Azadar Almas Ali Khan

Karbala Taal Katora( Lucknow)from where the Mud for Karbala Almas Ali was Excavated

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Miyan Almas Ali Khan was not only the most remarkable administrator of Imami Kingdom of  Awadh. He was also a great devotee of Ahle-Bait and builder of several Imami shrines in various cities and villages under his control. British residents and historians have eulogized his administrative skills but refrained from writing his contribution to promotion of Azadari in 18^th century north India. What is more surprising that Indian historians have neither written about his administrative competencies nor about his love for erecting magnificent religious buildings for observation of  Muharram ceremonies. The attitude of British writers is understandable as they usually avoided penning down the religious life of rulers and their trusted nobles and preferred to highlight their personal weaknesses. But the blogger fails to understand the approach of their Indian counterparts. Why they did so probably will always remain a mystery? An idea about the indifference of Indian writers towards Almas can be gauged from the account of Faiz Baksh who instead of giving a detailed description avoided him simply by saying “His history is too well known to need mention”. Similarly, another author Imad-Us Saadat summed up his entire life and character in these words “Almas was famous for his charity and kindness, and that early in his life he had had to put up with the greatest hardships.”

Almas was the son of a Jat cultivator from a village near Hoshiarpur, and a eunuch from birth.He was purchased by Muhammad Ishaq Khan ,Diwan-I-Khalsa of Muhammad Shah. When Khan’s daughter was married to Shuja-Ud-Daula, he arrived in awadh. He initially served as a slave of Bani Khanam Sahiba( step-mother of  Nawab Shujauddaula).Then he became part of Bahu Begum's (Asaf-Ud-Uaula's mother) dowry. Almas was a man of great ability and intelligence, and Bahu Begum soon appointed him to manage the estates gifted by Nawab Shujauddaula to  in Gonda and Faizabad. He earned the confidence of begum to the extent that heir apparent Asaf-Ud-Daula called him 'mamu' (maternal uncle).As soon as Asaf- Ud-Daula ascended on the throne ,he entrusted to Almas the management of considerable territory including the rich and strategic Rohilkhand and a large portion of the Doab. He held for about 40 years the districts given to him for revenue collection and administration and yielded annual revenue of about 10 million rupees. Titles like Rukun- Ud-Daula , Nasir- ul-Mulk and Fateh Jung were bestowed upon him as a recognition of his meritorious services.

He built the first Imambara of Kanpur on the bank of Ganga near Bithoor. While Imambara has disappear43ed, the mosque adjacent to it is still visible and exists in a ruinous form. It is believed that the construction of Bithoor Imambara was supervised by Zain- Ul= Abdeen Khan who himself is credited with erecting an Imambara in Lucknow with excellent calligraphy on the walls. Almas also built an Imambara in Kora Jehanabad in Fatehpur district near a garden erected by him with a pavilion based on Mughal architecture. Almas also founded after his name a village Miyanganj in district Unnao between Kanpur and Lucknow. He treated Miyanganj as his headquarters and built several imposing buildings, including an Imambara specially for the purpose of holding Majalis during Muharram of the several buildings; only a gateway survives as mute reminder of a bygone golden era.

In Lucknow too, Almas raised several religious buildings in memory of martyrs of Karbala. He used bricks of larger than usual size in the construction of buildings erected by him. Due to this tendency, these bricks came to be known as almasi in common parlance. He built an Imambara in Sarai Mali Khan and later on erected a mosque also near it. History records that Nawab Asaf-Ud-Daula had visited the Imambara on fourth day of Muharam on July 21,1795 and also offered rs.500 as Nazr at the tazia.

Miyan Almas also built a Karbala on fifty bigha land at the instance of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan. Nawab wanted new Karbala for the burial of tazia of Bahu Begum’s brother as the existing Karbala had become congested and also used by common people. Karbala Almas Ali had two halls, one for placing the relics, tazia pulpit and other for accommodating mourners. Haji Masita had designed the structure of Karbala and mud for the purpose of its construction was excavated from the place where the famous Taal Katora stands today. The excavation had resulted in the form of a pond (Taal) and when Mir Khuda Baksh built a Karbala near it it came to be known as Taal Katora

Almas also laid out a garden in Lucknow.it was fortified and once possessed a palatial building. As Almas was a man of refined taste, he used to host mehfils of renowned poets. During Muharram elegiac poetry was also recited and poets used to get generous reward for their efforts. Being a true follower of Imams and their teachings, he kept his subjects secure in life and property and strived to keep them as happy as people. He never deviated from the path of justice generosity, piety and equality. He used his immense income on religious and charitable works. He never allowed his subordinates to exploit his subjects and treated and protected the better class of cultivators, such as Lodhs, Kurmis and Kachis and used to call them as his children. His reign over half of the Kingdom is considered to have been the golden era of Awadh. Sleeman who was a bitter critic of Nawabs has praised Almas. He writes “  Mean Almas was the greatest and the best man of any note that oude( Awadh) has produced”. It is disappointing that Miyan Almas remains forgotten and the young Imamis of Lucknow and other parts of Awadh Kingdom are jot aware about him.( References available on request)