Majnu Shah & Continuing Injustice

An Old Picture depicting as to why Fakirs and sanyasis revolted.

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Once again India celebrated its 68^th Republic Day with great pomp and show without remembering Fakir Majnu Shah. Despite his status as the first martyr of India’s struggle for freedom, his name did not figure at all in the speeches delivered at functions held all over the country to mark the day. He deserves glowing tributes on each Republic and Independence Day of India in view of his untiring efforts to uproot the British from Indian soil after the ‘Battle of Plassy’ in 1757.His martyrdom needs to be recalled specially on January26, the Republic Day of India, for Majnu Shah had succumbed to his injuries suffered at the hands of British on this day. It is unfortunate, he is never remembered in India and no one offers even floral tributes at his grave or Kothri in Makanpur, the headquarters of Madariya Sufi order near Kanpur City of India. It is only handful of locals who keep remember him orally but they too are not aware that he had died on January 26 in 1888/1889.

Majnu Shah was a fakir of Madariya Sufi order and he belonged to Deewanagan school of the cult. He was a wandering Malang and took up arms against the British when they interfered with the religious rights of fakirs and sanyasis. He revolted when East India Company officials put a ban on the collection of donation or money  by fakir and sanyasis from the people after victory at Plassy. Soon he gathered enough support to attack British establishments .Backed by support of both fakirs and sanyasis, he challenged the might of British empire in Bihar,Bengal,Oddisha and Assam. He however suffered a bullet injury in the battle of Mehsangarh in December 1887 but managed to escape to Makanpur where he died on January 26,according to a report of British Official.

Majnu Shah's real name was Abu Talib and he was a great devotee of Panjatan. He used to carry an 'Alam'(Standard) with Panja (Palm like)affixed on the top.He drew inspiration to oppose the persecution of the British from the life of Hazrat Imam Hussain. Throughout his life,he performed Taziadari and considered himself as slave of Bibi Zainab and Imam Zainul Abedeen. His outlook was very secular and personality charismatic.Due to this, he was able to garner active support from non-Muslims for his crusade.  

Apart from Majnu Shah, scores of freedom fighters still remain unsung in India. They are unknown to their own countrymen as there has not been adequate research on the subject. In case of Majnu Shah, even Bangladesh and Pakistan governments also need to do justice with the martyr, for he had fought against the British when India also included both the nations. Bangladesh has reportedly named a bridge after Majnu Shah but Pakistan has not yet acknowledged Majnu Shah’s role in freedom movement in any manner.   The blogger urges the government of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to initiate immediate steps to ensure what is due to Majnu Shah as the first martyr of freedom movement in Indian sub-continent.( References available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images) 

Forgotten Sozkhwan Granddaughters of 'Insha'

INSHA ALLAH KHAN 'INSHA'

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Preeti Awasthi deserves appreciation for doing what Imami scholars should have done. While working on her thesis titled ‘Awadh-a Congenial Home for Nurturing Arts-in Historical Perspective of Painting  and Music (1722-1856)’ from department of Medieval and Modern Indian History, University of Lucknow ,she traced a number of forgotten female’ Sozkhwans’ and mentioned them in a separate chapter.

Before submission of her thesis in 2014,no one was literally aware about three sisters namely  Muhammadi Begum, Haideri Begum and Nanhi Begum and their tremendous popularity as excellent sozkhwans. During the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the trio commanded great popularity and respect as Sozkhwans and their performance guaranteed success of majalis(Muharram mourning assemblies).Wajid Ali even married Nanhi Begum in view of her expertise in sozkhwani.

Preeti has also mentioned another noteworthy feature about the three sisters.  She has revealed that they were the grand daughters of eminent Urdu poet Syed Insha Allah Khan Insha .The poet was born in Murshidabad in 1756.Later on ,he moved to court of Lucknow.He was a multi-talented polyglot and was the author of the first grammar of the Urdu language, Darya-e-Latafat. Information about his descendants was scant before Preeti brought to light his granddaughters as great Sozkhwans. In Awadh kingdom, Sozkhwani had flourished as a popular art and an integral part of Muharram Majalis.For want of research,a number of marsiyago and sozkhwans remain forgotten and the blogger will strive to write about them as and when he gets details from the sources available to him. (References available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images).

Imam Hasan Askari's Birthday & A Great Initiative

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Anjuman Ghareeb-Ul-_Aza took a very praiseworthy initiative in Kanpur on Sunday. Under the leadership of Maulana Qambar Hussain Qambar, members of Anjuman(Society) organized a grand function to celebrate birth anniversary of Imam Hasan Askari at Badi Karbala in Nawabganj. Several prominent orators and poets attended the program and covered various aspects of holy Imam’s noble life in their speeches and Qaseedas.All of them were unanimous in their views that though the 11^th Imam lived a short life of 28 years only but it was full of glory and befitting the exalted status of an infallible Imam.

Maulana Qambar in his address said “Abbasid caliphs persecuted  and caused great hardships to Imam  Askari and confined him to Sammra .Yet  many students benefited from his God gifted knowledge and later became scholars in their fields. Imam  discussed with agnostics of that age many times about the existence of God and the reasons for the necessity of the Prophets and Imams and many atheists changed their minds and converted to Islam. Thus ,his contribution to growth of true Islam remains matchless till today”. Among the poets,  Faiz Kanpuri, Jafar Kazim, Intikhab Alam, Taj Kanpuri, Mumtaz Hussain and Shabroz offered tributes to Imam.

Amanat Hussain, one of the organizers, revealed that a program dedicated to Imam Hasan Askari was organized for the first time at Nawabganj Badi Karbala and it evoked good response from momneens despite cold weather. He claimed that Anjuman has an ambitious plan to take the program to great heights in the days to come with the blessings of Imam-E-Zamana. The program has become the fourth noteworthy of its kind in Nawabganj Karbala. About two decades ago, there used to be no grand programs at Karbala. But after its renovation and expansion, Shia Yuva Unit began organizing 18- Bani Hashim  during Ayam –e-Aza every year. It is now considered to be one of the largely attended  mourning assemblies. It was followed by Yaum-e-Rasul program under the aegis of Maulana Kalbe Jawwad Fans’ Association. The 12^th edition of program was organized at Karbala on January 1, 2017.Traditionally, only ‘Paikis’ used to converge on Shabe-Ashura to pay their tributes to martyrs of Karbala  at Nawabganj since the inception of shrine on the bank of Ganges.(References available on request) 

Muharram in Shamsabad -A Brief History

Nauhakhwani Being Performed in Shamsabad -(India)

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Shamsabad, a quaint and small town of district Farrukhabad, ranks among one of the oldest centers of azadari. However, how the town named after Sultan Iltutmish of slave dynasty and a stronghold of Pathans traditionally became a popular center of azadari somewhat remains obscure. There has been very little research on the arrival of Imamis in Shamsabad and their contribution to promotion of azadari. As blogger’s grandmother belonged to Shamsabad and used to go to observe Muharram there every year till her health permitted, he took the decision to explore the history of Imamis in Shamsabad. Upon research, it was discovered that Nadir Shah dethroned Rahmatullah Shah Safawi in 1737 in Iran. Rahmatullah arrived in India and the then Mughal Emperor appointed him as Governor of Azeemabad(Modern Patna).He later moved to Delhi and Lucknow and finally settled at Shamsabad. Safawi enjoyed great reputation in the court of Awadh due to his command over Persian language and poetry. In 1827, Nawab Ghazi Uddin Haider’s Prime Minister Fazle Ali Khan married his daughter Jafri Begum to Nawab Saeed Mohammad Ali Khan Safawi alias Nawab Dulha who traced his lineage to Rahmatullah Safawi. Nawab Saeed was also a great scholar of Persian and a diary written by him has been quoted by a number of British historians and authors for references. Though the Muharram ceremonies had started in Shamsabad after the arrival of Rahmatullah Shah but it flourished during the period of Nawab Dulha and Jafri Begum. Prior to it, Taziadari had been performed in the town by Muslims but it became more grandeur after the arrival of Imamis.

Nawab Jafri Begum took keen interest in Ayam –e-Aza. She erected a Karbala with exact replica of Imam Hussain’s original shrine in Iraq in 1867.All the Tazias are buried at this Karbala on Yaum-E-Ashura every year. Apart from Karbala, Shamsabad also has a Bada Imambara. It is believed to have been  erected in 19^th century. All the acclaimed Zakirs are said to have addressed majalis in Bada Imambara. Muharram is observed in Shamsabad with inter-faith understanding and people from all walks of life attend processions. (References available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images)             

Guru Gobind Singh & Muslims

Real Picture of Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

The 350^th birth anniversary of 10^th and last Sikh Guru Gobind Singh is being celebrated with much enthusiasm today. The Indian Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi visited the birth place of Guru Patna Sahib to participate in the celebrations. Devotees from world over have flocked to Patna, Capital of Indian state of Bihar, to be part of the historic celebrations. As a prelude to the celebrations, all over India Sikh community organized functions at various cities to create awareness about Guru Gobind Singh and his contribution to the Sikh religion. Such functions showcased the tyranny of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb against Sikhs and martyrdom of Guru’s sons. There is no doubt about persecution of Sikhs by Aurangzeb. But it should also be remembered that he was equally biased with Imamis and Sunnis following true tenets of Islam.

Unfortunately, the Sikh community did not highlight the Muslims who supported Guru Gobind Singh in his crusade against Mughals. Likewise, they also did not include in their celebrations names of those Hindu rulers who had caused much trouble to Guru Gobind Singh. In this context, former rulers of Himanchal Pradesh and Uttarakhand deserve special mention. Similarly, the dirty role of a Brahmin who had suggested the execution Guru’s sons despite opposition of Nawab of Maler Kotla also remained untouched by the organizers. Such attitude on the part of the organizers is gross injustice to the personality of Guru Gobind Singh. He was a man of secular outlook and full of literary talents. He commanded respect from people of different faiths. Peer Buddhu Shah is one such example. He was an Imami who sacrificed his life for the sake of Guru along with his supporters. His execution was avenged by  Banda Bahadur.Sikhs have also erected a Gurudwara at his birth place in Haryana in his memory .

Another great devotee of Guru was Pir Bhikham Shah. He too was a Syed.A divine indication revealed to him about the birth of Guru Gobind Singh at Patna.He travelled from his village ‘Thaska’ in Haryana to Patna.

He went to the house where Guru was born. He told Mata Gurjri that he came from a far off place to have the sight of Bala Pritam, the holy child. Mata was bit apprehensive and did not wish to show the child to a Muslim in the wake of the assassination of Guru Arjan Dev. Bhikham howeer did not leave Patna and finally he was able to see the child after few days . The Pir had purchased one pot from a Muslim shop while the other pot of sweets was purchased from a Hindu shop. After placing both the pots containing sweets before the child , Bhikham sat down  watched with love Guru who was a beautiful child with a radiant face. The  child  placed his left hand on one of the pots and at the same time placed his right hand on the other pot. The child then smiled with a brilliance that ignited the room and looked directly at Bhikham with a long gaze. Later, Syed explained to his followers that child  would be a great warrior saint and by placing both hands on both the pots, he indicated that both Hindus and  Muslims were equally dear to him. He will help Hindus whenever they need his help and he will help Muslims also whenever they are in need. Bhikham returned home and remained a great devotee of Guru throughout his life. Famous poet Bulle Shah had also admired Guru Gobind in his poetry. On the occasion of 350^th birth anniversary of Guru, his admirers should strive to portray his true personality and character by brining to light the facts hitherto unknown to even  greatest followers of his faith.(References available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images)  

Rasul Day 2017-A Report from Kanpur

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Rasul Day, emerging as a strong platform for inter-faith understanding, was celebrated at a much grand scale this year in Kanpur on the 1st January 2017.Not only prominent speakers from different faiths addressed the congregation but people from other provinces also participated in it. Almost all the speakers exhorted people to discourage divisive elements and work for the universal peace. Prominent among those who addressed the gathering included Maulana Aijaz Hasnain (Varanasi),Maulana Ghulam Hussain Noori(Kashmir), Hasnain Baqai(Sajjada Nasheen Dargah Alia Safipur),Maulana Muqtada Hussain Jafri(Sajjada Nasheen ,Astana Alia Makanpur Sharif ,Educationist Neet Kumar Nitin,Abbas Builder(Mumbai),Maulana Hamid Hussain, Maulana Azhar, Janab Sunil Mishra and Mahant of Shiva Temple.Poets like Betab Hallauri, Sajjad Hallauri, Muneer Banarasi,Mumtaz Hallauri, Qambar Hussain, Feroze Kanpuri, Faiz Kanpuri also paid glowing tributes to Prophet Hazrat Muhammad and highlighted various unique features of his personality through their ‘Kalam’.

Rasul Day(Yaum-e-Rasul) had a humble beginning 12 years ago. The program was started by Maulana Kalbe Jawwad Fans’ Association. The untiring efforts of Janab Masood Sahib has taken the program to great height of success since then. He is neither affluent nor a celebrity. His only passion is to promote the cause of humanity. Fortunately, he has been blessed with able supporters like Sanjay Rizvi Manje, Ilyas Rizvi, Neet Kumar Nitin, Pawan Gupta and Asif Abbas.As a result of excellent team work, the program has been cornering glory with each successive year. This year there was a lucky draw for Umrah. This was in addition to distribution of blankets to destitute that has been part of the day since its inception. The organizers have ambitious plan for future as well.May Allah bless their endeavor great success.Ilahi Ameen.