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The Husainabad Trust: The case of a Shi‘a heartland?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2018

AISHWARYA PANDIT
AISHWARYA PANDIT*
Affiliation:
Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Haryana-131001, NCR of Delhi, India Email: azpandit@gmail.com
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Abstract

This article explores the history of the Husainabad Trust (‘the Trust’), a quasi-religious endowment that supported a number of key Shi‘a institutions in Uttar Pradesh (UP). It asks how Shi‘a elites were able to sustain their political clout and cultural independence in India whereas, in neighbouring Pakistan, they struggled. The fate of the Trust after independence led to a contest between the Shi‘as and the state, but also among Shi‘as themselves. The resulting confrontation between the Shi‘a community in Lucknow and across UP was, it shows, complicated by internal divisions among Shi‘as who, though united against state interference in their religious and royal trusts, were divided on how best to manage them. The Trust assumed importance for Shi‘as after independence because they lost some of the Trust properties to Pakistan and also because the Trust provided the means to support the largest public manifestation of Shi‘a presence in Awadh, Muharram. Husainabad, it suggests, helps to explain how and why Lucknow re-emerged after independence as the heartland of the Shi‘as of India, and arguably of South Asia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 52 , Issue 5 , September 2018 , pp. 1692 - 1728
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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15 Its value was calculated on the basis of sikka rupees, which was its value in current coins at the time.

16 Original Deed of Trust of Husainbad and Allied Trusts, District Collectorate, Lucknow, UP.

17 Emphasis added.

18 Deed of Trust, Husainbad and Allied Trusts, Lucknow.

19 Powers under these sections of Government of India Act 1878 enabled the British government actively to take over the management of the Trust and make appointments.

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22 Oldenburg, The Making of Colonial Lucknow, p. 193.

23 Ibid., p. 196.

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25 Jones, Shi‘a Islam in Colonial India, p. 19.

26 Ibid., p. 24.

27 Ibid., pp. 18–26.

28 Ibid., p. 22.

29 Ibid., p. 21.

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33 Justin Jones, ‘The Shi‘a Muslims of UP. 1890–1940’, PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, p. 19. See also Robinson, Francis, Separatism Among Indian Muslims, the Politics of the United Provinces, Muslims 1860–1923, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975Google Scholar. Cities like Faizabad, Agra, Bareilly, Rohilkhand, and Lucknow were home to some of the most important princely states in North India, p. 11.

34 Ibid. Francis Robinson argues that the Shi‘as were influential out of proportion of their numbers, p. 25.

35 Naidu, Ratna, Old Cities, New Predicaments: A Study of Hyderabad, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1990, p. 24Google Scholar.

36 Ibid., p. 26.

37 Ibid.

38 Ibid., p. 26.

39 Ibid., p. 64.

40 Ibid., p. 75.

41 Ibid. p. 133.

42 Ibid., pp. 118–19.

43 Sharma, Gazatteers of Lucknow, pp. 361–3.

44 Ibid.

45 Jones, Shi‘a Islam in Colonial India, pp. 7–11.

46 A letter from the Secretary of Awadh Wasiqadars and Political Pensioners Association to District Commissioner, Lucknow, 20 August 1939, UPSA, Political Department, Box number 319, Fno-361/1939. The new appointee was a friend of the adviser, and a retired deputy collector of advanced age. But, despite petitions to the Minister of Waqfs, Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim, the adviser and the trustees had their way; and their appointee was confirmed in post. The episode shows how marginalized the pensioners had become and how the deputy commissioner (and government-appointed trustees) determined who held jobs in the Trust.

47 Hassan Ali, Mrs Meer, Observations on the Mussalmans of India, London: Humphrey Milford, 1917, pp. 42–52Google Scholar; Hosain, Attia, Sunlight on a Broken Column, London: Chatto and Windus, 1961, p. 68Google Scholar.

48 Imambara according to Fida Husain Musalman Law of Waqf is defined as ‘a place or structure used for making periodical celebrations of the ceremonies and anniversaries connected with the death of Imam Husain and where people congregate to perform religious observances’.

49 Cole, Roots of North Indian Shi‘ism, pp. 95–6.

50 Report of the Management of the Husainabad and Allied Trusts 1921–22.

51 Ibid.

52 Annual Report of the Husainabad Endowment Fund 1923–24, printed by Adabi Press, Lucknow, 1924, p. 12. The government's aid made possible for the school to expand higher education.

53 Statement showing the number of patients treated in Husainabad Dispensary for the year 1921–22.

54 Jones, Shi‘a Islam in Colonial India, p. 194.

55 Ibid., p. 215. From Rajendra Prasad to Nehru, 16 May 1939, in Valmiki Chowdhary (ed.), Rajendra Prasad Correspondence and Select Documents, Vol. III, New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1984.

56 The Annual Administration Report of the Husainabad Endowment and Allied Trust Funds, 1945–46, Husainabad Trust Office, Picture Gallery, Lucknow, published by Saiyed Wajid Husain, printed by Zahoor Hussain Muslim Press, 1947, pp. 19–26.

57 Weekly Abstracts of Intelligence January 1948, police intelligence reports, Central Record Room, Lucknow. Another intelligence report on 18 March 1949 said that the Sunnis of Lucknow were trying to organize meetings to recite Madhe Sabha.

58 Rieck, ‘The Struggle for Equal Rights’, p. 271.

59 Ibid.

60 Kamran, Tahir, ‘The Pre-History of Religious Exclusionism in Contemporary Pakistan: Khatam-e- Nubuwwat. 1889–1953’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 49, November 2015, pp. 1857–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

61 Ibid., p. 1873.

62 Ibid., p. 1851.

63 Ibid., p. 1864.

64 Ahmed, Hilal, Muslim Political Discourse in Postcolonial India: Monuments, Memory, Contestation, New Delhi: Routledge, 2014Google Scholar. Ahmed has argued that the symbolic presence of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the Jama Masjid in Delhi (the ASI has taken over all the properties of the Husainabad and Allied Trusts in the name of preserving ancient monuments) reminds visitors that the Masjid is a monument and, as the prime custodian of all ancient monuments, the ASI has a legal right over it. On the other hand, another board at the Masjid belonging to the Sunni Majalis-e- Auqaf portrays the Masjid as a living place of worship and Muslim contribution to India, pp. 143–5. As a result, all the monuments have many claimants and new laws enacted by the state have only complicated the issue further.

65 From Rajendra Prasad to Nehru, 16 May 1939, in Chowdhary (ed.), Rajendra Prasad Correspondence and Select Documents, Vol. III, 1984.

66 Jones, The Shi‘as of Colonial India, p. 118.

67 Ibid.

68 Ibid., p. 119.

69 Ibid., pp. 129–30.

70 Zaheer, Syed Kazim (ed.), The Memoirs of Syed Ali Zaheer, Delhi: Frank Brothers & Co., 2004, p. 19Google Scholar.

71 Ibid., p. 7.

72 Ibid., p. 20.

73 Ibid., p. 42.

74 Howarth, Toby M., The Twelver Shi‘as as a Minority in India, London and New York: Routledge Persina and Shi‘a Studies, 2005, p. 26CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

75 Ibid.

76 Pinault, ‘Hazrat Abbas ka Dargah’, p. 1.

77 Ibid., p. 17.

78 Secretary Husainabad and Shah Najaf Trust, Lucknow to Secretary to Government of UP, 21 December 1949, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Fno-19W/1949. See Korom, Frank J., Hosay Trinidad: Muharram Performances in an Indo-Caribbean Diaspora, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003, pp. 98–101Google Scholar.

79 Ibid.

80 Death of Prince M. Q. Mirza Safder Ali Senior Trustee and appointment of Mohd Sultan Hasan Mirza in his place, 1946–47, Department I-4 Trustees, Husainabad and Allied Trust Office, Picture Gallery, Lucknow, Fno-18.

81 Ibid.

82 Ibid.

83 Ibid.

84 Ali, Syed Ameer, Mahommedan Law, Vol. 2, New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, reprinted in 1986, p. 94Google Scholar.

85 Ibid.

86 Ibid.

87 Ibid., p. 97.

88 Fyzee, Asaf. A., Cases in the Muhmmadan Law of India and Pakistan, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965Google Scholar. Nawab Sultan Mariam Begum vs Nawab Sahib Mirza, 1889, pp. 493–4.

89 Wasiqa Register 1952–53, Department I-4 Trustees, Husainabad and Allied Trust Office, Picture Gallery, Lucknow, Fno-not mentioned.

90 Ibid.

91 Rent register of Husainabad and Allied Trust 1949–50, Husainabad and Allied Trust Office, Lucknow.

92 Wadiyatnamah or wasiyatnamah was a will, while waqfiyyah (deed where waqf was written) is a dedication of property for religious purpose. By making a will, the ownership of the property can be transferred while in the case of waqfiyyah; the ownership of the property vested with God.

93 Fatwas of the Mujtahids of the Shi‘a community about Husainabad Mubarak, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Box number-5, Fno-19W/1949.

94 Jones, Shi‘a Islam in Colonial India, p. 44.

95 Meeting of the Anjuman Islahul Mominin Kanpur on 15 March 1950, Fno-19W/1949.

96 Resolution of the District Shi‘a Conference, Mubarakpur, Azamgarh, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Box number-5, Fno-19W/1949.

97 Sarfaraz, 20 April 1949. Another meeting of the Majlis-e-Ulema was held on 25 March 1949 and was attended by Shamsul ulema-Maulana Sayyid Ibne Hasan, Maulana Mufti Sayyid Ahmed Ali, Principal Nizamiya College, Maulana Sayyid Kalbe Hussain, Imam-e Juma-a Jammat. Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Nasir sahib, Principal Shi‘a-Arabi College, Maulana Sayyid Muhammad, Principal Sultanul Madaris, Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Zaki, Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Husain, Professor Shiro Arabi College. Maulana Sayyid Muhammad alias Miran sahib, Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq Professor, Shi‘a-Arabi College, Maulana Sayyid Ali, Maulana Agha Mehdi Sahib-Al-Wais Editor, Maulana Sayyid Kiam Mehdi. The meeting backed resolution number 29 passed at the 35th session of the All-India Shi‘a conference. They had also issued fatwa against this.

98 Copy of resolution of the Managing Committee of Dargah Shah-e-Mardan Fund Committee Kucha Chalan, Delhi passed at its meeting held on 22 November 1955, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Box number-5, Fno-19W/1949.

99 Ibid. Meeting of the Awadh Royal Family Association, Calcutta, 10 April 1960.

100 Ibid. Meeting of Anjuman-i-Mohammadi.

101 Opinion of Sir Iqbal Ahmad, Retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. By the UP Muslim Waqfs Act (XIII of 1936), Fno-19W/1949.

102 The term means the form of offer and acceptance according to Islamic law and a declaration of creation of auqaf. The declaration was missing in this case.

103 Opinion of Sir Iqbal Ahmad, UPSA, Judicial-A, Fno-19w/1949.

104 Ibid.

105 Ibid.

106 Ibid.

107 Ibid.

108 Ibid.; Kozlowski, Gregory C., Muslim Endowments and Society in British India, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 118CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

109 Opinion of Akhtar Husain, 12 May 1950, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Fno-19w/1949, p. 15.

110 Ibid., pp. 12–13.

111 Ibid.

112 A case instituted by the descendants of Nawab Mubarak Mahal versus the Commissioner of Lucknow in 1902. In this case as well, there was a tussle among the defendants whether the Trust was a waqf or not. The judge was of the view that neither in the preamble of the will or in any other part of it is there a dedication to God, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Fno-19w/1949.

113 The Pioneer, 2 January 1948.

114 Petition of Mehdi Ali Khan to Minister of Waqfs UP, Fno-19w/1949. The Emperor of Awadh had appointed Rafeeq-ud-Dowlah and Azimullah Khan Bahadur as agents under the deed of the Trust.

115 Petition of Waris Ali to the Governor of UP, 24 May 1956, ibid.

116 Petition of Baqar Ali Khan to Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim, Minister of Waqfs, UP, 17 May 1957, ibid.

117 Petition of Mahmooda Begum Hyderabad to Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI, New Delhi.

118 Petition of Munawar Ali Khan to Government of UP, ibid.

119 Ibid.

120 Opinion of the UP Sachiva, UPSA, Lucknow, Fno-19/w/1949.

121 Ibid.

122 An Appeal to the Legislators Regarding the Shah Najaf and Husainabad Trusts, Lucknow, printed by Sahitya Mandir Press, Gwynme Road, Lucknow.

123 Ibid.

124 Opinion of Nawabzada Fida.S.Husain, Confidential, 28 February 1954.

125 Confidential Notes by Minister of Justice, 24 October 1955, UPSA, Lucknow, Fno-19w/1949.

126 Ibid.

127 Zaheer, The Memoirs of Syed Ali Zaheer, pp. 48–53.

128 Confidential Notes by Minister of Justice, 24 October 1955, UPSA, Fno-19w/1949.

129 The Husainabad and Allied Trusts Enquiry Committee Report, December 1955, UPSA, Lucknow, Judicial-A, Fno-19w/1949.

130 Ibid.

131 Ibid.

132 Ibid.

133 Burman, B. K. Roy, Census of India 1961: Moharram in Two Cities Lucknow and Delhi, Monograph Series Vol. 1, Part VII-B, Office of the Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, p. 7Google Scholar.

134 Ibid.

135 Burman, Muharram in Two Cities, p. 21.

136 Alams is a replica of standard of Abbas, the general who led Hussain's army.

137 A traditional ceremony where womenfolk apply henna on the palms and feet of the bride before her wedding. The practice is popular among both Hindus and Muslims.

138 Sabeel is a mixture of water, sugar, and milk, and is distributed among the people signifying Hussain's thirst during the battle of Karbala.

139 Burman, Muharram in Two Cities. Lucknow, pp. 21–2.

140 When tazias are built, it is a common belief that the spirit of Hasan and Hussain enters the structure, signifying its curative powers.

141 Burman, Muharram in Two Cities. Lucknow, pp. 21–2.

142 Ibid.

143 Ibid., pp. 26–9.

144 Ibid. p. 9.

145 Ibid. p. 19.

146 Ibid. p. 33.

147 Ibid. pp. 9 and 43–5.

148 Burman, Muharram in Two Cities. Lucknow, p. 26.

149 Ibid.

150 Ibid.

151 Burman, Muharram in Two Cities. Delhi, pp. 54–5.

152 Ibid., p. 62.

153 Korom, Hosay Trinidad, p. 68.

154 Scheme of Management for Husainabad and Allied Trusts, 1960, published by UP Sarkar Nyaya ka Vibhag [Law and Justice Department], Lucknow, District Collectorate, Lucknow, UP, p. 2.

155 Ibid., p. 3.

156 Ibid.

157 Ibid., p. 4.

158 Ibid.

159 Ibid.

160 Writ Petition by Azmat Jahan Begum, in the High Court at Judicature, Allahabad, 6 December 1960, Lucknow, Office of the Husainabad and Allied Trusts, Picture Gallery, Fno-1015/64.

161 Ibid.

162 Writ petition number 324/1963, in the High Court of Judicature, Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow.

163 Ibid. Fifty-two voters under the Queen side of the Shah Najaf Trusts had voted in the election and this affected the election results. Since they were not allowed to vote, under the court order, the election was challenged and declared void by the Commissioner.

164 Ibid.

165 Writ Petition number 324/1963, p. 10.

166 Scheme of Management for Husainabad and Allied Trusts, p. 9.

167 Writ Petition No. 324/1960, p. 8.

168 Arguments of the petitioners, 25 June 1963, pp. 10–11.

169 Order of the court of the Commissioner, Lucknow Division, Akhtar Jafri and others versus Abid Ali and others, 22 June 1963, p. 9. Lucknow, Husainabad and Allied Trusts Office, Picture Gallery, Fno-1015/64.