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Bahadur Shah Zafar a saint in Burma
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Bahadur Shah Zafar a saint in Burma
The Asian Age (New Delhi)
February 26, 2001
By Ramesh Bhan
Rangoon, Feb. 25: Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor whose tomb
in Rangoon is a mute testimony to the torture that Indian freedom
fighters had to face at the hands of the British, is worshipped by the
people here as ?saint-emperor? who can fulfil their wishes.
Faithfuls visit his mausoleum every day and prayers are held on Fridays
as in a mosque.
A visit to the mausoleum that houses the graves of Zafar, his wife
Zeenat Mahal and granddaughter Raunaq Zamani Begum lying side-by-side,
is ?like a pilgrimage?, particularly for an Indian for whom, a visit to
Rangoon is incomplete without a visit to Zafar?s tomb.
India has urged the Burmese government for maintenance of the tomb. The
issue was raised by home minister L.K. Advani with his Burmese
counterpart Tin Hla when he visited India last year.
Even Pakistan has laid claim to the maintenance of the tomb on the
ground that Zafar was a Muslim and the king of the undivided
sub-continent that included Pakistan.
?the basic thing is that Pakistan has to come in where India stakes its
claim,? said a member of the trust that presently looks after the tomb.
Before the military takeover, it was maintained by another trust set up
by the descendants of Zafar. The trust was then headed by Ismail Baggia,
originally from Surat in Gujarat. A prayer hall was constructed with
Indian assistance in 1991 which was inaugurated on December 15, 1994.
One can enter the room where the three graves of Zafar, Zeenat and his
granddaughter lay after passing through the prayer hall.
The graves were considered ?real? until the original grave of Zafar was
discovered in 1991. Zafar was imprisoned by the British and taken to
Rangoon in 1858 along with his wife, granddaughter and grandson Sikandar
Bux, two daughters and one literature teacher.
The whole family was lodged in a garage attached to the bungalow of a
junior British officer till Zafar?s death on November 7, 1862. Nobody
had been allowed to meet the family. Zafar died on November 7, a Friday,
and was buried secretly under a tree later on the same day. (UNI)
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<center><b><font color="#0000FF"><font size=+2>Bahadur Shah Zafar a saint
in Burma</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>The Asian Age (New Delhi)</font></font>
<br><font color="#CC0000"><font size=+1>February 26, 2001</font></font>
<p><font size=+1>By <font color="#800000">Ramesh Bhan</font></font>
<p><font size=+1><font color="#CC0000">Rangoon, Feb. 25: </font>Bahadur
Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor whose tomb in Rangoon is a mute testimony
to the torture that Indian freedom fighters had to face at the hands of
the British, is worshipped by the people here as ?saint-emperor? who can
fulfil their wishes.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Faithfuls visit his mausoleum every day and prayers are
held on Fridays as in a mosque.</font>
<p><font size=+1>A visit to the mausoleum that houses the graves of Zafar,
his wife Zeenat Mahal and granddaughter Raunaq Zamani Begum lying side-by-side,
is ?like a pilgrimage?, particularly for an Indian for whom, a visit to
Rangoon is incomplete without a visit to Zafar?s tomb.</font>
<p><font size=+1>India has urged the Burmese government for maintenance
of the tomb. The issue was raised by home minister L.K. Advani with his
Burmese counterpart Tin Hla when he visited India last year.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Even Pakistan has laid claim to the maintenance of the
tomb on the ground that Zafar was a Muslim and the king of the undivided
sub-continent that included Pakistan.</font>
<p><font size=+1>?the basic thing is that Pakistan has to come in where
India stakes its claim,? said a member of the trust that presently looks
after the tomb. Before the military takeover, it was maintained by another
trust set up by the descendants of Zafar. The trust was then headed by
Ismail Baggia, originally from Surat in Gujarat. A prayer hall was constructed
with Indian assistance in 1991 which was inaugurated on December 15, 1994.</font>
<p><font size=+1>One can enter the room where the three graves of Zafar,
Zeenat and his granddaughter lay after passing through the prayer hall.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The graves were considered ?real? until the original grave
of Zafar was discovered in 1991. Zafar was imprisoned by the British and
taken to Rangoon in 1858 along with his wife, granddaughter and grandson
Sikandar Bux, two daughters and one literature teacher.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The whole family was lodged in a garage attached to the
bungalow of a junior British officer till Zafar?s death on November 7,
1862. Nobody had been allowed to meet the family. Zafar died on November
7, a Friday, and was buried secretly under a tree later on the same day.
(UNI)</font>
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<br> </html>
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