhali riots, an article published in The Tribune on February 9, 1947, noted that Amtus Salam’s 25-day fast, which was intended to make offenders feel guilty, was one of the most significant outcomes of Gandhi and his disciples’ actions.

To protest the “negligence” of the state authorities in the effort to rescue kidnapped women and children, she sat on an indefinite fast at Dera Nawab in Bahawalpur.

Begum Hazrat Mahal (Born 1820-Died 1879)

An iconic figure of the 1857 uprising, Begum Hazrat Mahal fought against the British East India Company.

Begum, the wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the ruler of Awadh, refused to accept any favours or allowances from the British. Begum, with the aid of her commander Raja Jailal Singh, battled the British East India Company valiantly.

Muhammadi Khanum, the future Mahal, was born in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 1830. Gulam Hussain is her father. She had an early understanding of literature. The East India Company’s destruction of mosques and temples to make room for highways served as the catalyst for her uprising.

When the British East India Company invaded Awadh in 1856 and her husband, the last Nawab of Awadh, was exiled to Calcutta, the Begum made the decision to remain in Lucknow along with her son, Birjis Qadir.

On May 31, 1857, they convened in Lucknow’s Chavani neighbourhood to declare Independence and drive the British out of the city.

On July 7, 1857, Begum Hazrat Mahal proclaimed her son, Birjis Khadir, the Nawab of Awadh. She raised 1,80,000 soldiers and lavishly renovated the Lucknow fort as the Nawab’s mother.

She died there on 7 April 1879.

Begum Anis Kidwai (Born 1906- Died 1982)

Story all about freedom fighter Anis Kidwai

A politician and activist from Uttar Pradesh (UP) named Anis Kidwai devoted most of her life to serving the newly Independent India, working for peace and the rehabilitation of the victims of the terrible partition of India.

She represented the Indian National Congress (INC) in the Rajya Sabha from 1956 to 1962, serving two terms as a Member of the Parliament.

Anis Begum Kidwai remained active during the Indian National Movement. Despite gaining independence in 1947, India suffered from country division.

By then, her husband Shafi Ahmed Kidwai had been murdered by communal forces for his efforts to promote amity between Muslims and Hindus and to prevent the split of the country. She was deeply devastated by her husband’s passing.

She visited Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi following her husband’s passing as a result of this unfortunate tragedy.

In order to support and assist the women who were suffering similarly to her as a result of the country’s separation, she began working with women leaders like Subhadra Joshi, Mridula Sarabhai, and others under the direction of Mahatma Gandhi.

She also started rescue camps for the victims and supported them in all respects. They affectionately called her ‘Anis Aapa’. She penned her experiences during the division of the Nation in her book ‘Azadi Ki Chaon Mein’.

Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani (Born 1884- Died 1937)

Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani was born in 1884 in Awadh, Uttar Pradesh, and her notion of ultimate freedom was adopted by Gandhiji.

Married to Moulana Hasrat Mohani, a tenacious independence warrior and the one who gave the phrase “Inquilab Zindabad” its origin. Begum, a fierce opponent of British authority, supported the then-hardliner of the liberation struggle, Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

After his imprisonment for publishing an anti-British piece, she wrote to her husband, Hasrat Mohani, encouraging him and raising his spirits by saying, “Face the risks imposed upon you boldly. Do not give me any thought. No sign of weakness should come from you. ‘Be careful’.”

Later, when her husband was in prison, she took over the publication of his daily, Urdu-e-Mualla, and engaged in various legal disputes with the government.

Baji Jamalunnisa, Hyderabad (Born 1915- Died 2016)

Baji Jamalunnisa, who actively participated in the Telangana armed conflict, passed away in this city on July 22 2016, at the age of 101.

Jamalunnisa Baji was born in Hyderabad in 1915 and was a prominent advocate for racial peace and the independence cause.

She began reading the banned journal “nigar” and progressive literature as a young child after being raised by her parents in a liberal/progressive environment.

Despite being raised in the traditional religious traditions of the Nizam regime, a component of the British Raj, she actively participated in the nationalist movement.

She continued to participate in the independence movement despite the oppressive rule of the Nizam and the British rule over her in-laws’ objections.

Later, she met Maulana Hazrat Mohani (the man who coined the phrase “Inquilab Zindabad” and was known as “Thunder Bolt” in the Freedom struggle), who inspired her to join the anti-imperialist movement in the nation.

She provided sanctuary to freedom fighters trying to avoid being arrested by the Imperial Government while being a communist.

Despite lacking basic higher education, she was fluent in Urdu and English and founded the literary society Bazme Ehabab, which held debates in groups on socialism, communism, and unreasonable customs.

She is buried at the Hazrath Syed Ahmed Bad-e-Pah dargah in First Lancer. She was the sister of Syed Akthar Hasan, a former MLA and the founder of Payam Daily, and was better known as “Baji”.

She was a close friend and member of the Communist Party of Maqdoom Mohiuddin. Baji was also a founding member of the Progressive Writers Association and the Women’s Cooperative Society.

Hajara Beebi Ismail, Andhra Pradesh (Died 1994)

Mohammed Ismail Saheb’s wife, Hajara Beebi Ismail, was a freedom warrior from Tenali in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Mahatma Gandhi had a significant impact on the pair, who committed themselves to the Khadi campaign movement. In the Guntur district, her husband Mohammed Ismail opened the first Khaddar Store, earning him the moniker “Khaddar Ismail.”

Tenali served as the Muslim League’s headquarters during that time in the Andhra area, where it was particularly active.

Since Hajara and her husband supported Gandhi, they encountered fierce hostility from the Muslim League. Despite her husband’s repeated arrests for his involvement in the national movement, Hajara Beebi never lost spirit.

Kulsum Sayani (Born 1900- Died 1987)

On October 21, 1900, in Gujarat, Kulsum Sayani was born. She participated in the Indian National Movement and battled against social injustices.

Kulsum and her father met Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. Since then, she has travelled Gandhi’s path. Throughout the Indian National Movement, she advocated for social changes.

Dr. Jaan Mohamad Sayani, a well-known liberation fighter, was the man she wed. She participated actively in a number of events of the Indian Freedom Struggle, with her husband’s backing.

She began working with the illiterate and joined the Charkha Class. She also had a significant impact on the Indian National Congress’s “Jan Jagaran” campaigns, which raised public awareness of social ills.

Sayani’s operations included the suburbs and the metropolis of Mumbai.

Syed Fakrul Hajiya Hassan (Died 1970)

Syed Fakrul Hajiyan Hassan, who not only took part in the Indian freedom fight but also urged her children to do so. She was born into a family that immigrated to India from Iraq. She raised her kids to be freedom fighters who later gained notoriety as the “Hyderabad Hassan Brothers.”

Hajiya wed Amir Hassan, who had relocated to Hyderabad from Uttar Pradesh.

She adopted Hyderabadi culture as a result. Amir Hassan, her spouse, had a senior position in the Hyderabad government. He was required to travel to several locations as part of his employment.

She noticed the suffering of women in India while on her visits. She put a lot of effort into the growth of female children.

She lived in Hyderabad, which was governed by the British, yet she actively engaged in the National Freedom Movement since she was a lady with strong national emotions.

She burned foreign clothing at her Abid Manzil in Hyderabad’s Troop Bazaar in response to the demand of the Mahatma Gandhi. She took part in the non-cooperation and Khilafat movements.

She regarded each soldier in the Indian National Army as one of her children. Along with Smt. Sarojini Naidu, and Fhakrul Hajiya put a lot of effort into getting the heroes of Azad Hind Fouz released.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by Marziya Sharif / August 17th, 2022

The Hindu Lit Fest 2024 | Author Charu Nivedita and translator Nandini Krishnan on their new book ‘Conversations with Aurangzeb’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), ,

INDIA:

‘Conversations with Aurangzeb’ reimagines the story of the most controversial Mughal emperor

A 17th century painting of Aurangzeb in his ‘darbar’. | Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

Tamil writer Charu Nivedita’s Conversations with Aurangzeb, translated by Nandini Krishnan,is an unpredictable book. In it, a writer begins a novel with an idea but soon meets the spirit of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who decides to seize the opportunity to tell his side of the story. This is an irreverent, indignant Aurangzeb, most unlike the historical character we are familiar with.The writer and Aurangzeb speak of the past and present, of Mughals and Marxism, of satire and Sunny Leone, and a host of other contemporary subjects. Krishnan says the novel is “defiant of all genres”.

discuss the wildly imaginative book, their collaborative process, and the latest translation fad. Edited excerpts:

Author Charu Nivedita | Photo Credit: Backiaraj M.

You’ve given an unpopular historical figure a voice to defend his actions. In a country where satire is often lost on a lot of people, did you ever feel this book was a risky proposition?

Charu Nivedita: All my writing is risky because I always choose taboo topics. I have always been a misunderstood guy. In a historical perspective, Aurangzeb is also a misunderstood guy. So, I find some similarity between Aurangzeb and myself as a writer.

There are Tamil references throughout the novel. Why and how did you decide to weave these in?

CN: Even though I live in Tamil Nadu, I don’t agree with the culture here. My fellow writers don’t consider me a writer; I always feel like an outsider. Though I write in Tamil, I imagine a European, South American or an Arab readership. I mock the land in which I live. I feel sometimes that I live in a circus when I see the film industry, the paal abhishekam (a ritual of worship with milk)for the cut-outs of actors, or the happenings in the political arena. Self-mocking is important. One who is ready to parody himself or herself can do that with others.

Translator Nandini Krishnan | Photo Credit: Vinay Aravind

You have said in your translator’s note that some books are untranslatable. Why is that?

NK: I mean there are certain books that are extremely localised. For example, anyone in India who has watched Hindi films would find the line ‘Kitne aadmi the? (How many men were there?)’ funny in any context. But if you’re going to use that line with an American audience or with someone who doesn’t watch Hindi films, it would make no sense at all.

The history of Tamil cinema is as old as modern Tamil writing. There are constant references and cross-references to it in literature. Even in (Nivedita’s) Zero Degree, there is a reference to a scene from the film Chinna Gounder. Unless you get its context, it is not jarring or funny or discomfiting in any way. That’s why I felt Zero Degree was untranslatable.

There is a larger reach now of Tamil books for an English reading audience. What do you think of this translation boom?

NK: Right now, translations are sexy because Geetanjali Shree won the International Booker Prize in 2022. In the 90s, because of Vikram Seth’s enormous advance and later because of Arundhati Roy’s Booker win, Indian writing in English became sexy. This is just a fad. This has also given space to some very subpar translations because everyone is trying to get 20 books translated. We need to maintain the quality of someone like a Charu Nivedita or Ashokamitran or Perumal Murugan or Thamizhachi Thangapandian. Translations do have reach, but does the same quality of work reach an audience? I don’t know.

Also, there is a lot of focus on the writer’s story rather than the story that the writer is telling. And by that, I mean the writer’s gender, caste, their politics, and so on. Unless we go beyond these to the quality of their stories, we are in trouble.

CN: There is a translation boom. But unless there is a miracle, as in the case of Perumal Murugan or Vivek Shanbhag, one is unknown outside their own region. I am unknown outside Tamil Nadu or Kerala. There is no controversy or award because of which people might know me. This is the sad state of affairs.

radhika.s@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Litfest> Interview / by Radhika Santhanam / January 18th, 2024