Legacy of Mian Tufail Ahmad

A Karachiwalla’s connection with his ancestral hometown Pilibhit in Uttarpradesh.

Pics & Memoir by Mian Tauseef Ahmad, compiled by Rehan Asad

Mian Tauseef, a seventy- two years old retired squadron leader of Pakistan Air force social media shares consisted of a larger chunk of Indian history, culture, poetry, & Bollywood. His profile introduced him ” Squadron leader (R) Mian Tauseef Ahmad, b 20 Oct 1947, Arain settled in Karachi came from Pilibhit, Rohilkhand, UP“. He was born two months five days after the 15 August 1947 when the Indian subcontinent gained independence from British rule. His birthplace Pilibhit was located on the fringes of Western Uttar Pradesh close to the Indo-Nepal border. His ancestors belonged to the “Arain tribe” of eastern Punjab who migrated to Rohilkhand in the late 18th century. It was famines & political unrest caused by Bhatti Rajputs that forced a small part of the tribe from Punjab to relocate in Terai plains of Himalayas. By the time of partition, this small Punjabi diaspora of approximately around ten thousand was distributed in eighty villages of Pilibhit, Bareilly & Nainital districts of United Provinces. As an agrarian tribe, they were stratified as cultivators (Kisans), middle-class landowners (Zamindars) & few of the elite landlords (Rich Zamindars). With Indian partition, almost half of the youngsters moved to the newly created Pakistan & mainly settled in Urdu speaking cities of Sindh with few families in Punjab & NWFP. His father Mian Muhammad Tauseef was born in July 1922 in village Dheram, District Pilibhit & mother Qayum Al Nisa Begum was born in village Karghaina, District Pilibhit in October 1928. A British army recruit Mian Tufail who also took part in WW II moved with his family members from Pilibhit to Lahore in December 1947.

In his reflective account he shares a biographical account of his late father Mian Tufail Ahmad, ancestral connections with Pilibhit in India, story of their migration to Pakistan, his struggle, education & upbringing among the diverse cultures of Punjab & North West frontier as an Urdu speaker with roots from small fringe town of United Provinces.

Mian Tauseef Ahmad wrote: My late father Mr. Tufail Ahmad was from a kissan (small farmers) family of Arain tribe in the Village Dheram, Amaria Block, Pilibhit located in Uttar Pradesh, India. Before the abolition of Zamindari in 1952, our small village was under the zamindari of one Hindu Zamindar. I am told that his representative would visit the village twice a year just to collect Malia (the government tax). After 15 August 1947, it came under All India Congress Government and by 1951 all Zamindaris were abolished and the land belonged to the farmers. The farming land in Uttar Pradesh was measured in Bighas. My grandfather late Mr. Barkat Ali owned a hundred bighas of land. Now the official record of farming is kept in Hectares and one Hectare is equal to 20 kanals. There are almost 80 villages of Arians in District Pilibhit, Bareilly & adjoining Nainital District. The majority of these Arains are called Sirsawal Arains because of their affiliation from Sirsa (Now in Haryana) from where they migrated in 1783 AD.

Left to Right Prof. Mian Shafeeq Ahmad with his elder brother late Mian Tufail Ahmad

My late father was first in his small village to join the Primary School. It was located in Madhopur, a village that was 6 kms away from our ancestral home. He passed his class V in 1932. He completed his middle from Government School of a small town Jahanabad, District Pilibhit. It was due to an incident during a football match at Government High School Jahanabad of District Pilibhit where some students surely including my late father misbehaved with the referee. As a result, they were expelled from admission & barred to be admitted to any school of Bareilly division. So he joined Islamia High School Muzaffar Nagar & completed his matriculation from the same school. Coming from Urdu medium background & once expelled from middle school delayed his matriculation. He matriculated at the age of twenty in 1942. He also motivated his younger brother Shafique Ahamd for the studies who is now a retired Professor & settled in Florida USA. After completing Matriculation in 1942 AD from Islamia High School Muzaffar Nagar in First Division, he was misled by a recruiting agent and joined the British Army as a Havaldar Clerk. His Corp was ASC. Later he repented it because there was no release from the Army during WW II. He was one of the earliest recruits in Defence forces from his locality as there was no tradition of joining Defence Forces among Arains who was prospered by the landholdings. In 1942 when he was under training at Bareilly his marriage was arranged. He got a single day leave & his Sikh Company Commander gave him an optional leave on the birthday of Baba Gru Nanak Dev. Later on, I used to cut jokes with him by saying that this might be the reason we have certain habits resembling the Sikhs. He got four transfers for three and a half years. Trained at Bareilly, then first posting at Karachi Cantt, second at Ferozpur and fourth at Lucknow. On 6th August 1945, the USA detonated the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and second on Nagasaki on 9th August that ended WWII. Now the release from the Army became open. My late father immediately applied for release and it was granted. Based on his education, he was rehabilitated as Assistant Welfare Officer and placed at Lucknow.

Late Mian Tufail Ahmad with his wife Qayum Al Nisa Begum, 1993

For the first time, he took his family that includes my mother & my elder sister late Fatima who was born in January 1945 to Lucknow. I was yet not born. In the mid of 1947, the situation started to deteriorate particularly in the cities so my parents came back to their village. Before leaving Lucknow my late father bought edible Attar from Ms. Iqtida Khan Muqtada Khan so from August to December 1947 he sold it to the local sweetmeats marts. This was the time when I was born on 20th October 1947. My father waited till the mid of December and finally decided to migrate to Pakistan, a dreamland for the Indian Muslims. My parents with two children reached Lahore on 25 th December 1947. My father reported to his ex-unit at Jehlum. He was converted to Upper Division Clerck & send to serve the industries department at Lyallpur now Faisalabad. We were allotted temporarily a house in Mohalla Khalsa College. We remained at Lyallpur for five years. My father used to go to a place Mae Di Jhuggi to his office. Although I was a child of four years I still remember the road leading to Kohinoor Textiles Mills and the bullock carts carrying cotton. I also remember that the majority of residents in our Mohalla were Punjabi speakers and my father told me that they were Punjabi speaking Pathans from Amritsar. There was no mosque in the vicinity so all the people made efforts to make a masjid. My father occupied an Ahata, kept four buffaloes in it and with the help of a servant used to maintain them and also sold milk to the local Halwais.

I don’t remember personally but as I was told that in 1949 my late father picked up a quarrel with a Pesh Imam (Cleric who performs prayers in a mosque) who allegedly indulging in some unwanted activities and my late father stabbed and injured him seriously right in the masjid during Isha prayers. The local police arrived and arrested him. My late mother used to tell us that this was one of the toughest days of her life. It was the time when my younger sister was about to be born. It was after 15 days his release was arranged and the Punjabi friends helped him a lot. He had to approach the family of the injured person and offered him a reasonably good amount by selling the four buffalos. This was the time when my younger sister was born and she was named Masooda which means a person of good luck.

Now my late father was fed up petty local politics. He returned to the self-studies. He did Adeeb Fazil, then Bachelors in English language and went to Sialkot to got admission in MA (English) in Murray College Sialkot. During the evenings, he used to serve as Accountant in a surgical instruments firm. He completed his MA Previous from Murray’s College. I vividly remember first we used to live in Sialkot Saddar and then in Ghazipur/Talwara. Ghazipur was small village of Jutts (a sturdy & respectable caste in Punjabis). It was pretty difficult to pull on economically with the family of six members and he continued with his MA classes so in MA Final he moved to Rawalpindi where we had some well-established relatives from Pilibhit connection. One of them Mian Faheem ud Din was Deputy Military Accountant General & his brother In law Abdul Khaliq Jillani was Accounts & Audit Officer in Military Accounts. My father took admission in MA Final in Gordon College Rawalpindi. It was in January 1956 that my late father joined GHQ as Assistant Superintendent on basis of BA. Thus we started living in Tench Bhata a suburb of Rawalpindi. I remember the celebration of 23rd March 1956 when Pakistan was declared Republic. It was in May 1957 that my father took me for admission in class 6 he submitted an affidavit that I had not studied in a regular school so I was given a test in Urdu, Math and General Knowledge which I passed successfully. I studied in Cantonment Board High School Lalkurti Rawalpindi. The headmaster of the school, Mr. Ansari was very efficient gentleman. I studied in that school up to class eight. Some of the teachers I remember were science teacher Mr. Samiulla, Urdu teacher Mr. Sabir , English teacher. It is no more a village rather a suburb. As my father was serving in GH Q and we were allotted a JCO quarter in Victoria Barracks just opposite Convent School and very close to Lalkurti Rawalpindi. Then my father applied for the allotment of small property in exchange what was left in India and he was allotted five acres of fertile land and a house just in the beginnings of Bazar Garhi Daulat Zai part of big village Garhi Kapura Tehsil in District Mardan. The house was left by one Ram Singh but was occupied by some local family but it was the time when Martial Law was imposed by General Muhammad Ayoub Khan and things were moving very quickly. My father exerting the influence of GHQ got both his properties vacated. He himself got posted at Air Headquarters Peshawar and we started living in Garhi Kapura. It was in 1961 I was admitted in class eight in Government High School Garhi Kapura. I was the only Urdu Speaking student in the school and called “Panhguzeen” a Pashtun word meaning Refugee. I picked up Pashto very quickly. Our headmaster was Sir Fida Younas from the nearby village Galyara who was a towering personality in a small school. I studied in this school for two years and then my father decided to shift his family to Peshawar Saddar. A house was allotted right on the city saddar road near Green Hotel opposite General Post Office. The street was known as Donga Gali. I got admission to Government High School one of the best in Peshawar Cantonment. I passed my matriculation from there. Among our teachers, Mr. Husnain Naqvi was an outstanding personality. He was remembered as an iconic educator in Peshawar Saddar. I passed SSC in 1964 and my late father had a desire that I should become an agricultural scientist. I was taken to Agriculture College Peshawar for admission and after a short interview with the vice-principal Dr. Roghani I was admitted. The most interesting part of the interview, it was started in English and came to an end in Pashto. Dr. Roghani remarked that I spoke Pashto perfectly but Tauseef is not a common name among the Pashtuns. Dr. Shamsul Islam Ali Khan was the Principal of Agriculture College. United States government was kind to Pakistan & our Agriculture College of Peshawar was associated with Colorado State University. The majority of the faculty members hold Doctorates in various disciplines. Every student was given scholarship and the scholarship of the boarders was double than the day scholars. It was my hard luck or laziness that I did not succeed there. My late father said that if you had the talent you are likely to succeed in any field. I pray for his departed soul. It was August 1965 and Indo-Pak battle had yet not taken place. My father decided that I should go to India and meet my relatives as my paternal uncles; Nani (Grandmother), Khalu (Uncle) & Khala (Aunt) were alive then. Not hardcore but skirmishes were taking place in Dara Haji Pir in Kashmir. I raised my concern to my late father but he told it was common between India and Pakistan since 1947. So it was on 30 August 1965 that I departed for Bareilly by Hora Mail which used to depart from Platform No.4. I reached Bareilly the next morning and was received by my Khalu Haji Amir Ahmad. I was still staying with my Nani when one of our relatives who had a radio run with battery informed that the battle between India and Pakistan had commenced. It was on the evening of 6th September 1965 that a constable from Police Station Amaria came and informed that I was under house arrest. Two of my relatives gave guaranty that I would remain confined to the village Karghaina. It was just a formality otherwise I used to roam all the areas of Rayeenwara (a local term used for Arain villages in Pilibhit). So I remained with my ancestors up to February 1966 till the Tashkent Declaration took place. The other mishap happened in the land of ancestors; I lost my Pakistani passport for which FIR had to be lodged in the Police Station of Amaria, a small town of Pilibhit near my mother’s ancestral village. Finally, my Khalu Haji Amir Ahmad went to Pakistan Embassy Delhi and got a new passport issued for me. In February 1966 I returned by land route of Ganda Singh Hussaini Wala. Here during stay six months at the ancestral village of my mother in Pilibhit, UP, I also learned a little bit of Hindi Language.

From left to right, the portrait of all four brothers, Mian Tauseef Ahmad, Mian Tauqeer Ahmad, Taufeeq Ahmad, & late Tanveer Ahmad, 2002

I finished my Intermediate (FA examinations) in 1967 & took admission in Government College Peshawar. It was a great experience to stay for two years in this institution. Mr. Mosa Khan Kaleem was the principal. It was during the General Yahya Khan regime when I started my career as upper-division Clerk in Accountant General NWFP Office. I must mention here that I was already rejected twice Inter Services Selection Board aka ISSB. After serving AG Office for one year and four months one of my colleagues. A friend informed me he had listened on the radio that Pakistan Air Force was in need of Education Instructors directly to be inducted as Flight Sergeant. He also informed me the basic requirement was BA/BSc in Second Division. I immediately reported to PAF Information and selection center located on 3 The Mall Peshawar. Flag officer Nazir Mirza was Officer in Charge who reviewed my documents & passed to the wing commander who was Director of Education. I very well remember it on 28th April 1971. After basic Intelligence tests and primary medical examination I, Fazal Karim, Mosam Khan, and Ajab Khan were sent the School of Education for basic training of 6 weeks. I was transferred to the Central Technical Development Unit, PAF Base Faisal as Ian in charge of the Library. On 16 December 1971 when the Pakistan Defence Forces surrendered at Dhaka, there was an urgent need of Education Instructors at PAF Kohat because all the Bengali Education Instructors and Officers were demobilized. I was posted to recruits Training School Kohat now known as PTTS . From June1972I to June I974 Base Commanders Kohat were Grp Capt H MC Misra, Grp Capt Nazir A Mirza, Air Commodore M Afzal Khan. I taught English and Pakistan Studies there for two years and then I was transferred to Air Headquarters Peshawar in Central Library from November 1972 to September 1973. In September 1973 I was back in teaching at Kohat. Once again I was transferred to Central Library Air Headquarters Peshawar. I must mention that my late father was GSO III aka Gazetted Staff Officer at Air Headquarters Peshawar and I was unmarried so he got me twice transferred to Peshawar. I got married to Sarwat on 28th December. They were our relatives & connected with our small Pilibhit based Arain tribe in Pakistan. They lived from 1950 to 1974 in Kocha Hari Singh, Main Bazar Kohat. They later shifted to Lahore and lived in Gulberg III. I completed four years as Flight Sargent & four years as Warrant Officer. Then as an Education Instructor at Peshawar. Now I completed 8 years so I was eligible for Commission so applied for it & my good luck that most Education Instructors were on Deputation to Libya. I was selected easily and send to the College of Education Kohat for six months. It was the time when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged on 4th April 1979 and everybody felt it very badly. In this College Group Captain Kiyani later on, Air Commodore Kiyani and Group Captain Nizam and Flt Lt Masroor Ahmad Siddiqui were good teachers. I graduated as a Flying Officer and transferred to Directorate of Studies PAF Academy Risalpur but one of my ex comrades then Warrant Officer Rao Ayoub (now a big tycoon as a property dealer in Malir Cantt, Karachi) played dirty politics and I was posted to PAF Base Samungli. Now I realize that people were against me but Allah was very kind to me otherwise I would have never seen Balochistan and enjoyed my three years stay at Quetta. My first Base Commander was Air Commodore Aziz known as Aziz Tao and second Base Commander was then Air Commodore Akhtar Bukhari later on AVM Bukhari really a good commander. Begum Bukhari was a German lady of a cultivated taste. All students used to go to Quetta for studies. She asked me to establish a school up to class 5 so we were successful in establishing the school. My son Ehtisham Khan was born on 18th August 1981at PAF Base Samungli. I stayed at PAF Base Samungli (Quetta) for three years. In 1982 my father was retired from Peshawar. I served Air force for thirty years & got retirement in 2001. A year after my father left the world in 2002 at the age of ninety. I joined one private Air force training center & served there for the next ten years.

Mian Tauseef Ahmad with his wife late Sarwat Tauseef visiting Sikh pilgrimage

In the flashback, the memories of my six -month stay visit to India, the land of my ancestors are still fresh in my mind. The connection with the hometown where I was born seems to be inseparable. This is the memoir of the man who left India along with his parents at the age of three months. He was brought up & educated in Punjab, & Khyber Pakhtunwala. For six months, during his teenage, he stayed in India, his birthplace & land of his ancestors. In addition to Urdu as the first language, he fluently spoke Punjabi, Pashtu, English & Hindi. Where many of the smart city residents felt embarrassed to affiliate with the mofussil towns of UP & Bihar, Mian Tauseef proudly associates with the small town of Pilibhit on the other side of Radcliffe line. Where many of his relatives from Pilibhit Arain diaspora in Pakistan finds chauvinism with their ancestral roots of Colonial zamindari of United Provinces, he is proud of his roots from the Kisan(Farmer) grandfather.

Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad: A Biographical Account

The story of the Colonial Zamindar, and a Philanthropist from early 20th century, Pilibhit, United Provinces

Text by Rehan Asad| family Pics & Portraits by Mr. Mohammad Aslam

The portrait of Haji Sheikh Mohammad Buksh, the father of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad dressed in the traditional attire with the long cap and draped with the shawl. This portrait was from his late years of life probably taken in the decade of 1900. Haji Shiekh Muhammad Buksh is still remembered among the local villagers of his estate as the pious and kind landowner with the title of “Bade Mian”

On 18th February 1917, a zamindar from a nearby village Daang, Pargana Jahanabad addressed a convocational gathering at Karghaina Building, Pilibhit, United Provinces as President of the Anjuman. I translated excerpts of his speech published in the Rawaid (minutes/proceedings of the convocation) from Bareilly in the same year. It reflected the profound insight of the man towards the role & the importance of modern education. “Modern education is the only tool to remove ignorance among communities. Muslims like other communities in subcontinent don’t have an inclination for modern education and this is the reason of the lagging of Muslims in all walks of life. Especially for our community in Rohilkhand, we are deliberately parting away from modern education. It is the lack of the modern education which is responsible for our heavy losses to the zamindari estates, and it will remain same in future. It would be a sense of grief for all of us that in the time of British governance that blessed us with a lot of favors, facilities, and freedom and still if our community would be isolated from the jewel of modern education. It should be our duty and efforts that we should accept the importance of modern education from our hearts. By the grace of God, you all are quite capable of resources to provide higher education to our young generation and also to those orphans of the community those are in utmost need. Therefore it is necessary to donate hefty amounts related to the scholarships for higher education.”– Speech Sheikh Ahmad Nazeer, 1917AD [1].

The cover page of the 18 February 1917 community convocation from where I translated the speech of the Shiekh Nazeer Ahmad. Its written in Urdu, Rawaid Ajlas e Awwal, Anjuman Rayyan, Rohilkhand Kumaon. Venue: 18 February, at Pilibhit on the residence of Shiekh Maulvi Abdul Haqq Sahab, Joint Secretary, and Landlord, Pilibhit. Addressed to Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad Sahab, President, and big Landlord, (Raese Aazam, Daang), Sheikh Tajuddin Sahab Joint secretary. With efforts of Hakim Mohammad Sarwar Khan Malik printed at Kohadapeer, Bareilly. At the top of the cover page, there is an inspirational verse in Urdu Khuda ne aaj tak us qaum ki halat nahi badli, Nahu jis ko khyal apni halat badalne ka

Family Background and Introduction: Sheikh Taj Mohammad was the founder of the household in Rohillkhand region and sixth in the generation of Sheikh Taj Mohammad was born Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad in the family Sheikh Mohammad Buksh [2]. According to Tarrekh Arain his ancestors originally belonged to Salarpur, District Jalandhar, Punjab, who migrated to Mangala, District Sirsa (presently in Haryana) and then moved to Rohilkhand in the late 18th century [3]. Nevill in the District Gazette of Pilibhit (1909) cited the family of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad as one of the notable and leading zamindars of Pargana Jahanabad, District Pilibhit [4]. His father Haji Sheikh Mohammad Buksh was a pious landlord who donated a considerable property from his zamindari shares in Pargana Richaa, District Bareilly to the waqf of the historic Jama Masjid, Pilibhit. In the late 19th century, a Madarsa was also stared by his father at Village Daang, the headquarter of his zamindari estate. As the trend of the time among prosperous cultured families in those days, he was groomed by his father & private tutors. He had a good understanding of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.

Description of his estate: The District Gazette of Pilibhit cited the revenue of his estate “Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad son of Sheikh Mohammad Buksh, an Arain hold seven villages and fifteen shares in District Pilibhit and pay revenue of ten thousand four hundred thirty-eight INR (Drake, 1934AD) ”[5]. He also held three whole villages in District Bareilly. Eighteen years later when the assessment report was prepared for the abolition of zamindari system based on the revenue in United Provinces, the total number of the zamindars in the highest strata i.e., ten thousand Indian Rupees were only three hundred ninety [6]. On reviewing District Gazetteer, I found that it was the highest revenue paid to the Government in Pargana Jahanabad and third highest in the District. As a foresighted man, he understood the outcomes of the upcoming reforms of United Provinces. It was during his time, the Daang estate also created a huge agrarian farm under the category of “Sir/Khudkasht” land with newly introduced machines and tractor. All these records showed that he belonged to one of the richest families in the district and among the top strata of United Province’s zamindar aristocracy. In 1952 after the abolition of Zamindari his descendants were able to hold an agrarian farmland spread over an area of more than two hundred acres of the land. He also had an honorary exemption from British Government arm acts [7].

More than century-old mosque build by the Sheikh Muhammad Buksh, the father of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad at village Daang

Services & Charities: Whether it was the organization of feast on special occasions of Muharram, Rabi Ul Awwal or the expense of the “Urs” of the revered saint who was resting in the premises of Jahanabad Police Station, Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad continued the traditional charities of his forefathers. Aged locals still recalled him and his father as “Chote Miyan” and “Bade Miyan” who always treated their ancestors with generosity irrespective of their caste, creed, religion & social status. A trait that was rare to be found among the zamindars in the stratified rural settings of Colonial India. In 1915, he was one from Rohilkhand Arain community along with Shiekh Tajuddin, his brother Shiekh Wisluddin and Sheikh Abdul Haqq who attended the Arain convocation held at Lahore under the leadership of Sir Mian Mohammad Shafi. The main goal was to spread the awareness of the modern education. On 16 March 1916, Anjuman Arain, Rohilkhand & Kumaon was formed with its main goal to push the community towards modern education. Shiekh Nazeer Ahmad was appointed as the President of this society. During the span of a year handsome amount of three thousand three hundred twenty was collected with a donation of more than two hundred Indian Rupees by him. Almost a century before, two hundred Indian Rupees was the monthly salary of Class one officer. Among the many beneficiaries of this Anjuman, the foremost was Dr. Abdul Ghafor who got Indian Rupees Four/Month scholarship for his studies at Agra Medical School. He was also one of the contributors in established of first Islamia School at the district in 1932. The madrasa established by his father at the headquarter of the estate, Village Daang was also upgraded by him. It continued to serve as the junior high school till 1980s long after his death.His hospitality was still recalled by the locals. His ninety-year-old daughter informed that kitchen of his father offered food on daily basis to rich, poor, needy and passing by strangers. The ladies of the family personally supervised the daily preparations on the larger scale with the assistance of maids and trail of helpers.

The capacious kitchen that was once famous for its hospitality was located in Zenan Khana of the haveli. With the size of approximately 800 square yards, its arrangement is like a small apartment. The roof of covered area is supported by iron grids and timber.

Legacy: During his life, he was highly influenced by the educational moves and reforms of Sir Mian Mohammad Shafi (a Punjabi leader of Muslim league, educationist, Politician and Vice President of Viceroy Executive council) but maintained his stance to remained away from the political ideology of Muslim league. From his children, no one moved to Pakistan at the time of the partition. Later one daughter and youngest son relocated to Pakistan in last decade of the fifties due to matrimonial ties. He left behind a handwritten diary that he used to document relevant pieces of his life. Few pages had been shared by his grandson, Mr. Mohammad Aslam that showed the date, year, time of the birth of all his children.

A handwritten page from the diary of the Shiekh Nazeer Ahmad shared by his grandson, Mr. Mohammad Aslam.

Mr. Mohammad Ahmad, the eldest son of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad. He was born on 16 October 1914. After his death, he managed the estate and then continued to maintain seat the of ancestors after the abolition of zamindari. In the sixties for the education of the kids, he moved to Pilibhit City and build a home at Karghaina Building. He also stared retail business of textiles as the business venture in changing time. After the death of his wife in 1976, he took the retirement and finally moved to Aligarh where his daughter was living in 1980. He was survived by four sons and three daughters. His last resting place is located at Aligarh.

The photograph of the second son of the Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad, Mr. Mohammad Tahir. He was born at 08 Jamadul Awwal, 1340 of Hijri Calendar as given in the diary of his father., Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad. The converter gives the date in Gregorian, January 1922. Mr. Mohammad Tahir passed in 1964 leaving behind two sons. The eldest one residing at Pilibhit and the younger one is software professional in Dubai, UAE.

Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad took his last breath in 1947 at the age of seventy and buried at family graveyard at Village Daang, the seat of his ancestors. He was survived by three sons, eldest Mr. Mohammad Ahmad, second, Mr. Mohammad Tahir and youngest Mr. Mohammad Athar and six daughters. Mr. Mohammad Athar moved to Italy after completing his Masters in Geology from Aligarh Muslim University in 1958. He got married to Miss. Anjum Ara Naeemi, the daughter of Mr. Abdul Hafeez Naeemi in 1960. Her wife was also 1957 graduate of Aligarh Muslim University. After his return from Italy, he joined as a geologist at ONGC India, Limited at Dehradun. In 1967, the couple relocated to Pakistan where he joined as Assistant Director in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural resources. Working at different positions, he retired as the Additional Secretary of Ministry of Finance, Pakistan in the year 1999. Among the daughters, only Mrs. Hajra Begum moved to Pakistan. She was born on 28th October 1920 and married to the Mr. Abdul Khaliq Jilani, S/O Hafiz Abdul Rasheed of Village Karghaina, Pilibhit. Mr. Abdul Khaliq Jilani relocated to Pakistan and retired as Deputy Controller, Military Accounts.

Portrait of Mr. Mohammad Athar, the youngest son of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad. This photograph date back to his Aligarh Muslim University days as a student at Department of Geology. He completed his masters from AMU, Aligarh in 1958.

Portrait of Mr. Mohammad Athar probably from India. Joined ONGC after returning from Italy and relocated to Pakistan in 1967. In Pakistan, he started his carrerr in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural resources and retired as additional secretary of finance, Pakistan in the year 1999.

Mr. Mohammad Athar, born June 12, 1933, at Village Daang and passed on June 18, 2004, at Islamabad, Pakistan. His last resting place is in Islamabad, Pakistan. He is survived by one daughter and two sons. The eldest one daughter is Doctor at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad and both of the Sons are settled in Houston, Texas, United States.

Portrait of Mr. Mohammad Athar with his nephew Mr. Mohammad Aslam from Albany, Newyork during one his visits to the United States in 1984.

The eldest son, Mr. Mohammad Ahmad continued maintained his estate for short span before its abolition. Shortly after the death of his father, the zamindari abolition act was passed and villages came under the direct control of the government. The family retained the possession of agrarian lands, haveli, and other assets till the seventies. Seventy years had passed and now all his children also passed away except his one daughter, Mrs. Asiya. Born on 04th April 1926, she is currently residing with his son at Aligarh.

Mrs. Asiya Begum, the only surviving offspring of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad. She was born on 20 Ramzan, 1344 Hijri (04th April 1926). Married to the Son of Khan Bahadur Shiekh Imtiaz Ahmad of Khamaria. She currently resides with his only son at Aligarh. His son a Professor of Botany recently retired from services as Head of the Botany Department, AMU, Aligarh.

She still recollected her memories of childhood days that witnessed the heydays of Daang estate under his father, Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad.

Mrs. Asiya Begum with two of his nephews. On her right flank, Mr. Mohammad Aslam (Son of Mr. Mohammad Ahmad), and left flank, Mr. Mujeeb Ur Rehman (Son of Mr. Mohammad Tahir). Photograph by the courtesy of Mr. Mohammad Aslam who recently visited homeland from Houston.

The third and fourth generation descendants have relocated to Pilibhit city, Aligarh, Karachi, Houston (few other cities of United States), and Dubai. None of them were left in the seat of their illustrious ancestors. During my exploration of Village Daang, I was spellbound that Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad & his pious father Haji Sheikh Muhammad Buksh are still alive in the heart of local villagers as “Chote Miyan” and “Bade Miyan”.

One of the entrances to the inner courtyard of female section. There is a brick courtyard with bounded by the high wall before this gate.

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Mr. Mohammad Aslam for sharing the rare family portraits and diary pages. He is the grandson of Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad living in the Houston, Texas, United States from last thirty years. A doctorate in organic chemistry, he is an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, India & University of West Ontario, Canada. He passed his Masters in Organic Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University in 1975 and completed his Ph.D. from University of Western Ontario, London, Canada in 1981. Formerly, he had been Vice President, Research, and Development at Lonza Group, a global organization for providing solutions for pharma and healthcare.

Note: In changing 21st-century, the members of small Punjabi Diasporic community (Arain/Rain) having roots from the villages of Rohilkhand & Kumaon (Bareilly, Pilibhit & District Nainital) can be found in Pakistan, Middle Eastern countries, Canda, United States, & other western countries. Its the efforts of their elders who made great efforts more than a century ago to push the community towards modern education.

Glossary of terms:

Anjuman: An Urdu term used for the societies/organizations.
Raees: The literal meaning is “Rich”. It was common practice to be used as an honorary appellation with the landlords of Urdu speaking United Provinces in Colonial India.
Rawaid: The literal meaning of “Rawaid” is to perform or officiate. Here it is used in a context to document or officiate the proceedings of the Anjuman meet.
Sir/Khudkasht: A category of the land that is cultivated by the zamindars by their own efforts. When zamindari reforms were passed, they were allowed to hold “Khudkasht/ self-cultivated” lands.
Zamindar: A medieval Urdu term used for the landlord in Colonial India.

References:

[1]Ahmad, N. (1917), Rawaid Ajlas Awwal, Anjuman Arain, Rohilkhand and Kumaon, conducted on 18th February 1917 AD at the house of Sheikh Maulvi Abdul Haqq, Joint secretary, and Raees Pilibhit. From Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad Raees e Azam Daang and President, and Shiekh Tajuddin Sahib, Raees Hulkari Dhakia, Secretary. Printed and designed at Kohadapeer, Bareilly.

[2]Ishaaq, M., and Naseem, M. (2001), In Chapter thirteen, Arain, Sangam offset and press, pp.36.

[3] Chaudhry, Asgahr A. (1963), chapter three, Tarrekh Arain, 5^th Ed., Asghar Ali Chaudhry, Ilmi Kutubkhana, Urdu Bazar, Lahore, pp.148.

[4] Nevill, H.R. (1909), PILIBHIT: A Gazetteer of the District Gazetteers of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, VolXVIII.

[5] Rudade Ajlas Awwal, Anjumane Arain, Rohilkhand and Kumaon, conducted on 18th February 1917 AD at the house of Sheikh Maulvi Abdul Haqq, Joint secretary, and Raees Pilibhit. From Sheikh Nazeer Ahmad Raeese Azam Daang and President, and Shiekh Tajuddin Sahib, Raees Hulkari Dhakia, Joint Secretary. Printed and designed at Kohadapeer, Bareilly.

[6]Chaudhry, Asgahr A. (1963), chapter three, Tarrekh Arain, 5^th Ed., Asghar Ali Chaudhry, Ilmi Kutubkhana, Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, pp.141.

[7]Drake-Brockman, D.L. (1934), District Gazeeter of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, Supplement D: Pilibhit District.

Remnants of a Separation: A History of The Partition Through Material Memory by Aanchal Malhotra

Readers’ review by Rehan Asad| An unique approach to revisit the most important context of 20th century South Asian History, Indian partition

Introduction and background

The book titled “Remnants of a Separation” authored by Aanchal Malhotra and published by Harper Collins was released on 15/August/2017 at the completion of seventy years of Indian partition (Batwara). In last seventy years, the numerous books have been published on the event that created more than fourteen million homeless population and estimated death of approximately two million human souls. As born in Western Uttar Pradesh, I was brought up listening stories of partition from grandparents. The region was the part of United Provinces of Oudh and Agra in Colonial India that has the considerable support of league among the Muslims agrarian landowners. Some members of the Grandparents extended families had chosen the strange land on the other side of Radcliffe line. It was the illusion of chosen land created by the Jinnah among the elites landlords of United Province & Oudh that compelled them to leave their homelands. I had an opportunity during childhood days to interact with relatives from Karachi visiting their ancestor’s homeland far off in Uttarpradesh. During the Senior Secondary days in 1997, I had come across with my first non-fiction read up on partition “Freedom at Mid Night by Lary Collins & Dominique Lapierre (1975)” almost twenty years from now. Almost at same time, I was blessed to read the great Kushwant Singh masterpiece, “Train to Pakistan“, a fiction centered around the syncretic love story of Punjab in the backdrop of communal violence. From then onward, I tried to explore the context of partition by reading manuscripts and research articles as an inquisitive reader to explore it. As the topic filled with multiple historical reviews, & viewpoints, it seems to be contextual for third generation Indian and Pakistanis like me. During last month I got an opportunity to read the “Remnants of a separation: A history of the partition through material memory,” a book released on the eve of seventy years of Indian partition.

Reflections on the “Remnants of a separation”

The idea behind the book was commenced with the effort of a young researcher of Fine Arts who had chosen the stories moving around the artifacts and materials related to the context of Indian partition as the dissertation of her MFA (Masters in fine arts) programme at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. The author reflected in the introductory section, the significance of material memory crept in 2013 when the photojournalist and columnist Mayank Austen Soofi widely popular as Delhi Walla was exploring Vij Bhawan for his column. It was the gaz (feet) and ghara (metallic vessel), a pre-partitioned legacy of the Vij (Authors maternal grandparents) that appeared as prime stimuli of the research idea. The creativity lies in the author’s sense of integrating valuable artifacts (storehouse of the memories) carried by the immigrants on both sides of the Radcliffe lines during partition. The qualitative research is a standardized model for exploring anthropological and ethnographic context. Oral history collected by conducting in-depth interviews and artifacts used in congruence are tools of the qualitative research that has been used in this project. The titles of all nineteen chapter are connecting the link to memories and each of the chapters is meticulously selected case reflecting unique ethnic and social context about the event of the partition. Ingenuity lies in the exploration of beautiful memories by connecting with the tactile stimuli of materials and belongings of the past. Most of these memories were buried in the deep subconscious of these individuals behind the denial of the traumatic events that happened seventy years before. Other than citing standard references, and archives on Indian partition, the author embed herself as an explorative researcher to perceive the emotional context extracted from each interview. It gave us the deeper understanding of the geographical origins especially for the group of the population who left their native land under arduous circumstances. Each context presented in the book as chapters moved around the artifacts, heirlooms, objects as the connection with memories also provide the readers a broader historical context of the particular region/culture about the partition. I tried to reflect on some of those backgrounds that I perceived from my prerequisite understanding of Partition.

The rich narratives of Vij, Malhotra’s, and Bhag gave readers an understanding of shifting the level of acceptance especially in context with Punjabi immigrants within the layered social dynamics of 1950s Delhi. All three of them belonged to Author’s family but, as an explorative researcher when she interviewed them, a unique cultural context was extracted from their past. The Vij represented a thrifty urban Punjabis from Lahore who has been established themselves as the successful entrepreneurs from centuries. It was the bloody event of “Batwara” that cut the roots of this prosperous community from the native land. The ancestors of Bahris hails from the small historic town, Qadirabad located two hundred fourteen kilometers North-West of Lahore. They represented a middle-class zamindar section of the Punjabis who undertook modern education as the tool of better survival in changing colonial India. After leaving Malakwal, the nineteen years Balraj Bahri journey on the bumpy roads from the Kingsway camp up to the successful Bahri Sons booksellers is the reflection of hard work, and rectitude. Now the Bhag Malhotra who hails from the North-West Province, a land of tribal Pashtuns. Her reflection draws a vivid picture of the life of Punjabi Zamindars in Khyber Pakhtunwala. A beautiful haveli with separate apartments for the members of extended family. The separation in the quarters and living area for females. In those days, Purdah was not confined to any particular religion. It was a tradition practiced among the high socioeconomic class of rural North Indian society. The pearls of Azra Haq represent the class of bureaucratic white-collar pre-partitioned Punjabi Muslims that unfortunately lost the ground in the chosen land of Jinnah. The “Bagh” of Hansla represented the old culture where the daughters received homemade apparel from his mother. This sacred piece of cloth passed from generation to generation carrying clemence and efforts of ancestors interwoven with memories of each generation making it a priceless treasure. Mian Faiz Rabbani represented a sample of the agrarian tribe which formed the core of Muslim league & Unionist in Punjab Province. Finishing with Shams Manzil of Mian Faiz intermingled with memories of a stone plaque, the book moved to next unique context from Punjab. It’s a story of the family belonging to Ahlul Bait (the house of Prophet) from the small town Samana in the princely state of Patiala. The sanctity of the place was due to the direct descendants of the Prophet (Peace be Upon him), Sayyad Mashaad Ali buried here long before the advent of Ghurids & Mamluks in India. Nazeer Adhami from Hardoi, (Lucknow), Oudh and his memories of Aligarh Muslim Universities gave the readers an insight on elite Muslim Zamindars of United Provinces and their participation towards the league. Parting from the memories of Nazeer from Aligarh Muslim Universty, it moved to beautiful narrations of Nizamuddin Khan, a member of a working-class Muslim family of pre-partitioned Delhi. How beautiful his descriptions of syncretic Delhi before the partition? His reflective accounts of Gandhi Ji, Nehru & Jinnah was built over the years from his father side talks who was working at Viceroy house in Lutyens Delhi. Even circumstances forced them but, somehow managed to return to the land where their ancestors were buried. Now, one of the most interesting chapters for me came up during the read up. Here I was going to read the narratives coming directly from the tongue of an Emeritus Professor of art & culture history from the University of Sussex on his legacy, partition, and reaction of his family. Transcribed and written contextually, the chapter of Partha Mitter unfolded his more than one and half century old legacy represented as a sample of elite Bengali families that was the core of India first sociocultural and intellectual movement. In other terms what is defined in textbooks as a Bengal renaissance? From the great Tipen Mitter up to Partha Mitter, the family has produced legends who perceived the winds and tides of Colonial India. The legendary journalist, Maya Mirchandi Grandmother Savitri represented a context from the ancient land from where lies the roots of the historical names “Hind” and “Indus”. The family described an educated upper-middle-class Sindhis who lost their homeland due to the voluntary exodus of Urdu speaking community from United Provinces of Agra & Oudh, Bihar, Hyderabad ( Deccan), Rajasthan & Gujrat. The Dadi Leela version of three mothers, biological mother, linguistic mother and motherland (place of birth) articulate the significance of native language and birthplace in an individual life even in unfavorable circumstances. It’s an irony that even after seven decades of partition, the Urdu speaking community that immigrated with the dream of chosen land is still struggling to be absorbed in the Sindhi population & culture on the other side. Interestingly the subgroups within this broader linguistic identity titled as Muhajir (Oriental word for refugee) were identified with the places of their origin like Delhi Wale, Hyderabadi, Bihari, Lucknow wale and further smaller units of their native lands in United Provinces.

An outstanding distinctive research that explores the feelings, materials, context, and sociocultural background of the immigrants. The author’s inclusion of the verbatim transcription of the native’s words of Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and English extracted during interviews gave an additional uniqueness and sense of originality to the context. It’s interesting to find the shared Hindustani words like Taka, Anna, Lambardar, Khas Dan, Sarota, Deghcyian, and Hammam Dasta were commonly used in Punjab, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and Sindh provinces of Colonial India. I had heard these words in common usage of my grandparents and parents, but in today changing trends it seems to be archival. The presentation of the native words in their original accent, e.g., Jullundar instead of Jalandhar, Kalai (Qalai), Kabar (Qabar) as common in Punjabi accent is the reflection of applying core values of qualitative research. An Englishman, John Gregor Taylor chanting Hindi songs and missing the odor of Geeli Mitti of India, a Punjabi Arain articulating his context by an example “the demise of the sapling once uprooted from its soil” reminds me the three mothers of Leela Dadi from Mirchandani accounts. When humanity was tarnished by the savagery, you will find Hansla Chaudhry grandfather receiving the offer of Luyten Delhi mansion from his Muslim friend. Prof. Mitter father risked his own life for saving Muslims around his home at Bhowanipur, Calcutta. A Praman Matro (Identity Proof) of Sunil Kumar connecting the family with bygone days memories. There is much more to talk about but, word count binds my review. The research of the Aanchal Malhotra is an effort in a direction to touch core human values of such an important context of modern Indian history by erasing all the bias of region, religion, and culture. This unique account is an excellent add-on to the social and ethnic context of Indian partition. It will also serve as a resource for future academic researchers.