Tag Archives: Pathan

Book Review: Dongri to Dubai (2012)

AUTHOR

S. Hussain Zaidi is a former crime reporter, investigative journalist, and novelist whose books based on Mumbai crime became bestsellers. His in-depth extensive research on the Mumbai underworld set a platform for the Bollywood industry and international authors.

Zaidi developed fame and respect as an author after publishing his first book, Black Friday in 2002. The book that dealt with the 1993 Bombay Serial Blasts became the source for Anurag Kashyap’s second directional project with the same title. Popular Bollywood films of the last decade like Phantom, Class of ’83, Shootout at Wadala, and recently Gangubai Kathiawadi are all based on Zaidi’s books.


THE BOOK

Dongri to Dubai is a complete chronicle of the Mumbai mafia. It took six years of research, compilation, verification, and writing the entire material that Zaidi gathered and shaped into a book.

Dongri to Dubai is a favor to all the historophiles who are enthusiastic to go deep in thinking and questioning the origins of the crime that shaped the most powerful syndicate in Mumbai for decades. It is a treasure that the hunters were in quest of while wandering on the mysterious island.


TRINITY

Mumbai and to some extent Karachi are historically the South Asian New Yorks that cultivate a lot of communal and regional backgrounds due to immigration. Dongri to Dubai educated me a lot about the criminal history of Mumbai. It is unusual and geographically diverse.

Decades ago, the Mumbai mafia was ruled by three powerful dons and none of them were Marathis. Two of them were Tamilar and the other was a Pathan, all immigrants.

One arrived in Mumbai with his father from Panankulum when he was eight years old. He worked in a cycle repair shop and earned 5 rupees a day for 12 years. And then worked as a coolie at the dock for three years. Met an Arab sheikh, began smuggling for him, proved his loyalty, became his partner, and during this progress, ruled the South West Mumbai – Mastan Mirza (also known as Haji Mastan).

Haji Mastan

The other came from Vellore where he was an errand boy at a photography studio when he was seven. In Mumbai, he also started as coolie but at a railway station. There he connected with people who were involved in the liquor trade. His progress in the liquor mafia rose to the emergence and soon became the don of Central Mumbai – Sathuvachari Varadarajan Mudaliar (also known as Varda Bhai and Kala Babu).

Varadarajan Mudaliar

And the Pathan came from Peshawar when he was in his mid-twenties. He first started his gambling den. Then he became a moneylender. A Kabuliwallah standing almost 7 feet tall! He became a haunting figure in kicking people out of their residences. Abdul Karim Khan (also known as Karim Lala).

Gangster Karim Lala. *** Local Caption *** Gangster Karim Lala. Express archive photo

THE DON

Although Zaidi writes about many dons and gangsters but ‘Dongri to Dubai’ centrally focuses on the one who outsmarted all the previous dons in the city – Dawood Ibrahim.

I liked the idea of introducing the central character after eight chapters. Zaidi settled the readers to understand the origins of Mumbai crimes and their big daddies before making us read the story of the Godfather.

I wholeheartedly appreciate the effort Zaidi made in the entire research that gave the readers an idea about how the city suffered bloodshed, violence, and heinous crimes when Dawood emerged as the new don. It was as if I wasn’t reading about Don but the script of a film where the leading actor is a don as well as an antihero. Son of an honest policeman, a close friend of a journalist, the failure of his first love affair, a brother brutally murdered by his enemies, a cop assisting him to outdo his rivals, etc.


PATHAN-KASKAR RIVALRY

One of the most captivating aspects of reading this book is the wild enmity between the Pathans of Karim Lala and the Kaskar brothers led by Dawood. It was intense and they were bloodthirsty to dominate each other. Almost half of the book is about this saga. And the continuity is so intriguing that the reader cannot discontinue reading at all. The research of the author indicates that Karim Lala’s goons were bigger trouble than the Kaskars.


BOLLYWOOD

One of the greatest Indian films of all-time, Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan was loosely based on Varadarajan Mudaliar.

I have watched Hindi films all my life and observing the stories of the film centralized on crime action thrillers, I always wondered why this was usually a norm to cash the audience’s money besides romance. If you travel back to the 1950s when that Bollywood phase was considered the golden age, rarely did a film based on crime and action developed for the audience. The crime-action thrillers began to make rounds in the 1960s and more prominently from the 1970s, a trend that shaped the entire existence of the industry.

This change in transition occurred due to the rise of these three dons along with other secondary dons and interesting crime and gang stories that gave the writers and directors some interesting ideas to captivate the audience. Popular films like Zanjeer, Deewar, Shakti, Dayavan, Nayakan, Parinda, Angaar, Satya, Company, Vaastav, Gangster, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Shootout At Lokhandwala, Shootout At Wadala, D-Day were all based on real-life gangsters or crimes that happened in Mumbai.

Almost every single don’s origin story followed by interesting minor and major events reminds me of old Bollywood action films of the 1970s and 80s. How much were the directors obsessed with and influenced to make the films for the audience to tell their stories? Thanks to this book that makes me realize that Dilip KumarAmitabh Bachchan starrer Shakti is pretty much about Dawood Ibrahim and his father Ibrahim Kaskar who was an honest cop but the former chose the bad side.

The partnership of Inspector Ranbeer Likha and Dawood Ibrahim reminds me of Zanjeer but Pran’s iconic role of Sher Khan was more of Karim Lala. In my further cognizance after reading this book, Aamir Khan’s Ghulam may not have come to anyone’s radar but I think that too was based on Dawood. His brother was killed like Dawood’s own and Sharat Saxena’s villainous muscle character of Ronak Singh was definitely based on Baashu Dada, the wrestler and goon of the Teli Mohalla neighborhood. Ghulam concluded with Ronak badly beaten by Siddhu and running away in humiliation exactly like Dawood and his boys beat Baashu and his gang and made them run away as described in the book.   

Besides the film narrating the life of real gangsters, the book also details the underworld connections with B-town and a few celebrities who suffered consequences like Chota Shakeel financing ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’, Mushir Alam’s kidnapping, Gulshan Kumar’s murder, Monica Bedi running away with Abu Salem, etc. There is one complete chapter on how Mandakini’s career suffered after her pictures with Dawood Ibrahim circulated.


THE PAKISTAN-CONNECTION

The book is divided into two halves. The first half has 35 chapters and the next has 28. The author emphasizes in the latter that Dawood was helped by ISI and Pakistan government in the 1993 Serial Bombings as an act of Muslim revenge on the Hindus demolishing the historic Babri Mosque. Not only did the author connect the dots but he even wrote about his running mafia while living in Karachi after a few years of residing in Dubai. The book also presses that Chota Shakeel and Iqbal Memon were in Karachi with Dawood when they were searching for Chota Rajan around the world.


MY FAVORITE MOMENTS/HIGHLIGHTS IN THE BOOK

There are dozens of moments where Zaidi’s description made me WOW. I will just drop ten unranked moments from the book that are still sharp in my mind.

  1. Meeting of two Tamil dons at the police station.
  2. Dawood and his gang beating Baashu Dada and his pehelwans.
  3. Killing of Iqbal Natiq.
  4. Khaled Pehelwan’s brutality on Ayyub Lala and Saeed Batla.
  5. The rivalry between Ibrahim Dada and Bada Johnny.
  6. Chota Rajan escaping death in Bangkok.
  7. Shootout at Lokhandwala.
  8. Shabir Ibrahim’s murder.
  9. Gulshan Kumar’s murder.
  10. Assembling of all rival gangsters at Haji Mastan’s residence.

CLOSING REMARKS

There is a lot to write about the book and I know the details that I am still missing. But to review this book needs its own book or a documentary. Because the ‘Dongri to Dubai’ saga is written in almost 400 pages and details dozens of stories and I cannot touch each of these in my review.

 The book heavily condemns the failures of the police, the court, and the government. But also describe their efforts to somehow control the crime rate. It was important to inform the readers that if the police failed on some occasions, then the police also played their part in their war against the mafia.

‘Dongri to Dubai’ successfully declares that Dawood indeed is the biggest don of the city. He is irreplaceable due to the social and cultural impact he has set. Readers who are enthusiastic about reading a criminal history of a certain geographic area should read this. Especially if the reader is a hardcore fan of Bollywood films of all ages.  

Now the most complicated argument for a Pakistani reader of ‘Dongri to Dubai’. Where is Dawood? Is he really in Pakistan if not Dubai? Did ISI or the Pakistani government really play their part by partnering with Dawood? It all sounds above the clouds to me.

Several years ago, I tried to read this book twice. First, I read a few chapters but the workload halted my reading progress. Second, I finished almost half of the book and got to know that Dawood is expected to settle in Pakistan. I didn’t make up my mind to read further because, at that time, I felt that the book might turn out to be a fake narration to convince the theory that Dawood is in Karachi and somehow the Pakistan military or the government is involved.

On my third attempt, I finished reading it. And I must admit that a book about the Mumbai underworld requires bullet detailing, a strong narrative, and perspective. And ‘Dongri to Dubai’ is a profitable outcome in the name of research about the criminal history of the city.

From a constable catching some Pathan robbers after the money heist in 1947 to Dawood Ibrahim showing up in Forbes ‘Most Powerful People’ in 2009, Zaidi has covered plenty of crime sagas in almost 400 pages.

See, I have no knowledge about Pakistani terrorism on India’s land and vice versa. There is no peace in fighting wars. A lot of theories can be developed in the historic rivalry between the two countries. But as far as Dawood’s whereabouts are concerned, yes there is a possibility that he may be in Karachi or in any other remote area hiding somewhere or living openly and lavishly. Why not? If Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, and Osama Bin Laden can be found in Pakistan, then why cannot Dawood Ibrahim?


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Book Review: The Begums of Bhopal (2000)

The third Begum of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum.

INTRODUCTION

In early 2000, Shahryar Khan was appointed the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and it was to my usual bitter disappointment that once again, the committee decided to elect an individual who had no experience in the field of cricket. In those times, I came to know that he was a diplomat. He couldn’t tolerate the situation of Pakistan cricket after that infamous Oval test and Younis Khan’s refusal of captaincy. A decade later, Shahryar Khan was appointed the chairman again.

Back in 2017, when Shahryar Khan left the position as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, I was googling him and found out that he was born in Bhopal. I further discovered that besides sports and a political career, he is an author. And one of the titles of his book that stroke the cord was the name, The Begums of Bhopal.

Being an ardent book reader and history aficionado, I gradually paced up digging about why a Bhopal-born octogenarian in Pakistan wrote about the wives of Bhopal. My eyes widen when I found out that Shahryar Khan belongs to some royal family who ruled Bhopal state for 241 years. But the most riveting part was that out of 241 years, his four female ancestors ruled for 107 consecutive years.

After understanding such a ravishing part of history, my honest feeling was that after learning so much about history, I was an ignorant fool not to have an inch of enlightenment about this. And it is a sad part, most of us have lost the hunger or enthusiasm to learn about one of the oldest civilizations. There is so much treasure of knowledge and the history of Bhopal is just a branch of it.

Curiosity bore so many questions about the book. The two most critical questions were that how come the Pathans ruled a state for more than two centuries where the Hindus dwelt in the majority? How come not one but four ‘Muslim’ ladies ruled a state in nineteenth-century India for more than one hundred years?

A brief introduction, nine chapters, an epilogue, and some drawings, appendixes, and some assessments of this book enrich you with the most precious detailing about the state’s history. Thanks to British India Office Records that preserves many scores of letters, documents, drawings, photographs, and history books that maintain the accurate information about the history of yore. Plus, dozens of books also assisted in shaping a proper history guide.


THE DYNASTY

AN AFGHAN IN BHOPAL

The foundation of the princely state was laid by the traveler from Tirah, Dost Mohammad Khan of Mirazi-Khel clan of the Orakzai tribe when he joined Aurangzeb’s army and soon took control of Malwa, the region where the Gonds and the Bhils were the original and indigenous inhabitants.

Dost began to provide protection and made his presence stable in the region. In a few years, he persuaded his clan in Tirah to move and join him. As a result, fifty of his clan people along with his father, five brothers, and his wife Mehraj Bibi traveled from Tirah to Berasia. Thus, the Mirazi-Khel tribe became the pioneer settlers of Bhopal and were called the Barru-kat Pathans of Bhopal. With the steady progress of the Bhopal village that turned into a city, Dost became the first Nawab of Bhopal.

RIVALRY WITH THE MARHATTAS

The direct descendants of Dost continued to dominate and led the state with their leadership and faced many rivalries with the neighboring states. In the eighteenth century, the Marhatta Empire made attempts to take the control of Bhopal. First Peshwa Bajirao, then his son Nana Saheb Balaji Rao, then Raghuji Bhonsle.

In the 19th century, Bhopalis faced the toughest times when Scindia of Gwalior and Bhonsle of Nagpur along with their army strength of 82,000 sieged Bhopal. Dost’s great-grandson Wazir Mohammad Khan successfully led the defense of an army strength of only 11,000 that included the Rajput allies, Sikh mercenaries, and the Pindaras of Tonk. I took a special interest in the detailing of this siege because this was the most important battle in their history where the lives of Bhopalis and the fate of Dost’s family and legacy were at stake. I have written a separate 2-part blog about the Siege of Bhopal that you can read here:

  1. https://atomic-temporary-52124787.wpcomstaging.com/2018/12/21/the-siege-of-bhopal-1812-first-part/
  2. https://atomic-temporary-52124787.wpcomstaging.com/2019/01/07/the-siege-of-bhopal-1812-last-part/

THE BEGUMS: QUDSIA & SIKANDAR

The second Begum of Bhopal, Sikandar Begum, and her royal court with a few musicians.

A decade after the Siege of Bhopal began the rule of female rulers of the Bhopal dynasty starting from Wazir’s daughter-in-law and 5th Nawab Ghous Mohammad Khan’s daughter, Qudsia Begum. The arrival of women’s rule to the state turned the fates of Bhopalis as the state began to progress and Dost’s legacy continued to influence.

Amongst her vital contributions as the state leader was buying lodges in Makkah and Madinah for Bhopali pilgrims, and employing David Cook to construct a pipeline to provide her people free drinking water. She provided funds from her personal account to construct a railway station.

When Qudsia’s daughter Sikandar Begum took control and became the second begum to rule, she left no shades of their golden legacy behind but gave more reasons to believe why the begums of Bhopal were to be trusted as their supreme leader.

Moti Masjid was built in 1860 by Sikandar Begum, daughter of Qudsia Begum

In Sikandar’s era, postal service started, a police force was formed, and constructed a treasury and a mint for the local production of coins and currency. Sikandar also constructed a hospital and a few dispensaries and invited Hakeems from all the states to settle down in Bhopal. To transform the royal household into religious intellectuals, Sikandar invited Yemeni scholars to teach them Arabic, Hadiths, and the holy book of the Quran. When it comes to her religious contributions, Sikandar introduced Majlis-e-Shoora that passed 134 laws during her reign.

Sikandar holds the distinction for working for harmony between Muslims and Hindus by constructing mosques and serais for them. She also appointed an Accountant General who would check the waste and corruption. Urdu became Bhopal’s official court language, previously it was Persian.

THE BEGUMS: SHAHJEHAN & SULTAN JAHAN

Mother and daughter, the third and fourth Begums of Bhopal, Shahjehan (right) and Sultan Jahan (left).

The third begum Shahjehan, Sikandar’s daughter, brought more reforms into the system. The postal and police services that were initiated in her mother’s reign, were modernized. The revenue system was improved. Shahjehan also constructed a jail, a dam, and a proper arsenal for the state’s artillery.

Shahjehan’s daughter and the last Begum of Bhopal, Sultan Jahan faced a lot of challenges when she sat on the throne. Only 40,000 rupees were left in the treasury to run the state. Bhopal’s political system was on a razor edge and the economy was compromising thanks to her step-father Siddiq Hassan whose incompetent leadership resulted in social and economic corruption and despite sharp criticism by the British, Shahjehan preferred to defend him.

Sultan Jahan’s era was the symbol of promise and in the first ten years of rule, she built hope, faith, and future for her people. Despite being very religious and conservative, Sultan Jahan brought educational reforms, liberalism, and modernization to Bhopal.

Sultan Jahan improved systems in taxation, irrigation, agriculture, armed forces, police, jails, judiciary, and public works. She initiated municipality elections that upgraded sanitation, hygiene, and supplying tax-free water. In her era, Bhopali women found their voice in Begum. They were encouraged to join the Bhopal Ladies Club. The technical institutes were opened to teach them embroidery, handicraft, and needlework. She became the first chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University that helped in raising the bar for education, especially for girls.

The author’s great-grandmother and the last Begum of Bhopal, Sultan Jahan Begum.

Four ladies from Dost Mohammad Khan’s bloodline ruled the state for over a century and laid a solid foundation of discipline, faith, courage, commitment, integrity, and self-belief. We do not find any such example of political dominance and ideal leadership where women ruled keeping the peace between people of different faiths, stayed loyal with the British, and brought numerous social, political, and economic reforms in political history.

Balthazar de Bourbon

My book review will be incomplete without mentioning the Bourbons of India, the French connection to the Bhopal Dynasty; the descendants of high-born nobleman Jean-Phillipe de Bourbon de Navarre. They were the superior loyalists to the dynasty for generations that fought and defended a few battles and supported them at every cost.


MY FAVORITE LEADERS

Amongst all the leaders of the dynasty written in the book, my favorite leaders were Mamola Bai, Qudsia Begum, Wazir Mohammad Khan, and Sultan Jahan Begum. I found them more distinguished and their leadership more propelling because they all encountered challenges and tackled them successfully.

Before the 19th century witnessed Bhopal being ruled by four ladies, Mamola Bai was the first significant woman in Bhopal’s political history. She was a Hindu but first, she was the wife of the first Nawab Yar Mohammad Khan, and Dost’s daughter-in-law, who ruled the state for 50 years. She faced a tough time from the opposition who was Yar’s own brother Sultan who wanted to sit on the throne. But she invoked Islamic legitimacy in favor of Yar’s son Faiz against the claims.

The British Empire’s connection to Bhopal state began with Mamola Bai when she warmly welcomed General Goddard in 1778. Abdul Qadir Jilani’s direct descendant Pir Ghous Ahmad Shah Jilani formally declared her Rabia Basri II, the author’s mother Abida Sultan held the custody of the formal attestation of this declaration.

This is the first Begum of Bhopal Qudsia Begum’s only portrait found in the book as well as on the internet.

The point where Qudsia Begum impressed me the most was when she unveils her burqa in front of all the family members, contenders to the throne, qazi and mufti, and reads her husband’s will. These were the times when Dost’s male descendants were fighting for the throne and then, this 19-year-old Qudsia, pregnant with her second child, announces her regency and begins the century-old era of women’s dominance over the state.

The dazzling aspects of Sultan Jahan Begum lie in her leadership that turned the fates of the Bhopalis, especially women. Plus, she cleaned the mess made by her step-father Siddiq Hassan who made a lot of damage in corrupting the economic and political situation of the state.

But my favorite amongst all the leaders of this Bhopal dynasty is Wazir Mohammad Khan, the true defender of the state. He is the one who protected the state falling in the hands of the Marhattas, twice. Once, Wazir along with Ambapani’s Jagirdar Kuli Khan with 1000 tribesmen defeated Sironj governor’s General Bala Rao Anglia of Gwalior, Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur, Pindara Amir Khan of Tonk with 40,000 force. And the second time, he courageously defended Bhopal’s siege against Marhatta’s heavy army force of 82,000. The four Begums would have never led the state if Wazir’s gallantry never existed.

Tomb of Wazir Mohammad Khan in Bhopal. The site is hardly 3kms far from the tomb of his great-grandfather, Dost Mohammad Khan.

AUTHENTICITY

The Begums of Bhopal guarantees history check and authentic detailing because of the four vital factors. One is that Shahryar Khan had his mother Abida Sultan’s library in hand that preserves books, documents, and rare manuscripts. Two, he had access to the British library where he scoured through confidential reports about the state by the-then British civil servants.

Three and the biggest factor that distinguishes this book from any history book a historian may have written in the past two centuries is that Shahryar gained direct knowledge about his ancestors through his mother’s tape recordings that recorded her impressions of the state’s history as related to her by her grandmother Sultan Jahan Begum, the fourth and final Begum of Bhopal. On the tape, the grandmother, old civil servants, and family members spoke in detail about their time and even recalled the time of Sikandar Begum’s golden era when she ruled Bhopal in the mid-nineteenth century.

And four, the book discourages to be quintessential or overpraise the pride of his ancestors. The book refuses to deceive the readers by exaggerating the details of their greatness of being the most ideal of all Bhopalis. The book highlights the state’s leadership that went in good and bad hands. The book stamps an unbiased history of centuries-old rulership where the author details the rights and wrongs of Bhopal’s leadership in safe and unsafe hands.

The golden example of the book’s historical authenticity is writing about one of his ancestors who sold his rank and Bhopal’s fate for his comfort and pleasure, Ghous Mohammad Khan, father of the first Begum of Bhopal, Qudsia Begum. Then there was Siddiq Hassan, the third Begum Shahjehan’s second husband, whose leadership in Bhopal raised questions in Bhopal and the British.

Portraits of prince and princess, grandchildren of Sultan Jahan Begum of Bhopal, c.1910

The author also holds no tolerance in courageously detailing the clashes in the royal family, complicated mother-daughter relation between Shahjehan Begum and Sultan Jahan Begum. The author was also not shy of speaking about the speculation of a romantic affair between Qudsia Begum and Shahzad Masih. Qudsia Begum disallowing to transfer her power of authority to her son-in-law is also spread in pages. The point of highlighting all of this is that the author pens the history of his ancestors in an impression that the Bhopal state and its people went through changes in the period of the leadership of their dynasty that resulted in good and bad outcomes. People lost their lives in their battles but also trusted for the reforms they made.

The author neither shows any pride nor does he write any respective names as his relatives but he broadly commentated their stories. You will not observe any page where he calls his relatives in person but rather speaks their names. He mentions himself in the epilogue but only writes his name. The preface is the only part where the author personally speaks and writes ‘I’.


CLOSING REMARKS

I began to read The Begums of Bhopal back in March 2018. The knowledge was so driving that I began to prepare notes and draw myself the lineage of the princely state. Although, the drawing is there in the book, but for me, it was helpful to update all the lines with the completion of chapters I read. This book made a lot of reading intervals due to my own mid-life crises. But with a strong will, I have finished reading this book by the end of 2021.

The beauty of reading this book is that you grow with the timeline from Dost Mohammad Khan’s arrival in Malwa in 1707 to Hamidullah Khan’s succession of the throne in 1926. It is like if you are watching the American television show Roots and following Kunta Kinte’s descendants. This book deserves a television series with an extremely huge production budget, and I wish if this ever happens. Because this part of history needs to be told.

To all the readers who seek knowledge about the tareekh-e-Hindustan, The Begums of Bhopal is a part of it. A lot of information about India’s ancient history has not reached the internet; that makes me think that there is still a lot about the past to reach us. Gain it, treasure it, before all these cannons go further missing.

The Begums (1819-1926): Qudsia (top left), Sikandar (top right), Shahjehan (bottom left), and Sultan Jahan (bottom right)

The Siege Of Bhopal, 1812 (First Part)

Moti Masjid built in 1860 by Sikandar Begum, daughter of Qudsiya Begum

I have been struggling to focus for past few months about reading this history book called ‘The Begums of Bhopal‘ written by Shahryar M. Khan, the former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and the former chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board.

This book came to my attention when I came to know that he was the cousin of the Nawab of Pataudi which meant that he belonged to the royal house. So when I read about him on Wikipedia, I was reintroduced to his name as an author. One of the books had this title envisaging some blood connection and when I read that some of the women ruled the Bhopal state for more than one hundred years, that knowledge encouraged me to read this book.

Mr Khan emigrated to Pakistan with his mother in 1950. His mother inspired him to write this book and for the research, he used his mother’s library to read all the available books, documents, and manuscripts, even the recorded tapes about his ancestors in the state’s history. No book on Bhopal can challenge the heaviest and rich detailing of this book due to the fact of Mr Khan having the luxury of storing the most authentic sources about Bhopal.

In this book, Mr Khan attempts incredible research and enriches the readers about his ancestors in which four Muslim women rulers reigned over Bhopal between 1819 and 1926. Therefore, the length of the blood lineage of Mr Khan can be traced back to Dost Mohammad Khan of the 17th century.

This double-storey palace was built by Rani Kamlapai in 1722. Rani was the widow of Nizam Shah, the Gond Raja who ruled Ginnor. When Dost Mohammad Khan protected her from her Gond rivals, she gifted the village of Bhopal. A new chapter of Dost’s dominance over Bhopal began from that moment.

This blog is not a book review. My reading to this book is merely 60 pages old but what has made my mind to write this blog is to inform you about one of the sieges mentioned in the book which was occurred in extraordinary circumstances. I would like to take you back to the chapters of the Indian history to tell you how the soldiers defended their piece of land. An example which is hard to imagine and nearly impossible to exist today.

We are observing a lot of wars, bloodbaths, riots, protests, ceasefires, political and religious disturbances between any of the two which is dismantling the way this world used to function. In these times, when all our ancestors of the golden periods are vanishing and becoming a part of history, there is a certain possibility that one day there will be no one and nothing to tell the new generations. The history books are already losing its value because of the priorities the new generations are setting to read. So it is the duty of some of us to share a part of history what we have read. Today, I will tell you the story of a siege and try to memorize you the significance of sacrifice. This is about the siege of Bhopal occurred in 1812.

Before I speak about the siege, I must enlighten you about some points which connect you towards the reason behind this siege. I will try to summarize the details.

DOST MOHAMMAD KHAN (1672-1728)

Now I mentioned this name before, Dost Mohammad Khan. This is the man from whom the history of Bhopal is genuinely spoken because he was the founder of the Bhopal state. He was a Pashtun from the Mirazi Khel clan of the Orakzai tribe from Tirah. He was a powerful warrior who fought under the army rank of Emperor Aurangzeb.

After the death of the emperor in 1707, he was employed in Malwa‘s Rajput state called Mangalgarh by Raja Anand Singh Solanki. Solanki’s mother was highly impressed with his service and after Raja’s death, she appointed him the guardian of Mangalgarh in 1708. Dost also married their Rajput girl, Kunwar Sardar Bai, who later converted to Islam and become Fateh Bibi. Dost had 11 children. The most popular of those were Yar, Wasil, Fazil, and Sultan.

By the next year, Dost bought Berasia on lease from Taj Mohammad Khan and built his fiefdom on it. He also built a mosque and a fort and appointed a qazi (judge). He gave administrative assignments to his trusted Afghan lieutenants and persuaded his clan in Tirah to join him and settle in Berasia. By 1712, fifty of his clan people along with his father and five brothers traveled and joined him. Thus, his Mirazi Khel clan became the pioneer settlers of Bhopal and were called Barru-Kat (shrub dwellers) Pathans of Bhopal.

Bhopal’s first mosque, Dhai Seedhi Ki Masjid, was built by Dost Mohammad Khan in 1722

In 1722, the foundation of Fatehgarh Fort was laid by Dost naming the fort after his beloved wife Fateh Bibi. Bhopal’s first mosque Dhai Seedhi Ki Masjid (Two-And-Half-Steps Mosque) was also built inside the fort. This fort has never been conquered. During this period, Dost was entitled as the Nawab of Bhopal for what he did for the state. It was his charismatic leadership by which he created a Muslim state with 90% Hindu population and surrounded by a sea of Rajput and Marhatta adversaries.

Mausoleum of Dost Mohammad Khan is located near Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal
YAR MOHAMMAD KHAN (1710-1742)

Six years later, Dost died and his son, Yar Mohammad, became the second Nawab at 18. The post-Dost era was a pretty hard time in the beginning as the Marhattas began dominating over Malwa under Peshwa Baji Rao I. Peshwa, in 1736, fought and defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1740, Bajirao died and his son Balaji Rao succeeded him. Yar’s leadership lacked the charisma which his father had and his 14-year reign saw Bhopal genuflect towards the Marhattas. In 1742, Yar died of illness at a young age of 32 leaving his Hindu wife Mamola Bai behind. She was the first significant woman of Bhopal’s political history. She didn’t give birth to any of Yar’s but ruled over Bhopal for over 50 years under the name of Yar’s sons, Faiz and Hayat with the assistance of another Hindu loyalist Bijjeh Ram who was Dost’s faithful chief minister. It was ironic to observe two Hindus giving a helping hand to rule the Muslim state over a population of most of the Hindus and invoking the Islamic legitimacy in favor of her stepsons. Mamola herself adopted a Brahmin, Chottey Khan who later became her chief minister.

FAIZ MOHAMMAD KHAN (1731-1777)

Faiz, the third Nawab, was a very religious man whose devotion to Sufism grew to an extent that he lost his interest in the state politics. Mamola ruled under his name for the next 35 years until he died of an illness leaving his wife behind. His wife was Saleha Begum, better known as Bahu Begum, his first cousin. Begum was the daughter of Yar’s brother Wasil Mohammad Khan, the traitor who once helped Peshwa to invade Bhopal.

HAYAT MOHAMMAD KHAN (1735-1807)

The era of the fourth Nawab, Hayat, met serious crisis when he allowed his cousin, Murid Mohammad Khan, to enter the Bhopal state in 1796 (a year after Mamola Bai died). Murid was the son of the conspirator Sultan Mohammad Khan, who once attempted to claim the title of Nawab from Yar once their father died. Murid was a pure villain and treacherous. In 1797, he killed Hayat’s wife and later called Marhatta leaders for support to take over Bhopal state. Hayat summoned Fazil’s grandson, Wazir Mohammad Khan to take the charge. Hayat and Wazir with 1000 tribesmen were assisted by Kuli Khan, the jagirdar (landlord) of Ambapani and defeated Murid in the battle where his other opponents were Bala Rao Anglia of Gwalior, Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur, and Amir Khan of Tonk with a force of forty thousand.

WAZIR-GHOUS RIVALRY

Although the opponents tasted a bitter defeat and the Bhopalis defended their state under Hayat but it was Wazir whose heroics earned the highest reputation hoping to revive the legacy of his great-grandfather, Dost Mohammad Khan. Almost 70 years to Dost’s demise and their people missed that leadership quality among Yar and his sons Faiz and Hayat. In fact, it was Mamola Bai most of the times when she ruled with proper care under their names.

Wazir became the deserving commander-in-chief in 1797. He recovered many territories which were lost under Hayat’s rule. His growing reputation became a huge concern for Hayat and his son, Ghous Mohammad Khan. Wazir and Ghous were rivals but Ghous had permission by his father to exercise the powers of Nawab. After all, Ghous was next in line. Wazir had no interest in the power, he was a born warrior who wanted things to go in the best interest of his state.

Sensing a possible threat from the powerful neighboring states of Gwalior and Nagpur who were recently defeated, Wazir negotiated with the British in 1804 to support them against the Marhattas. This may have proceeded in a mutual agreement if Ghous wouldn’t interfere. His enmity for Wazir was so venomous that in 1807 when Hayat died and he became the fifth Nawab, he banished Wazir from Bhopal and made treacherous deals with his rival, Daulat Rao Sindhia. As per the deal, Ghous was willing to surrender the Islamnagar Fort, pay four lakhs of rupees in cash, present an annual tribute of 50,000 to Sindhia and 11,000 rupees to his public officers.

BHOPAL UNDER THREAT
In 1807, when Ghous banished Wazir from Bhopal, he moved to Ginnor and took a temporary residence in this fort, Ginnorgarh Fort.

With this deal, the British drew themselves back because they were obviously unsure of Bhopal’s commitments. Looking at Ghous’ impotency, Raghuji Bhonsle took his chance to take revenge from their defeat and sent a colossal force of 40,000 under a Muslim general, Sadiq Ali.

Wazir on his tailless horse Pankhraj took a temporary residence in the Ginnorgarh Fort, an ancient fort built in the times of Gond Rajas. Areas of Hoshangabad and Cheynpoor Barree were taken by the Nagpur army.

Rahatgarh Fort is located in a town, Rahatgarh. Built by Sultan Mohammad Khan. In 1807, when Daulat Rao Sindhia besieged the fort, it was Wazir Mohammad Khan who began to recover Bhopal back by fighting his enemies from this fort.

Sadiq Ali stayed for six weeks at Bhopal, took Ghous’ eldest son Moiz as a hostage and returned Nagpur. Sindhia besieged the evacuated Rahatgarh Fort. Wazir scrutinized the security on the fort weaker enough to confront and overtake. After taking the fort back, he determined on an attempt to return for the rescue, kick the Nagpur force out and take the control from here.

Raisen Fort is over an 800-year-old fort to be first under the control of the Rajputs and various Hindu rulers until the 16th century when the fort was captured by Sher Shah Suri in 1543. Faiz Mohammad Khan occupied the fort in 1760 and remained under the princely state of Bhopal when India achieved independence in 1947.

There was no way the state would trust Ghous as their leader. Wazir accused him of treachery and banished him to Raisen fort. Ghous remained Nawab but with no authority to exercise. The situation was alarming after the omen which Ghous brought on the Bhopalis. In 1812, the states of Gwalior and Nagpur who had differences with each other during this period, resolved their issues because both had a common enemy to deal with.

Daulat Rao Sindhia and Raghuji Bhonsle joined hands to defeat Wazir, invade Fatehgarh Fort and take over Bhopal. Their collective Marhatta army of 82,000 under the generals, Jagua Bapu and Sadiq Ali, marched towards the state of Bhopal to the siege. Bhopalis faced the greatest crisis and the toughest times in their history.

How possibly would Wazir defend his state and his people against the mighty Marhattas this time?