The plight of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s descendants
I had earlier posted on the sad state of the heart wrenching denouement to the dazzling Mughal Empire thanks to Indscribe who related the sad story of middle-aged Sultana Begum, who runs a tea-stall in Howrah to earn a living for her family. The great grand-children of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, are in misery.
Today I received this email:
It is pleasure to know that you have noticed the misery of Sultana Begum, the great grand daughter in law of Bahadurshah Zafar. She is getting only Rs.400/- as political pension from the govt. of India and runs a roadside scrap shop in Shibpur area’s 103/12/C,Foreshore Road of Howrah town of West Bengal in India for her survival. General people occasionally come for her financial help, but that is not sufficient. At least we should provide her a suitable place to live in with dignity. I hope, international community will come forward to rescue her from poverty. She may be contacted on phone number 033 2641-1043. Thank you.
I am not sure about the authenticity of this message. If it is true then it deserves the attention of my Indian friends in the blogopshere.
We just witnessed the sad demise of Urdu’s greatest writer Qurratulain Hyder who died in relative anonymity. She was alone in the hospital for a month. Indeed everyone is now writing about her and the contributions that she made.
I am not a royalist or a monarchist. But the poor Mughals since 1857 have seen the worst treatment at the hands of colonial [and now ostensibly the postcolonial] state. It is time that this be rectified.
Instead of state patronage, perhaps a private philanthropist could sponsor a small decent enterprise for these unfortunate inheritors.
William Darlymple , based on primary sources has recently published a fascinating book called “The Last Mughal”.” It took a foreign researcher to discover documents that were eating dust in our archives. What a pity!
Do we have any respect or understanding of our heritage?
August 23rd, 2007
in
History, Random musings, heritage, All My Posts, Tragic, Mughal, India-Pakistan History |
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Well, if we’re going to start bailing out poor people descended from historical figures, lets start with the descendants of the thousands of rebels killed during the events of 1857.
I mean, think of Bahadur Shah Zafar…his own “plight” was quite significant.
To bail out his descendants because they’re poor people is one thing, and I can appreciate it.
To bail out his descendants simply because they’re descended from a tired old man who capitulated to the British: that is completely different, and I don’t like the sound of it.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:30 pm
This may sound a bit callous but why should the descendants of Bahadur Shah Zafar get special treatment solely based on the fact that they come from royal lineage? What about millions of other poor people of India? At least she is supposedly getting a Rs 400 pension from the government. There are countless Indian children who eat out of garbage dumps for survival. I think we should draw a line between romanticism and reality before getting too carried away. I can’t justify preferential treatment from the state based on birth-right but as you said charitable donations from a private philanthropist would be good.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:45 pm
The man in his old age did stand up against British. His young sons’ eyes were gouged out by British and presented to him. He was exiled where he died.
At least he was better than the Nizams and Scindias. Even in poems like the Rani Laxmi Bai lore we have heard ‘Angrezo.n ke dost Scindia ne Gwalior nagri chhodi thi’. And even after independence they are every where. Got all parks, called Maharaj. In both parties, so either comes their interests will be safe.
Nobody should get preferential treatment, of course, but it had taken decades before even the meagre amount of pension was given to Zafar’s ancestors. And 60 years after independence we have thousands of new freedom fighters coming up every year and expenditure over their pensions going up exponentially though with deaths, the number should have come down.
August 24th, 2007 at 10:34 am
some of his descendants didnt do too badly. One was until recently SP Traffic in Islamabad - Sultan e Azam Temuri. He was transferred to the Motorway Police recently.
I’m not sure why they, or descendants of other famous people, should be eligible for special treatment.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Crimson, Cubano and Munmun: your points are a fair commentary on the post. The purpose of this post is not to say that Mughal lineage should get any preferential treatment - at all. My point was the larger indifference that we suffer from. At least these poor souls should have the right to earn a decent living. Having said that they are enrolled in a pension scheme and its ludicrous amount could also be reviewed.
Adnan: thanks for putting things in perspective.
August 24th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
We have founded Bhadurshah Zafar Memorial Society in Calcutta at 74, Phears Lane-Kolkata-700 073 (India) to bail out Sultana Begum from poverty. The address given some where in this comments’ column is a genuine address of sultana Begum. But we can not do alone any thing big to improve the living standard of Zafar’s descendents who live in West Bengal’s Howrah town at 103/12/C, Foreshore Road, Shibpur without the co-operation of you all. We hereby appeal all the symphatic bloggers to come forward for her help.-Shamsul Haque, Calcutta (India)
August 24th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
its really strange how we think nothing of earninig revenue through monumnets built by the moghuls but get all hoity-toity when it comes to giving them a decent pension! amazingly petty attitude i must say.
December 13th, 2007 at 5:22 am
After Tatya Tope’s heirs, now it is Bahadur Shah Zafar’s descendant’s turn
Lalu Prasad to rehabiliate Sultana Begum, languishing squalour and anonymity in a Howrah slum
NEW DELHI, December 11: In the midst of pompous celebrations over the 150th year of India’s First War of Indepedence, a fact that rankles is that the heirs of the Mughal’s last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, Sultana Begum, continue to languish in squalour and anonymity.
The story of middle-aged Sultana Begum brings tears to one’s eyes. She runs a tea-stall in Howrah to earn a living for her family. Bahadur Shah Zafar’s heirs are struggling to take out a bare survival. Due to the poverty, daughters in the family were deprived of higher education.
But, Union Minister for Railway lalu Prasad and Minister for Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta have hailed the efforts initiated by a Delhi-based couple Neena Jha and Shivnath Jha - who met Sulata Begum recently as a part of their ongoing movement Andolan Ek Pustak Se –and assured the couple that they woiuld do their best to protect Sultana Begum economically, her daughters educationally and fulfill their all desires in view of the 150 year of 1857 Uprising.
The ministers asked the duo to collect all official documents and details about the miserable conditions at an earliest.
Living in a 8′x8′ room at Cowies Ghat’s slum located near Foreshao Road in Howrah district of West Bengal, Sultana Begam, the direct descendants of the last Mughal emperor has narrated her miserable conditions and governments – both centre and state – apathy.
She expressed her willingness to settle in Chandini Chawk in the National Capital to view the Red Fort, the last residence of Mughal emperor before he was exiled to Rangoon.
Sultana Begum, 55, said: “Before I take my last breath, my lifetime desire is to marry my daughter Zinat Mahal, impart education to by only son Kamal Bakht and settle in Chandni Chowk to have glimpses of the Red Fort.”
On couple’s initiatives, on July 4 this year, Lalu Prasad and Prem Gupta had rehabilitated Vinayak Rao Tope, the third generation of the front line leader of 1857 Uprising Tatya Tope. Besides financial assistance worth Rs.5 lakh, Lalu Prasad also granted employment to Pragati and Tripti, the two daughters of Vinayak Rao Tope in the Container Corporation of India.
During the life time of the grate Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, the couple had launched a nationwide movement “Andolan Ek Pustak Se” through a book on the life and art of the Ustad to protect all such people and their families who brought laurels and pride to the nation.
Besides a 200-page pictorial coffee-table book Lalu Prasad:India’s Miracle, the couple also authored two pictorial monograph – India Calling and 14- Prime Minister of Independent and Sovereign India to strengthen the movement.
Sultana Begum gets a pension of Rs 400 a month from the Centre and lives in a pathetic condition in a Howrah’s slum. Bedar Bakht, Sultana Begum’s husband died in 1980.
“After the death of my husband, I approached the West Bengal Government to provide an accommodation for my family. I got it at Trolly Gunj area. But, due to harassment by some local criminals and local politicians, I was forced to vacate the flat. Since them I am living here with my young daughters,” Sultana with tear in her eyes said the couple.
Sultana Begum is Howrad line of descent. From Howrah line, Sultana Begum is wife of late Muhammad Bedar Bakht, son of Jamshid Bakht and grandson of Jawan Bakht.
According to official records, there are three lines of descent from Bahadir Shah Zafar. From Delhi line, Bahadur Sha Zafar’s son was Mirza Fathul Mulk Bahadur alias Mirza Fakhru had one son Mirza Farkhunda Jamal, who had a son late Hamid Shah and late Begum Qamar Sultan, who married a commoner.
While from Hyderabad line, Bahadur Shah’s son was Mirza Quaish, who had one son Mirza Abdullah who had one son Mirza Pyare who married with Habib Begum. Bahadur Sha’s great-great-granddaughter was Begum Laila Ummahani who married married with Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy).
There are also descendants of other Mughal kings beside Bahadur Shah-II Most of them used to have or inherited governor’s or courtier’s positions; some were viziers or worked in the court of the Shah. When the 1857 Mutiny came most of them fled the capital and changed their family name from Mirza, Mughal, Beg, etc. to something more common. Some escaped to distant principalities and held courtier’s positions there. Examples include Jalaluddin Mirza’s line of Bengal zamindari under the Maharaja of Dighapatia and the Toluqarifamily, which claims to be Baron Gardner’s descendants as well.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Why do we need to help Sultana Begum???..Maybe .Because she is the direct descendent of Bahadur Shah Jafar. Maybe because she is the one of the few reamaining links to a glorious era in Muslim India…Maybe because we should be in some way be still showing some respect and support to the dynasty that left behind such an invaluable legacy for India…Maybe because she is a woman who needs help and we know about her. After all we can’t just waste our lives buying coffee in Barista’s and text messaging Banana Republic sales to our bubble gum chwing buddies can we???