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Contribution Of Muslims To India’s Freedom Struggle

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INDIA:

The famous writer Kushwant Singh, once wrote: “Indian Freedom is written in Muslim blood, since their participation in the freedom struggle was much more, in proportion to their small percentage of the population.”

The story and history of India’s independence are written with the blood of Muslims. According to historical references, 65% of those who stood, fought and sacrificed against the British for India’s independence were Muslim freedom fighters, the hams live reported.

A large number of people from all religions and castes took part in the freedom struggle, undoubtedly. However, the struggles of many Muslim prominent personalities who also contributed to India’s freedom and even sacrificed everything including their lives are little known. Muslims have been at the forefront to oppose the British and stood shoulder to shoulder with people from other communities while fighting against them. Getting freedom was not easy, our ancestors had to go face a lot of struggles and difficulties to get us the freedom that we are enjoying now.

The First Call To Oppose British

In the 1750s, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah was the first awakened Indian ruler, who stood his ground against the British. He lost the Battle of Plassey in 1757 due to the betrayal of Mir Jafar (Commander of Nawab’s army). With this, Siraj-ud-Daulah’s reign marks the end of the last independent rule in India and the beginning of the East India company’s rule that was unabated for the next two hundred years.

First Freedom Struggle By Muslim Rulers

The first freedom struggle against the British was started by the rulers of Mysore Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan, during the 1780s and 90s. Both used the first iron-cased rockets and cannons effectively against the British invaders.

Tipu Sultan is considered to be one of India’s first freedom fighters for his fierce fight and brave against the East India Company. He resisted the conquest of the British in southern India and was reluctant to welcome them on his soil. He was the only Indian ruler who understood the dangers that the British posed to India, and fought four wars to oust them from the country.

The Unsung Heroines Of India’s Freedom Struggle

Begum Hazrat Mahal, the unsung heroin, played a very important role in India’s war of Independence. Being a woman, she led a rebellion against the British East India Company in 1857. She shot the British ruler, Sir Henry Lawrence and defeated the British army in a conclusive Battle at Chinhat in 1857.

In the great revolt of 1857, as many as 225 Muslim women sacrificed their lives in the uprising. These unsung Muslim women freedom fighters who have sloganeered, shed blood and given their lives for the country’s independence have now been forgotten to due biases.

A majority of freedom fighters did a nameless service to the nation and one such lesser-known name was Abadi Bano Begum (Bi Amma). Bi Amma was the first woman to address a political rally wearing an abaya. She took part in National freedom struggles, Khilafat Movement and propagated Hindu-Muslim unity. Following Mahatma Gandhi’s advice, Bi Amma played an. An important role in encouraging women to take part in the freedom movement. Further, she played a pivotal role in the Swadeshi movements.

In the book, Gandhi and the Ali Brothers: Biography of a Friendship by Rakhahari Chatterji, Maulana Mohammad Jouhar says, “Suffice it to say that, although she was practically illiterate, I have, in all experience, of men of all sorts of types, come across none that I could call wiser and certainly that was more truly godly and spiritual than our mother.”

Bi Amma was also the mother of Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Shaukat Ali popularly known as the Ali Brothers whom she raised on her own after her husband died when she was young.

Amjadi Begum, the wife of Muhammad Ali Jauhar and daughter-in-law of Bi Amma, is yet another Muslim women freedom fighter. Mahatma Gandhi also dedicated an article on her titled ‘A Brave Woman‘ where he admired her as a courageous wife of a courageous man. 

At the age of 45, Asghari Begum, another forgotten Muslim woman, has also taken part in the 1857 revolt and challenged British rule in the present-day Uttar Pradesh. However, she was captured by the British in 1858 and burnt alive.

Habiba, a Muslim woman’s fought many battles against the British in Muzaffarnagar in 1857. However, she was captured and hanged along with 11 other female warriors at the age of 25.

The Great Revolt of 1857

During the Great Revolt of 1857, Hindus and Muslims under the leadership of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar tried to oust the British from India. A majority of Hindu sepoys requested Zafar to lead them in the war of Independence. Although the Revolt failed due of several reasons, Muslims have always stood on the front line to oppose the British.

Former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi during his visit to Bahadur Shah’s grave, wrote in the visitor’s book: “Although you (Bahadur Shah) do not have land in India, you have it here; your name is alive… I pay homage to the memory of the symbol and rallying point of India’s First War of Independence….”

Muslims came to India and ruled here for over 800 years but they did not steal anything from here as the British, the Dutch and the French did. By bringing plenty of knowledge in literature, architecture, judiciary, political structure, government body and management structure, which is still used in Indian management strategy, they helped India to progress into a unified and civilized nation.

Lighthouse of Rebellion

How many of us know that the organizer and leader of “First Indian freedom struggle” in 1857 was Moulavi Ahamadullah Shah. Known as the ‘Lighthouse of Rebellion’ in Awadh, he Faizabad free from British rule for almost one year, until his death at the hands of British agents on June 5, 1858.

“With being a practicing Muslim, he was also the epitome of religious unity and Ganga-Jamuna culture of Faizabad. In the revolt of 1857, royalties like Nana Sahib of Kanpur, Kunwar Singh of Arrah fought alongside Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah. Maulavi’s 22nd Infantry Regiment was commanded by Subedar Ghamandi Singh and Subedar Umrao Singh in the famous Battle of Chinhat,” according to researcher and historian Ram Shankar Tripathi.

The important role of Muslims in the uprising is the reason that the British government singled out the community for the worst revenge. From the Nawab, the King of Mysore, the last Mughal King, Princes, the landlords, the Ulemas, intellectuals, Urdu journalists, including common people, all members of the Muslim community have made great sacrifices for the freedom of India.

In the uprising of the 1857 revolt, thousands of ulema were slaughtered and the whole of Delhi was emptied of Muslims, according to excerpts from Syed Ubaidur Rahman’s book Biographical Encyclopedia of Indian Muslim Freedom Fighters. They were not even allowed to return to their homes and reclaim their properties.

First Journalist To Sacrifice His Life During The Great Revolt

Moulvi Muhammad Baqir, a scholar and activist of Indian independence activist was the first journalist to be executed following the rebellion in 1857. The editor of Urdu newspapers, Delhi Urdu Akhbar, was washed dead on 16th September 1857 for writing Nationalist articles, without even a trial.

Although India got independence on 15 August 1947, the foundation of the freedom struggle was laid before 1857. Since the time of the Revolt of 1857, which is considered to be the beginning of India’s freedom struggle, Muslim leadership has spearheaded the cause.

First Muslim To Be Hanged For Conspiring Against East India Company

At the age of 27 years, Shaheed Ashfaqulla Khan was the first Muslim to be hanged for conspiring against the British Raj. Khan was hanged to death on December 19, 1927. With this, he became a martyr and a legend among the people because of his love for the country and his unshakeable spirit.

Reshmi Rumal Tehreek (The Silk Movement)

Muslims not only took the lead in the uprising, but also stood in the front line in all other efforts to topple the British colonial regime in India.

After the revolt of 1857, the Muslim leaders changed their strategy of resistance by setting up educational institutions across the country. Reshmi Rumal Tehreek or The Silk Letter Movement (1913-1920) was an initiative by Deobandi Leaders Maulana Mahmud Hasan and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi to topple the British Empire.

However, when British intelligence learned about it, hundreds of sympathizers of the initiative were arrested and put in prison for years without any trial. The top leaders including Maulana Mahmud Hasan and half a dozen of his followers were banished to Malta after a faux trial where they faced the worst hardship.

Role of Muslims in Congress’ anti-colonial struggle

Justice Abbas Tyabji, an Indian freedom fighter from Gujarat and associate of Mahatma Gandhi, was the first Muslim president of the Indian National Congress party. Justice Tyabji is also known for leading Salt Satyagraha following Gandhi’s arrest in 1930.

Another Congress president during the colonialism was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who is one of the chief Muslim leaders of the anti-colonial nationalist movement. He became the youngest President of the Indian National Congress in 1923 at the age of 35. He faced multiple imprisonments by the colonial state.

From Justice Tayabji to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, there have been eight Muslim leaders who were in the Indian National Congress’s freedom movement. The other prominent Muslim leaders include, Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Shaukat Ali, Maulana Azad, Dr Mukhtar Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Mahmud Hasan and many others. They made every possible sacrifice for the cause of the end the colonial rule.

Frontier Gandhi

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a Pashtun independence activist who campaigned to end the rule of the British Raj in India. He founded the Khudai Khidmatgar resistance movement against British colonial rule in India. He was also known as Frontier Gandhi for his principles of non-violence and friendship with Gandhi. Khan worked towards the formation of a united, independent, secular India. 

Muslim Man Coins “Jai Hind”

The patriotic slogan “Jai Hind” was initially coined by Zain-ul Abideen Hasan, but it was adopted by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It is now used as a way of salutation throughout India. It means “Victory to India” in English.

The Creation Of the National Flag

For a majority of us, the current national flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. However, it was a Muslim Lady Surayya Tyabji, who created the flag’s final look today.

Although we have recounted several names of the Muslims who have contributed to India’s freedom struggle, there are several thousands of them who fought on the streets against the British Raj.

source: http://www.thecongnate.com / The Cognate / Home> History / by Rabia Shireen / August 15th, 2022

Muslim freedom fighters to be remembered on Republic Day

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INDIA:

Mandi Ahmedgarh :

With an intent to highlight the role of Islamic leaders in the pre-independence freedom struggle, a group of Muslim youths have decided to organise a function on the occasion of Republic Day, during which sacrifices of unsung heroes from their community would be highlighted.

Besides organising an elaborate programme after unfurling the Tricolour at the Dehliz Chowk on January 26, the enthusiasts will also install banners displaying portraits of more than 20 prominent Muslim freedom fighters at various locations.

The organisers say the gesture will motivate Muslim youths of the region to come forward and play active in nation building, irrespective of their political, social or religious allegiances.

Zeshan Haidar, the convener of the scheduled event, said youths from various Muslim organisations of the area had been roped in to work in tandem for restoring the lost glory of leaders from their community, who had made supreme sacrifices in struggle against the British Government and played a major role in getting freedom for the country.

“Unfortunately, successive governments have failed to recognise the contributions of Muslim leaders in the freedom struggle and a majority of Muslim freedom fighters and martyrs have remained unsung during functions held to celebrate national events such as Republic Day and Independence Day,” Zeshan Haidar said, adding that these names were also missing from history books.

The enthusiasts have shortlisted names of about 100 Muslim leaders of pre-Independence era and portraits of 20 from them will be displayed in the region.

Maulana Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi (grandfather of Shahi Imam Punjab Maulana Usman Ludhianvi), Zakir Husain, Begum Hazrat Mehal, Maulvi Ahmadullah, Abadi Bano Begam, Ashfaqulla Khan and Husain Ahmed Madni were cited among more prominent Muslim freedom fighters whose portraits figure on the proposed banners.

source: http://www.tribuneindia.com / The Tribune / Home> Ludhiana / by the Correspondent, The Tribune / January 24th, 2023

Remembering 4 Muslim women who fought for Indian independence

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UTTAR PRADESH / PUNJAB :

Hyderabad: 

On the occasion of 74th Independence Day, let us remember these Muslim women who proved their strength, enthusiasm and determinism in the fight for freedom.

These women broke the stereotype of Muslim women in the society, who are merely perceived to be clad in Burqha and were never let out of the house. They participated in the India’s struggle for independence and emerged victorious.

Begum Hazrat Mahal (1830–1879)

Begum Hazrat Mahal, a prominent woman of 1857 rebellion, was born in 1830 Faizabad of Uttar Pradesh. Her actual name was Muhammadi Khanum. Her father is Gulam Hussain of Faizabad. At her tender age itself, she showed good talent in literature.

She was married to Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Awadh. They were blessed with a son Mirza Birjis Khadir Bahadur. On 13 February, 1856, the British troops imprisoned Wajid Ali Shah. They sent him to Calcutta on 13 March and occupied Awadh illegitimately. This irked the people and native rulers.

They revolted against the British under the leadership of Begum Hazrat Mahal. The native rulers and people met at Chavani area of Lucknow, the capital of Awadh on 31May, 1857 and declared independence. They taught a lesson to the British troops and wiped out their power in Lucknow. Later, Begum Hazrat Mahal declared her son Birjis Khadir as the Nawab of Awadh on 7 July, 1857.

As the King’s mother, she gathered 1,80,000 troops and renovated the Lucknow fort spending huge amount of money. She established a high level committee for the good governance of the state. Hazarat Mahal ruled the state on behalf of her son for about ten months and challenged the British force by inspiring patriotism among the people and the fellow native rulers. She issued a historic statement on 31 December, 1858 challenging the proclamation issued by the Queen Victoria on November 1, 1858.

But, when Delhi, the prime center for the First War of Independence was captured, the British troops surrounded and attacked Lucknow in March 1859. There was a fierce battle between the Company troops and the Begum troops. When defeat became inevitable, Begum Hazrat Mahal retreated to the Nepal forests along with the co-revolutionary leaders like Nana Sahib Peshwa and others.

The British rulers offered her huge amount of money and luxurious facilities in order to bring her back to Lucknow. But, the Begum denied them and made it clear that nothing else was acceptable to her except Independent Awadh state. Begum Hazarath Mahal was struggling for the independence of her state till her last breath. She passed away at Khathmound of Nepal on 7 April, 1879. In 1984 Government of India released a postal stamp in her honour.

Abadi Bano Begum (1852-1924)

Abadi Bano Begum, who took active part at par with men in the Indian National Movement, was born in 1852 in Amroha village, Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh. She was married to Abdul Ali Khan of the Princely State Rampur.

Though she lost her husband at a young age, she did not remarry. She had two sons Moulana Mohammed Ali and Moulana Showkath Ali, who were famous as ‘Ali Brothers’. She nurtured her children, into becoming memorable leaders of the Indian Independence Movement. Her involvement in the freedom movement began with the Home Rule Movement, to which she rendered moral and most importantly, financial support.

When the British government detained the Ali Brothers in Chindanwad village, under the Indian Defence Regulations, she went along with them. When a police official proposed for the surrender of her sons, she bluntly refused saying, ‘If my sons agree to the proposal of the government, I will kill them by strangulation. I hope God will bestow enough energy into this old woman’s hands’. Abadi Bano met Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 for the first time.

There after Mahatma Gandhi always addressed her ‘Ammijan’, and all other freedom fighters followed Gandhi’s address. She helped Mahatma Gandhi and other Khilafath leaders financially for undertaking all India tours.

She attended the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League sessions in 1917, held at Calcutta. She spoke in those meetings emphasising that complete freedom could be achieved through unity between Hindus and Muslims.

She also played a constructive role in the Khilafat and Non[1]Cooperation Movement in 1919. She declared in several meetings that ‘it was her ambition that even the dogs and cats of her country should not be under the slavery of the British’.

The fact that the British government official records treated her as a ‘dangerous person’, which established the kind of challenge she hurled at the colonial rule.

 Apart from participating in politics she also guided several women’s organisations all over India. So intensely patriotic and nationalist that Abadi Bano Begum who played an active role in national movement without caring old age, ill health and cruel atrocities of police, breathed her last on 13 November, 1924.‹

BIBI AMATUS SALAM (1907-1985)

Bibi Amatus Salam, who strongly believed that freedom from the slavery of British could be achieved, through the Gandhian methods only, was born in 1907 in Patiala of Punjab in Rajputhana family.

Her father was Colonel Abdul Hamid and her mother Amatur Rehaman. Amatus Salam was the younger sister of six elder brothers. Her health was very delicate since her childhood. She was inspired by her eldest brother, freedom fighter Mohammad Abdur Rashid Khan.

Following the footsteps of her brother, she decided to serve the people of the country.

Amatus Salam participated in the Khadi Movement and attended the meetings of the Indian National Movement along with her brother. She was attracted towards the Non[1]Violence theory of Mahathma Gandhi and Sevagram Ashram.

She decided to join Sevagram Ashram, and went there in 1931. She joined Ashram and followed the strict principles of the Ashram. With her selfless service she became very close to Gandhi couple.

They considered Amatus Salam as their beloved daughter. During the Indian National Movement, she went to jail along with other women in 1932 despite her illness with the permission of Gandhi.

After being released from Jail, she reached Sevagram and took over the responsibilities as Personal Assistant of Gandhi. She said that besides achieving independence, harmony between the Hindus and Muslims, Welfare of the Harijans and Women were her life ambitions. When communal riots erupted, she toured North-West Frontier, Sindh and Noukhali areas as an ambassador of Gandhi.

She held Satyagraha for 20 days to normalize the situation in those areas. After Independence, she rededicated herself to the Public Service. She published an Urdu Magazine called ‘Hindustan’ to promote national integration and communal harmony. When Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan toured in India in 1961, she travelled with him as his personal assistant. When India was at war with

China in 1962 and with Pakistan in 1965, she took all the pains in reaching the mountains or war area along with her adopted son Sunil Kumar to encourage our soldiers and to serve them. Bibi Amatus Salam, who spent all her life following the Gandhian ideology, breathed her last on 29 October, 1985.‹

HAJARA BEGUM (1910-2003)

Hajara Begum, who fought against the British to liberate the Nation and worked for the welfare of the toiling masses of the country, was born on 22 December, 1910 at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. She came to know about the sacrifices of the freedom fighters who were fighting against the British from her father, who was a police officer.

After the failure of her marriage, she went to London to pursue her higher education, where she got acquainted with the anti-British forces. This led her to decide to fight against the British Imperialist forces to liberate the nation. She had to face the anger of the British Government as she was criticizing their acts in several International fora.

She returned to India and joined as a lecturer in the Karamat Hussain women’s College at Lucknow in 1935.

She also worked along with famous poet Sajjad Zahir in the formation of All India Progressive Writers’ Association.

She got married to a nationalist leader Dr. Zainul Abedeen Ahmed in 1935 and in the same year both of them took membership in the Indian National Congress. Since the police were after them for their anti-British activities, they resigned their jobs and dedicated themselves totally to the Indian National Movement.

While participating in the activities of the Indian National Congress, Hajara Begum also campaigned for the Communist Party without the knowledge of the Police. She actively took part in the election campaign in those days, and as a result of this a number of Congress leaders could get elected. She attended a secret political workshop at Kotthapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in 1937.

 She spoke on different subjects in the workshop as a lecturer. Hajara Begum was against the gender bias since her younger age. She fought against all types of inequalities successfully. She left the Indian National Congress in 1940 along with her husband. Since then, she played a vital role in organizing the unorganized labour sector.

She became very popular as ‘Hajara Aapa’ in the circles of toiling people and women. The Soviet Union honoured her with ‘Supreme Soviet Jubilee Award’ in 1960 in recognition of her work for the downtrodden people on the eve of the birth centenary of Lenin. Hajara Begum, who spent her entire life in the service of the country, breathed her last on 20 January, 2003.

Syed Naseer Ahamed can be contacted at Phone: +91 94402 41727

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by Nihad Ahmed / Input by Syed Naseer Ahmed / August 15th, 2020

‘Ulema’s Role in India’s Freedom Movements’: An Academic Bid to Stop Saffron Eraser in its Tracks

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NEW DELHI :

UlemasRole01MPOs13nov2019

New Delhi :

Amidst well-organized and power-backed attempts to erase M-word from the history of India’s freedom movement, has come out a humble academic bid to preserve in black and white the key role of Ulema or Muslim clerics in the ‘bloody’ freedom struggle spreading over around one century. Written by a young writer Syed Ubaidur Rahman, who is just 44, the book ‘Ulema’s Role in India’s Freedom Movements: With focus on Silk Letter Movement (Reshmi Rumal Tehrik) captures Ulema’s sacrifices in the Mutiny of 1857 and 1858, Faraizi Movement and Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi’s movement besides mainly focusing on the Silk Letter Movement as the title declares.

“The word ‘Ulema’ has become a rather very misunderstood term in the present day Indian society. Like everything Muslim, a conscious effort has been made to malign and ridicule the Muslim clergy…Over the last few centuries, the Muslim scholars have contributed immensely in seeing to it that the nation remains a single, united and cohesive unit and have made significant contributions to this end,” writes the author in the introduction of the book.

While admitting that “Ulema’s role in the society has considerably shrunk over the last several centuries,” he says that Ulema “used to have a very important place in the Indian society during Muslim rule in the country and even after the dismantling of the Mughal empire…over the centuries, on many occasions, they have led not just on spiritual front but on temporal front as well.”

“Every time in the past, when the country found itself in challenging situations, they stepped in and tried to play a much bigger role than what is usually anticipated from them. This was seen during different phases of freedom movements beginning with the first war of independence of 1857,” writes Rahman, a journalist by career who has penned several books in the last one decade, besides regularly writing articles and columns for various periodicals.

The 280-page book deals with different phases of India’s freedom struggle “with special focus on Silken Letter Conspiracy, better known as the Reshmi Rumal Tehrik.”

Highlighting the need and relevance of the book, the author says: “Not much has been written on Reshmi Rumal Tehrik or the people behind it and thus it remains shrouded in mystery. The book also discusses at length the Mutiny of 1857 and 1858, Faraizi Movement that was anti-colonial movement launched and sustained by Islamic scholars, besides Tehrik-e-Jihad of Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi in North Western Frontiers and Kashmir.”

The author says: “Despite the slide of the Muslim empire and the subsequent dismemberment, first between Muslim nawabs in the North, Deccan and South India, and later the annexation of these territories by the East India Company, Muslim scholars remained instrumental in trying to keep the Muslim empire intact. They were at the forefront in trying to stop the slide, and in posing challenges, first against those who fought the Mughals and later against the British East India Company. Shah Waliullah, the legendary Islamic scholar and reformist, did everything to stop the Mughal Empire from going to dogs. But, when despite all his efforts nothing happened, he sent a later to Ahmad Shah Abdali and also to Nawab of Oudh and Hafiz Rahmat Khan, the shrewd Ruhella chieftain. The rest is history.”

Deliberating on the core topic of the book, that is the role of Ulema in India’s freedom movement, the author writes: “Muslim ulema’s role was not limited to merely giving advice to the rulers and then become mute spectators of what was taking place. On the contrary, when they realized that there was no one coming forward to lead the masses, they took up leadership role, and fought off the invaders. From Bengal to Balakot and from Delhi to Lucknow, Muslim ulema played prominent roles in all the uprisings against the British (mis)rule. Be it Faraizi Movement, first war of independence of 1857 or the Reshmi Rumal Tehrik, they were instrumental and took leadership role. During the Mutiny of 1857, ulema were at the forefront and paid heavy price for their leadership role.”

UlemasRole02MPOs13nov2019

The book highlights the contributions of some Ulema during the Mutiny of 1857 and subsequent fights.

The author says: Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah was one of the most prominent leaders of the entire freedom movement, who led on many war fronts and collaborated with all other renowned freedom fighters. Despite being among the most prominent leaders of the 1857 Mutiny, Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah remains a rather unknown figure in the country. He was a stalwart, a shrewd military planner, a great scholar of Islamic sciences and above all a unifier beyond any iota of doubt. He allied with almost all the leading actors of the 1857 revolution, be it Tantia Topi, Nana Sahib, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Bakht Khan Ruhilla, Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla of Bareilly or any other freedom fighter of repute. It is an irony that despite his military successes against the British East India Company in 1857 from Lucknow to Bareilly and Shahjahanpur, his name is not even mentioned. His military planning unnerved the colonial rulers and his bravery won praise from the British generals like George Bruce Malleson and Thomas Seaton.

Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki was another alim of repute, known for his personal piety, scholarship, courage and military exploits during the Mutiny of 1857. A father figure among ulema of his time, his most renowned disciples include Maulana Qasim Nanotwi and Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi who not just fought alongside him in Thana Bhawan and Shamli but later went on to launch Darul Ulum Deoband. Maulvi Liaqat Ali, another alim was behind the uprising in Allahabad and evicting the East India Company out of the major North Indian town. It was his personal charisma and shrewd military planning that first brought together the mutineers and later successfully beat back the Company forces. Many more ulema played prominent roles during the uprising and paid dearly when the Company came back with a vengeance. Tens of thousands of ulema were hanged to death. Even those ulema who had nothing to do with the Mutiny were implicated, jailed, sent to kalapani and unceremoniously killed. However, this dance macabre didn’t stop them from taking to the same means to defeat the colonial rulers later.

Silk Letter Movement

The author says: “Reshmi Rumal Tehrik is a freedom movement that remains largely unknown. Not much has been written on it and both its top leaders, Mahmud Hasan and Ubaidullah Sindhi, despite their stellar roles and sacrifices, remain rather unknown. While Shaikhul Hind spent three years in trying circumstances in Malta, Ubaidullah Sindhi spent more than three decades in exile, first in Afghanistan and then in Turkey and Hejaz.” 

Silk Letter Movement, known more widely as the Reshmi Rumal Tehrik, was launched by ulema of Deoband, particularly Mahmud Hasan and his renowned disciple Ubaidullah Sindhi, who later went on to become the Home Minister in the first provisional government established in Kabul. Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was its President and Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali was its Prime Minister. The Reshmi Rumal Tehrik had a two-fold objective, one to incite the tribal people in North Western Frontier region and then forging alliance with other world powers including Afghanistan, Turkey and Germany. While Mahmud Hasan headed to Hijaz to seek help from Turkish officials, Ubaidullah Sindhi went to Kabul to forge alliance with Afghan amir. Both were very successful in their planning, but while Mahmud Hasan was still in Hijaz, Ottomans suffered heavy reverses against Sharif of Mecca who was being propped by Britain. At the same time, the entire planning of Ubaidullah Sindhi was discovered when the Silken Letters, sent by him to Mahmud Hasan were unearthed by the British CID. Hundreds of their supporters across Punjab, United Provinces and Delhi were arrested by British police.

In the introduction of the book, author Rahman says: “The pages that follow unravel a history that has been often suppressed and not much has been written on it. To many people, this side of the history may seem rather bewildering as I examine it and try to make sense as to what happened in our part of the world and how those brave men, despite the failure of 1857 mutiny rose repeatedly to defy the British Raj.”

How Important Is This Book when saffron eraser is moving fast on the canvas of freedom history of India?

Talking to India Tomorrow, the author responded to the question: “History needs to be preserved. It is the responsibility of the people, communities and the nations to preserve their histories and present right perspectives to what happened in the past. Indian Muslims have done precious little when it comes to presenting their perspective in right context. On the contrary, the Sangh Parivar, bent upon distorting the history of the last few centuries, has made strides in this field. Despite the fact they were never part of the freedom movement, they have claimed an important role for them, and have tried to co-opt major historic figures as part of their narrative. This began with Patel. Now they are trying to claim Gandhi and Ambedkar as their own, despite both being fiercely opposed to their ideology of hate. On the contrary, the Muslims have ignored this part completely. Hope this book serves its purpose and creates awareness among masses about what Muslim scholars and ulama did for the nation in the freedom struggle.”

The book has come out at a time when the BJP government in Karnataka has decided to scrap the state’s official celebrations around Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary. Going one step ahead, the government announced to remove the lesson on the 18th century Mysore ruler from school history books.

Author Syed Obaidur Rahman
Author Syed Obaidur Rahman

Given the communal hatred widening the gulf between Hindus and Muslims, the author wants the book reaches the masses.

“While this is of paramount importance to render this book in Hindi and other vernacular languages, this seems a hard nut to crack due to want of resources. God willing, I would definitely like to bring it in Urdu, Hindi and other regional languages,” says Rahman who has several other books to his credit, including Muslim Freedom Fighters: Contribution of Indian Muslims in the Freedom Movement, Understanding Muslim Leadership in India and Muslim Mujahideen e Aazadi, aur Tehrik e Azadi mein unki khidmaat (Urdu).

Book: Ulema’s Role in India’s Freedom Movements: With focus on the Silk Letter Movement (RESHMI RUMAL TEHRIK)

Author: Syed Ubaidur Rahman   /  Price: Rs 595  /  Pages: 280

Publisher: Global Media Publications  /  D-204, 4th Floor, Abul Fazl Enclave, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025

Email: syedurahman@gmail.com, gmpublication@gmail.com / Contact: 9818327757

source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home / by Mumtaz Alam, India Tomorrow / November 11th, 2019

The Indomitable Begum Hazrat Mahal -1820–1879

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

BegumHazratMahal01July222019

Begum Hazrat Mahal was the last of the official queens of the kingdom of Avadh, or “Oudh” as known to the British imperialists, a large province in northern India.

BegumHazratMahal02July222019

While the details of her birth and family are unclear, it is certain that Begum Hazrat Mahal was not of royal lineage. She is believed to have been a courtesan in the court of the last king of Avadh, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, starting as a dancing girl named “Mahak-Pari” or fragrant fairy. The Nawab, besotted with the young girl, married her by means of the Shiite tradition of “mutah” marriage or “temporary marriage of pleasure.” It was a convenient method by which the Nawabs could add to their harems, and not technically stray from their marriages.

Mahak-Pari, as she was initially known, gave birth to a male child named Mirza Birgis Qadr Bahadur, and was elevated to the title of Hazrat Mahal Saheba, commonly known as Begum Hazrat Mahal. Transforming from a courtesan—a Pari (fairy)—to a Mahal (a royal queen) was rare, and the good fortune of bearing a male child combined with the right maneuvers in harem politics likely helped the young woman.

In 1856, the administrators of the East India Company annexed the kingdom of Avadh, by means of the infamous Doctrine of Lapse. The British coveted this territory as a great resource for cotton and indigo, and appalled by the debauchery of the Avadh court and its gross mismanagement of revenue, preferred to govern the region directly with a more “conventional” administration.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta, and the unhappy king left with a few of his wives, and without most of his large harem, including his “secondary” wives. Begum Hazrat Mahal did not accompany the deposed king, continuing to reside in Lucknow with her young son.

When the Mutiny of 1857 broke out, Avadh was one of the major areas of rebellion as several recruits of the army were from Avadh. People were unhappy about the annexation, the deposition of their king, and the religious insensitivity of the British. The rebels needed a leader to further their cause.

Begum Hazrat Mahal rose to the occasion to help the rebels defend Lucknow against the British troops. To the surprise of her adversaries, she reorganized the army with better co-ordination between the three units of the cavalry, artillery, and infantry. Many times, she rode at the head of the army on an elephant to encourage the soldiers against the advancing British troops.

As in other places, the Indian rebels could not hold out for long against the larger number of British troops, and the queen’s advisors asked the Begum to leave Lucknow in March 1858. She fled to the countryside, continuing her hostilities against the British by issuing orders while in hiding.

On November 1, 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation whose intent was to end the Mutiny, pacify the religious sentiments of the Indians, and formally transfer control of the British territories in India from the East India Company to the British Crown. Begum Hazrat Mahal issued a counter-proclamation in which she argued against every claim of Queen Victoria.

The Begum reminded the Indians that several previous treaties had been violated, that princely heads had either been pensioned or killed, and property worth millions of rupees seized. If the British intent was honorable, why did the British Queen not “restore our country to us when our people wish it?” asked the bold and shrewd Begum. She questioned Queen Victoria’s claim to religious non-interference:

“…to destroy Hindoo and Mussulman temples on pretence of making roads to build churches—to send clergymen into streets and alleys to preach the Christian religion—to institute English schools, and to pay a monthly stipend for learning the English sciences, while the places of worship of Hindoos and Mussulmans are to this day entirely neglected; with all this how can the people believe that religion will not be interfered with?”

Begum Hazrat Mahal forewarned the Indians that their future prospects appeared limited under British rule. “It is worthy of a little reflection, that they have promised no better employment for Hindoostanees than making roads and digging canals.” The Begum’s words were rather prophetic. For decades after 1857, Indians pushed files under British bureaucracy and worked as laborers for the British government in India and overseas.

Begum Hazrat Mahal eventually sought asylum in the kingdom of Nepal, where she lived for the rest of her life. The British administration initially negotiated with her, assuring her a safe return and the possibility of a pension. The Begum, distrusting the British, refused—most likely because British retribution in the immediate aftermath of the rebellion was extremely harsh. While both Hindu and Muslim rebels were ruthlessly punished, there was fear that the Muslims would rise against the British (and Christian power) because it was a hitherto Muslim power that was being displaced, and the repercussions in former-Muslim strongholds such as Lucknow and Delhi were particularly extreme. After their initial negotiations failed, the British labeled the Begum as a woman of “savage disposition.”

BegumHazratMahal03July222019

Begum Hazrat Mahal has remained a relatively minor figure in Indian history. Her legacy and her heirs were inadequately honored in the centenary celebrations of the Mutiny held at Lucknow post-Indian independence. Her great-grandsons protested against this oversight by the Indian government, which led Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to order an inquiry into her place of burial. Her grave was discovered near Kathmandu, Nepal, in very poor condition. At this point, a park in Lucknow was named after her to commemorate her memory—this park has very recently been renamed—and later a postage stamp was issued in her honor.

Begum Hazrat Mahal’s legacy was diminished in the changed landscape of India post-1857. Her humble beginnings as a courtesan made her an inadequate role model.

The courtesans at the zenith of Lucknow’s court were no petty “nautch-girls” as described by the Victorian sensibilities of the colonists. They were sophisticated women, well versed in the arts of dance, music, and poetry. Their association with the courts made them extremely wealthy and nineteenth-century British records indicate that they were in the highest income-tax bracket before 1857. While the British derided the courtesans, and the culture they espoused, they did not hesitate to tax them on their “ill-earned” wealth. During the Mutiny, the courtesans monetarily supported the rebels, and their homes became rebel hideouts and secret meeting-venues.

Yet, this courtesan culture, the associated decadence and  “debauchery” became a source of embarrassment for late-nineteenth-century Indian nationalists, social reformers, and the emerging middle-class English-educated “elite.” Indian nationalists believed that it was decadence and indolence that had helped the British uproot power in the princely states. A strong, respectable people hoping for self-rule needed to identify with respectable women and men, and a former courtesan-turned-warrior-queen did not fit this idealized image.

A strong and resolute woman, the Begum never gave in to the British, while her husband—a good man and an artist at heart, but weak in resolution—continued to live off the generous pension he received, always short of money, and therefore always acquiescing to the British.

Postage Samp of Hazrat Mahal. www.kamat.com
Postage Samp of Hazrat Mahal. www.kamat.com

Several years after the Mutiny, a British painter visited Begum Hazrat Mahal, in Kathmandu, to paint a portrait of her son, Birgis Qadr. As he worked on his task, the painter ventured to ask her whether she would consider returning to Lucknow. Given the fact that much time had elapsed since 1857, the British regime was willing to forgive her and pay her a pension. Her residence in India would be proof of the British paternalistic spirit of forgiveness. Their condition, however, was that she would not be allowed a lavish lifestyle with a large retinue of servants. Perhaps, surprised by, or suspicious of the offer, but more likely annoyed at the continued interference in her life, the Begum refused the gesture, stating, with true Avadhi andaaz (style) “of what use will be the salary, if I am not to spend it upon the servants?”

Begum Hazrat Mahal was buried in a simple grave in the grounds of a mosque she built. Ironically she named it Hindustani Masjid, after the beloved homeland she had left behind, for whose sovereignty she had fought, and in which she has largely been forgotten.

Aarti Johri is a tech-professional turned history buff. This is an extract from her thesis for the Stanford MLA degree. Her articles have been published in the San Jose Mercury News, Stanford’s Tangents Magazine, and others. She serves on the board of SACHI (Society for the Art and Cultural Heritage of India).

source: http://www.indiacurrents.com  / India Currents / Home> Features, General / by Aarti Johri / June 11th, 2016

The forgotten women of 1857 Azizun Bai, Asghari Begum, Habiba

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), , , , , , , , ,

UTTAR PRADESH :

Not just Begum Hazrat Mahal and Rani Lakshmibai but dozens of women participated in active fighting against the British. Their stories are largely unrecorded.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

The primary cause of the Revolt was the annexation of Awadh by the British on the pretext of maladministration by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. When the Revolt began, Begum Hazrat Mahal led her followers against the British while she ruled Awadh as regent. The longest resistance to the British was given by the Begum. She commanded the largest army of rebels in the Revolt, and rejected three offers of truce by the British, who even offered to return the kingdom to her husband under British suzerainty. She continued to fight for complete independence for as long as she could. When the British came out on top in the Revolt, she found asylum in Nepal, where she died in 1879.

Azizun Bai

But perhaps one of the most fascinating stories is that of the courtesan Azizun Bai of Kanpur. Kanpur saw fierce battles between the forces of Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope against the British.

Colonial and Indian historians have mentioned Azizun’s role during the battles of Kanpur. She had personally nothing to gain and no personal grudges, unlike many of the other women who had joined in the uprising. She was simply inspired by Nana Sahib.

Her memory is still alive among the people of Kanpur. She dressed in male attire like Lakshmibai and rode on horseback with the soldiers, armed with a brace of pistols. She was part of the procession the day the flag was raised in Kanpur to celebrate the initial victory of Nana Sahib.

Lata Singh writes in her article “Making the ‘Margin’ Visible” that Azizun was a favourite among the sepoys of the 2nd cavalry posted in Kanpur, and was particularly close to one of the soldiers, Shamsuddin. Her house was a meeting point of the sepoys. She also formed a group of women, who went around fearlessly cheering the men in arms, attended to their wounds, and distributed arms and ammunition. She made one of the gun batteries her headquarters for this work. During the entire period of the siege of Kanpur, she was with the soldiers, who she considered her friends, and she was always armed with pistols herself.

Asghari Begum

Not much is known about Asghari Begum. According to some sources, she was born in 1811, and was around 45 years old at the time of the Revolt. She is said to have played an important role in fighting the British in present day western Uttar Pradesh. She was eventually captured by the British in 1858, and supposedly burned alive.

Habiba

A woman called Habiba, supposedly from a Muslim Gujjar family, fought in several battles against the British in the Muzaffarnagar area. When the British won, she was hanged along with 11 other female rebels. She was supposedly only 25 years old at the time.

Other names of women of the Revolt are Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Rani Avantibai Lodhi of Ramgarh, Rani Jindan Kaur, Jhalkaribai, Uda Devi, Asha Devi, Bakhtavari, Bhagwati Devi Tyagi, Indra Kaur, Jamila Khan, Man Kaur, Rahimi, Raj Kaur, Shobha Devi, Umda. Some of these are only names, and not much else is known about them. Sadly, not much has been written about these other brave freedom fighters of 1857 and resources on them are scarce. One such resource is Shamsul Islam’s article ‘Hindu-Muslim Unity: Participation of Common People and Women in India’s First War Of Independence,’ which mentions the names of many women who are today only relegated to the pages of the 1857 records.

It is time India remembered, and saluted, these brave women.

Complied from pieces written by Bhaskar Chawla in vagabomb.com and Rana Safvi in thewire.in

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> Online News> Family & Kids / Online published – October 31st, 2016 and – Print issue: October 16-31, 2016

Fatima and Fatima

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Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Two remarkable women from the family of Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Awadh, are reviving his culinary tradition in Calcutta, the city where he famously introduced potatoes into the biryani!

Last king of Awadh,Wajed Ali Shah,Manzilat Fatima

Manzilat Fatima is a descendent of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh who spent 29 years in exile in Metiayaburj, a Calcutta suburb. She launched a pop-up restaurant of Awadhi cuisine in 2014 and a home dining service, Manzilat’s, in 2018 in Calcutta. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)

What do you do you do if a goose is plump beyond reason, won’t lay eggs and needs too much feed? Cook it, I guess. And that’s what the British Crown did to Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Awadh, who ascended the throne as a 25-year-old in 1847 and was dethroned nine years later in 1856, a year before the first war of Indian Independence broke out.

The British said this was done because he lived and ate like a king and did little else, thus overlooking his military reforms, his attempts at administration which the East India Company did its best to thwart, and his immense popularity with his subjects.

Packed off to Metiyaburj, about four miles south of Calcutta, the ousted king was joined by his prime minister, some of his wives, musicians and officials. His chefs attended to this displaced court as best as they could. They prepared their master’s banquets with the lavishness of his days as monarch, so that when he sat for his meals, he would remember Lucknow as his great romance and not the painful reality of its passing.

If five kilogrammes of lamb mince was used to make a single kofta when he had been the king, they were not going to scale down, when he was no longer one.

Wajid Ali shah during his days in exile in Metiyaburj, a Calcutta suburb, wearing his trademark kurta with part of his chest exposed. His descendants say it was an expression of his heart being open to his subjects. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

But how do you claim, centuries later, that one of India’s most famous ex-royal is your old man and that you are the sole inheritor of the royal cuisine he helped found? Wajid Ali Shah’s descendants Manzilat Fatima, 51, and Fatima Mirza, 45, of Calcutta are doing that, courtesy the documents of political pensions of their families on the one hand, and by cooking his food, on the other. Team Manzilat and Team Fatima, both say they are the real thing.

***

Family recipes are a cook’s real estate. Wajid Ali Shah’s descendants face the problem of plenty. At the time of his death, the king had 250 wives and 42 children so no ‘family recipe’ matches the other. The British also made sure that after the king’s death in 1887, his days in exile would go undocumented.

On Fatima Mirza’s table: Kachhe Tikia ke Kebab, Mutton biryani, Nargisi Kofta. Mirza is a great-great grandchild of the last king of Awadh. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

“His successors and his subjects were left with nothing,” says Wasif Hussain, the manager of the king’s mausoleum in Metiyaburj. “I’ve heard that in Chartwell House [the country home of a former British premier, Winston Churchill], his kitchen with its tea-kettle, his flour bin, the utensil rack and the weighing machine have been left intact…. It’s a museum….”

A law graduate, Manzilat Fatima, is from the ‘ruling line’. Her father, Kaukub Meerza, a former Reader of the Aligarh Muslim University, is the grandson of Birjis Qadr, the son of Begum Hazrat Mahal and Wajid Ali Shah. Birjis was crowned king by Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar during 1857 as Wajid Ali Shah was by then in Calcutta. Birjis met his death in 1893 after dinner at a relative’s home in Metiyaburj.

This was not the first time that poisoning had killed an Awadhi royal, Sudipta Mitra, author of Pearl by the River, a book on Wajid Ali Shah’s exile, points out. Royal biographies mention a consort sending the king paan as a token of her love during their better days and the king not putting it past her to lace its leaves with poison when those days were over.

The murder of Birjis and its memory have stayed with the family for over 120 years. It has seeped into Manzilat’s remembrances of her childhood home (“My paternal grandmother would always check the food before it was served to family members”), and explains her impatience with ‘proof’-seekers. Ever since she launched a pop-up restaurant of Awadhi cuisine in 2014 and a home dining service, Manzilat’s, in 2018 in Calcutta, there are some set questions she has had to answer.

“ ‘Do I have monogrammed table-mats from Wajid Ali’s time?’ ‘Did I inherit a recipe book?’ No, I didn’t! Birjis’ murder snapped our links with the other branches of the family. His wife escaped from Metiyaburj to Calcutta…. And besides, my great-great-grandmother, Hazrat Mahal, was a queen who was fighting the British, not writing cookbooks. For a while, I made this my FB status,” says Manzilat cheekily while adding finishing touches to an order of Ghutwaan Kebab (made of mashed meat marinated with papaya) that a delivery man from Swiggy is waiting for her to complete, besides the mandatory biryani.

Manzilat makes a good mutton biryani, but with mustard oil to keep it non-greasy and light; Fatima Mirza, a school principal (she is of the line of Wajid Ali Shah’s principal consort, Khas Mahal) and her husband Shahanshah Mirza (his father Wasif Mirza is another great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah) consider the leaving out of ghee an overturning of the “basic biryani rule-book”. Both families, however, have more in common than they think.

While Manzilat’s cooking displays her control in colour, sense of proportion and spicing so integral to Awadhi cooking, Fatima, too, has considerable domain knowledge. Since 2018, she has been working on a cookbook penning family recipes such as the Kachhe Tikia ke Kebab.

“This is the only Awadhi kebab in which sattu is added and it was a Wajid Ali Shah favourite,” she says. “To neutralise the heat of meat and to make it easily digestible, hakeems advised chefs to add sattu (ground Bengal gram) as the king aged. The trend seems to have been to keep things light and fragrant.”

 

Shahanshah Mirza, another descendant of Wajid Ali Shah, with a family heirloom – a ceramic bowl. Such bowls were common in royal households. Their contents were checked by food inspectors before they were placed before the nawab. They had a special coating which would ‘crack’ if the food had poison, says Mirza. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

Shahanshah Mirza, a government official and heritage enthusiast, elaborates on the difference between Awadhi and Mughlai cuisine. “Unlike Mughlai, ours has no overdose of mace or cardamom or dry fruits. We say about Urdu, Urdu aap ke zubaan pe hamla nahin karta hai, speaking it, does no assault to your tongue… Likewise, Awadhi food plays on understatement. It is big on presentation though.” Any aspiration to cheffy-ness of the standard of the former royal house of Awadh has to get the food styling right.

Wajid Ali’s descendants also make great allowances for a master chef’s ego. It was not uncommon in the heyday of the king to have his chefs refuse to cook for any other branch of the family. Some of the chefs even announced during the time of seeking employment that they were not going to expand their expertise! That is, the maker of dal would remain a dal specialist throughout his life. A biryani cook would touch nothing else.

***

The Sibtainabad Imambara, the mausoleum of Wajid Ali Shah and his son Birjis Qadr at Metiayaburj. Birjid was declared king in the absence of his father by the sepoys during 1857 and his kingship was acknowledged by the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

In Metiyaburj, Guddu, a grandson of Puttan, a descendant of one of Wajid Ali Shah’s great chefs, drops by at the Shahi Imambara, for a chat. He talks of a dish that has the sound of one made in Awadh’s hoary past. There are few “with the stomach and liver of Wajid Ali Shah” to digest dishes like a meat mutanjan (a rice dish) now, Guddu says. But Nawabi biryani, and yes, with the potato, is everywhere.

Do kings thus prepare the future food of the people? The rich trying out the pleasures that the masses will eventually grasp is something historian Fernand Braudel has elaborated upon in his works. Rows of biryani shops of various prices line the road on either side of the king’s mausoleum. “Jameson Inn, a branch of Shiraz [an old Calcutta eatery], began to make a Murgh Hazrat Mahal in 2011,” informs Hussain, the Imambara manager. But there is a piece of information doing the rounds he would like to correct.

“The potato was added to the biryani because of its exotic value. It was a new vegetable in the market introduced by the Portuguese,” says Hussain. Both Fatimas back this view. According to Abdul Halim Sharar’s Guzishta Lucknow, considered to be the go-to book for any information on Wajid Ali Shah’s exile, the king spent Rs 24,000 on a pair of silk-winged pigeons, Rs 11,000 on a pair of white peacocks and approximately Rs 9,000 a month on food for some animals in his zoo in Metiyaburj.

“If a man could afford so much, he could certainly add more meat to his biryani and not bulk it up with potatoes,” suggests Fatima Mirza. The king would presumably also not risk his social prestige. At the evening concerts in the then resplendent Sultan Khana that had all the splendour of his palaces in Lucknow, when the Calcutta elite would visit, with thumri, there was biryani and it had potatoes. Surely Wajid Ali Shah would not have a dish served that had hard times written all over it.

(L-R) Mohammad Sulaiman Qadr Meerza with his grandfather, Kaukab Meerza, the great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal, and his father, Kamran Meerza. ( Arijit Sen/HT Photo )

******

Mohammad Sulaiman Qadr Meerza, 9, in a yellow tee and jeans is following the discussion on food and music, and the Awadh royal family closely. When he was six, his father Kamran (Manzilat’s brother), a businessman, disclosed his antecedents. He told his friends in between classes at school that he belonged to a royal family.

His friends asked: “Which one?” Sulaiman said he was the fifth generation of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal. They did not believe him.

Next year, when he is 10, Sulaiman has plans to grow bigger. And then he will try to convince them. He says he must give it one last try.

Kitchen confidential- Nawabi recipes passed down the family
MANZILAT FATIMA’S PINEAPPLE MUTANJAN
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup Gobindo Bhog rice soaked for an hour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups chopped pineapples
  • 2 1/4 cups boiling hot water (boiled with saffron strands and a pinch of kesariya colour)
  • 1 tbspoon pure ghee
  • 1 cup grated mawa
  • 1 clove; 1 cardamom; almond slivers
METHOD:

Take a heavy-bottom handi, add ghee. When hot, add cloves and the cardamom, then add the whole of the drained rice and saute quickly on medium flame.

Pour the hot water in the handi. Keep the flame high for 2-3 minutes, lower the flame and keep on sim till the rice is 3/4 cooked.

In another handi, scoop out the cooked rice and make a layer; sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar and 1/2 of the chopped pineapples and 1/2 the grated mawa.

Similarly, repeat a second layer, cover the lid and keep the handi on a tawa on sim. Leave for 5-10 minutes till the sugar melts and all ingredients blend well. Switch off the gas.

Before serving lightly mix the layers, serve hot after garnishing with silver leaf and almond slivers.

FATIMA MIRZA’S KACHHE TIKIA KE KEBAB
INGREDIENTS
  • Mince meat 500 gms; salt to taste
  • Bengal gram flour (roasted, powdered) 2 tsp
  • Garam Masala powder -1 teaspoon
  • Paste of nutmeg and mace -1 tsp
  • Onions -2 big ones; ginger-garlic paste -3 tsp; raw papaya paste -2 tsp
  • Green chillies -2; coriander leaves
  • Ghee for frying
METHOD:

Wash the minced meat. Fry the onions till they are golden brown. Mix garam masala, a paste of nutmeg, mace, fried onion and ginger-garlic paste. Sprinkle salt as desired. Add the raw papaya paste. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.

When the mutton turns tender, then mix the chopped coriander leaves and green chillies.

Using the mince mixture make flat round patties (tikia) of even size. Pour ghee into a pan. Heat it on a low flame. When the ghee crackles, start frying the patties till golden brown.

Drain out the excess ghee and serve it hot.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Paramita Ghosh / Hindustan Times / February 24th, 2019

 

The Prince is Dead. Long Live The Legend

Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UTTAR PRADESH /  Kolkata, WEST BENGAL / NEW DELHI :

They are not the only one calling the Malcha Mahal prince an imposter. Many old families of Lucknow that have for long maintained their discernment for the Royal family concur.

King Wajhid Ali Shah in Matiaburj. (Image: News18)
King Wajhid Ali Shah in Matiaburj. (Image: News18)

New Delhi:

The Prince who died in Malcha Mahal was a pauper. Not just in the life he lived but also in the claims he made about his family lineage. At least that’s what the descendants of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal, currently living in Kolkata, will have you believe in.

They are not the only one calling the Malcha Mahal prince an imposter. Many old families of Lucknow that have for long maintained their discernment for the Royal family concur.

Taken aback by the media reports which referred to one Ali Raza— who died in New Delhi’s 14th century’s Malcha Mahal— as Prince, the living members of the Royal Family of Oudh are trying to clear the air on Nawab’s lineage. 

“We want to assert our credibility as the real heirs to the title. We have in the past dealt with the menace of impersonation. My uncle also raised the issue with the government of Uttar Pradesh and the Prime Minister when the impersonator – the mother of the deceased ‘prince’ called Vilayat Mahal got an allotment in Malcha Mahal on the false claims of royalty,” said Manzilat Fatima from Kolkata, who is the “great, great grand-daughter of Wajid Ali Shah. She lives in Kolkata and spends her time working to “preserve Awadh cuisine”.

The Malcha Mahal, Fatima claims, was a Mughal hunting-house or shikargah given to Vilayat Mahal and her two children including the ‘ the dead Prince’ when the family arrived in Delhi after many a unsuccessful bid to claim the Nawab’s title in Lucknow.

The family spent days in the waiting-room of the New Delhi Railway Station before their petition to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for temporary accommodation in Delhi was acceded to by the government.

Fatima’s 89-year-old father, Dr Kaukub Qudr Meerza, is not surprised by the reports of ‘Prince’s death’, because he knows the real Prince is still alive. His Highness, and yours truly, Dr Meeraz, says “our family has witnessed the hoax for years now.”

The family says one of the immediate relatives— Prince Anjum Qudr had in-fact challenged the false claims of Vilayat Mahal before the government.

Qudr wrote a series of letters in 1975 to the UP government and then again in 1985 to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi informing him about the “impersonation” being done by Vilayat Mahal calling it “hoax”. The letter is available on the website of their Oudh family to keep people informed about the legend of impersonation. Qudr wrote Begum Hazrat Mahal had only one son Birjis Qadr, who was crowned in 1857.

Details regarding Qadr’s children from different wives are available in Kaiserut Tawarikh Vol-2 and other books on the history of Oudh. An auto-biographical Masnavis (illustrated stories) of Wajid Ali Shah Huzn-e Akhtar or Tarikh-e Pari Khana also describe the Nawab’s lineage in some detail.
These details corroborate with other sources of information on the exiled King from the poems and Diwan of Birjis Qadr- the only son of the Begum of Oudh.

The original claimants say that there are records of the Political Pension Office of the District Collector of 24 Parganas, West Bengal, from where all heirs of Birjis Qadr drew a political pension after Qadr was assassinated in 1893 in Kolkata. Wajid Ali Shah in his will has named only one son Birjis Qadr (and no daughter) that Begum Hazrat Mahal bore him.

“Fraud of the present claimant is obvious from her very name “Begum Vilayat Mahal” because Mahal is not really an inheritable work,” said Qudr in his appeal to the various government. Mahal is a title which used to be awarded by a Muslim King or Emperor in India to his wife after she bore him a son.

Thus when Birjis Qadr was born to Begum Hazrat, that King Amjad Ali Shah awarded the revered title Mahal to the wife of his Crown Prince. Just as Mumtaz, Mughal Emperor Shahjahan’s wife acquired the title after bearing successor to the Mughal throne.

Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan of Shish Mahal, Lucknow, where Vilayat Mahal lived briefly before leaving for New Delhi, told News 18.com that the veracity of the claims can be established from the family tree or shajra of Nawab Saadat Khan who established the Oudh dynasty in the early 16th century.

He adds, further that King Wajid Ali Shah, when he was exiled to Matia Burj, Calcutta [now Kolkata] in 1856, took all his sons and daughters with him and only his siblings, divorced wives and close relatives were left behind. Some of his progeny migrated to Pakistan and England later on. Every descendant of King Wajid Ali Shah is registered with the Kolkatta office.

For the record, any title of Maharaja, Raja, Rana or Nawab recognized by the East India Company and later by Her Majesty’s government was registered with the British Indian Association or Anjuman e Hind in 1861.

The documents are still available at Lucknow Baradari.

source: http://www.news18.com / News18.com / Home> News 18> India / by Eram Agha / November 19th, 2017

Sify columnist releases book on Indian Muslim freedom fighters

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NEW DELHI :

FreedomFightersMPOs22dec2017

Patna:

In a glittering ceremony, two books on the Muslim community’s contribution to the Indian freedom movement were launched in Patna last week. The function was presided over by Harsh Mander, former IAS officer and human rights activist.

The books ‘Muslim Freedom Fighters: Contribution of Indian Muslims in the Independence Movement’ and its Urdu version ‘Muslim Mujahideen-e-Azadi aur Tehrik-e-Azadi Mein Unki Khidmat’ have been authored by well-known Delhi based author and journalist Syed Ubaidur Rahman.

The two books try to fight the oft-repeated allegations that Muslims are anti-national and have not contributed for the freedom of the nation. The books nail the lie and prove that Muslims not just participated in the freedom movement, they went on to lead the freedom struggle for a long time. The first war of Independence or Mutiny of 1857 was led by Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in Delhi and Begum Hazrat Mahal in Lucknow.

The Independence Movement in the first two decades of the twentieth century was led by Mahmud Hasan and ulama of Deoband and they had respect and support of everyone including Hindus and Muslims.

If anyone has any doubt about the Muslim contribution in the freedom movement, the fact that the Indian National Congress had as many as nine Muslims as its president till the year 1947 will remove such doubts.

While speaking on the occasion, Harsh Mander said that the divisive forces in the country are trying to divide the nation on the basis of religion and faith. He said that the danger from such forces for the national fabric and its unity has become grave.

Mander added that the threat to the communal amity in the country was never so high as is today as divisive forces are doing every thing to pit one community against the other and create a fear psychosis among the majority community prompting it to turn it against minorities.

Khursheed Mallick, a Chicago based urologist, philanthropist and director of IMEFNA said that the book is a timely reminder to the nation that Muslims and Hindus both sacrificed for the nation and this fact must be clearly told to our young generation. He said Muslims sacrificed heavily for the cause of the freedom of the nation and efforts must be made to tell the history.

Syed Ubaidur Rahman, the author of the two books, while speaking on the occasion said Muslims have been rather loath to write about the sacrifices they have made for the cause of the Independence and freedom. He said Muslims suffered badly throughout the freedom movement. They were the worst suffers in the wake of the mutiny of 1857 and its aftermath when Muslims were hounded across North India and beyond. Tens of thousands of Muslims lost their lives for the freedom.

Syed added that ulama of Deoband played a stellar role in the freedom movement. Unlike the common perception, they were secular to the core and when they established a government in exile in Kabul in 1915, they appointed Raja Mahendra Pratap as its President and Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali as its Prime Minister.

The book documents the lives of forty renowned Muslim freedom fighters including, Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan, Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Dr Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, Ashfaqulla Khan, Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Maulana Muhammad Mian Mansoor Ansari, Asaf Ali, Husain Ahmad Madani, Aruna Asaf Ali (Kulsum Zamani), Peer Ali Khan, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Mohammed Abdur Rahiman, Captain Abbas Ali, Abdul Qaiyum Ansari, Prof. Abdul Bari, Moulvi Abdul Rasul, Nawab Syed Mohammed Bahadur, Rahimtulla Mahomed Sayani, Syed Hasan Imam, Sir Syed Ali Imam, M.C. Chagla, Yusuf Meherally, Justice Fazal Ali, General Shah Nawaz Khan, Allama Fazle Haq Khairabadi, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Syed Mahmud, Maulana Mazharul Haque, Badruddin Tyabji, Col Mehboob Ahmed, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Maulana Shafi Daudi, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri, Batak Mian .

The book launch function was organized at Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu and was presided over by Abdul Qaiyum Ansari, chairman of Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Bihar.

Syed Ubaidur Rahman is a New Delhi based writer and commentator. He has written several books on Muslims and Islam in India including Understanding Muslim Leadership in India.

source: http://www.sify.com / Sify.com / Home> SifyNews> National / by SIFY.com / Friday – December 22nd, 2017

The Begum and the Mutiny

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Kotwara, UTTAR PRADESH / FRANCE :

Kenize Mourad, author of ‘In the city of gold and silver – the story of Begum Hazrat Mahal’. Photo: Sangeetha Devi Dundoo
Kenize Mourad, author of ‘In the city of gold and silver – the story of Begum Hazrat Mahal’. Photo: Sangeetha Devi Dundoo

Hyderabad :

In the story of Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kenize Mourad found a story that belied misplaced notions of Muslim women of yore

Kenize Mourad, while researching for her book ‘In the City of Gold and Silver’, came across references to Begum Hazrat Mahal in documents written by the British. They referred to her as the ‘soul of the 1857 War of Independence’. “It is unfortunate and unfair that she has been forgotten in India,” says Kenize Mourad, in Hyderabad to launch her book ‘In The City of Gold and Silver – The Story of Begum Hazrat Mahal’ (Full Circle publications; Rs. 350).

Speaking to us in an interview, the author says, “Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmi Bai, is remembered because she died on the battlefield. She fought for about four or five months. Begum Hazrat Mahal fought the British for two years. It took the British nine months to gain control over Lucknow. The Begum continued her fight for a year after this.”

Kenize Mourad is of Turkish and Indian descent, Awadh to be precise. “I first visited Lucknow when I was 21 and heard about Begum Hazrat Mahal and her valour from my father (Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali of Kotwara). Years later, I remembered the story and felt the Begum’s story had to be told,” says Kenize.

The author pored over documents and books in libraries of London, New Delhi and Lucknow. “It took me three years to find enough information. In Lucknow, I spoke to families whose ancestors had fought in the battle along with the Begum. Quite a bit of history in India follows an oral tradition,” explains Kenize.

She scouted libraries in London and came across six volumes of ‘Mutiny Papers’ documented by the British. An 1858 edition of The Times had stated ‘The Begum of Awadh shows greater strategic sense and courage than all her generals put together’. Kenize wanted to write about the Begum and dispel notions about Muslim women of yore. “The book is relevant in this time when Islam is misrepresented. The majority of Muslims, 95 to 98 per cent, is also being put in the same bracket as extremists, which is unfair. And these normal people are the first ones to suffer due to extremists,” says Kenize. “I wanted to show how a Muslim woman was strong enough to lead an army. The Begum was an intelligent woman who enforced justice and waived taxes on food for the poor,” says Kenize.

Kenize takes pride in raising her voice for underdogs all through her career as a journalist in France. “I’ve felt like a fighter for justice all my life. In my books, I have often written about the misrepresentation of the Quran,” says Kenize. History, she says, has intriguing accounts of women Muslim rulers. “There are instances of Turkish women holding important positions on their own right, not because they are mothers, sisters of wives of important men.”

Though Kenize was keen to present accurate historical facts in ‘In The City of Gold and Silver’, she took the liberty of weaving in a love story between the Begum and a dashing Hindu Raja. “I felt people will absorb an interesting historical novel than a dry book full of facts. Keeping the sociology of people in that era, I tried to recreate Awadh of those times,” says the author.

Kenize wrote the book in French. “In France, the book sold more than 70,000 copies. The pocket-friendly (abridged) version sold even more copies,” she says. The book has been translated in English by Anne Mathai and Marie-Louise Naville.

Talking about her roots in Lucknow, Kenize says, “During my first visit to Lucknow as a student, I was amused and spent six months there. Had it been a bigger city like Delhi or Mumbai, I might have stayed on. Opportunities for work were limited. And I wasn’t willing to sit at home and get ready to be married off,” she says. The topic of marriage reminds her of Hyderabad. “I was almost married off to a well-known Hyderabadi,” she says. “Through my cousin, Princess Niloufer, I happened to meet a gentleman from the Nizam’s family. He told Niloufer that he hoped for my hand in marriage. I found it odd that he hadn’t asked me directly. I was given to understand that I would be a ‘bird in a golden cage’. I turned down the proposal.”

This is Kenize’s first visit to Hyderabad. “I never visited this city thinking I may not be welcome here since I turned down the marriage proposal,” she laughs.

Next, Kenize wants to write about present-day Pakistan. “The country, as it exists today, is a tragedy. I want to write about Pakistan through fiction. It will take at least three to four years to work on the book,” she signs off.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – January 17th, 2013