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Why is Ghaseda village celebrating Mewat day today?

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Mewat, RAJASTHAN /HARYANA/ UTTAR PRADESH:

Mahatma Gandhi with other freedom fighters
Mahatma Gandhi with other freedom fighters

December 19 is celebrated as ‘Mewat Day’, for it was on this day in 1947, soon after the partition of India, that Mahatma Gandhi’s appeal to the Meo Muslims living in what is today the border areas of Haryana, UP, and Rajasthan, made them shun their desperation to move to Pakistan.

The community members were all packed with some belongings after facing harassment and violence at the hands of officials in the post-partition mayhem that had gripped both India and Pakistan. Lakhs of Mewatis got together and declared they would go to Pakistan when Mahatma Gandhi came on the scene.  He assured to protect the life and property of Mewatis and give them full respect.

At the time of the partition of India, Mewat, Gurgaon, and Faridabad of Haryana were ruled by the British, and Alwar, Bharatpur of Rajasthan by the kings. At the time of partition, like other parts of the country, Mewat also saw communal violence.

At this stage freedom fighters Abdul Hai, Himmat Khan, and a few other Muslim leaders came to know of a conspiracy to force Mewati Muslims to leave India for Pakistan and they met Mahatma Gandhi and invited him to visit Mewat.

Mahatma Gandhi reached Ghaseda village of Mewat on 19 December 1947. He was accompanied by many leaders including the then Chief Minister of Punjab Gopi Chand Bhargava, Ranbir Singh Hooda, father of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Mahatma Gandhi’s speech on 19th December 1947 in the village of Ghaseda before lakhs of Mewatis is historic. He said, “Today my sayings do not have the same power as it would have earlier.

“But what I say any as much impact as it would have earlier, today not a single Muslim would need to leave the Indian Union, nor would any Hindu-Sikh be required to leave their homes in Pakistan and seek refuge in the Indian Union.

A sorrowful Bapu said: “My heart is filled with sorrow after hearing what is happening here. All around arson, looting, killing, coercive religious conversion and kidnapping of women, and demolishing temples, mosques and gurudwaras is madness. If this is not stopped, both communities will be annihilated.”

Historian Siddiq Ahmed Meo, who has 10 books on the history of Mewat to his credit, says, “Gandhiji also read out the complaints sent to him by Mewati Muslim representatives to the assembled crowd.”

He assured the Mewatis that they would be given full respect. If any government official commits any atrocity with the Mewatis, then the government will take strict action against him. Gandhiji said, “I will be happy if my words can console you a little.”

He expressed grief over the Muslims who were expelled from the princely states of Alwar and Bharatpur.

Gandhiji said in his speech, “A time will come in India when all hatred will be buried in the ground and both societies will be able to live in peace.”

Mewat’s social worker Fajruddin Besar says, after Gandhiji’s assurances, the Muslims reversed their decision. “If they were not stopped at that time, there would be not a single Muslim in Haryana and Rajasthan today.” He says Gandhiji did a big favour to the Muslims by stopping them from going to Pakistan. “Today, Muslims in India are living a life of more peace and respect than in Pakistan. In Pakistan, there is always fighting among Muslims.”

In 2007, chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda declared Ghaseda an ideal village and renamed it Gandhi Gram Ghaseda. He also released about Rs 10 crore for development works in the village.

This year Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will also reach the village on December 22 and celebrate Mahatama Gandhi’s visit to the village on that day.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> India / by Yunus Alvi, Nuh (Haryana) / December 19th, 2022

Gurgaon woman, a doctor in the making, elected sarpanch in Mewat

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Garhazan Village (Bharatpur ), RAJASTHAN :

MBBS student Shahnaaz Khan after taking oath as a sarpanch in Bharatpur on Monday.(HT Photo)
MBBS student Shahnaaz Khan after taking oath as a sarpanch in Bharatpur on Monday.(HT Photo)

The MBBS student will start her internship at Civil Hospital in Gurgaon shortly and take an entrance examination for postgraduate course in medicine later, but is confident of juggling studies and grass-roots level politics

The day the by-election for sarpanch of Garhazan village in Bharatpur was held, poll candidate Shahnaaz Khan was busy taking her MBBS fourth year practical examinations.

A few hours after polling on March 5, the bypoll results came in. Villagers had elected the 24-year-old medical student of Teerthanker Mahaveer Medical College and Research Center in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, as their sarpanch.

Shahnaaz is the youngest sarpanch of her village, which is in Mewat region that includes parts of Haryana and Rajasthan. She is also the most educated woman in Garhazan’s history and gets a chance to take forward her paternal grandfather’s political legacy.

“People in Mewat area don’t send their daughters to schools. I will present before them my own example to show what education can do for a woman,” Shahnaaz said after taking oath as sarpanch on Monday.

She will start her internship at Civil Hospital in Gurgaon shortly and take an entrance examination for postgraduate course in medicine later, but is confident of juggling studies and grass-roots level politics.

Shahnaaz’s was elected sarpanch after her grandfather Hanif Khan’s election in 2015 was declared null and void by a court in October last year. The court ruled Hanif Khan had forged educational qualification documents.

The Rajasthan government has made Class 10 mandatory qualification for sarpanch candidates. Hanif Khan had been sarpanch of Garhazan for 55 years.

A young and educated woman sarpanch is a change in Mewat region, which is considered among the most backward areas of Rajasthan. Mewat comprises portions of Alwar and Bharatpur districts inhabited by the Meo Muslims.

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“My family is committed towards serving the people. Shahnaaz joined politics to fulfil her grandfather’s dreams. She will serve the Meo community because it is backward.”

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The literacy rate in Bharatpur district is 70.1%, which is higher than the state average 66.1%, but less than the national average 74.04%. The difference in level of education of boys and girls in the district is 29.9%.

Shahnaaz said she was equipped to spread awareness about sanitation to prevent diseases in the area. “For instance, people here die of tuberculosis. The disease can be cured with a six-month course but people are unaware.”

Shahnaaz’s parents are also in politics. Her mother Zahida Khan is a former MLA from Kaman constituency in the district. Her father, Jalees Khan, was Kaman pradhan (head of block level panchayat body).

Zahida Khan said, “My family is committed towards serving the people. Shahnaaz joined politics to fulfil her grandfather’s dreams. She will serve the Meo community because it is backward.”

Shahnaaz studied in The Shri Ram School, Aravali, Gurgaon, till Class 10 and did her Class 12 from Delhi Public School, Maruti Kunj.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Jaipur / by  Suresh Foujdar, Hindustan Times, Bharatpur / March 13th, 2018