Hazrat Zainab's True Follower- Saleha Naqvi

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Imami women of Kanpur are in a state of shock over sad and sudden demise of Begum Saleha Naqvi. She was a great azadar and one of the founders of Anjuman-Kaneezane- Syeda. She breathed her last in a super specialty hospital following cardiac arrest on January 28, 2016.Begum was laid to rest near the grave of her husband Marhoom Saeedul Hasan Naqvi at Badi Karbala Nawabganj. She was 73 a large number of people from all walks of life attended her funeral.

Begum Saleha was born in 1943 at Banaras(Now Varanasi).Her father Marhoom Imdad Hussain was a wealthy merchant. She received her education at home and married to Saeedul Hasan Naqvi, a landlord of Makanpur in 1959.She had a natural inclination for helping needy. Despite being daughter –in-law of a prominent zamindar family, she worked for socio-economic uplift of dalits in Makanpur. When her husband took journalism as a career, she moved to Gorakhpur where she became an active member of Socialist party. In 1966,she became general secretary of party’s district unit. Begum worked with leaders like Raaj Narayan,Mukhtar Anees,Madhu Limay,Nar Singh Narayan Pandey, Comrade Zamin Ali. In 1971, she came to Kanpur where her husband had joined  English daily of Jagran group ‘Daily Action.’

In Kanpur, she continued to serve down trodden. She had special interest for helping those stricken with ailments and devoid of means. Every day, she used to visit district hospital and offer help to needy and arranging medicines for them. She was not  wealthy but used to help by cutting her own expenses. She never asked her husband to make available luxurious items to her but demanded money for helping people. She kept doing this till the last moment of her life. In the first week of January, she donated money to a needy for the operation of his wife. Several destitute used to visit her weekly and monthly to receive their fixed stipend.The entire city called her as 'Bhabhi' out of love and respect and added word 'Maa' also recently.

She had inherited love for Imam Hussain from her parents. Her house in Dal Mandi area of Banaras was a center of azadari.Her elder brother Marhoom Zamin Hussain was an important office-bearer of Anjuman-E-Haidery. After marriage, she promoted azadari among women in Makanpur. She used to recite Nauhas herself and trained many a girls in the art. In Kanpur, she played an instrumental role in establishing Mehdi procession in Hata Nawab Sahib about two decades ago. She also founded Anjuman-e-Kaneezane Syeda, the most vocal and vibrant organization of Imami women in Kanpur. The outfits works not only for promotion and preservation of Azadari but also takes up other problems of its members. About 8 years ago, she had also started an NGO under the title of Pahal Foundation and remained its President till her death.The NGO is known for organizing eye- camps and other welfare programs. She never took any financial aid from anyone and spent her own money for the cause of welfare.The blogger pays his heartfelt tribute to her sacred memory and prays that her soul rest in peace.