Humanity First : In Kodagu, a Hindu and Muslim donate 1.5 acres land to flood victims

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), , , ,

Kondangeri ( Kodagu ), KARNATAKA :

While Haji gave the land for the new houses, Lokesh pledged his for an accessible road that can be built towards the plot.

HajiMPOs29aug2019

In the face of terrible tragedy, the only glimmer of hope is often people coming together in solidarity and healing each other with love. Placing humanity ahead of religious differences, a Muslim man and his Hindu counterpart from Kodagu district have united to donate over 1.5 acres of agricultural land for the rehabilitation of flood victims.

According to Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy, the recent rains accompanied by flood in the Kodagu region have washed away over 5000 homes in several villages close to the Kaveri river, including Kondangeri.

It was then that 55-year-old Abdulla Haji came forward with an offer to part with 1.5 acres of his 6-acre agricultural land and donate it to the Kondangeri Masjid Committee, so that the government can put it to use.

“When a person sees the people around him suffering so much, it is only natural that he would go and help others. Although I’m a not a rich farmer, I’m in a position to help them. I hope that the bereaved people get some strength from God to overcome their losses and grief,” Haji said.

As per Haji’s proposal, the land is suitable for building permanent houses for the flood victims. But while the Masjid committee was considering the housing proposal, they soon realised that the construction site will face the problem of an inaccessible road.

“But without any hesitation, another Kondangeri resident, Lokesh, approached the Masjid committee and pledged that the Masjid may attach his part of land to the charitable cause and lay down a road towards the residential project,” said Yusuf Haji, President of Kondangeri Muslim Jamath.

According to the Masjid authorities, most of the flood victims are labourers who’ve lost whatever little they had.

“Almost all the flood victims whose houses have been destroyed are labourers from coffee plantations. They had to forcibly leave their homes as the water level rose and in the process, they also lost their possession and valuables along with their home,” said Yusuf.

While government authorities are engaged in the rehabilitation process, there is a lack of temporary relief centres built by the government at Kondangeri village. Hundreds of victims, including women and children, irrespective of their religious beliefs, have taken shelter in relief centres at the Kondangeri Masjid while mourning their losses.

“Haji was thoroughly involved in serving the needy at the Masjid when they had started coming to this shelter. We think he was overwhelmed by their losses and felt that it was necessary to look into providing the people with long-term solutions,” Yusuf said.

This duo’s decision was hailed by the local authorities who confided that the district was facing a shortage of land to rehabilitate the victims of floods and landslides.

“There is already an ongoing process undertaken by the district administration to identify government land that has been encroached by a few agriculturists. The process of its recovery will commence. In the meanwhile, the generosity of people like Lokesh and Haji is really commendable,” Assistant Commissioner T Javare Gowda said.

This is not the first time that ordinary people in the flood and landslide prone coffee belt have rushed to help others. Last year, Abdul Latif of Suntikoppa had come forward and donated 2 acres of his estate land for the rehabilitation of victims.

Story by Story Infinity  (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home> Karnataka Rains 2019 / by Mubarak / August 20th, 2019

Khaja Moinuddin’s no-frills cooking on ‘Nawab’s Kitchen’ helps feed orphans

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, FREE : Food, Videos, , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Khaja01MPOs29aug2019

Cooking demo videos galore, but Khaja Moinuddin’s popular no-frills videos serve to fill hungry orphans as well

If you are able to look away from Khaja Moinuddin’s ear-to-ear grin, you will notice a 40 kilogram-capacity degcha or a handi that is either resting over a bed of embers or bubbling with food in the heat of a wood fire. His kitchen is always outdoors; Moinuddin is either cooking in the open under the sky or, during the summer months, under the shade of a tree. His smile remains intact, no matter where.

Moinuddin’s cooking is on a big scale, similar to his boundless smile. And if you are one of those who gets sucked into the web of cooking demo video feeds, then you are sure to have come across his.

If Moinuddin’s name doesn’t strike a bell, the YouTube channel Nawab’s Kitchen sure will. Popular as one of the viral content creators from Hyderabad, the chef is almost always cooking to be able to feed 40 people. The cooked food is distributed in orphanages and their staff, as well as among people who stop by and wait patiently to watch him cook.

“I always cook extra and never come back with leftovers. Once we are done cooking, everyone in and around the area where we cook is free to join us to eat. Initially we would pack the cooked food in boxes and distribute it, then we thought we would feel even better if we are able to serve the people directly,” says Moinuddin.

Khaja02MPOs29aug2019

And who is the ‘we’ he is referring to? Moinuddin clarifies he might be the face of Nawab’s Kitchen, but there are two others who work equally hard to put every video on YouTube. “My colleagues-turned-friends Srinath Reddy and Bhagat Reddy are with me in this. We conceptualised Nawab’s Kitchen (NK) together,” smiles Moinuddin.

Moinuddin has over 10 years of working experience in regional TV channels as a producer. His friends and partners Srinath and Bhagat who prefer to work behind the scenes are experienced at working in the video editing department. Having known each other for a good number of years, the three decided to quit their jobs and start a YouTube channel that will engage, educate and be on a neutral topic like food. “There are very few people who don’t pause while scrolling, to watch a video on how a certain dish is being cooked. Especially if it is an dish Indian, and been shot to show the richness of rustic regional cuisine,” adds Moinuddin.

NK’s no-frill videos and a relaxed explanation of the ingredients and cooking process, wins him fans on his YouTube channel. His recipes are easy and simple to follow. “However, we choose a venue to cook that is close to some orphanage so that we can share the food with them. When we set out to put together NK we wanted to do social service through what we were gaining,” adds Moinuddin.

None of the three friends are trained chefs, they function with the knowledge and experience that comes with observing their families cook. Moinuddin adds, “My nani was an excellent cook, when I was in Tenali with her while doing my graduation, I learnt her style of cooking.”

For dishes like pizza and cakes, Moinuddin equips himself by learning online. “When we reach the gates of the orphanages, the smile and love with which the children greets us, banishes the day’s stress. The love and appreciation they show towards us makes us wonder where the children get their wisdom from,” says Moinuddin. NK regularly visits about 15 orphanages to share their food.

What is Nawab Kitchen’s signature dish? “My mutton biryani has a lot of fans,” he laughs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style>Food / by Prabalika M. Borah / August 20th, 2019

KLETU students shine in Aero Design event

Amazing Feats, Education, Karnataka (under research project), Science & Technology,

KARNATAKA :

The AeroKLE team with their working models. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The AeroKLE team with their working models. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

They come first in regular class and third in micro class in national tournament

AeroKLE, a team of 17 students of KLE Technological University (KLETU), has secured the top place, in the regular class, at the national-level SAE India Aero Design 2019 competition held in Tamil Nadu.

In the recent competition, organised by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, they also secured the third rank in the micro class. As many as 146 teams from across the country took part in the competition.

The team comprised Vineet Anand Bedarman (captain), Amit Allimatti, Sayyed Ahmed Zuhair, Rohit Anvekar, Rahul Pattar, Shridhar Hadimani, Om Prakash Patel, Yajnesh Poojari, Koustubh Annigeri, Sujay C, Nilesh Bandekar, Mallikarjun Pattanshetty, Yeshwanth Kumar, Ajey Joshi, Alex Steven Dharmdas, Calvin Lobo, and G.V. Srikar.

The team was guided by Head of School of Mechanical Engineering, KLETU, B.B. Kotturshettar; Head of Centre of Material Sciences Nagaraj Banapurmath, and faculty coordinator G.M. Hiremath.

They were involved in designing and testing different prototypes in Hubballi.

They also optimised the final aircraft designs and submitted the technical design report at the event.

The report too was praised by judges and was has adjudged the ‘best technical design report’ at the event.

The students have bagged a purse of ₹1.35 lakh.

At the contest, the regular class demanded the highest payload to be lifted, whereas the micro class demanded the highest payload fraction.

The teams had to conform to the mechanical and electrical limitations as prescribed by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), India.

Experts from the Indian Space and Research Organisation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and National Aerospace Laboratories were the judges for the event.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Hubballi – August 02nd, 2019

Being Bohra in Chennai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

With their presence in the city for over 200 years, more than 1,800 families have found a home here. A walk through George Town reveals the community’s rich cultural stories.

Photos: Ashwin Prasath
Photos: Ashwin Prasath

Chennai :

Their favourite food is not biryani and they wear burqas in hot pink, forest green, bright blue and every colour one can imagine, except black. Meet the Bohras, a sect of the Shia Muslims whose history in Chennai dates back to more than 200 years.

“The Bohra community originated in Yemen and later spread to India and Pakistan. In India, they primarily settled in Gujarat before spreading out to different cities. So, we have Gujarati influence on our food, language and traditions. We speak Gujarati with references from Persian and Arabic,” said Tasneem Kutubuddin dressed in a dark pink burqa or rida, their traditional costume. She was leading a heritage walk — Understanding the Bohras in the city — on Sunday at George Town.While women wear ridas that cover their head and body but not their faces,  Bohra men wear a three-piece white outfit and white cap called a topi with gold embroidery.

Bohri02CF27aug2019

Migrating to Chennai
Mulla Jafferji Ibne Mulla Ismailji was the first Bohra to come to Chennai. He travelled till Arcot in 1790 via the Malabar coast to join his uncle in the bangle business. He later migrated to Chennai in 1793 and set up a garment business in George Town.

“Whenever Bohras migrate to a city, if they are the first ones from their community there, they buy a land for cemetery and prayer. Also, each prayer area has a community hall attached to it where we all dine together. So, this was the first piece of land brought by a Bohra in Chennai,” said Tasneem pointing towards the Mohammedi Masjid in Angappa Naicken Street at George Town.

Chennai has three Dawoodi Bohra mosques — Mohammedi Masjid, Saifee mosque in Moore street, Mannady and the third one at Basin bridge.  Today, more than 1,800 Bohra families are living in the city and are primarily settled in Madhavaram, Royapuram and George Town. The Dawoodi Bohras are followers of the 27th Dai or high priest and can be found in about 40 countries around the world. They have separate administration offices in each city.

The MSB Matriculation Higher Secondary School at Thiruvalluvar Nagar in George Town is set up especially for the children of Bohra community. According to Tasneem, the school follows the Tamil Nadu State Board syllabus along with a Siyat Islamia curriculum.

“About 800-odd children study in this school. For the kids from the community who are studying in other schools, MSB offers a weekend programme to educate them on the history of the community and Quran,” she said.

Communal dining
Food plays an integral part of a Bohra’s daily life. Eating from a thal is a tradition that still continues in many families. A thali is a large round metal plate, around which the family sits, helping themselves from the same plate, course-by-course, during every meal of the day. A lot of their dishes are influenced from the Gujarati cuisine.

Apart from non-vegetarian dishes like pulao and kebab, the cuisine boasts some unique vegetarian dishes including a cold baingan bharta made with curd and spring onion, sev ni tarkari in which bhel puri sev is cooked with onions, and their quintessential dal chawal palida, a combination of rice and dal served with a flavourful concoction of drumsticks, bottle gourd and kokum.

Unfortunately, the Bohra community does not have many restaurants serving the savoury dishes. But, to try their traditional sweets, head to Mannady Street to find sweet shops maintained by Bohris including Hatimy’s and Alambaradar.

Try some of their heady sweet treats like malida (a sweet made with wheat and jaggery), lacchka (a cracked wheat halwa, usually made on first day of the year of Bohra calendar), kalamro (a yogurt based rice pudding) and the famous malai khaja which is also called Bohri puff pastry.

An interesting concept among the Bohras are the community kitchens that are attached to the masjid. “The concept is similar to the dabbawalas in Mumbai. Food gets prepared early in the morning, packed in boxes and numbered. People collect their boxes and replace it with an empty box for the next meal. One needs to pay a nominal amount. Usually, the well-to-do families pay for four to five people, so that the poor can get food for free,” said Tasneem.

The concept of community kitchen began around five years ago when their religious head, Syedna Dr Mufaddal Saifuddin said that women must be freed from the kitchen. So, this kitchen makes lunch for the entire Dawoodi Bohra community across Chennai, every day. The rule is applied across every city and every country.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by K V Navya / Express News Service / August 26th, 2019

Rare honour for Hyderabad’s wildlife photographer

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion, , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Ismail01MPOs27aug2019

Hyderabad’s Ismail Sheriff only lensman to be invited to conference on snow leopards in Kazakhstan

For city-based wildlife photographer Ismail Sheriff, known for capturing the elusive snow leopards on camera, it was a rare honour to be invited as the only lensman to a recent conference on conservation of snow leopards in Kazakhstan.

The conference attended by delegates from 12 countries including Russia, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Mongolia, focussed on initiating various measures to increase the population of snow leopards.

“It was indeed an honour to be there. I am glad that my adventure in Kibber (Himachal Pradesh) where I first sighted a snow leopard five years ago and subsequent sightings of the magnificent species helped me come thus far,” he tells The Hindu.

Rare captures of the elusive snow leopards by City-based wildlife photographer Ismail Sheriff. PHOTO: Special Arrangement
Rare captures of the elusive snow leopards by City-based wildlife photographer Ismail Sheriff. PHOTO: Special Arrangement

Mr. Sheriff, 39, started off on the big cat trail nine years ago, mostly photographing Royal Bengal Tigers and gradually moved on to snow leopards.

“India has about 250 snow leopards and interestingly, there are no territories for them like tigers. They often travel across about 150-200 square km, transgressing even borders of a few countries,” says Mr. Sheriff, who is into fine arts printing apart from pursuing his passion in wildlife photography.

“Unlike spotting tigers in a reserve forest, this is a different ball game altogether because the biggest challenge comes from the freezing conditions. Often, we have to brave life-threatening landslides and avalanches. It was a spine-chilling experience for me,” he explains. “But, still these factors don’t deter me as anything related to a snow leopard gives me joy,” he adds.

The maximum snow leopards, Mr. Sheriff says, are in China — about 2,000 — and it is Kazakhstan’s national animal and hence, that country’s concern for conservation is pretty much understandable.

“Groups of wild dogs pose serious threat to the leopards, especially the cubs. They also deny food to the leopards by taking away their kill. And, then there is climate change which is making the snow leopards come closer to the human habitat,” he points out.

What are the corrective measures being planned? “It has been decided to have a four km grid with trap cameras to understand their behavioural pattern, density and prey base, and educate the locals about the importance of protecting them. We generally travel to the mountain ranges during winter and by the time we have the second edition of the conference in January 2020, we should have more practical solutions to ensure an increase in their numbers,” he concludes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – August 26th, 2019

Son-of-the-soil diplomat does nation proud

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Videos, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA / New York, U.S.A :

Syed Akbaruddin
Syed Akbaruddin

Syed Akbaruddin’s friends describe him as a thorough professional

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, won accolades from Twitteratti after he extended his ‘hand of friendship’ to Pakistani journalists and reportedly asserted at the U.N. Security Council’s closed consultation on Kashmir that Article 370 was an internal matter of the country. But unbeknownst to many, the suave diplomat has a strong Hyderabadi connection, including that of serving as joint secretary of Nizam College Students’ Union.

Those who have been acquainted with Mr. Akbaruddin describe him as ‘focussed’, ‘articulate’, ‘soft spoken’ and with ‘no enemies’.

“He was a degree student at the Nizam College from 1977 to 1980. His father S. Bashiruddin was head of the Department of Journalism from the early 70s to the mid-80s and then moved to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as its Vice-Chancellor. He also served as Ambassador to Qatar,” says his friend and journalist M. Somasekhar, who met the diplomat around six months ago. “He was active in student politics in the college and was very popular. He continues to be articulate and soft spoken.”

Mr. Akbaruddin’s school, Hyderabad Public School at Begumpet, tweeted its appreciation on Tuesday, “We are proud to recognize the man of the moment, Syed Akbaruddin who is the permanent representative of India at the United Nations, an alumnus of the HPS @IndiaUNNewYork @AkbaruddinIndia @UN #HPSBegumpet #HPS #Alumni #Hyderabad #Begumpet”.

Managing editor of Siasat Daily, Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, who was the diplomat’s junior in Nizam College, describes Mr. Akbaruddin as ‘truly secular’ and ‘highly efficient’ with a deep understanding of not just diplomatic issues, but also those connected to the culture of the country.

“We had organised an exhibition of Indian calligraphy exhibits in Delhi in 2013. It was there that he understood its potential and wanted to project it as India’s contribution to global Islamic culture. A thorough professional, one can never find him in controversies and has always maintained a clean record,” Mr. Khan says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Syed Mohammed / Hyderabad – August 22nd, 2019

Khaki dream comes true

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , ,

Gaya, BIHAR / NEW DELHI / Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Gaush Alam
Gaush Alam

Gaush Alam, an IPS probationer allotted to Telangana cadre, has been adjudged the best all-round probationer.

An alma mater of IIT-Bombay, Mr. Alam would receive the Prime Minister’s Baton, Home Ministry’s Revolver and the Vice President of India’s Trophy for exemplary performance, apart from six other trophies during the Dikshant Samaro.

A native of Gaya district in Bihar, Mr. Alam was brought up in New Delhi. He worked with a multinational company in Bengaluru after completing his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT-Bombay. “A year after working with a private company, I started preparing for civil services examination and got selected in my first attempt. Soon, I joined the academy in 2017,” he said. His father served in the Indian Army as Subedar.

“I have completed two years of training at the NPA and will join the Telangana cadre soon. I am quite excited about my new posting,” he said adding that he would miss the training days. Another IPS probationer Richa Tomar, who bagged 1973 Batch IPS Officers’ Trophy for the Best All-round Lady IPS probationer, was a nursing mother when she got selected for the services and joined the premier police academy.

“Shivansh (her son) was one year old when I joined the academy. I have struggled a lot to fulfil my dream of joining the civil services,” she said.

Hailing from Hassanjiwani, a small village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Tomar completed her M.Sc (microbiology). “Before clearing the UPSC examination, I worked in DANIPS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service) and my husband is also an ACP in New Delhi,” said Ms. Tomar, who has been allocated to Rajasthan cadre.

“The training here is rigorous and challenging and my major focus after joining the cadre would be to prevent crime against women and children,” she said.

The Second Best All-round IPS Probationer of 2017 batch, Palash Chandra Dhali, is still wondering how his parents got the courage to enrol him in English-medium school, even being daily-wage labourers.

“My father, Pravhas Dhali, was a construction worker, and we used to live in Odisha. He enrolled me in an English-medium private school, which I believe has helped me in completing my engineering and clearing the civil services examination,” he said.

The IPS probationer hails from West Bengal and has been allotted home cadre. He worked with the NTPC and Indian Telecom Service before joining the NPA.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Abhinay Deshpande / Hyderabad – August 22nd, 2019

Nagpur Police constable’s daughter Alfiya Khan Pathan bags bronze medal in international boxing

Sports, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

Nagpur, MAHARASHTRA :

Akram Khan, Alfiya Khan along with Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam
Akram Khan, Alfiya Khan along with Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam

Nagpur Police constable Akram Khan’s 16-year-old daughter Alfiya Khan Pathan won the bronze medal in the ongoing 80+ kg category at the 3rd Nations Cup International Boxing Championship.

City’s only international boxer, Alfiya had earlier won a silver medal in the previous edition. The championship took place in Serbia on Sunday night. . Alifiya defeated Russian boxer Vorontsova Valeriia and clinched the third spot.

Alfiya Khan Pathan (Photo source: facebook)
Alfiya Khan Pathan (Photo source: facebook)

The Indian team won four gold, four silver and four bronze medals and clinched the runners-up trophy. Also, Tamanna (48kg), Ambeshori Devi (57kg), Preeti Dahiya (60kg) Priyanka (66kg) bagged the gold medals.

In 50kg category, Karnataka’s Anju Devi, Maharashtra’s Simran Verma (52kg), Haryana’s Manshi Dalal (75kg) and Punjab’s Tanishbir Kaur Sandhu (80kg) bagged silver medals. Nagpur’s Alfiya (+80kg), Neha (54kg), Goa’s Aashreya Naik (63kg), Khushi (70kg) and bagged bronze medals each.

In 2018, the international boxer during the Khelo India games had created history in Nagpur division after bagging the top spot.

Nagpur Police on its official Twitter handle posted,”At 16, Alfiya Khan Pathan, daughter of Police Constable Akram Khan Pathan, is leaving everyone in awe, with her commendable performance in the boxing ring. Nagpur Police congratulates Alfiya for her achievements.”

Nagpur City Police

✔@NagpurPolice

At 16, Alfiya Khan Pathan, daughter of Police Constable Akram Khan Pathan, is leaving everyone in awe, with her commendable performance in the boxing ring.

Nagpur Police congratulates Alfiya for her achievements.

NagpurPoliceMPOs24aug2019

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source: http://www.nationnext.in / Nation Next / Home> Next News> Sport / by Radhika Dhawad / August 21st, 2019

Krishna district collector to get national POSHAN Abhiyan award from PM

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , ,

Krishna District, Machilipatnam, (Vijayawada) , ANDHRA PRADESH :

Krishna topped in implementation of the scheme and as part of it, convergency action meetings were held, community-based events and immunisation programmes were taken up with 100 per cent success rate.

Vijayawada :

Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiaz will receive the national POSHAN Abhiyan award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.

Imtiaz will be receiving the award for effective implementation of the PM’s Overarching Scheme for holistic nutrition (POSHAN) scheme implemented by the Union Women Development and Child Welfare Department to provide nutritious food to women.

Krishna topped in implementation of the scheme and as part of it, convergency action meetings were held, community-based events and immunisation programmes were taken up with 100 per cent success rate.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Vijayawada / by Express News Service / August 23rd, 2019

How Shah Jahan connects Bhopal, Delhi, and England

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DELHI / Bhopal, MADHYA PRADESH :

How two rulers with a common name left a rich history and culture for its people but one is more renowned than the other.

Taj-ul-Masajid, Bhopal (Photo: SNS/Aena Thakur)
Taj-ul-Masajid, Bhopal (Photo: SNS/Aena Thakur)

In the heart of Madhya Pradesh’s capital city, Bhopal, resides Taj-ul-Masajid which literally translates to the ‘crown of mosques’. The mosque was intended to be the largest mosque in the country and was based on the design of Delhi’s Jama Masjid. In a town called Woking in England stands a mosque called Shah Jahan.

The common denominator between these three mosques is the name Shah Jahan. The fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Jama Masjid in Delhi and the third female ruler of Bhopal, Shah Jahan Begum built Taj-ul-Masajid of Bhopal. The Bhopal’s matriarch went a step ahead as she also funded the construction of England’s first Mosque in 1889.

Taj-ul-Masajid (Image: SNS/Aena Thakur)
Taj-ul-Masajid (Image: SNS/Aena Thakur)

In the 19th century when India was a British colony, the princely state of Bhopal had a string of female rulers for roughly 107 years. The city was founded in 1707 by Afghan ruler Dost Muhammad Khan. Surrounded by Rajputs in Rajasthan and Marathas in Maharashtra, Bhopal was a vulnerable state yet the female rulers with their loyal allegiance to the British rule survived the turbulent times.

The female dynasty of Bhopal started with the death of young Nawab Nazar Muhammad Khan. His 18-year-old wife Qudsia Begum decided that the legacy of her family shall continue and declared her 15-month-old daughter Sikandar as the rightful heir of the state. In 1819, Qudsia Begum became the first Muslim female who defied the veil and became the ruler of Bhopal. Her rule was legitimised by the British and the clergy.

Both Qudsia (1819-37) and Sikandar (1847-68) were known to be tough rulers who strengthened Bhopal’s military and trained themselves to fight. However, it was the third matriarch of Bhopal, Shah Jahan Begum who brought in the period of flourishing art and culture just like her male Mughal namesake.

Unlike Qudsia and Sikandar, Shah Jahan was not known for her tough training for battles. Shah Jahan followed the system of veil and was more interested in literature, poetry, and arts.

Shah Jahan Begam of Bhopal (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Shah Jahan Begam of Bhopal (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Interested in Urdu and Persian poetry, Shah Jahan Begum also offered state pensions to poets like Amir Minai, a contemporary of Mirza Ghalib.

Shah Jahan Begum ordered that a dictionary of select terms in Hindustani, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, English, and Turkish was compiled to facilitate translation of literature between these languages. A poet herself, Shah Jahan Begum also patronized a group of female poets. According to Siobhan Lambert-Hurley’s book Muslim women, Reform and Princely Patronage, these gifted women included “Hasanara Begam ‘Namkeen,’ author of a diwan and two prose publications, Munawwar Jahan Begam and Musharraf Jahan Begam, the daughters of Nawab Mustafa Khan ‘Shefta,’ and several others.”

In her book, Siobhan Lambert-Hurley also mentions, “Shah Jahan’s interest in this area was so great that she charged a male poet at her court, Abul Qasim ‘Muhtasham’, to devote himself to collecting an anthology of female poets writing in Persian. Entitled Akhtar-i-taban, it publicized the work of 81 poetesses when it was printed in Bhopal in 1881 in dedication to the ruling Begam.”

Her ambitions for grand architecture is evident from the fact that her daughter Sultan Begum in her biography mentioned that she has lost count of the number of palaces and buildings, her mother made. Some of the prominent buildings that still remain are Taj-ul-Masajid, Taj Mahal, Ali Manzil, and Benazir.

Taj Mahal, Bhopal (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Taj Mahal, Bhopal (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Unlike Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal which is a tomb, Bhopal’s Taj Mahal was a palace for the Begum. Shah Jahan Begum also helped orientalist and scholar Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner in constructing England’s first mosque which is also called the Shah Jahan mosque.

The similarities do not stop here. Just like the Mughal emperor built a planned city named Shahjahanabad, the Begum too built a neighbourhood with the same name. Hurley mentions in her book, “Shah Jahan was also responsible for building an entirely new neighbourhood of homes and offices within her capital that was predictably named Shahjahanabad. Unlike the version at Delhi, however, it was laid out on a uniform plan in-keeping with the latest ideas of town planning in Britain.”

Taj-ul-Masajid, Bhopal (Image: SNS/Aena Thakur)
Taj-ul-Masajid, Bhopal (Image: SNS/Aena Thakur)

Shah Jahan Begum of Bhopal encouraged female participation in education, religion, and culture. She was responsible for setting up institutions for female education, she reserved areas in mosques for veiled women to pray on special occasions, she also constructed a Pakka bazaar exclusively for women.

Shah Jahan Begum’s daughter Sultan Jahan Begum was the last Begum of Bhopal whose reign ended in 1926. The reign of female rulers in Bhopal broke stereotypes and brought in various reforms in the princely state. Even though women still continue to fight for their rights it should not be forgotten that the Begums did assert their authority in the 19th century and it can be done again.

source: http://www.thestatesman.com / The Statesman / Home> Features / by Aena Thakur, New Delhi / August 20th, 2019