HYDERABAD DIARIES
TRAVELLING is a great source of gaining knowledge and perspective about the world we live in. I have been fortunate to travel around the world. The following is an account of one of my trips to Hyderabad.
When I reached Delhi Airport, it was bustling with the usual hectic activity. In the general mass of people, there were faces which shone with tranquillity, but there were many others which bore the stamp of misery. I thought to myself, that’s life. Some are travelling beckoned by joy, others by tragedy. Some are heading towards material gain, others towards serious losses. At first glance, every wayfarer is bent on reaching a different destination, but as far as the ultimate lot in life, there is but a single destination—the grave. Death is the one certain goal in life, but it is the one of which everyone has the least awareness.
Today, the name, Hyderabad, denotes a town, whereas it was once a State the size of Italy, with a Nawab who was reckoned to be the richest man in the world. The founder of this State was Sultan Quli Qutub Shah, an officer of the Bahmani Sultanate. Leading a rebellion in AD 1512, he established his own independent kingdom, which later came to be known as the Qutub Shahi Sultanate. This Sultanate came to an end when it was annexed by Aurangzeb to the Mughal Empire in 1685 and placed under the rule of a Mughal Governor. A later governor, Nizam- ul-Mulk Asif Jah cut himself off from the Mughal Empire to establish an independent Sultanate. In undivided India, it was the largest state.
When India gained its independence, the then Nawab wanted to preserve the independent status of his realm, and he did succeed in obtaining a “Standstill Agreement” from the new Indian government, signed on November 29, 1947, which would have guaranteed Hyderabad a semi-independent statehood. But “his plan miscarried, largely because a local populist Muslim leader launched a militant movement (the Razakars: a private militia) that provided a motive for Indian military forces to intervene and restore order, in September 1948. Hyderabad accepted the same conditions as other former princely states and was later partitioned and disappeared from the map.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9/423).
Whatever the concomitant factors were, this is an oft-repeated tale in the history of Muslim sovereignty—the rebellion against central authority, followed by a temporary autonomy, which comes to a disastrous end, due to the folly and short-sightedness of the local rule. The birth and death of Hyderabad are both tragic aspects of this turbulence in the Muslim history.
Hyderabad now has about 70-lakh population, 41% of which is Muslim. But more than 80% of that number reside in the old city, with only a handful in the new city. The pattern is similar in most of the cities in India. It is symptomatic of Muslims having been outdistanced by others, whereas in former times, theirs had been the most advanced community. It is also significant that all communal riots to date have taken place in the old city, and never in Secunderabad or the new city. This can be explained in terms of the high level of literacy in the newer areas, as opposed to the general illiteracy of the masses in the older areas.
Experience has shown us that education acts as a buffer against communal riots. Therefore, well-wishers who genuinely wish to put a stop to riots should work towards educating the community.
One of old Hyderabad’s more acute problems is the narrowness of the roads and the increase in traffic. Sometimes the streets are so jammed with vehicles that you almost feel you could reach your destination faster on foot. There is a standing joke that if you offer a pedestrian a lift, he will refuse, because he’s in too much of a hurry to travel by car.
There are several places of historical interest in Hyderabad, which are a great attraction for tourists. The most prominent of these is the Salar Jung Museum, where a wonderful assortment of 40,000 beautiful and exotic items are on display. Built by the former Prime Minister of Hyderabad, it is believed to be the only one of its kind in the East. Seeing great artistry I felt that perhaps God had endowed man with this creative genius so that he would be eternally reminded of his Maker’s superior creativity.
When Hyderabad State was in its heyday, one of the great luminaries was Nawab Imad-ul-Mulk Maulvi Syed Hussain Bilgrami. Highly educated, he was fluent in English, French, Persian and Arabic, besides his mother tongue, Urdu. He served in various capacities and later became the Head of the Education Department. In the course of his 30 years of service, various honours and titles were bestowed upon him. In 1910, he began working on an English translation of the Quran, but it was left unfinished.
Nawab Imad-ul-Mulk was renowned for his candour. In his book, Some Contemporaries, Maulvi Abdul Haq writes that once when the former Nizam of the Deccan, Mir Mehboob Ali Khan, enquired of his nobles what his subjects thought of him, they responded with exaggerated praise. Only Imad-ul-Mulk remained silent. When pointedly asked to give an answer, he said that people regarded him as a drunkard who paid no attention to the administration of the State or to the welfare of his subjects. The Nizam, impressed by such plain speaking, presented him with a priceless diamond ring as a reward.
The Nizam’s successor, Mir Osman Ali Khan, was less tolerant of Imad-ul-Mulk. Maulvi Abdul Haq relates how once, when Osman Ali Khan was discussing marriage, he said that Islam showed great leniency in the number of wives it allowed a man to have. Imad-ul-Mulk at once corrected him, pointing out that Islam, on the contrary had laid down such strict conditions (i.e., a man must be certain that he is in a position to give equal treatment to all of his wives. Otherwise, he should not contract further marriages), that no one would dare to have more than one wife. The Shah was upset at such forthrightness and had him removed from the dinner table, where the conversation had taken place. Had Mir Osman Ali Khan but known that he himself would soon be removed from his throne; he might have shown greater tolerance towards his subordinate.
Ignorance of one’s destiny is often responsible for many acts of arrogance. A foretaste of the future would surely cure one of this failing.
The pages of Hyderabad history have more than one vital lesson to teach us. During the regime, the Prime Minister’s post was usually held by a Hindu nobleman. For example, in 1940, Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad held this post, one of his assets being his fluency in Arabic, Persian and English. The lower echelons were usually composed of Muslims, for whom such posts were reserved, as it was a major source of income for them in those days. This placed the Hindu majority at a disadvantage, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for it forced them to turn their attention elsewhere. In this way, they began exploring the avenues of commerce. They proved so successful in business that they ultimately gained a monopoly of this sphere. This would appear to bear out the old saying that in every cloud, there’s a silver lining. A loss can always be turned to good account, provided one is sufficiently determined about it.
The strangest incident of my trip took place when I was leaving the Public Gardens after delivering a speech. A young man suddenly forced his way through the group of people who had collected around me to shake hands with me. He asked me what I thought my best piece of writing was. I replied that the young man standing before me was my best work to date. At this he was silent for a moment, then vowed to live up to my high expectations of him. I was greatly moved by his ardour, and beseeched the Almighty to fulfill this youth’s desire and to create many more such enthusiasts who would undertake my mission of peace and spirituality after me and carry it even further along the road to progress.
The readership of AI-Risala (Spirit of Islam is the English version) is now quite high in Hyderabad. It is interesting that they have started a new venture called ‘Bookstall’ which involves the setting up of at least two bookstalls, one on a Friday in front of the Jamia Masjid and another on Sunday at the weekly function at the Public Gardens. This method of introducing the Islamic message has proved really effective, and I feel that in other towns this would be a good example to follow.
An industrialist whom I met there, Mr Prem Murarka, had received a copy of the English edition of AI-Risala from a Muslim friend of his. It seems that he had been so impressed by the two lines written on the front page, that he could not help but read on. He decided to become a regular reader. He told me that many others in his friend circle liked AI-Risala and wanted to subscribe to it. It is, in fact, thanks to him that Al-Risala’s circulation has increased there.
Another regular reader of AI-Risala was Mr Mahadevan Reddy of Himayat Nagar, a retired government officer who is fluent in Urdu. He told me that he had read the first volume of the translation and commentary of the Quran written by me five times and was in the process of reading it the sixth time. He said he was extremely keen to have the second volume.
A gathering held at the residence of an advocate, Mr Aziz Ahmed Khan, was attended by scholars and other luminaries. In the course of the conversation, one of the facts that I learnt was that when the Nizam’s rule came to an end, local Muslims had been extremely worried, for, without the patronage of their old ruler, their government jobs, their sole source of livelihood, had suddenly ceased to exist. Their miseries were only temporary, however, for, finding all familiar doors closed, they turned of necessity to business, and now, after 40 years in this line, Muslims have a considerable share in the Hyderabad business community. From playing no part at all in the business world during the Nizam’s rule, they managed to project themselves into the highest echelons of the successful.
Personal failure can always be converted into success, and there are many who show great acumen in doing so, but sadly there are very few who can apply such personal experiences to community affairs.
In an issue of AI-Risala, an article entitled, ‘This is not Islam’ makes a critical appraisal of Muslims’ overreaction to any overt criticism of Islam. The case in point was the misdirected attack by Muslims on an editor who had published what they considered a literary jibe at Islam. Quoting the Quran in support of restraint in such matters, the article castigates those who, on the basis of insufficient evidence, go on a rampage, burning and destroying property. One reader raised objections to the view presented in this article but did not support his argument by referring to the Quran or the Hadith. I, therefore, explained to him that if there were to be any debate on points which already had the backing of the Scriptures, he should cite passages from those same Scriptures in order to support his viewpoint, for the truth of the Quran and Hadith could not be disparaged by personally concocted arguments. This is a common error made by the Muslims of today, that is, whenever any debatable point has to be defended, they pass over quotations from the Scriptures in favour of their own home-made reasoning, and this in spite of the fact that it is sheer heresy to do so. A Muslim must present the Quran and Hadith in answer to questions relating to the Quran and Hadith.
Mr Kishan Jaywant Rao Patil, whom I had met before, had come to Hyderabad with some of his companions. I learnt that he had been reading AI-Risala in Urdu right from the beginning and that he had maintained a complete file of all the issues. The surprising thing in all this is that his mother tongue is Marathi, and that before our first meeting, he had not known a single word of Urdu. It seems that when I told him I would be bringing out a monthly magazine in Urdu, he was so impressed by our talks, that he promptly engaged an Urdu tutor so that he would be able to read the magazine as soon as it came out. And he has been faithfully reading AI-Risala in Urdu from that time to the present. A friend of his who had come along with him, Mr Ganga Dhar, did not understand Urdu at all, but liked to have AI-Risala read out to him and explained in Marathi by Mr Kishan Patil. When I asked the latter, what benefit he derived from AI-Risala, he claimed that his whole way of thinking had undergone a tremendous change for the better. He said that formerly he had been thinking of nothing but earning in order to make ends meet. But Al-Risala had changed all that by giving him proper objectives in life. Impressed by the pains he had taken to learn Urdu; and Marathi being quite dissimilar and by the obvious maturity of his thinking, I spent quite some time in conversation with him.
Habib Bhai, the Proprietor of Pioneer Dying and Printing Works, related an experience which I feel is worth reproducing here. He had gone to an office, where a picture of a beautiful natural scene hung upon the wall. It bore the caption, “If you don’t understand my silence, you will never understand my words.” What profundity! How true it is that very little of an inner reality can be expressed in words. It is only a man of acute perceptiveness who can go beyond words to the essential message.
Habib Bhai’s grandfather used to advise him to learn at least one new thing every day, even if it were only a new way to tie a knot. This was a great piece of sagacity, for life is of such dynamism that one must always be on the alert to keep pace with it. It is possible, with effort, for a man to rise high in life, but it is all too easy to fall far behind. The only way, therefore, to keep on progressing is to remain in perpetual intellectual pursuit of whatever is new in the world around us.
The speeches delivered at Hyderabad were usually on specific topics, such as The Awakening of the Spirit of Islam, Islam and the Present Age, and The Building up of Society. Under this last heading, it was shown that the doors of progress, contrary to what is generally believed, are wide open to Muslims in this country. It is simply that the particular time and circumstances demand a judicious approach. The fourth topic was the all-important mission of Introducing Islam. In this, special emphasis was laid on the harmonious relationship between Muslims and other communities.
At a press conference, I began by touching upon the conditions in the country and specifying the aims of the Islamic Centre (now functioning as CPS International) I established in New Delhi. This was followed by a question-and-answer session of considerable duration, in the course of which I took the opportunity to point out that the image of the Indian Muslim projected by the national press was one-sided. For example, The Times of India calls Indian Muslims a ‘clamorous group’ (January 3, 1987). This is not entirely wrong, because there are a certain number of noisy troublemakers among the Muslims. But the press should refrain from giving them undue prominence and give more coverage to other members of the community who remain busily engaged in some work or the other of a constructive nature. The style of journalism nowadays is largely to blame for this state of affairs. Bad news is known to sell more newspapers than good news!
Over and above the meetings at Hyderabad, some were also held at Mahbubnagar. All these assemblies were quite successful, especially since they were well attended by the educated elite. This gave the impression that the intelligentsia had been giving serious thought to the message and mission of the Islamic Centre and AI-Risala. Detailed reports of each day’s speeches and assemblies appeared in local Urdu newspapers such as Rehnuma-e- Deccan, Siyasat and Munsif. A reader of Siyasat told me that the headlines which appeared on February 15, 1987, issue of the newspaper ‘The Need for Constructive Thinking Among Indian Muslims’ was entirely due to our centre’s efforts for, otherwise, no such positive headlines on Muslim topics ever appeared in print.
One of the places of interest we visited near Mahbubnagar was what appeared to be a small forest of trees but was actually a cluster of off-shoots from a single Banyan tree, which is said to be 400 years old. Its old name was Pir Laman, but now it is known as ‘Pillalamarri’.
A businessman of Mahbubnagar took me along to see his rice mill, where he had had modern machinery installed. He explained that there were no less than seven stages in the process of producing polished rice from unhusked grain. I told him that this was nature’s lesson to man—the lesson of gradualism, of doing things in a properly phased manner. Many are those who fall by the wayside because, failing to appreciate this, they try to achieve success in one gigantic leap.
Another businessman being by profession of a practical turn of mind, expressed the view that one certain solution to the communal problem would be to establish better relations with our fellow countrymen. He felt that instead of making speeches against the government, and approaching the administration for solutions, it would be better to improve and increase our channels of communication. He gave many instances in support of this view. It is, of course, a fact, that if Muslims had exerted themselves to improve their relations with their neighbours, instead of squandering their time and energy in protestations and complaints, all their problems could have been solved long ago. In the course of the conversation, I laid emphasis on introducing Islam to all people. This sparked off the argument that when Muslims themselves are far from being truly Islamic in thought, word and deed, it is unlikely that they will encourage others to do so. I put forward the idea that this was the work of Satan. It was Satan who had engraved this misconception upon the modern Muslim mind, for Islam is not judged on the strength of Muslim behaviour, but by virtue of its own essential truth. In support of this, I cited the example of Yousuf Islam, an Englishman, and several other notable people, who had embraced Islam, knowing full well that the moral status of contemporary Muslims was seriously in decline.
Returning to Delhi by flight number 539, I found myself seated next to Mr D. P. Gupta, the General Manager of BHEL. From our conversation, I gathered that he was a competent, hardworking officer and an able administrator. Further questions on my part brought to light the fact that this was due to his religious background. His father, a highly qualified person, fluent in English, Hindi, Persian and Arabic, had learnt many verses of the Quran by heart, and often recited them. Mr Gupta himself was fluent in Urdu. This conversation led me to conclude that a major cause of inefficiency in today’s administration is the ever- increasing disassociation of modern employees from the moral and spiritual values of the past. The only way of curing today’s workers of their sluggish inefficiency is to re-inculcate the religious and spiritual values which were formerly enshrined in the time-honoured traditions. There appears to be no other solution to this problem.
Another noteworthy fact which emerged from our conversation was excellence of Hindu-Muslim relations before the Partition. This relationship was so good that Hindus learnt Arabic and Persian, and even memorized verses from the Quran. It is true that there was occasional friction between the two communities, giving rise to untoward incidents, but such things happened no oftener than in any other composite society during any period in world history. Mostly there were incidents affecting individuals at a purely personal level, they should have been kept at that level—not blown up out of all proportion to the communal or national level as they were by ill-advised leaders. This is what destroyed the mutual trust between the two communities and set up barriers between them.
