Tag Archives: Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail

A Shia Mirza Ismail constructed a Sunni mosque

August 3, 2022Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, World OpinionDewan of Hyderabad - Sir Mirza Ismail, Dewan of Jaipur - Sir Mirza Ismail, Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail, Indian Muslims of Bangalore, Indians of Irani Ancestry, Mahina Fatima, Muslim Dewan of Jaipur, Muslim Dewans of India, Muslim Leaders of India, Muslims of Bengaluru, Muslims of India - Positive News, Muslims of Karnataka, Muslims of Mysuru, Positive News of Indian Muslims, Positive News of Muslims of Karnataka, Positive Stories of Indian Muslims, Sir Mira Ismail Inaugrates Sunni Mosque in Bangalore, Sir Mirza Ismail, Sir Mirza Ismail-Dewan of Mysore, Youngest Dewan of Mysore - Sir Mirza Ismailmpositiveone@gmail.com

Bengaluru / Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

“I believe deep down in my heart that the great reality of spiritual revelation given to humanity by the Prophet (blessed be His name) is an infinitely greater thing than any sectarian difference (Shia & Sunni) imposed upon it by subsequent human feeling and by lesser vision than his of the inner realities from which the external life of humanity has developed.” Mirza Ismail, a Shia Muslim by faith, who was the Prime Minister of Mysore had spoken these words at the inauguration of Jamia Mosque, a Sunni mosque, in Bengaluru on 30 May 1941.

Mirza Ismail remained one of the most important politicians in India as he held the position of Prime Minister (PM) of the second wealthiest state, Mysore, from 1926 to 1941 after which he became PM of Jaipur and Hyderabad.

A Shia by his faith whose foreparents had migrated from Iran and stayed in India, Ismail remained committed to the unity of humans. He believed that Shia and Sunni, Hindu and Muslim, or any caste difference among humans could not stop them from living together harmoniously.

Ismail inaugurated the mosque at Bangalore, which was one of the most important cities in Mysore state, as his last public ceremony in the capacity of the PM of Mysore after resigning from the post. On the occasion he noted, “I am particularly happy that this function, which is the last of my period of service as Dewan of Mysore, gave me the opportunity of expressing an ideal of my life which has been foremost in the past and will remain foremost in the future.”

What was the ideal Ismail talking about? Making a mosque or something else?

The ideal he was talking about was the unity of Shia and Sunni as one Muslim community. He told the people gathered there that the non-Muslims observing this ceremony would not think much about it. In their view a Muslim had come to lay the foundation stone of a mosque of his fellow Muslims. “But to you”, Ismail argued, “fellow-Musalmans, it is not so simple. You know that in the historical development of Islam I belong to a section of the organised expression of the Faith that for centuries has been in sharp opposition to the section to which you, who are going to build this mosque, belong.” He expressed satisfaction that Sunnis had invited him for this event. He told the people that since its very inception he had taken “the greatest possible interest” in this mosque where Sunni Muslims would pray in the manner they wanted.

Ismail went on to tell the people;

“At the centre of Islam is the teaching and practice of brotherhood. You would have been false to the truth of life if, because I am a Shia by birth, you had not invited me to this function, and I would have been equally false to the brotherhood of Islam if, because you are Sunnis, I had not accepted your invitation. Our differences are transient, even trivial, in comparison with the spiritual reality which these differences tend to obscure and weaken.”

Ismail went on to state that love and peace are the essence of Islam and Muslims should stop fighting among themselves as well as with their coreligionists in the country. The mosque is one of the most important mosques in Bengaluru today.

(Author is a neurobiologist with a keen interest in history, society and culture of India)

source: http://www.heritagetimes.in / Heritate Times / Home> Featured Posts> Heritage> Leaders / by Mahino Fatima / March 08th, 2022

No Raman effect: How his dream died a quiet death

February 28, 2017Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Science & TechnologyDewan of Mysore, Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail, Sir Mirza Ismail, Sir Mirza Ismail-Dewan of Mysorempositiveone@gmail.com

Madras / Bangalore (KARNATAKA ) :

Sir C V Raman had planned to set up a scientific institute in 1959 on a four-acre land in Madras.

Sir Raman has clarified that he was not sent out of Mysore, but came from Calcutta to Bangalore in 1933, and received support from the Dewan for his scientific work.

Bengaluru:

A research institute – complete with a lab, a science museum, a science library, a lecture hall and office rooms – was late Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman’s idea of giving something back to Madras (Chennai), a city where he commenced his scientific career, and to make a “distinct contribution” to the scientific life of the city, but it has remained an unfulfilled dream.

Sir Raman planned the second institute in 1959, 11 years after establishing Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru, on a four-acre land parcel owned by him in Mylapore (Madras), where “scientific work of the highest standard could be carried on”. He estimated that the research institute could be built with a budget of a couple of lakhs of rupees and carry on work with a minimum recurring expenditure of Rs 2,000 a month. “My confidence in the usefulness of the proposed institute is indicated by my preparedness to find from other sources one half of the capital expenditure proposed and also to meet one half of the recurring expenditure necessary for the next five years. If the Government of Madras could see their way to make an equal contribution, the construction of the institute could be immediately taken up and proceeded with,” states the renowned physicist’s letter dated August 18, 1959, to the late C. Subramaniam, minister for finance education, Government of Madras, unearthed by Deccan Chronicle on the eve of National Science Day, observed on February 28 to mark the discovery of ‘Raman Effect.’

Subsequent correspondence between Mr Subramaniam and Sir Raman point at the state government’s willingness to support the proposed institute, but with a suggestion that the Nobel laureate write to the Union government for non-recurring expenditure of the project. “I may say, however, that subject to the condition that the assistance to be given by the Government of India, if any, will be taken into account in fixing the actual grant, this Government will be willing to meet a maximum of half the non-recurring cost of establishing the research institute and to make a suitable annual recurring grant for five years in the first instance,” reads the late Mr Subramaniam’s reply.

With the erstwhile Madras government listing several conditions as part of the grant-in-aid code for half grant towards construction of the institute and repeated suggestions for securing the Union government’s financial support, Sir Raman’s subsequent letter to Mr Subramaniam points at his reluctance to seek help from New Delhi. “My past experience and present knowledge of the attitude of the Central Government in matters concerning scientific research alike indicate that any application for a building grant made to that Government for the proposed institute would be met with a refusal. Not until the institute has been fully established and proved itself useful would the Central Government feel at all inclined to extend a helping hand to it,” mirrors his disinclination to write to the Centre.

Sources in RRI Trust said Sir Raman had adopted a similar stand vis-à-vis RRI and the Union government. “It was only after Sir Raman’s demise that the Union government offered aid to RRI, and the Trust invited his son Prof V Radhakrishnan to head RRI,” sources added.

Sir Raman came to the rescue of Dewan Ismail
Another set of letters, exchanged between Sir Raman and Sir Mirza Ismail, the Dewan of Mysore, in 1939, illustrates how the Nobel laureate rushed to support the latter in the wake of an article published in “The Hindu Outlook”, accusing the Dewan of favouring Muslims in appointments in Mysore state.

Sir Raman has clarified that he was not sent out of Mysore, but came from Calcutta to Bangalore in 1933, and received support from the Dewan for his scientific work.

“Throughout this period, I have received nothing but kindness and consideration from Sir Mirza Ismail on all occasions, and indeed I have had reason to feel most grateful for the fact that he has held the high office of Dewan of Msyore during these years,” reads Sir Raman’s letter in response to an article published by Krishna Lal Anand in “The Hindu Outlook” on September 14, 1939, with a headline “Muslim Dewan over Hindu state.”

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Viral and Trending / by B R Srikanth, Deccan Chronicle / February 28th, 2017