The Manipal University Press will hold the ‘Author Meets Readers’ event ‘From the Horse’s Mouth’ with Manek Premchand — author of the book ‘Talat Mahmood – The Velvet Voice’ — at the AC Seminar Hall on the MIT campus here at 4.30 p.m. on Saturday.
According to a press release issued by Manipal University here on Thursday, Mr. Premchand will share his thoughts and feelings in a conversation with Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities faculty member Gayathri Prabhu.
A film will be screened and that will be followed by a music programme with Premchand and a few others singing Talat Mahmood’s songs.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Manipal – September 25th, 2015
People usually hurry to reach Mina creating tremendous risk for themselves and others. It’s during this ritual that chaos is triggered.
I went for Haj pilgrimage with my wife in December-January 2006. During the journey, we noticed that the Gulf region was unstable owing to the trial of the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and emotions were running high among the Arabs. The political fever in the region also spread among Haj pilgrims. Emotions and arguments add to the atmospherics of Haj. One can imagine the energy and excitement of a pilgrimage in which millions of people from diverse linguistic, ethnic and racial backgrounds are united by religion.
Our delegation was special as we were being accompanied by former Chief Justice of India A.M. Ahmadi and other dignitaries from different parts of India. But from the beginning of the journey, I saw that arrangements on the ground were not quite right. The Saudi officials gave out instructions only in Arabic, though most of the pilgrims were unfamiliar with the language.
Countries that send the largest number of pilgrims are from South and Southeast Asia like Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India. People from this region speak many languages. Special attention is needed for the elderly, many of whom undertake foreign travel for the first time and, therefore, are quite disoriented and find it difficult to adjust to sudden orders yelled out in Arabic by policemen.
Also, the Saudi rules aim at segregation of men and women which creates a lot of problems for first-time travellers from our region. Often families which are separated by the Saudi police have to endure hardship, which is multiplied because neither the pilgrims nor the police can understand each other.
The process of Haj starts from Mina where one has to begin early after a prayer, followed by the circumambulation of the holy mosque Kaaba. The pilgrimage ends at Mina following the ritual of ‘Stoning the Shaitan.’ This last ritual at Mina needs to be completed before sunset and people usually hurry to reach Mina creating tremendous risk for themselves and others. It’s during this ritual that chaos is triggered.
On January 12, as we were returning to Mina for the last ritual of Haj, we saw the big stampede from a distance as waves of people collided. Dust and fear enveloped us. Our group stopped midway out of fear and went back to Mecca.
Next morning, we started early at 3 a.m. for the dash to Mina. On the way, we saw huge piles of shoes, clothes, and water bottles left behind by the stampede victims being loaded onto the trucks by the police. Officials informed us that around 350 people had died in the stampede and hundreds more were injured. The possessions of the pilgrims left behind made me suspicious of the official account.
The road to Mina which is where the stampedes often happen is very risky as it’s the only one for the journey to Mina and for returning to Mecca. I am told that the Saudi government has created an alternative route for the pilgrims returning to Mecca but that route is longer and many pilgrims continue to return by the old, shorter and narrow route which puts them at risk.
Year after year, stampedes have taken place on the same route near Mina, yet the Saudi authorities have failed to do anything to reduce the risk.
The occasion of Haj brings more than three million pilgrims to Mecca. A number of factors can trigger a crisis and a stampede on the ground where the crowd is united by religion and divided by political sentiments of the Arab countries. Sabotage is often suspected when such tragedies take place.
The Saudi government should also be open to learning from other countries where a large number of pilgrims congregate, for example in India’s Kumbh Melas and in the Vatican where authorities take care of the linguistic differences while managing people. There is no harm in learning from others.
Prof. Pasha teaches West Asian politics in JNU.
(As told to Kallol Bhattacherjee)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National / by Prof. A.K. Pasha / September 26th, 2015
With an aim to add sheen to its Heritage zone scheme the Uttar Pradesh Government is all set to put up plaques on the buildings of Lucknow where once historical personalities lived in bygone era.
The Chief Minister’s office has asked the Tourism Department to prepare a plaque that could match the flavour and history of Awadh and identify the houses once inhabited by historical personality – may be artist literature or even freedom fighter..
“This is a small gesture that will help people to identify the buildings where say once Premchand lived or where Mir Taqi Mir wrote his gazals. People might have passed through these buildings without knowing the historical importance of those structures,” a senior official in CM’s office told The Pioneer here recently.
The idea to have plaque at important buildings has been borrowed from London’s Blue Plaque. This plaues, which are in blue in colour, are put up on the buildings where famous people had lived and worked. It celebrates the architecture of London’s streets and the diversity and achievements of its past residents. London’s blue plaques scheme, founded in 1866, is believed to be the oldest of its kind in the world.
The official said that the scheme is aimed at to celebrate the link between people and buildings. “The buildings carrying plaques will invoke interest of the people about the person and the building where he lived. This will not only add to the historical importance of the city but also help the Tourism department to give added tinge to its Heritage zone scheme,” the officer said.
The Chief Minister’s office has asked the Tourism Department to prepare a detail proposal including the design of the proposed plaque. It has been asked to rope in historians like Yogesh Pravin to identify the buildings of city where the celebrities of olden era once lived.
There are over 50 litterateurs, artists, freedom fighters and people associated with films were either born or worked in Lucknow. From Mir Taqi Mir to Begum Akhtar, from Prem Chand to Sri Lal Shukla and from Pahari Sanyal to K.P. Saxena all have their share of association with Lucknow. Then there are people like Amrit Nagar, Kaifi Azmi, Bhagwati Charan Verma, Mirza Hadi Ruswa, Josh Malihabadi, Jan Nisar Akhtar and this list is endless. This scheme only aims at identifying the buildings where they lived.
“The buildings tell a lot about the character of the person who lived or worked there. Some of them may be dilapidated but they are rich in history,” he said. “The Plaque will not offer any kind of special protection to buildings, but will raise awareness of their historical significance. This in turn can assist in their preservation,” he said.
source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home> State edition> Lucknow / by Biswajeet Banerjee, Lucknow / Saturday – July 25th, 2015
Information Commissioner, Hafiz Usman stressed need of maintaining communal harmony and claimed that every human being in creation of God and all other classification on basis of caste, religion, rich or poor, strong or weak etc are man made.
Speaking at inauguration of Urs Festival at Syed Salar Sahu Gazi mazar in Bara Banki on Tuesday night, Usman, who was also chief guest said that every family had some one elder or younger but only when both lived jointly that family prosper otherwise inner conflict over who is bigger ruin them. Similarly irrespective of who is bigger or who is smaller, if every one live and cared for each other, only than the society would prosper. He said that the message of every saint is similar i.e to maintain brotherhood and communal harmony.
Usman said that even the constitution of India gave similar message i.e every citizen of the country had equal rights and there is no discrimination on basis of caste, religion, rich or poor etc. He called the members of his community to contribute their best in maintaining communal harmony and social fabric of this country.
source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home> State edition> Lucknow / Pioneer News Service, Lucknow / Thursday – August 13th, 2015
Syed Mustafa Siraj’s elder son Abhijit Siraj has alleged that a Bangaldeshi director has made a film based on his father’s story without acknowledging the renowned writer.
Murad Parvez, director of ‘Brihonnola’, has rubbished the allegations.
The allegation of lifting comes close on the heels of an “inspiration” controversy regarding a short story of Mustafa.
Speaking about the controversy, Abhijit said, “I have not watched the movie yet. A person from Bangladesh drew my attention to the similarity between the film and Baba’s story titled ‘Gaachta Bolechhilo’. That’s when I came to know about the overlaps.”
Murad, Abhijit pointed out, is not unknown to the Siraj family. Earlier, he had directed a movie titled ‘Chandragrahon’ which was based on Mustafa’s story ‘Ranir Ghater Brittanto’. Director Anjan Das had made his Bengali film ‘Faltu’ in 2006 based on the same story.
“My father was alive then and Murad had officially taken the rights of the story from him to make ‘Chandragrahon’. I don’t know the exact figure but I am sure that the rights must have been sold for a few lakhs of rupees. Baba died in 2012. Thereafter, I feel he (Murad) never felt the need to ask for rights and made this film without crediting my father,” Abhijit alleged.
Siraj’s ‘Gaachta Bolechhilo’, which was later translated in English as ‘Die, said the Tree’, is the story of some myths surrounding a tree in a village.
The tree, which is believed to be gifted with strange powers, becomes the pivotal metaphor in the story that explores the psyche of villagers plagued by superstition.
‘Brihonnola’ is a tale of the goodness inherent in human nature prevailing over religious prejudice and racial dogmatism. The film, starring Ferdous Ahmed, Sohana Saba, Azad Abul Kalam and Jhuna Choudhury, is set in a village where everything goes well for ages till an ancient banyan tree becomes the focal point of dispute between the two sections of the village community.
Siraj’s younger son, Amitabh Siraj, had spoken to a fan of his father in Bangladesh who has watched the film and read the story as well.
“According to that person, this film is a very skillful and careful adaptation of my father’s story. The germ of the film is from there. Subsequently, a lot of other subplots have been added to give the film a new dimension. Some cinematic characters seem to bear a lot of resemblance with the characters in baba’s story. I wish Murad had acknowledged baba’s story somewhere in his credit line,” Amitabh said.
However, Murad insists that giving credit is out of question since he has not even read ‘Gaachta Bolechhilo’.
“My film was based on a self-written story titled ‘The Poisoning Sap’. I was inspired by the Babri Masjid incident while writing it. I had read Siraj’s ‘Ranir Ghater Brittanto’ in 1998 and bought its rights in 2007. ‘Brihannola’ has also bagged the Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay awards at the Jaipur International Film Festival,” Murad said.
Abhijit countered Murad saying, “The core of the film is undeniably my father’s story. In order to give a contemporary relevance to the screenplay, I’m guessing that Murad has added some political and religious dimensions. But, baba’s story transcended all these issues to reach another level.”
It’s not just plays and movies. Even publishers happily violate copyright norms, say Mustafa’s sons. Abhijit pointed out, “At the last book fair, we were zapped to find that a new publisher had mentioned his name as the copyright holder of ‘Payer Shobdo’! We don’t want mud-slinging. Expecting credit is just part of decent behaviour.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Priyanka Dasgupta, TNN / September 04th, 2015
Journalist Uday Banerjee received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 6th edition of the Journalism Awards on Sunday. Banerjee, who covered government and administration for four decades, is known for his honesty and is revered in the fraternity. Tripura governor Tathagata Roy presented him with the trophy and citation.
Consumer affairs minister Sadhan Pande presented the ‘Hall of Fame Award’ to sports journalist Debashish Dutta at the same ceremony.
Of the 18 other categories of awards, the Times of India group bagged five. Out of the total 10 journalists from TOI and 12 from Ei Samay shortlisted as finalists, three each from TOI and Ei Samay won the honours. Two TOI scribes shared the Best Journalist News (English) award while another won the Best Journalist Lifestyle & Cinema (English) award. Ei Samay picked up Best Journalist Lifestyle & Cinema (Bengali), Best Journalist Sports (Bengali) and Best Journalist Features (Bengali).
Judges included Abhijit Dasgupta, retired station director of Doordarshan and secretary of Kolkata Sukriti Foundation, Dilip Banerjee, former photo editor of Mail Today, Tapas Ganguly, former chief of bureau of The Week, Manik Banerjee, former chief of bureau of UNI, Pradipta Sankar Sen, vice-president of Calcutta Film Society and ex-resident editor of Hindustan Times, Shyam Afif Siddiqui, visiting faculty at Management Development Institute, Murshidabad.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / August 11th, 2015
Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University Prof. G.S.N. Raju inaugurates APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial Library at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. (Photo: DC)
Visakhapatnam:
Managing and making the best use of human resources is a challenging task in the society, said Prof. G.S.N. Raju, Andhra University Vice-Chancellor. He was the chief guest at the launch of the head of the department’s chamber and a new library named after former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who died recently, at AU Human Resources Management Department on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Raju hailed the efforts of Prof. K. John, head of the department of AUHRM, in establishing a useful library for the students in the name of multi-faceted Dr. Kalam. He asked all the students to improve the attitude of working hard to achieve higher goals. “Coordinating thoughts and talent is vital for success. Students should keep themselves abreast with the changing technology,” he said.
AU Registrar V. Umamaheswara Rao said that the AUHRM department has contributed to the society so much by providing valuable human resources to the society.
“Providing infrastructure facilities according to the needs of the students is appreciable and students should make the best use of it,” said Prof. M. Sundara Rao, principal, AU Arts College.
BOS chairman Subba Rayudu, new HOD Dr. Arun Kumar, Prof. Rajani, Prof K. John, students and others were present at the inaugural function.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / Deccan Chronicle / August 06th, 2015
Mandu, the historical town in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, resonates with memories of music and poetry, and its monuments display a vibrant fusion of Persian and Indian elements of architecture. Text & photographs by SHASHANK SHEKHAR SINHA
NESTLED in the volcanic plateau north of the Vindhyas in central India, Mandu has always been envied for its natural fortification. The town, located in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, about 100 kilometres from Indore, is separated from the main Malwa plateau by a deep ravine (Kokrah Koh) on three sides and drops on to the Nimar plain, around 1,200 feet below, on the south. This black-soil belt was once dotted with rain-fed lakes and dense forests filled with wildlife.
The hill fort has inscriptional evidence dating back to A.D. 555. However, Mandu’s glorious history began only when it became the seat of power of Hoshang Shah.
The province of Malwa, with the ancient city of Dhar as its capital, was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate in A.D. 1305 and was placed under a governor.
Dhar was the seat of the Hindu rulers Paramaras and Raja Bhoj. When the Sultanate started disintegrating, one of its governors, Dilawar Khan Ghuri, severed his allegiance to the Tughlaqs and declared independence in A.D. 1401-02. He laid the foundations of the independent kingdom of Malwa. His son Hoshang Shah shifted the capital to Mandu after ascending the throne and named it Shadiabad, or city of joy.
The fort city played an important role in some historic power struggles in Medieval India involving the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Kingdom, the Mughal Empire and the Marathas besides the neighbouring regions of present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan.
It is ingrained in popular memory and folklore as the site of the famous romance between Baz Bahadur and Rani Rupmati and their musical and poetic achievements. What, however, makes Mandu distinct is the beautiful synthesis of Indo-Islamic architecture under the Muslim rule—a blend of Persian-Pathan elements with the Hindu traditions of Malwa.
The architecture and the surrounding landscape are imparted a special character by the presence of huge trees such as the banyan, the round mango, the tamarind and the baobab (probably brought from Africa).
Mandu and its monuments come alive during the monsoon, on moonlit nights and in the evenings (thanks to the summer breeze locally called the shab-e-Malwa).
The village setting. The architecture and the surrounding landscape is imparted a special character by the presence of huge trees.
One of the best ways to understand the monuments of Mandu is to see them through the frame of evolution of the architecture in the region.
The rock-cut caves of Lohani and Sat Kothari are among the earliest and rarer types of architecture among the more than 60 structural monuments declared to be of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The architectural evolution of Mandu can be divided into three phases.
The first phase of development is underlined by the construction of mosques at Dhar and Mandu, mostly using material available from the ruins of Hindu temples. Examples include the Kamal Maula Masjid (A.D. 1395) and the Lat Masjid (A.D. 1405) at Dhar and the Dilawar Khan Masjid (A.D. 1405) and the mosques of Malik Mughis at Mandu.
The Malik Mughi mosque.
An inside view of the Malik Mughi mosque.
The second phase begins with the shifting of the capital from Dhar to Mandu.
In this phase, the use of natural beauty as a backdrop in the composition of buildings became a significant component of the regional architecture. To this phase belong the Jami Masjid, Hoshang Shah’s mausoleum, the Ashrafi Mahal complex, and the Royal Enclave.
The Jami Masjid.
An inscription on the Jami Masjid mentions how Hoshang Shah constructed a mosque on the lines of the great Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.
The mosque’s basic plan consists of a liwan (a square courtyard) and the sanctuary. The three large domes and 158 cylindrical cupolas on the sanctuary make the red-stone mosque visible from a long distance. It is located on a high plinth (indented by a sarai) and is approached through a projected flight of steps on the east.
Inspiration for Taj Mahal
Hoshang Shah’s mausoleum is the first tomb in India made wholly of white marble.
An inscription at the entrance mentions that the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan sent four of his architects to Mandu to draw inspiration for the construction of the Taj Mahal at Agra. The mausoleum is a square structure standing on a broad plinth, surmounted by a central dome with a cupola at each corner. It is crowned with a crescent, thought to have been imported from Persia or Mesopotamia. The mausoleum’s wall is diversified first by stylobate, horizontal bands of masonry, eaves (with curved brackets), and a band of ornamental miniature arches carved in relief.
The tomb of Hoshang Shah, an inspiration for the Taj Mahal. It is the first tomb in India made wholly of white marble.
The Ashrafi Mahal (the Palace of Gold Coin) complex contains three buildings, mostly in ruins now: a madrassa, a tomb and the victory tower. The material used is red sandstone. The tower of victory, built to rival Chittorgarh’s Jaya Stambha, had seven storeys, of which only one is left now.
The Jahaz Mahal as seen from the Taveli Mahal.
Prominent among the Royal Enclave monuments are the Hindola Mahal and the Jahaz Mahal.
The Hindola Mahal is “T”-shaped with a main hall and a transverse double-storeyed projection. The side walls are strengthened with massive sloping buttresses, which have given the name Hindola, meaning swinging, to the building.
The Jahaz Mahal, on the other hand, is a long double-storeyed ship-shaped building constructed between two ponds—Kapur Talao and Munj Talao. Its interior arrangement consists of pillared compartments, cool corridors and luxurious bathing halls, while its exterior has an arcaded front. The roof has open pavilions and airy kiosks, with overhanging balconies. The earlier love of stone facing had given way to a softer, more pliable, plaster. The underlying idea was to give a sense of comfort and pleasure.
Ghiyas-ud-din, who graced this palace, is believed to have had a harem of 15,000 maidens. The enclave also houses two waterbodies, Champa and Ujala Baoli.
The Hindola Mahal seen through an arch in the Royal Enclave.
A more mature and refined phase developed towards the late 15th and early 16th century.
To this phase belong the palaces associated with Baz Bahadur and Rupmati, although they were not built by them.
As the historian Percy Brown says, they come across as “summer houses, palaces, and pavilions, the ground floor of which consisted of a series of compartments grouped around a central courtyard graced with pools and fountains, while above were arcaded loggias roofed with fluted domes, the surface everywhere gorgeous with painted tiles”.
A view of the Baz Bahadur palace.
As royal patronage for music and fine arts increased, these buildings depicted the lighter, emotional and romantic side of the court life. The terraces and pavilions of these two palaces are known for the famous musical evenings of Malwa resonating with the romantic liaison between Baz Bahadur and Rupmati.
The queen, it is said, used to come to the palace every day to have a view of the Narmada river, which can be seen at a distance on the Nimar plain on a clear, sunny day.
Other buildings of this phase include the Nilkanth Palace, Chisti Khan’s Palace, Gada Shah’s Shop and Gada Shah’s House.
Besides these more-famous monuments, one also comes across a smaller group of monuments at the Sagar Talao and the Darya Khan complex.
The other interesting places to visit in the fort complex are the museums at the Taveli Mahal and the Chhappan Mahal. The former has a collection of artefacts, some sculptures belonging to the 11th and 12th centuries and stone slabs with Quranic text.
The Chhappan Mahal, a forgotten mausoleum constructed in the 16th century, has a reasonably good, though unorganised, collection of Hindu sculptures and statues of Jain Tirthankaras. There are also galleries documenting tribal cultures.
One of the sculptures at the Chappan Mahal.
Details of a statue in the Chappan Mahal.
Baz Bahadur’s reign also saw a decline in Malwa’s fortunes.
After offering a stiff resistance to the Mughals, he later joined Akbar’s service, and the region became a suba of the Mughal Empire.
The Marathas, under Peshwa Baji Rao I, took control of Malwa in 1732 and shifted the capital back to Dhar. Mandu thus became a ghost town. However, its cultural legacy still lives on.
The region was an active ground for mutually enriching interactions between Islamic and Indian cultural traditions and this could be seen in the development of arts, literature and painting.
The Jal Mahal.
Persian remained the court language of the sultans of Malwa and the region attracted many scholars and theologians. There was growth in historical writings, translations and Hadith literature, and the region became known as “an object of envy to Shiraz and Samarqand”. Sufism, particularly Chisti and Shattari silsilas, became popular in Malwa while Jainism also gained a foothold.
Hindi and Sanskrit were patronised by Mahmud Khalji I, Ghiyas Shah and Nasir Shah, and many transcriptions, commentaries, and treatises were written or compiled. Hindi gained enormous popularity under Baz Bahadur. He was intensely devoted to music and poetry.
Rupmati herself composed poetry in Hindi and left behind a tradition still common among the bards of Malwa.
The sultans also patronised paintings, as is evident in Mandu’s Kalpasutra and the illustrated cookbook Nimatnamah. The fusion of Persian and Indian elements led to a growth of a new style, which inspired painting traditions in Jaunpur and Mewar.
Shashank Shekhar Sinha has taught history at undergraduate colleges in the University of Delhi. He is now doing independent research on issues relating to culture and heritage.
source: http://www.frontline.in / Frontline / Home> Arts & Culture> Heritage / by Shashank Shekhar Sinha / print edition : September 18th, 2015
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, during his recent visit to Myanmar (erstwhile Burma), offered floral tributes at the memorial of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar which lies at 6 Ziwaka Road in Dagon, Yangon. Prime Minister, accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, offered prayer at the graveyard/mazar of the former ruler, who died four years after he was exiled to Yangon following his defeat in the 1857 war of independence.
It has been a tradition for the dignitaries from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to pay their visit to the graveyard of the Mughal emperor and pay their respect. It is said that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose started his “Delhi Chalo” campaign in 1942 after paying his respect to the former emperor. Rajiv Gandhi during his official visit to Myanmar in Dec. 1987 paid his tribute to the grave. He wrote in the visitor’s book placed at the grave: “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….”
Bahadur Shah Zafar [Photo Courtesy: exoticindia.es]The Great Uprising of 1857
Bahadur Shah was 82 years old and in poor health when the revolting sepoys from Meerut stormed into the palace on 11 May 1857. According to William Dalrymple (The Last Mughal, 2006), sepoys and cavalrymen from Meerut numbering 300 rode into Delhi in the morning and massacred Christian men, women and children they could find in the city, and proclaimed Bahadur Shah as their leader and emperor. Bahadur Shah gave his blessing to the sepoys. A.G. Noorani (Indian Political Trails 1775-1947) writes, “Bahadur Shah was the one around whom both the communities rallied as a symbol of revolt and unity…In him have still been centered the hopes and aspirations of millions. They have looked upon him as the source of honour, and, more than this, he has proved the rallying point not only to Muhammadans, but to thousands of others with whom it was supposed no bond of fanatical union could possibly be established.”
The outbreak started in Meerut and Barrackpur from January to May 1857, and then spread to Lucknow, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Jhansi, Gwalior, Bareilley, Madras, Bombay, and several places in Punjab. Leaders like Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Bhakt Khan, Azimullah Khan, Rani Laxmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kunwar Singh, Maulvi Ahmadullah, Bahadur Khan, Rao Tula Ram and Raja Nahar Singh of Punjab led the local uprisings.
Within 4 months the uprising was crushed by the British with a strong hand. Poets and princes, mullahs and merchants, Sufis and scholars were hunted down and hanged. Palaces, mosques, shrines, gardens and houses of Mughal Delhi were destroyed. The properties of the Muslims were confiscated. All the leaders of the uprising were either killed or drove out of India.
Bahadur Shah surrendered on 21 Sept. 1857. The next day, Major William Hodson set out to Humayun Tomb to arrest his sons, Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan, and his grandson, Mirza Abu Bakr. Hodson took the princes to Sher Shah Suri’s outpost, then known as Kabuli Darwaza or Lal Darwaza. They were stripped naked and shot. Since the incident the outpost came to be known as Khooni Darwaza. Hodson paid the price for his misdeeds. A few months after the shoot-out, he was killed at Begum Kothi in Lucknow on 11 Mar. 1858.
With the arrest of Bahadur Shah the four centuries of Mughal rule in India came to an end and the Mughal emperor was made a prisoner. He was brought to the walled city and kept under house arrest. Sadly, the poet was not given even a pen to write while in captivity. He scribbled some of his last verses on the wall with a burnt stick.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh signing the visitors book during his visit to the Mazar of Bahadur Shah Zafar, in Yangon, Myanmar on May 29, 2012.
Last Days of Bahadur Shah
Bahadur Shah’s trial began on 27 Jan. 1858 and ended on 9 Mar. 1858. The trial recommended the transportation of Bahadur Shah to Burma. In Oct 1858, Bahadur Shah accompanied, according to William Dalrymple, by his wife Zinat Mahal and 2 sons Mirza Jiwan Bhakt and Mirza Shah Abbas and daughter-in-law and wife of Jawan Bhakt, Shah Zamani Begum (generally referred to as Raunaq Zamani, the granddaughter of the emperor), who all chose to follow the emperor departed from Delhi for Calcutta, where they were placed on board a warship called Magara and taken to Rangoon.
In Burma British Commissioner Captain H. Nelson Davies received Bahadur Shah and his family. The family was then lodged in a quarter near the Shwe Dagon Pagoda under the supervision of Nelson Davies. The family was provided 4 rooms each of 16 ft. sq., one allotted for Bahadur Shah, another for Jawan Bhakt and his wife Zamani Begum, the rest for Zinat Mahal and Shah Abbas. Pen, ink and paper were completely forbidden. The family was provided 4 Indian attendants (a chaprasi, water carrier, washer-man and a sweeper).
Bahadur Shah died on Nov. 7, 1862 at the ripe old age of 87. Fearing another revolt the last rites of the emperor was performed without informing anyone. The janajah was performed by an old Moulana along with the two princes. After a week Nelson Davies informed about the death of the emperor to the higher officials in London. He wrote in his letter, “Have since visited the remaining State Prisoners- the scum of the reduced Asiatic harem; found all correct…The death of the ex-king may be said to have no effect on the Mohamedan part of the populace of Rangoon, except perhaps for a few final triumph of Islam. A bamboo fence surrounds the grave, and by the time the fence is worn out, the grass will again have properly covered the spot, and no vestige will remain to distinguish where the last of the Great Moghuls rests.” The news of the death of Bahadur Shah reached Delhi a fortnight later.
In one of his couplet Bahadur Shah had lamented on the irony of his fate thus:
Umr-e-daraaz maang ke laye the char din/Do aarzu mein kat gaye, do intezar mein
Hai kitna badnasseb Zafar dafn ke liye/Do gaz zameen bhi mil na saki koo-e-yaar mein.
Na kisii kii ankh ka nur na kisii ke dil ka qarar hun/Jo kisii ke kam na a sake main vo ek musht-e-Gubar hun
Na to main kisii ka habiib hun na to main kisii ka raqiib hun/Jo bigar gaya vo nasiib hun jo ujar gaya vo dayar hun
hamane duniyaa mein aake kyaa dekha/dekhaa jo kucch so Khvaab-saa dekhaa/hai to insaan Khaak kaa putlaa/lekin paanii ka bulbulaa dekhaa)
I had requested for a long life a life of four days/Two passed by in pining, and two in waiting/How unlucky is Zafar! For burial/Even two yards of land were not to be had, in the land (of the) beloved./My life gives no ray of light, I bring no solace to heart or eye/Out of dust to dust again, of no use to anyone am I/Barred the door of the fate for me, bereft of my dear ones am I/The spring of a flower garden ruined/Alas, my autumn wind am I/I came into the world and what did I see?/Whatever I saw was just like a dream/Man is moulded from clay but/I saw him as a bubble of water.
In 1867 the family of Bahadur Shah was allowed to leave the prison enclosure and to settle elsewhere in the Rangoon cantonment. The long confinement made Shah Zamani Begum, who was just around 15 years old, became seriously ill suffering from extreme depression. She started getting blind. To improve her condition she along with her husband was given another house not far from the Rangoon jail. By 1872 Shah Zamani Begum became completely blind. Mirza Shah Abbas married a girl from Rangoon, a daughter of a local Muslim merchant. His descendants still live in Rangoon today. Zinat Mahal lived on alone, comforting her loneliness with opium. She died in 1886. Her body was buried near her husband’s grave. Few years later Mirza Jawan Bakht died of stroke. He was 42.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and his wife Smt. Gursharan Kaur pray after offering chadar at the Mazar of Bahadur Shah Zafar, in Yangon, Myanmar on May 29, 2012.
A delegation of visitors from India visited Burma in 1903 to pay their respects at the burial place of Bahadur Shah. By then, due to long years of neglect, the exact location of the graves of Bahadur Shah and his wife became uncertain. In 1905 the Muslims of Rangoon protest demanding that the grave of Bahadur Shah should be marked. The British authorities agreed in 1907 and a railing was also erected around an supposed site of the grave, and the engraved stone slab, marked, “Bahadur Shah, the ex-king of Delhi died at Rangoon Nov. 7th 1862 and was buried near this spot” and “Zinath Mahal wife of Bahadur Shah who died on the 17th July 1886 is also buried near this stone,” was placed.
Surprisingly, in Feb. 1991 labourers while digging a drain at the back of the shrine uncovered the original brick-lined grave of Bahadur Shah. It was found 3 feet under the ground, and about 25 feet away from the earlier supposed graveyard of the emperor. This original graveyard has over the years become a popular place of pilgrimage for the Burmese Muslims. The local Muslims, who believed Bahadur Shah as a powerful saint, come to seek his spiritual blessing and favours. A prayer hall was also constructed in front of the graveyard with Indian assistance, which was inaugurated on 15 Dec. 1994. Today the graveyard is managed by a trust named Bahadur Shah Zafar Mausoleum Committee. Before the military takeover in Myanmar, the shrine was managed by a trust set up by the descendants of Bahadur Shah.
[Photo Courtesy: PIB]
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home / by Dr. Syed Ahmed for TwoCircles.net / May 31st, 2012
Bollywood actors who make it big like to reward themselves after widespread popularity to an exotic vacation in Europe or the Caribbean but that’s not for everyone. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has a very different approach to vacations as compared to his colleagues in the film industry. The Manjhi- The Mountain Man actor was seen farming while on vacation to his native village in Uttar Pradesh.
He has been working back to back films and he deserves a break before he can get back to filming or listening to scripts for future projects. The actor wanted to go back to his village for quite some time reports Hindustan Times. He is relaxing at his native town and also indulging in some farming to make it a productive vacation.
Apparently Nawazuddin always does a bit of farming when he goes back to his village. He said that farming is his ancestral occupation and he has done it for nearly two decades. It gives him pleasure to as well and we love a people’s actor.
source: http://www.india.com / India.com / Home>Showbiz / by Rishabh Chakravorty / September 13th, 2015
![Bahadur Shah Zafar [Photo Courtesy: exoticindia.es]](http://www.mpositive.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Zafar01MPOs14sept2015.jpg)
