Prophet's Footprint in Utter Neglect in Rampur

An Old Photograph of Kothi Benazir in Its heydays.Qadam Shareef
is no longer visible from Kothi Now . 

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

The little known Qadam Shareef (Shrine with footprints of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) in Rampur City continues to be in a ruinous condition. Offered as a gift to Nawab of Rampur State by a royal Arab in later 19^th century, the shrine even does not have proper accessibility and road leading to Qadam Shareef  is full of potholes. It would be wrong to assume that the local Muslims are not perturbed over the pathetic condition of the holy shrine. In the past few months, they have been regularly staging demonstrations and moved representations to authorities but efforts have yet to evoke any positive response.

Much was expected during the regime of Samajvadi Party regime. As Azam Khan the second most powerful man in Akhilesh Yadav government hails from Rampur only. Moreover, he had initiated construction work at large scale for completion of his dream project ‘Jauhar University’. He also held important portfolios but never took interest in the renovation of shrine-probably the third of its kind in entire Uttar Pradesh province of India after Lucknow and Khairabad. Sandila too has a Qadam Shareef but in miniature form. It still remains a mystery as to why Azam Khan , an influential Muslim leader and a staunch critic of former Nawabs of Rampur, preferred to ignore sentiments of devotees who visit in hundreds the shrine every Thursday despite its dilapidated condition.

As recently as in October 2017, devotees staged a vociferous dharna for renovation of shrine but no action has been taken so far. Muslims are now openly saying in Rampur “why should we expect anything from a Chief Minister known for his anti-Muslim stance? When a Muslim leader of Azam Khan’s stature turned blind eye to a shrine dedicated to the holiest personality of Islam we have no right to criticize anyone else. May Allah forgive them for giving prudence to politics over their religious duty.” told a friend of blogger on phone.  

History reveals that the blessed footprint had arrived in Rampur from Arabia about 144 years ago. It was  installed with customary celebrations on March 10,1873 near Kothi Benazir- the summer palace of Rampur Nawabs. It was kept under a canopy with beautifully carved white ‘Jalees’ around. The state had also given 200 acres of land for the upkeep of shrine.There are no dearth of people who opine that the powerful minister did not take any interest in the development of shrine as his university has allegedly grabbed land belonging to Qadam Shareef. Minister however denies the charge but people still remain unconvinced in view of his lack of interest towards shrine.


Kothi-Just a shadow of glorious past

 After merger of Rampur with Indian Union and numerous litigations among members of Nawab family, almost all major buildings suffered greatly. Only Hamid Manzil being headquarters of Raza library and under the control of Central Government is well-maintained. Kothi Benazir too is shadow of its glorious past. It is too in a state of decay and so is Qadam Shareef being its ‘poor’ neighbor. Like other historic buildings of Rampur, Qadam Shareef also needs immediate attention, for there are not too many footprints of the Holy Prophet on Indian soil. Moreover, its renovation is not going to cost much being a small structure. A local journalist Janab Farasat Ali has been writing regularly for construction of road connecting main road to shrine. May Allah grant success to his efforts.Ameen.The article is based on the inputs provided by  blogger’s friends in Rampur and brief mention of the shrine in a few articles. Photo courtesy google images)