Tag Archives: Alamgir Hossain

Rukaiya Sultana from a humble home in Murshidabad’s Daulatabad bags 27th rank in West Bengal Civil Services (WBCS)

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Daulatabad (Murshidabad), WEST BENGAL:

Rukaiya Sultana

Summary

Her next target, Sultana said, will be to clear the UPSC exams

Rukaiya Sultana, the daughter of a humble family from Murshidabad’s Daulatabad, has fulfilled her cherished childhood dream of becoming a public servant.

The 27-year-old woman qualified as a WBCS officer on Friday, securing 27th rank.

“I come from a poor family. My father works at a garment store and my mother is a para-teacher. Yet they have supported me throughout my academic journey. I can’t thank them enough,” Sultana told The Telegraph.

In her last attempt two years ago, Sultana could not clear the WBCS preliminary exams. However, she did not give up. She simply decided to work harder for the next time. That’s when her parents proved to be her biggest support, she added.

“I did not take admission to any coaching centre. My family couldn’t afford it. However, one of my cousins who had cracked the WBCS exams earlier is currently serving as a revenue officer. I would call her from time to time for help. She was my only guide,” Sultana said.

According to Sultana, she failed in her first attempt as she “did not prepare smartly enough”. However, this time she has secured the 27th rank and successfully completed all three steps — the preliminary, main and interview.

Her next target, Sultana said, will be to clear the UPSC exams. “I’m not stopping now,” she smiled.

It only shows how far she has come.

Sultana’s village Daulatabad, is a hamlet about 15 km away from the district headquarters in Behrampore. Since Class V, an independent-minded Sultana has been going to Kashiswari Girls’ High School in Behrampore all by herself. In both her Madhyamik and higher secondary tests, Sultana secured 85 per cent marks.

Later, she enrolled herself at the Krishnanath College in Behrampore for a BSc in chemistry and completed her post-graduate degree from Kalyani University in Nadia.

Throughout these years, Sultana never enrolled herself in any private tuition. “I knew I would not burden my parents. Their encouragement was enough,” she said.

Ruhul Hasan, Sultana’s father, earns around Rs 10,000 a month. Her mother Arjuma Khatun earns about Rs 12,000 to 13,000 every month. The cumulative amount could only provide for the family’s basic needs.

“We never had extras. We live in a two-room house and I had to arrange for the books I studied myself. I consider private tuition a luxury,” Sultana said.

Hasan could not praise his daughter enough.

“I could never admit my daughter to fancy institutions, nor am I educated enough to help her. She studied in a government school and whatever she has achieved is hers alone. I am very happy,” Hasan said.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / Telegraph Online – Edugraph / Home> Edugraph / by Alamgir Hossain / August 30th, 2023

Concern in Nawab landscape, too

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WEST BENGAL :

Families associated with erstwhile rulers of Bengal decry citizenship regimen

Syed Reza Ali Meerza / (Picture sourced by The Telegraph)
Syed Reza Ali Meerza /
(Picture sourced by The Telegraph)

Descendants and associates of the Nawabs of Bengal who decided for centuries who their subjects would be are worried about their ability to prove Indian citizenship.

Since 1717, when Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar combined the nizamat (civil administration) and diwani (revenue administration) of the Bengal subah (subdivision) to elevate Murshid Quli Khan to the post of Nawab Nazim, the Murshidabad Nawabs of the Nasiri, Afshar and the Najafi dynasties ruled — de facto or de jure — for nearly two centuries the territories of undivided Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, besides parts of Northeast and Chhattisgarh.

Syed Reza Ali Meerza, a 70-year-old grandson of Sayyid Sir Wasif Ali Meerza Khan Bahadur — the last Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad recognised by the government of Independent India — said on Friday that the direct descendants of someone who had contributed to the very presence of Murshidabad in India should not be “degraded” by having to prove their citizenship.

Meerza Khan Bahadur had played a crucial role in the return of Murshidabad to India from East Pakistan after three days from August 15, 1947. He studied at Sherborne, Rugby and the Trinity College and was a resident of 85 Park Street in Calcutta towards the end of his life.

“Even if we were to forget the entire history and legacy of the Murshidabad Nawabs till 1947, at least the role played by my grandfather to ensure the return of Murshidabad to India after Partition should be remembered,” said the septuagenarian.

The former state government employee narrated the tales of how his grandfather Meerza Khan Bahadur spearheaded the initiative to ensure the return of the key district, despite being Muslim-majority, to India after the newly adopted Parcham-e Sitarah o-Hilal, the flag of Pakistan, flew atop the Hazarduari Palace for three days. The initial Radcliffe Award had placed Murshidabad in Pakistan and Khulna in India. On August 18, the two districts were exchanged.

“Now, his descendants have to stand in line on the same land to prove they are Indian,” said Meerza.

“There was a time when we — our forefathers — used to decide who were subjects and who were not. Before the British took everything from us, our family used to rule the wealthiest and industrially the most developed place in the world,” he said.

Meerza was referring to the economy of early 18th Century proto-industrialised Bengal, with its inhabitants purportedly having among the highest living standards and real wages in the world with over 10 per cent contribution to the global GDP. “Now, we have to prove that we are Indian?”

Meerza said many members of his extended family of Najafis did not have several requisite documents owing to legal reasons and were “living in fear”. “I condemn the NRC (National Register of Citizens), the CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NPR (National Population Register) in the strongest terms,” he said.

Meerza said he had the requisite documents from the East India Company, the British Raj and the government of India, and he would not be “part of any queue” to prove he is Indian.

Other members of the extended family — who reside in the Qillah Nizamat area near Hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad — said although they had no official recognition as royals in the eyes of the state anymore, they felt demeaned even more by the prospect of being rendered stateless by the NRC.

“Our generation has not even received pension from the government, although they seized almost everything after Independence,” said Syed Mohammed Mazer Jha, who works as a nursing home employee in Murshidabad.

“Even my father did not get pension from the state. He died suddenly last year, and I am having trouble locating his papers,” he added.

Residents of the Hazarduari area said they respected members of the royal family for choosing to stay back in India. “The governments in India do not show as much respect to the descendants as groups of people in Pakistan or Bangladesh do. Still, they have stayed back,” said a resident of the area.

“The members of the royal family are by no means outsiders to this country. Rather, they have chosen not to immigrate to Pakistan or Bangladesh in spite of having lost so much property to the government of India,” said 50-year-old Mohammed Ali, a teacher at Singhi High School in Murshidabad.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> West Bengal / by Alamgir Hossain in Behrampore / January 03rd, 2020