India today said Begum Hazrat Mahal, who had rebelled against British colonial rule in the country in 1857-58, will always be remembered for her contribution in India’s freedom struggle and described her as a “source of inspiration”.
Recalling Begum’s contributions towards the freedom movement of India, India’s Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae laid a wreath on her tomb to commemorate her 137th death anniversary here.
“We must remember her with great honour as she has been a source of inspiration for us all,” Rae said.
Begum of Awadh and the first wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who was one of the heroes of freedom struggle of 1857, died on April 7, 1879 during her refuge in Nepal.
Noting that Mahal was one of the freedom fighters of the first freedom movement of India, Rae said she had always been remembered for her contributions in India’s freedom struggle.
He also offered to provide necessary assistance to protect and preserve one and a half century old Hazrat Mahal tomb located in the heart of Kathmandu.
“Hazrat Mahal has been a symbol of age old tie between Nepal and India,” Rae said.
Begum fiercely fought the British East India Company during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58, with the help of her commander Raja Jailal Singh. When her forces regained power of Lucknow for a brief stint, her son Brijis Qadra was declared ruler of Awadh.
When the forces under the command of the British re-captured Lucknow and most of Awadh, she was forced to retreat. She then took refuge in Kathmandu along with 10-year-old Qadr and some other loyal supporters.
Begum’s rebellion was ignited by the demolition of temples and mosques by the East India Company to make way for roads.
source: http://www.ptinews.com / Press Trust of India (PTI) / Home> International / by Shrish B Pradhan / Kathmandu – PTI, April 07th, 2016
Begum Hazrat Mahal was one of the freedom fighters of the first freedom movement of India, Rae said she had always been remembered for her contributions in India’s freedom struggle.
Kathmandu :
India today said Begum Hazrat Mahal, who had rebelled against British colonial rule in the country in 1857-58, will always be remembered for her contribution in India’s freedom struggle and described her as a “source of inspiration”. Recalling Begum’s contributions towards the freedom movement of India, India’s Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae laid a wreath on her tomb to commemorate her 137th death anniversary here.
“We must remember her with great honour as she has been a source of inspiration for us all,” Rae said. Begum of Awadh and the first wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who was one of the heroes of freedom struggle of 1857, died on April 7, 1879 during her refuge in Nepal. Noting that Mahal was one of the freedom fighters of the first freedom movement of India, Rae said she had always been remembered for her contributions in India’s freedom struggle.
He also offered to provide necessary assistance to protect and preserve one and a half century old Hazrat Mahal tomb located in the heart of Kathmandu. “Hazrat Mahal has been a symbol of age old tie between Nepal and India,” Rae said. Begum fiercely fought the British East India Company during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58, with the help of her commander Raja Jailal Singh.
When her forces regained power of Lucknow for a brief stint, her son Brijis Qadra was declared ruler of Awadh. When the forces under the command of the British re-captured Lucknow and most of Awadh, she was forced to retreat. She then took refuge in Kathmandu along with 10-year-old Qadr and some other loyal supporters. Begum’s rebellion was ignited by the demolition of temples and mosques by the East India Company to make way for roads.
source: http://www.india.com / India.com / Home> News> World / by Wires English / April 07th, 2016
The flow of scholarly work between the Mughals and Europe involved translation, re-translation, re-interpretation and development.
Christoph Clavius was born in Bamberg in either 1538 or 1537 (an amusing discrepancy for a scientist whose fame derives from his work on calendar reform) and was initiated into the Jesuit order by Saint Ignatius Loyola in Rome in 1555, and passed away in 1612, an eminent scholar.
Many of Clavius’ works were influenced by Latin translations of Arabic scientific works, including those of Ibn Rushd (in particular his commentary on Aristotle), the astronomers Abū Ma‘shar, al-Biṭrūjī and al-Farghānī, as well as the mathematician Thābit b. Qurra, among many other scientists writing in Arabic and Persian whose works Clavius cites.
Book 4 of Christoph Clavius, Gnomonices Libri Octo, published in Rome in 1581 (533.k.2, pp. 442-43).
Clavius is an excellent example of the many Jesuit scientists of his age who continued to teach Ptolemaic astronomy (i.e. a geocentric vision of the solar system, indeed the universe, in which the planets and stars orbited the earth in concentric circles), despite the rise of – and often despite their own familiarity with and endorsement of – Copernican astronomy.
Christoph Clavius’ Gnomonices Libri Octo, on the art of gnomonics (timekeeping through the use of a sundial), was published in 1581
Mu‘tamid Khān’s Arabic translation of the identical passage (IO Islamic 1308, ff. 289v-290).
Arabic version
This work also exists in a fascinating Arabic translation emanating from the Mughal empire that was purchased by Richard Johnson (1753-1807), a well-known collector of manuscripts and miniature paintings who worked for the East India Company.
Johnson made an annotation on the flyleaf of the manuscript that the translator of Clavius’ work was sent to Portugal by Aurangzeb – presumably to study or in some diplomatic capacity.
The full note reads, “Upon Dialling. Work of Clavius in Latin translated into Arabic by Maatemed Khan who went to Portugal in the time of Aurungzebe. This is the original foul copy of the translation in the hand of the translator (i.e., the ‘foul copy’ being the first draft, in contrast to the ‘fair copy’).”
Richard Johnson’s explanatory note (IO Islamic 1308).
A further note, in Arabic, added by the translator’s son, reads: “Draft of the Book of Measures [Kitāb al-Maqāyīs] which was composed by Clavius the Frank [Kalāwīūs al-Firinjī] in the Latin language, and my father, God have mercy on him, translated it into the [clear – mubīn?] Arabic language, possessor of virtuous talents including the perfection of acquired knowledge,
Rustam called Mu‘tamad Khān, the son of Qubād, gatherer of proofs of knowledge, perceiving the secrets of the spoken and the tacit, given the name Diyānat Khān al-Ḥārithī al-Badakhshī, may God be fair with both of them and elevate them.
Signed: I, who am a feeble slave begging for the mercy of the One and the intercession of the Prophet, Mīrzā Muḥammad, may God cause him to attain eternal happiness”.
Note by Muʻtamad Khān’s son (IO Islamic 1308, f.1v).
Complex process
This translation offers some fascinating possibilities.
The first is the demonstration of how knowledge circulated in the early modern world.
Clavius’ work, which responded to and was inspired by Arabic mathematicians and scientists in Latin translation, here a generation after its publication is translated back into Arabic to be read, presumably by elites at the court of Aurangzeb, where the work’s translator and his son were courtiers.
This translation demonstrates the complexity of knowledge flows – that they were synchronic as well as diachronic, and also involved a process not just of translation, but of re-translation, re-interpretation and development as they travelled.
Furthermore, the inscriptions taken in tandem, one in English made by an East India official, the other in Arabic by a Mughal courtier, open the possibility that already in Aurangzeb’s reign, Mughal elites travelled to Europe perhaps to study.
In the case of Mu‘tamid Khan, the translator of this text, he mastered the technical idiom of geometry and mathematics in Latin, and then translated it into an equally complex scholarly language, Arabic. Not an uncommon intellectual feat at the Mughal court, this process of scientific translation remains to be studied in depth.
It is also possible that the presence of the Jesuits at Goa had an influence on the production of this translation, but firm evidence remains to be found.
Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party or PDP took oath this morning as the first woman Chief Minister of the country’s only Muslim majority state, Jammu and Kashmir, at the head of a coalition government that includes the BJP.
The 56-year-old succeeds her father Mufti Mohammad Saeed who died in January this year. 23 ministers are taking oath along with Ms Mufti , including members of the BJP, whose Nirmal Singh will be Deputy chief minister.
In an indication of the struggles that lie ahead for Ms Mufti, senior PDP leader and lawmaker Tariq Karra boycotted the oath ceremony.
“I had a meeting Mehboobaji till late last night. I wanted three ministers who have played a dubious role and are responsible for the failure of Mufti Mohammad Saeed to be dropped,” Mr Karra told NDTV.
Mr Karra wanted Ms Mufti to exclude key PDP leaders Altaf Bukhari, Naeem Akhtar and Haseeb Drabu from her council of ministers. He alleges that they plotted to form government in alliance with the BJP without Ms Mufti as she refused to take oath for three months after her father’s death.
Ms Mufti dropped Mr Bukhari, but not the others. She has instead replaced two lawmakers who were junior ministers in Mufti Saeed’s team.
Mr Karra is no lightweight. In 2014, he defeated former union minister Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference in the general elections.
Ms Mufti has been criticised for delaying government formation as she wanted the BJP-led Centre to agree to several demands. But the BJP stood its ground saying it would agree to no pre-conditions for an alliance .
Last week, after a long stalemate, Ms Mufti’s meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the way for a PDP-BJP government to take oath. But her struggle to manage a difficult coalition remains.
Former J&K chief minister and Ms Mufti’s main rival Omar Abdullah has prophesied that Mehbooba will face “more alliance contradictions”in the partnership with the BJP, an ideological opposite.
State elections in December 2014 gave no party a majority in the 70 member J&K assembly. The PDP, with 28 seats and the BJP with 25 had formed government after weeks of hard negotiations last year.
source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> All India / by Surabhi Malik / April 04th, 2016
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gifted Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz a gold-plated replica of Kerala’s Cheraman Juma Masjid, believed to be the first mosque built in India by Arab traders around 629 AD.
“PM @narendramodi gifted His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud a gold-plated replica of the Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kerala,” the prime minister’s office tweeted.
The mosque in Karala’s Thrissur district is believed to be the first mosque built in India by Arab traders around 629 AD.
“Cheraman Juma Masjid is symbolic of active trade relations between India and Saudi Arabia since ancient times,” it said.
According to oral tradition, Cheraman Perumal was the Chera King and a contemporary of the Holy Prophet who went to Arabia and embraced Islam after meeting the Holy Prophet at Mecca, the PMO said.
Before he died in Oman due to some illness on the way back to India, he wrote letters asking the local rulers, to whom he had handed over his empire, to extend all help they could to Arab merchants who were planning to visit India.
The mosque has an ancient oil lamp that is always kept burning and believed to be over a thousand years old. People from all religions bring oil for the lamp as an offering.
Many believe that the mosque is a testimony to Islam’s arrival to India long before the Mughals came in from the northwest.
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, was today received at the Royal Court here by King Salman.
He is the fourth Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia after Manmohan Singh in 2010, Indira Gandhi in 1982 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956.
source: http://www.ptinews.com / Press Trust of India / Home> International / by Manash Pratim Bhuyan / Riyadh – April 03rd, 2016
Trust plans to take it up with the govt to issue a stamp and coin in the king’s name besides building a fitting memorial in his honour.
The Trust plans to host an international seminar on the relevance of the king in today’s world.
Hyderabad:
The Deccan Heritage Trust is planning to host year long celebrations to mark the 450th birthday of Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, the founder of Hyderabad city, which falls on April 4, 2016. The Trust plans to host an international seminar on the relevance of the king in today’s world.
According to Dr Mohammed Safiullah, historian and expert on Hyderabad, the Trust plans to take it up with the government to issue a stamp and coin in the king’s name besides building a fitting memorial in his honour.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / Deccan Chronicle / April 03rd, 2016
Justice B Kemal Pasha on Saturday said he did not believe that heads of religious institutions could influence voters.
He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the birthday celebration of veteran journalist K M Roy, and releasing the latter’s book ‘Ananyanayi’ here on Saturday.
“I don’t believe that people would caste vote as directed by religious heads. If a person close to me tells me to vote for a particular candidate, I would think twice. People of the State have the ability to take decisions on their own. They will think before casting their vote,” said Pasha, adding that Malayalis would vote for candidates who are fit, without considering religious and social factors.
“The supreme authority of the nation is not the President, Prime minister or the Chief Justice, but its citizens who caste vote.
People should have the rectitude to express their interest, otherwise life has no meaning,” he said, adding that one should always speaks with sincerity.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / April 03rd, 2016
The Nizam of Hyderabad’s Rs 310 crore lying locked up in a UK bank due to a dispute between India, Pakistan and his family for the last 68 years is likely to be opened soon. According to government sources, the final arguments in the case continued for five days in the High Court Chancery in London and judgment has been reserved.
“The case came up for hearing in Justice Henderson’s court on March 2, 3, 4, 7 and final argument was on March 17. We are hopeful that a judgment in the case will be pronounced soon,” a source said.
Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hrderabad
The dispute has its genesis in a 1948 transfer of GBP 1 million from Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan’s account in Westminster Bank (now NatWest Bank) to the account of then Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK, Ibrahim Rahimtoohla. The fund was allegedly transferred by the nizam’s finance minister without Khan’s knowledge. After the State of Hyderabad was annexed to India, the nizam brought a civil action against his finance minister and Rahimtoohla for illegal transaction.
House of Lords after Pakistan claimed sovereign immunity. In subsequent years, attempts to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels failed due to conflicting claims of beneficial entitlement to the funds by three parties: Pakistan, India and the nizam’s heirs. The bank also made it clear that it will not release the money unless the British court passes an order directing it to do so. The government ofIndia had also participated in discussions with Pakistan since 1958 at various levels. According to sources, it figured in almost all foreign secretary-level meetings between India and Pakistan.
“The last such meeting was held on July 5, 2012, but no out of court settlement was reached. Pakistan was not too keen to even respond to our positive approach,” the source said.
On April 3, 2013, the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK proposed to initiate a civil action against the bank for releasing the money, which is now worth Rs 310 crore, saying it indisputably has the legal title over the nizam’s money. On November 23, 2013, it again approached the court serving a notice of discontinuance of the proceedings, which the court had observed as abuse of legal process.
“In serving the notice of discontinuance, Pakistan was abusing the process of the court. The abuse lay in seeking to achieve a tactical advantage, which would place Pakistan in a better position than that to which it had already voluntarily submitted by bringing its action against the bank,” the court’s observation on January 16, 2015, stated.
Claims have also been put forward over the years by or on behalf of members of the Nizam’s extended family.
Though the bank refused to release the money without an order from the English court, it continued to send bank statements to the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, solicitors for the High Commissioner for India in London and nizam’s heirs.
The money trail
■ The nizam’s Rs 310 crore is locked up in NatWest Bank
■ In 1948, the nizam’s finance minister transferred GBP 1 million to the account of then Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK without permission
■ The Nizam brought a civil action against his finance minister
■ The money is claimed by Pakistan, India and the nizam’s heirs
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> The Sunday Standard / by Yatish Yadav / March 27th, 2016
In a significant development, All-India Muslim Women Personal Law Board president Shaista Ambar met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat here on Tuesday.
Ambar said she was present at a function in the Post-Graduate Institute area where Bhagwat was visiting. She sought an appointment with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief that was immediately granted.
“He was very gracious and in his address he spoke of nation building and character development,” she said.
Ambar also said she requested Bhagwat to visit the mosque which they have got constructed, and he readily agreed to do so.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by IANS / March 29th, 2016
