As we celebrate our 63rd Republic Day, let’s take a look at some Muslim contribution to patriotic songs in India over the years. The list is not exhaustive and considers only the more popular…
Muslims in India are as diverse as India herself. Islam in India – a movie in two parts by Prashun Bhaumik.
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| Can just a hug do it? |
The hype surrounding Narendra Modi’s fast has once again generated speculations that Narendra Modi is the BJP’s next Prime Ministerial candidate but can Modi ever become India’s Prime Minister?
Though it is not an impossible proposition, if things are analyzed in perspective, one would find that his chances of becoming Prime Minister are quite low, at least in the upcoming election 2014.
Speculation is not easy, at least in politics but one can try to do a dispassionate analysis.
To begin with, the BJP doesn’t have even 150 seats in Parliament. In fact, it has a mere 116 seats in 545 member Lok Sabha. Did you remember this figure! The party knows it well. Even when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was at the helm, it could get 180-odd seats with difficulty despite his acceptability.
A Modi-led BJP can’t have Mamata Bannerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, even JDU rallying around it.
How will it manage to get the seats? The compulsion of coalition era politics is such that most parties in respective states wouldn’t like to be seen as close to a party led by Modi.
In no Indian state, a regional party–ranging from Trinamool Congress to Telugu Desam or even JDU wishes to be linked to him.
Let’s imagine a situation where BJP manages to ride the anti-corruption wave, the anti-incumbency factor against Congress-led UPA and also somehow gets one or two allies [say J Jayalalithaa, even though she won't concede seats to BJP in Tamil Nadu where the party has little support], it needs real numbers in Parliament.
Unless electorate in Uttar Pradesh (UP), that has 80 Lok Sabha seats, suddenly get into a ‘change regime’ mode and dump Mayawati, the BJP can’t hope much in terms of MPs figure in Lok Sabha. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, the party has already been getting optimum seats and still failed to get anywhere near to the magic number.
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| Will they let him go ahead so easily! |
Undoubtedly, a section of the vocal urban middle-class supports him. The voice of this section always gets amplified and is heard. TV channels and media also commit the same mistake.
Remember, the India Shining campaign! The BJP had almost believed that it was going to get a second term but nothing worked out for NDA then.
The point is that even after Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation on the issue of Lok Pal, the failure of Congress in tackling terrorism and the rising prices, elections are an altogether different phenomenon. When a leader like LK Advani couldn’t become acceptable, how could Modi ever be?
Rajiv Gandhi has received tremendous flak for his role in the anti-Sikh riots. But there was no satellite TV then. Even in LK Advani’s rath yatra, the video news casettes had just arrived. But Gujarat pogrom–the communal riots on mass scale and the genocide–were all seen on live TV and thus they evoke far greater response.
True, Narendra Modi has now emerged stronger, has wider acceptability and has managed to change his image in popular perception as a chief minister whose sole plank is development. He has many supporters in the corporate world. But whenever his name is mentioned, the same media also starts raising questions.
When he began fast, it got great coverage. But the protests, detention of riot victims, issues raised by Mallika Sarabhai, again brought controversy to the fast. Leave the issue of asking for apology or questioning about riot victims’ rehabilitation, the officers like Sanjeev Bhatt and B Sreekumar, will continue to play spoilsport for the BJP.
Then the verdicts in riot cases like the ones in which BJP ex-minister Mayaben Kodnani is charged are awaited. Besides, cases of extra-judicial killings and encounters in Gujarat are under various stages of trial in higher courts. There are many other issues.
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| Gujarat to Delhi: Can Modi make it? |
Yet, Modi has succeeded in getting quite far in terms of image makeover. Even if BJP manages to get 200-odd seats and finds allies, the question is that whether the top leaders like Advani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj let him wear the crown so easily.
Nitin Gadkari, who has managed to steer the party at the critical juncture, in the right direction, has kept a low-profile all the while, and kept divisive [communal] issues on the back-burner. Gadkari is an RSS favourite and only the naive can overlook him.
The Chief Ministers ranging from Raman Singh to Shivraj Singh Chouhan are almost as secular as other Congress CMs [except in cases when RSS makes a push]. Will they accept it?
The more media pushes his name, the more other top BJP leaders get insecure [privately]. And can the ambitious Nitish Kumar ever let it happen? Frankly, it doesn’t seem too easy a task for Modi. It is really a long way for him. Of course, miracles can happen and if, as section of media is speculating, he is destined to create history, then nothing can stop him.
Personally I feel, 2014 elections are too near. I think despite praises showered on him, he is far from having that pan-Indian acceptability. There are lot of stumbling blocks in his way. He has clearly won over Gujarat but I think for Modi, Hanoz Dilli Door Ast. Of course, one can’t be too sure for 2019. Let’s wait and watch.
Right now, my hunch is that BJP [and Sangh] would use his persona and his strong pro-right wing [Hindutva] image to mobilize middle-class electorate [and a section of other voters] just to get more seats and for creating a wave in its favour but if it comes to forming government, the party would instead go for a ‘moderate’ or a ‘choice of consensus’.
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| Sindhi daily Hindu edited by Harish Varyani |
I have a copy of ‘Hindu’, a Sindhi daily in my hands. It’s after a long time that I am reading a Sindhi newspaper
While its famous English namesake, ‘The Hindu’ is one of the leading newspapers in the country, this Sindhi newspaper which also has a rich history is facing a really tough challenge.
‘Hindu’ is a multi-edition Sindhi newspaper. It is being published from the pre-partition era and is amongst the few Sindhi papers that have survived in the 21st century.
But, most other Sindhi publications are facing an existential crisis. Sindhi is not taught as third language in schools except in some cities in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharastra.
As Sindhis aren’t concentrated in any state unlike the Kannadiga, the Telugu, the Punjabi or Tamil, it doesn’t enjoy state patronage which other languages get. Quite similar to the problems of Urdu, but circulation of Sindhi papers has seen an unusually sharp decline in recent years.
There are half-a-dozen Sindhi newspapers published from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Ajmer, the Sindhi-dominated Ulhas Nagar town, Bhopal, and a couple of other towns, there numbers are few. Despite attempts by certain individuals to exhort Sindhi youths to take interest in their mother tongue, the situation hasn’t improved.
In the 80s, the movement to write Sindhi in devanagri script had gained momentum. To an extent it was understandable, as Sindhis wanted the language to survive in India. While the spoken language remains alive, the literature has suffered in process. Writers rue that the vocabulary is getting lost and a strange ‘mixture zabaan’ has emerged.
In recent years, Sindhi academies, organisations and trusts have tried hard to organise Sindhi mushairas, Kavi Goshthis, Cultural events and pumped money to publish Sindhi books, but the lack of interest shown by young generation has hampered the efforts.
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| Editorial on political drama in Karnataka |
Till early 90s, I often got to see Sindhi newspapers in a few public reading rooms and in Sindhi households. But now you won’t get a copy except perhaps at the newspaper office or a Sindhi academy, except in Ulhas Nagar and two-three other pockets where few bookshops keep the papers.
When Sindhi daily, Farz, was a mass circulated daily, I often read it. As it is quite similar to Urdu, a person who knows the Perso-Arabic script can read Sindhi, though it requires some extra effort and attention.
After the death of the Farz’ publisher, Rajesh ‘Guide’, his son–Ravi Anand Udhwani, told me that there were few readers now and it was getting increasingly difficult to bring out the paper.
I am not aware of the situation in Pakistan where Sindhi does seem to flourish due to state-support and concentration of Sindhi speakers in the Sindh province.
However, the situation in India, is really bad and there is little hope of a revival for the Sindhi publications. A few committed persons are still trying to run classes and promote the language. While Sindhis, a community that has a sharp trading acumen, has seen collective success and achieved prosperity, the loss of the language is something that they should ponder upon.
I still have a thick Sindhi dictionary, which was gifted to me by my neighbours when I was a kid. They also tried to teach me the basics of the language. Since then I haven’t seen any newspaper or periodical of the language in a Sindhi household though I have umpteen friends of the my community.
An elderly Sindhi friend was livid when he told me about the disinterest of young generation towards learning their ‘mother tongue’. It takes centuries for languages to take shape and get popular. And to see the decline is really sad.
Exploring alleys in Cities and visiting old towns in the North Indian heartland has been a passion for me since my childhood. I visited Mohan [pronounced Mohaan], a prominent town of Awadh, which now falls in Unnao district, during a recent visit.
Though most of the people whom I had asked about the town couldn’t tell me about any famous structure or building known for its architecture in the town, I still decided to explore the town. The visit proved fruitful.
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| The huge minaret and domes of the Shia shrine in Mohan. |
Barely a few hundred metres inside this town, I could spot the huge minaret. Soon the domes were also visible. Locals told me that it was the ‘Karbala of Mohan’.
Though I have been to some Shia shrines, particularly, Imambadas in Lucknow, the imposing structure in the small town that has a population of barely 15,000 came as a surprise.
The ancient structure that has an Imambada is not generally frequented by people. Not many outside the town are aware of the structure.
The local residents also don’t seem to realise that it much bigger [and architecturally refined] than similar buildings in many of the major cities including Muslim centres.
I went inside and found a small staircase leading to the top of the minar. Rarely people venture up and thus the staircase had several lizards, bats and birds but I managed to climb to the top.
It was a stunning bird’s eye view from there. Amidst the vast green expanse and the mango orchards, the entire small town was clearly visible from the top.
Almost every City and town has a place where Shias (and also Sunnis and Hindus) commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husain during the Islamic month of Muharram.
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| Way to minaret’s top |
Often the Karbalas are by the side of a pond or river where the ‘tazia’ [replica of the Imam's rauza] are immersed on Yaum-e-Ashurah. In small towns in UP, there are umpteen such structures.
The photograph on the top left shows the ‘Karbala’. You can gauge the height of the minaret by comparing it with the bus parked by its side. Residents said that it was constructed on the lines of a ‘rauza’ in Iraq.
However, such architectural heritage lies unattended, unexplored and even unknown. As almost 80% of Muslim gentry from these owns had migrated after independence, the structure didn’t had adequate upkeep.
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| View from the top of the minaret. |
Mostly poor Muslims remained in the towns. The abolition of Zamindars had also hit the Muslims in the Indo-Gangetic belt.
For a long time, people didn’t have money and resources to run their own households let alone take care of such structures.
Mohan has a substantial Shia population and they run madarsas as well. Of late, it seems the situation has improved a bit.
I found some other unique structures which have architectural and historical importance. About them, I might write in later posts.
I had chat with owners and customers at the eateries at the gate of the ‘Karbala’.
A middle aged man, who introduced me as Pandit Ji, and runs the pan shop, also gave me some information. Unfortunately, I couldn’t meet the caretaker of the shrine.
(Rajesh plays with his monkey Raju, the "groom" in India's first monkey wedding, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, July 4, 2011/Danish Siddiqui)
The tale, set in the forests of northwestern India, had all the ingredients of a perfect Bollywood love story: emotion, celebration, star-crossed lovers and a nail-biting climax. The only difference was that the lovers were monkeys, taking part in India’s first simian wedding — with the whole unfolding drama a classic clash between age-old village belief and the demands of modern life sceptical of that way of thought.
Hindu belief includes worship of animals as avatars of the gods. Monkeys have an especially significant role in Hindu mythology where they are worshipped as avatars of Hanuman, the mighty ape that aided Rama in his fight against evil. So when plans for the wedding of “Raju” and “Chinki” were laid in the small village of Talwas, deep in the forests of Rajasthan, villagers responded with excitement.
Raju, the “groom,” was famous in Banetha village, about 55 km from Talwas, attracting crowds whenever he went outside. He was known for eating, sleeping and smoking cigarettes with his owner, Ramesh Saini, who treated him like a son. So he was overjoyed two months ago when he met Chinki’s caretaker, a priest in a nearby village, who proposed that the two monkeys be married.
(A forest department official carries Chinki, the "bride" in the monkey wedding, after it was found tied to a tree outside Talwas village, located in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, July 6, 2011/Danish Siddiqui)
Hundreds of invitation cards were sent out to nearby villages for the wedding, planned according to traditional Hindu customs that include seven rounds of the sacred fire as the wedding vows are recited by a priest. A huge pre-wedding feast was planned, along with a procession with Raju on a horse. But no good love story is complete without a little hiccup.
As news of the marriage spread, the state forest department officials stepped into action. Since monkeys are protected in India as government property, no one can pet them, train them or — as in this case — marry them, even to a fellow monkey.
Read the full story by Danish Siddiqui here.
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| The Chaubara structure in Bidar (Karnataka) |
Bidar is a historic town in Southern India and has a host of historical monuments.
Though located in Karnataka, the district borders Andhra Pradesh and is quite close to Maharashtra.
As a result, Urdu, Marathi and Kannada are the major languages spoken here. It has been ruled by Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, then Hasan Gangu and Bahmani Sultans until it became a dominion of the Asif Jahi dynasty–under the Nizam of Hyderabad–till independence.
The chaubara is basically a watch tower cum clock tower. In olden days, from its top one could get a view of the entire town. The imposing cylindrical tower in the heart of the town attracts the new comes to the town. More so, as it is not much known outside.
Though Bidar has no dearth of historical monuments including the fort and the great madarsa established by Mahmood Gawan [the Mughal governor of Bijapur during Humayun's reign], it is still not a major tourist destination. Though there have been some efforts to clear encroachments around, no serious step has been taken to preserve this unique structure as yet.
Located just around 120 km from Hyderabad, Bidar’s language also has a Deccani influence. The place is also well-known for the Bidri work. The fort was constructed in 1428 by Ahmad Wali who named it Ahmadabad-Bidar Fort.
For me right now it is the Chaubara [also written as Choubara] for which I have written the post. I have already mentioned by fascination about the clock towers of unique shapes and sizes in India. But it is not just the clock tower, you must visit Bidar for the monuments that dot this ancient city.
Read my earlier post Clock Towers of Awadh (UP) And Father Built Clock Tower in Son’s Memory
By the end of 2010, with a population of over 1210.2 million, India alone accounted for 17.5% of the world population, whereas China accounted for roughly 19.5% of the world population. The…
A review of Ramachandra Guha’s book “India After Gandhi: The history of the world’s largest democracy”.
Once again, so many ‘all-India’ mushairas were held in Delhi recently, that it became difficult to keep track.
Though a section rues decline in standards of poetry that is read from the stage, the fact is that the institution of mushaira keeps growing stronger.
The historic Shankar-Shaad Mushaira, the 47th such event, organised by DCM group, was held in Delhi recently. This year Anwar Jalalpuri presided over the mushaira.
The founders of Delhi Cloth Mill (DCM) Lala Shankar Lal and Murli Dhar Shaad’s poetry was sung at the start. Audience listened to rapt-attention when veteran poet Shaharyar recited:
Jo chaahti dunyaa hai, voh mujhse nahiiN hogaa
samjhautaa koii Khwaab ke badle nahiiN hogaa
[Shaharyar]
zindagii kis se kahegii koii tayyaari nahiiN
maut ke bas meN to ek lamhe ki bhii yaari nahiiN
[Wasim Barelvi]
jo der thii qafas se nikalne kii der thii
phir aasmaaN saara kabutar ka ho gaya
[Munawwar Rana]
Jaam khaali the, magar maiKhaana to aabaad thaa
chashm-e-saaqii meN taGaaful thaa, pashemaani na thi
jin safiinoN ne kabhii toRaa thaa, maujoN ka Ghuruur
us jagah Duube jis jagah daryaa meN tuGhyaanii na thii
[Malikzada Manzoor Ahmed]
Poets from Pakistan including Zohra Nigaah and Ghulam Abbaas Tabish, and shayars from other countries attended the event.
Of course, some poets who relied more on their rendition style or those who sing from the stage, but there is serious poetry as well and hundreds wait till late night to listen to the poets.
Another mushaira was organised at Jamia Millia Islamia. In the auditorium of Faculty of Engineering, poets regaled the shayari aficionados. Elderly Bekal Utsaahi, known for his geets, was heard with due respect. He presided over the grand poetic meet.
daftar meN zehn, ghar meN nigah, raaste meN paaoN
jiine kii aarzuu meN badan haath se gayaa
[Ghazanfar]
nuchi qamiis, phatii aastiiN, kuchh to hai
Khamushii chhupaatii hai aib aur hunar donoN
shakhsiyat ka andaaza guftguu se hota hai
[Shams Ramzi]
ab apne aap ko qatraa bhii kah nahiiN saktaa
buraa kiyaa jo samandar se aashnaii kii
[Iqbal Ash'har]
kabuutar aake yahaaN saarii raat rotay haiN
ye kaun log haiN jo maqbaroN meN sotay haiN
[Malikzada Javed]
yahaaN to aadmii milnaa muhaal hai yaaro
voh chaahte haiN ki parvardigaar mil jaaye
[Surendra Shajar]
Ikhtilaaf aapas meN der tak nahiiN rakhnaa
ranjisheN miTaane ko ek salaam kaafi hai
[Abid Wafa]
The third mushaira was during the Sahitya Akademi’s seminar on Faiz. Renowned Bengali writer and one my favourite authors Sunil Gangopadhyay had presided over the initial session. The mushaira was a success.
The poetry-lovers were delighted to see legendary poet Balraj Komal recite at the mushaira. Shaharyar, Farhat Ehsas, Khalil Mamoon, Pritpal Singh Betab and Shakil Azmi were applauded for their couplets.
kashti-e-jaaN se utar jaane ko jii chaahtaa hai
in dinoN yuuN hii mar jaane ko jii chaahtaa hai
[Shaharyar]
achchhii chiizeN lagengii aur achchhii
darmiyaaN kuchh Kharaab rakh diyaa karo
[Balraj Komal]
terii aaNkheN Khudaa mahfooz rakhe
terii aaNkhoN meN hairaani bohat hai
[Sheen Kaaf Nizam]
kisii kisii ko thamaataa hai chaabiyaaN ghar kii
Khudaa har ek ko apnaa pataa nahii detaa
[Parvin Kumar Ashk]
The mushaira at India Islamic Cultural Centre that was organised jointly under the aegis of Urdu Academy, Mehfil-e-Urdu and Nobel Education Foundation, was also quite successful. Here is a selection of couplets rendered on the occasion.
One of the most respected Urdu poets, Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlvi recited:
she’riyat khush-gavaar ho ke rahii/ilm-o-fan kii bahaar ho ke rahii
daur-e-qahat-ur-rijaal meN dekho/zindagii baa-vaqaar ho ke rahii
mizaaj puuchhne vaaloN kii Khair ho yaa Rab
mizaaj puuchhne vaale bhii kam hii rah gaye haiN
[Vaqar Manvi]
log kahte haiN ki is khel meN sar jaate haiN
ishq meN itna Khasaara hai to ghar jaate haiN
[Shakil Jamaali]
tujhe shaahi haram kii ek din zeenat banaayenge
baDe naazoN se paala hai tujhe Urdu zubaaN hamne
[Khurshid Haider]
sulah ke vaaste ba-zid kyuuN ho
tiir baaqii nahiiN kamaan meN kyaa
[Salim Siddiqui]
sabhii vaade-iraade, ahad-o-paimaaN TuuT jaate haiN
Ghariibi meN baDe Khuddaar insaaN TuuT jaate haiN
[Shams Ramzi]
na jaane tumne sub’h ka qasiida kaise likh liyaa
yahaaN to kal bhii raat thii, yahaaN to ab bhii raat hai
[Iqbal Ash'har]
aaNkh bhar bhar aaii aur dhundhlaa gaye manzar tamaam
kis qadar tiikha hai terii be-Rukhii ka zaaiqa
[Zafar Moradabadi]
tumhare saath guzaara huaa voh ek lamhaa
agar maiN sochne baiThuuN to zindagii kam hai
[Moin Shadab]
jis din kitaab-e-ishq kii takmiil ho gayii
rakh denge zindagii teraa bastaa uThaa ke ham
[Javed Mushiri]
The mushaira-e-shayaraat, an exclusive women’s poetic meet, was also held recently. It was organised by Delhi Urdu Academy to mark the International Women’s Day. It was decided that no male would appear on the stage, however, there was a row between two poetesses.
Comments from audiences and unruliness forced Professor Akhtarul Wasey had to intervene. Malka Nasim, Azra Naqvi, Ana Dehlvi, Iffat Zarreen, Tarannum Kanpuri and over a dozen other poets participated in the mushaira.
maiN us se duur bhii jaauN to kis tarah jaauN
voh itr ban kar mere pairahan meN rahtaa hai
[Waseem Rashid]
Read earlier posts on Mushaira reports on this blog:
1. Enchanting couplets at an Urdu Mushaira in Delhi
2. Makhmoor Saeedi, Zubair Rizvi recite couplets at Mushaira
3. Tarahi mushairas: A glorious tradition of Urdu poetry
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