Tag Archives: Azam Khan

Rampur Royals were patrons of art, literature and cuisine

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Royal Families, PreIndependence -Descendants (wef. Jan 02nd,2022), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rampur, UTTAR PRADESH :

The Rampur Nawabi family with former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh

In December 2021, I came across a report in a newspaper that said, “After almost 50 years of legal battle, the Rampur District Court has ruled in the Rampur Nawab family’s property dispute. The property will now be divided among 16 legal heirs. Raza Ali Khan, the last Nawab of Rampur, died in 1966. After a long legal battle, the court has announced the division of his property worth Rs 2,664 crore.”

The Nawab family of Rampur with its glorious history is still important played in Rampur and its surrounding districts. While the family ruled the state for a long time, its members joined the institutions of independent India like Parliament and legislative Assembly. Former Members of Parliament Mickey Mian and Noor Begum belong to the family. Many members of this Royal family have played an important role not only in politics but also in promoting the culture, patronizing poets, writers, musicians, and other creative artists.

Khandaan

The Nawabi family of Rampur State

Before the independence, India was dotted with small states and one of them happened to be the state of Rampur, located in today’s state of Uttar Pradesh. It was founded by Nawab Ali Mohammad Khan, a Pushtun leader on 7 October 1774. There have been 11 Nawabs in the state including Nawab Faizullah Khan, Nawab Hafiz Rehmat Khan Barish, Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan, Nawab Ghulam Muhammad Khan, Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan, Nawab Muhammad Saeed Khan, Nawab Yusuf Ali Khan, Nawab Club Ali Khan. Nawab Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan, Nawab Hamid Ali Khan.

Raza Ali Khan was the last Nawab of Rampur. Rampur was one of the important States of the British in India as its rulers were plaint and supported the Raj even during the 1857 revolt. It was a 15 cannons gun salute State and its rulers owned a lot of wealth.

Before the independence, the Nawabs of Rampur used to have their own railway station with two special coaches always in readiness in the service of the Royal family. Whenever the Nawab family had to travel by train to Delhi, Lucknow, or elsewhere, they would board their coach and that was added to the passenger train. During the tenure of the ninth Nawab, Hamid Ali Khan the railway line was laid in the district. At that time, he had built a separate railway station for his use. It was close to the main railway station.

The Royal Coach full of Luxuries and modern appliance

Interestingly the two railway coaches that have immense historic and antique value today are among the assets sought to be distributed among the progeny of the Raza Ali Khan. These were originally valued at Rs. 117.42 million. However, due to almost no maintenance, the price was halved.

Interestingly, these coaches had so many modern conveniences that even the heads of the state today can’t dream of. The coaches were equipped with 33mm and 16mm cinema projectors, cameras, imported radio transistors, and tape recorders. These provided all the luxuries like Bedding, chair, carburetor pillow, seat, silverware, glass, whiskey, beer bottles, English crockery, large cigarette and cigar box, silver footstep, eagle, silver canteen set, silver hooka, silver bed, sword, and various kinds of guns, etc.

The Nawab family’s properties include 1073 acres of land, mansions, palaces like Khas Bagh, Kothi Benazir, Lakhi Bagh, Kanda, and Nawab Railway Station, and immovable assets like arms, jewelry, etc. The valuables include silverware like six silver beds, 20 silver pandans, six khasdans, and 20 cigar boxes, and four hookas. Former Member of Parliament Begum Nurbano says that when she came to Khas Bagh in 1956 as a bride she slept on a silver bed. Khas Bagh was India’s first air-conditioned palace.

Khas Bagh Palace was the first air-conditioned palace in India.

Khas Bagh Palace, Rampur

The state of Rampur was not only a political state but also a great patron of education, art, and culture. Nawab Yusuf Ali Khan was a friend of knowledge and also gave scholarships to scholars and students. He made Mirza Ghalib his consultant on literary matters and he became a student of Ghalib. He used to send a reasonable amount of money to Mirza as a stipend. In addition, hundreds of poets, including Mirzadagh Dehlavi, were patronized by the Nawabs of Rampur.

The Library

The Nawab of Rampur was a friend of knowledge. The symbol of his friendliness of knowledge is Raza Library which was once the largest library in India and it is still very important today. Thousands of rare books and manuscripts in Urdu, Persian and Turkish languages ​​are available here.

The Nawab of Rampur was also an epicurean. He had a whole army of cooks and chefs. These chefs would spend the whole day preparing high-quality food and experimenting with new flavors. Elders were invited to the Nawabi Dastkhwan. After the dissolution of the state, it became difficult for the Nawab to continue the Dasthar Khan.

The Nawabs of Rampur patronized traditional music at their court. Mehboob Khan was one of the greatest thinkers of the royal court of Rampur state. This tradition was followed by his sons Inayat Hussain Khan and Inayat’s brother-in-law Haider Khan and Mushtaq Hussain. It was here that the Rampur-Sahswan family of Indian classical music was born. Sahswan is in the present Badaun district.

One of the Palaces of rampur Nawab family

After independence, the Nawab family took an active part in politics and Major Nawab Syed Zulfiqar Ali Khan Bahadur was the first from the family to be elected to the Lok Sabha. He was known as Mickey Mian. He was the second son of Nawab Sir Syed Raza Ali Khan Bahadur. In 1984 and 1989, he was elected to the Rampur Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket. It is also interesting to note that Mickey Mian represented Rampur in Lok Sabha for a long time but never spoke in the House.

After Mickey Mian, his wife Begum Noor Bano served as Member of Parliament in the 11th and 13th Lok Sabha. She was elected from Rampur on a Congress party ticket. Begum Noor Bano alias Mehtab Zamani Begum was born to Nawab Aminuddin Ahmed Khan who was the last ruling Nawab of Loharo (Bhiwani-Haryana). She was educated at Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls Public School, Jaipur.

She joined the All India Congress Committee in 1992 and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996. In the next election, she lost to BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. An aficionado of music and dance, Noor Banu is the patron of the Devi Foundation and the Rampur family. Bano is interested in historical and cultural Persian and Arabic books and research on environment and forest protection. She enjoys reading, painting, gardening, and music and is a member of several sports clubs across the country.

Micky Mian and Noor Bano with their children

Micky Mian and Begum Noor Bano have three children. One of them is Nawabzada Syed Muhammad Kazim Ali Khan Bahadur. He was elected MLA several times and is also a Congress candidate in the current Assembly elections. His son Nawabzada Syed Haider Ali Khan Bahadur is also contesting the Assembly elections 2022.

In the current elections in Uttar Pradesh, the reputation and honour of the Royal family is also at stake. Samajwadi Party veteran Azam Khan, who has been elected an MLA from Rampur city nine times is contesting from inside the jail against his traditional rival from the Royal family Mohammad Kazim Ali Khan. Kazim Khan popularly known by his nickname of Navid Miyan is contesting as a candidate of Congress Party and is hoping to defeat the ‘tainted’ Azam Khan.

Besides, Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam is contesting from the Suar constituency where he is pitted against Naveed Mian’s son Hamza Mian.

The Nawab of Rampur

Azam Khan has dominated the politics of Rampur for 42 years. He has also held ministerial positions in the Samajwadi government four times. He has also been Leader of the Opposition and Member of Rajya Sabha. On the other hand, the Nawab family has also a great influence on Rampur. Naveed Mian Sawar has been MLA four times from the Tanda seat. Once he was also elected to Legislative Assembly from Bilaspur and was a minister too.

His father Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan alias Miki Mian has been a Member of Parliament five times and his mother Begum Noor Bano has been a Member of Parliament twice. Both the Congress and the SP have given tickets to the members of the Rampur Royal family. This time, Congress has given tickets to former MLA Naveed Mian as well as his son Haider Ali Khan alias Hamza Mian.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Ghaus Siwani / February 04th, 2022

Azam’s son relies on dad’s star power

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , ,

UTTAR PRADESH :

Azam Khan
Azam Khan

Rampur :

On the way to Maswasi Village, where Azam was to hold a public meeting, Abdullah explains that he could have opted any other “easy” seat to launch his political career but his decision to contest from SwarTanda was taken because of public demand. “After the election commission imposed a ban on my father during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, I addressed the public for the first time from Swar on the request of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.Since then, the public has been demanding that I should contest from here and bring development to the area,” said Abdullah, while showing roads, drains, bridges and electrification of few villages completed under his direction in the past three years.

“No candidate was interested in contesting from here, but I took it as a challenge and will create a record by defeating the nawab,” he added.

Abdullah, Azam and their convoy stopped at Maswasi village, where a crowd of nearly 10,000 was waiting for the two leaders to arrive.The father-son duo was given a grand welcome with the bursting of firecrackers and slogan-shouting.

In his two-minute speech, Abdullah said, “During campaigning, a man asked me when the road in his area would be constructed. And when I told him that the project had already been passed, he didn’t believe me as politicians from Noor Mahal (residence of the royal family of Nawab) and BJP always made false promises.”

Azam started his speech saying that his son does not have the experience of a seasoned politician but that Abdullah will soon learn the tricks of the trade.

“A family has always oppressed you and the time has come to show your power.Whatever money , clothes and food, they (royal family) have are yours,” said Azam.

After the end of the event, the local leaders pleaded to make way for Azam and his son to return to his vehicle.The crowd followed him even when he was seated in his car. They ran beside the car to shake hands with Azam and Abdullah as they drove out of the rally ground. In Swar-Tanda constituency, SP leader Azam Khan’s 26year-old son, Abdullah Azam Khan, will take on BSP’s Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, who is the present titular head of Rampur and four-time MLA.The junior Khan is relying on his father’s star power to draw votes. TOI trails the SP leader on one of the five evenings he promised to campaign for his son.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Chennai News> Kanpur News / Priyangi  Agarwal / TNN / February 10th, 2017

A Look At the ‘Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, , , , , , , ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

M. Hashim Kidwai’s memoir recollects the student movements at Lucknow University, the role of Muslims in resisting Partition, and their participation in politics and academics after Independence.

Muslims hold pigeons during a march to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Muslims hold pigeons during a march to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave

There is a remarkable similarity in the rise and ascension of religious reactionaries between the majority and minority communities in the decade before Independence. During the period of 1938-47, the Muslim League’s communal separatism was in fierce contest with the majoritarian assertion of the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS, while at the same time it also benefitted from the extremism of the other party. The colonial state abetted such reactionary forces.

Other than the presence of the colonial state during that era, the Congress was the most powerful political force in the country, and was led by the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad, even though the ideologies of many members of the provincial and district Congress leadership overlapped considerably with the Hindu Mahasabha.

Another reassuring difference is that today we do not have a Muslim political force comparable with Jinnah’s Muslim League, even though we do have the likes of Asaduddin Owaisi, Azam Khan and the sympathisers of the illiberal, non-plural, exclusionary traditions among Muslims and Hindus. If one may add, at the global scale as well, such forces seem to be on the rise today.

Born in 1921, Muhammad Hashim Kidwai saw all of this from close proximity. In his diary, he recollects the days of the late colonial India while living in today’s era. The title of the book itself is interesting. He describes himself as a ‘nationalist Muslim’.

In the late colonial period, the likes of Maulana Azad and Rafi Kidwai were banking upon the nationalist Muslims against the onslaught of the Muslim nationalists (or the votaries of the separate nationhood), just as the likes of Gandhi and Nehru were fighting with the Hindu nationalists, the rabid majoritarian reactionaries.

One should read the first volume of Kidwai’s reminiscence in the backdrop of these events. His account is rich in details pertaining to politics up to the Nehru era. His presence in Lucknow as a student till his late 20s and then his role as a teacher of political science at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) immediately after Independence and Partition enabled him to articulate significant narratives.

The fact that he was also an activist – both as a student and as a teacher – adds to the sharpness of his observations and insights. His long chapter on the student movement in Lucknow University provides vivid details of various little and big political organisations and fronts, literary associations and journalistic initiatives. The details captured in that chapter provide a valuable account of the political evolution of the Lucknow youth in the popular phase of the national movement.

In terms of academic explorations in India, we have an inadequate understanding of student movements as well the role of Muslims in resisting partition. This chapter invites us to make attempts towards filling the gap. The subsequent brief chapter on the consequences of Partition reflects on how Muslims adjusted thereafter.

Vice President Muhammad Hamid Ansari with Hashim Kidwai (C) at the launch of his book Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim. Credit: Aligarh Movement
Vice President Muhammad Hamid Ansari with Hashim Kidwai (C) at the launch of his book Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim. Credit: Aligarh Movement

It also hints at the relatively greater communalisation of the regional politics of Uttar Pradesh, which pushed Rafi Kidwai out of UP politics and then led to Nehru accommodating him in national politics.

There are a number of Urdu memoirs about the socio-political life on the huge AMU campus, but rather than offering informed criticism and reflections, most are essentially exaggerated eulogies. Kidwai’s memoir is not very critical either, but it does stand out for being able to relate campus life to the world outside. To him, the AMU campus was neither politically insulated nor did it suffer from an ‘isolation syndrome.’

Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim M. Hashim Kidwai Universal Book House Aligarh, 2015
Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim
M. Hashim Kidwai
Universal Book House Aligarh, 2015

Being a quintessential Congressman, his narrative about the stealth placing of an idol in the Babri Masjid in December 1949 is focussed more against socialists like Ram Manohar Lohia and Acharya Narendra Dev, who according to him, remained silent to this injustice. Kidwai, however, does show his reservations against G.B. Pant, the then chief minister of UP. He complains, “Both Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel urged Pandit Pant, the UP premier, to take strong action… But for reasons best known to him, Pantji did not take any action… Pantji’s policy of leaving everything to the district authorities was very much condemned and resented by a large number of Congressmen.”

Progressing strictly in chronological sequence and living up to its name as a diary, almost half of the memoir is devoted to AMU. Kidwai served there not only as a teacher but also as a writer of textbooks, a teacher activist and also contributed in academic governance.

In a huge residential university like AMU, which houses more than 30,000 students, “policing” students is a challenging task. Kidwai describes his roles as that of a provost of a residential hall as well as a proctor. While describing the role of the various vice chancellors, he, unfortunately, neglects their impact on establishing or encouraging academic rigour.

Kidwai is almost solely concerned with the socio-political life on the campus and the narrative gives the impression that the Youth Congress dominated the campus. Other accounts of post-Independence AMU inform us that Left activism had gained a significant presence at the university in the 1960s. Kidwai’s account ignores this and also does not dwell on the composition of the student body, that is, the regions the students came from or their socio-economic status.

The volume concludes with the death of Nehru in 1964.

A close reading of India’s comparative history that draws few parallels between the elections of 1946 and of 2014, and the consequences thereof, is still awaited. One hopes that the sequel volume of Kidwai’s memoir will delve deeper into such issues.

By his own admission in the preface, Kidwai, as a parliamentarian, stood behind the clergy, jarringly conservative on gender issues. He was also one of those that ill-advisedly encouraged Rajiv Gandhi to legislate against the Supreme Court verdict on the Shah Bano issue. Therefore, this first volume really sets up expectations for the next and about how he will recollect the days of 1985-86, especially at a time when the same gender issues have once again acquired significant political saliency. Equally important will be to read his views on the decline of the Congress post-1980s.

This is an important book, one which will become a resource for scholars interested in the participation of Muslims in both politics and in academics after Independence.

Liked the story? We’re a non-profit. Make a donation and help pay for our journalism.

 

source:  http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Books / by Mohammad Sajjad / November 04th, 2016

LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2014 : Azam Khan’s choice is SP’s Rampur candidate

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , ,

The former member of the U.P. Minorities Commission, Nasheed Ahmed Khan, will be the Samajwadi Party candidate from Rampur in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.

Rampur, situated in the Muslim-dominated Rohilkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, is Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan’s political backyard and the Samajwadi Party candidate is said to be of his choice.

Party president Mulayam Singh had authorised Mr. Azam Khan to take a final call on the candidate.

Mr. Nasheed Ahmed Khan’s candidature was declared by the party on Saturday. Rampur is among the 11 constituencies where polling would be held in the second phase on April 17.

With Mr. Khan’s nomination, the Samajwadi Party has declared the names of candidates for 78 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the State. Only Rae Bareli and Amethi remain.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the Rampur seat was won by Jaya Prada, who was fielded by Mr. Mulayam Singh despite opposition from Mr. Azam Khan.

Ms. Prada’s nomination from Rampur (she had won the seat for the SP in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll ) and former SP leader Amar Singh’s reported influence over the Samajwadi Party president was one of the factors for the rift between Mr. Mulayam Singh and Mr. Azam Khan. He was subsequently expelled from the party.

Things turned full circle when Mr. Amar Singh was expelled and Mr. Azam Khan made a return to the party.

Jaya Prada is likely to join the Congress and may be fielded from the neighbouring Moradabad.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by Atiq Khan / Lucknow – March 09th, 2014