Nawab Muhammad Ali Wallajah, Nawab of the Carnatic (1749 1795 A.D.) had purchased lands and constructed Rubats (Lodging) which are now known as the Arcot Wakf, in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah for the benefit of the pilgrims, especially from South India.
This original wakf property was acquired by the Saudi authorities in 1986 and a compensation was awarded out of which a new 7-storeyed building ,was purchased in 1989. To this day, a number of pilgrims take advantage of the benefit offered to them by the present Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, who is the direct descendant of Nawab Muhammad Ali Wallajah.
During the ruling period of Nawab Wallajah, he had his own permanent staff stationed at Makkah and Madinah in the Hijaz in Arabia for the distribution of charity to the poor there. The Nawab supplied a ladder covered with gold and silver at Makkah to enable the pilgrims get into the precincts of the Kaa'ba during the Haj. He provided carpets and lights to the Holy Prophet's Mosque in Madinah (Masjid-e-Nabavi).
Nawab Wallajah purchased two ships, "Safinathullah" and "Safinathun Nabi" for commerce and trade, but they were mainly used for transporting Haj pilgrims from South India. So long as Nawab Amir-ul-Ulnra, Nawab Wallajah's second son lived, his charities poured into Makkah and Madinah without reserve.
Even today the same family, who were sent to the Holy Lands are looking after the Arcot Wakf at Makkah as 'Nazirs' (Caretakers) and the present descendant of the original Nazirs, Mr. Mohammed Ahamed Ibrahim Saab is looking after the 'Arcot Wakf', at Makkah. https://princeofarcot.org/contributions.html
Tales of the Nawabs of Arcot
This was a Sunday when a bunch of history enthusiasts from all age groups got together to learn about the Arcot Nawabs. Organised by Kombai S Anwar, an academic and Tamil documentary filmmaker, this tour took the assembled crowd on a heritage tour of Triplicane in a van to unexplored nooks where Nawabs once walked...
Anwar, whose documentary film, Yaadhum, based on the history and cultural identity of Tamil Muslims, won the Bronze Remi Award at the 48th WorldFest-Houston International Film and Video Festival, USA, has been conducting this trail for the past six years now.
He begins this tour with an elaborate story of how, when, why and under what circumstances the Nawabs moved to Madras. The participants then hop into a van; the first stop is Chepauk Palace.
And Anwar explains how the prolonged siege of the Senji Fort by the Mughal Army led to the camps developing into a township, which eventually became Arcot. When the Mughal rule started to decline by the 1740s, the Nawabs almost became independent rulers. “Those days, the palace was spread over a quite a large portion — the northern boundary was on the Cooum River, and the southern one led to the Presidency College; on the east was the sea and towards the west, the land where the Chepauk Stadium, also known as MA Chidambaram Stadium, stands today, was also a part of the palace.
The palace had two wings — the northern wing is called Humayun Mahal and the southern, the Kalas Mahal. The place where the Madras University stands today was where the bathing pavilion of the Nawab was. Unbelievable as it may sound today, back then, the Walajah used to bathe in the Cooum,” explains Anwar, and adds, “It is believed that an engineer from the East India Company (EIC), Paul Benfield, was given the contract for building the palace. The term ‘Kalas Mahal’ was probably given due to the kalasam-like structure.”
As we enter Wallajah Road, Anwar tells us how what used to be the langar khana (community kitchen) has now become Triplicane Police Station. And diagonally opposite, on the left, is the Mohammedan Public Library, which was started in 1850 at the behest of an Englishman, Edward Balfour, who was EIC agent to the Nawab. “The Walajah Road connects to the gate in Fort St George and was named after Muhammad Ali Khan Walajah by the Britishers. In the 1760s, Nawab Muhammad Ali moved to Madras for safety reasons. He bought land in Chepauk and built a palace, which was the official residence of the Nawab of Arcot till 1855,” says Anwar.
Our next stop is the Walajah Mosque, also known as the Triplicane Big Mosque. “When Walajah moved here, he felt there should be a state mosque. During Ramzan, Muslims would break their day-long fast with the nonbu kanji served by the Sindhi community. This tradition is believed to have been established by Muhammed Ali Khan Walajah. As we leave the mosque, we pass by what used to be known as Shadi Mahal, where the Nawab’s family moved after the death of the last Nawab, Ghulam Ghouse Khan, in 1855, when the British took over the Chepauk Palace in lieu of the Carnatic debts.
The next stop is Amir Mahal, the present-day residence of the Nawab of Arcot, Mohammed Abdul Ali and Dewan to Prince of Arcot, Nawabzada Mohammed Asif. The trail then moves on to Kapaleeswarar Temple, to look at the temple tank.
The Arcot palace represents the beginning of Indo-Saracenic architecture in India, and it is also considered to be forerunner to the other monuments constructed by British elsewhere in the country.
This tour took the Triplicane High Road, went to Walajah Mosque, Masjid-e-Anwari. Amir Mahal, Dastageer Saheb Dargha on Natesan Road, and finally, the Kapaleeswarar Temple Tank, which Nawab Walajah helped enlarge.
The langar khana (community kitchen) was meant to feed poor people. Interestingly, casteism existed even back then. The langar khana only had a Brahmin as a cook because food prepared by them was considered unpolluted and acceptable by every community. SOURCE
Makkah Madhina Famine rehabilitation committee 30/09/1945
Due to the world war people performing Haj has dropped drastically in the past 4 - 5 years. As a result the income of the Arabs dependent on this income and living in the hijaas areas particularly surrounding Makkah and Madhina has plummeted. They are suffering.
On learning about the hardship we at Colombo have formed a Makkah Madhina panja nivarana committee (Makkah Madhina Famine rehabilitation committee) and have raised Rs.71,832/81.
People from 86 places including Colombo contributed to this endeavour.
We had remitted two TTs, Rs.50,000/- and Rs.20,000/- in all a total of Rs.70,000/- through Colombo Eastern Bank to HH Sulthan Abdul Azeez Ibn Saud, the King. He had accepted the contribution and have thanked the donors.
The head of this committee is Dr.M.C.M. Khaleel MSc. Secretary P.S.Abdul Kader, office at 163 second cross street, Colombo.
An effort by Colombo, Keelai, Kayal and other traders in Colombo.
Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali
Heir Apparent and Dewan to the Prince of Arcot
Born in the Royal House of Arcot, Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali is the eldest son His Highness the Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali. He lives in the city of Chennai in India in his ancestral historic Amir Mahal. He is the Heir-Apparent to the present Prince of Arcot and his Dewan with several responsibilities to his title.
He hails from the lineage of Nawabs and Princes who were the sovereign rulers of the Carnatic region, which covered much of South India. Today, the Prince of Arcot continues to enjoy certain special privileges, honours and courtesies accorded to him by the Government of India, since 1870. The title is also accorded a very high protocol by the Government Protocol in the Warrant of Precedence, under Article 15-A, and his rank is on par with State Cabinet Ministers.
The Nawabzada administers his ancestral Endowments, known as "The Prince of Arcot Endowments", and maintains several mosques in the State of Tamil Nadu. The administration of these Endowments is governed by the Madras Act II of 1923. He also manages the Wakfs in the holy city of Makkah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, known as 'Arcot Wakf', which arranges the stay and arrangements of the pilgrims from India. He was nominated by the State Government to be a member of the Tamil Nadu State Haj Committee.
On many occasions, the Nawabzada, along with the Prince of Arcot, was the Royal Guest of His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia, during his visits to the Kingdom.
Many dignitaries and diplomats, including Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Consuls General, Chiefs of Defense Forces, Religious Heads and Leaders from across the globe, have honoured the Prince of Arcot by visiting his ancestral Amir Mahal.
He is a well known committed philanthropist, involved in many social, cultural and religious institutions in the country. He is a non-political and non-communal person like his forefathers. He is the Founder-Member of 'Harmony India', a registered Association formed in 1990, by the Prince of Arcot, to promote communal amity, secularism and national integration in the country.
He is the Vice-Chairman of Prince of Arcot Holdings (India) Private Limited. He also heads ‘Foxtek India’, a software development company. He is the Founder of ‘Arcot Foundation’, an organisation which supports the less privileged people with their basic needs. He is a Patron-Member of the Carnatic Family Association, which mainly works on helping the needy people of the Carnatic, especially in the education sector, by way of distributing scholarships.
He is a motivational speaker and delivers inspirational talks in various institutions and organisations in their development programs. He is an educationist and shares knowledge by way of organising competitive academic programs for schools, colleges, consulates, corporates and various organizations in the country. He is a sports enthusiast himself and conducts various sports events on a competitive level. He is also the President of the Darts Association of the State of Tamil Nadu.
As his passion, he is a Pianist and a composer himself and scores music at his personal professional studio at Amir Mahal. He is a patron of art and literature and is an artist himself. SOURCE
Born in the Royal House of Arcot, on the 9th August, 1951, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali Azim Jah is the eldest son of the Nawab Ghulam Mohammed Abdul Khader Azim Jah, the late Prince of Arcot and lives in the historic palace of his ancestors, 'Amir Mahal', in Royapettah in the city of Chennai (Madras), India.
His Highness, the Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali Azim Jah, is one of the premier citizens of our country. Carrying on his family tradition, The Prince of Arcot enjoys more than a title and enormous prestige. He was the Sherriff of Chennai (then Madras) for two terms, from 1984-1985 and again from 1988-1989. He is recognised by the Government as the 'First Nobleman' in the Muslim community of south India.
His Highness is decendant of second Caliph of Islam, Hazrath Umar ibnu Khathab (Ral) and bears noble character and pleasant disposition. Our Prince is a man with sympathetic attitude who strives hard in the upliftment of the downtrodden, disabled, sick, illiterate, destitute and needy people in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere by associating himself in various service organizations like Lions Club, Red Cross Society & Anjuman etc.
He is a well known committed social activist, involved in many social, cultural and religious institutions in the country. He is a non-political and non-communal person like his forefathers.
He is the founder secretary-general of Harmony India, (founded-1990) an association to promote communal amity, secularism and National Integration. Through this organization His Highness and other members brought considerable attitudinal changes among the people of different community in Tamil Nadu. They helped to wipe off ill feelings, hatred and misunderstanding among them and succeeded considerably in bringing about better understanding and cordial relationship between them by conducting meetings, seminars and get-together etc. Thus they achieved the aim of our nation, “Unity In Diversity”. In short we may proudly call our Nawab Sahib as the Champion of Communal Harmony.
The Hon'ble Prime Minister of India had nominated His Highness Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali as a Jury Member of the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an organisation established by the Central Government, Ministry of Home Affairs.
His tireless efforts, energetic actions and positive thinking brought many changes for the betterment in the life of poor and helpless people whenever and wherever any natural calamity occurs and shatters their normal life miserably. Unlike others His Highness participate actively in the projects, seminars and all kind of social activities conducted or convened by the organizations in which he is a member.
Through the Arcot Wakf at Makkah, His Highness is doing yeomen service to the Haj Pilgrims in many a way. It is a pleasure to note that Arcot Wakf is a house hold name among the people of Tamil Nadu. Every Haji who stays there feels homely and comfortable. Though it is a bit far, it is a pleasure to walk through the tunnel from Wakf to Haram and always have the satisfaction of entering Haram by Babussalaam Gate.
When the Saudi Government took over all the Wakfs of India at Makkah and Madhina, our Prince took pain, effort and used his good rapport with the King of Saudi Arabia to retain the Wakf. Alhamdulillah.
On many occasions, the Prince was the Royal Guest of His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia, during his visits to the kingdom. He was nominated as the Deputy Leader of the Indian Goodwill Haj Delegation by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, in the year 1997 and 1998.
He enjoys a rank equivalent to that of state cabinet ministers and is officially recognised by His Excellency 'The President of India' as The "His Highness The Prince of Arcot".
The State Governor and the Tamil Nadu Government have nominated His Highness Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali as a member in many high-level State committees. He is the Vice-Chairman, Tamil Nadu Government Urdu Academy. He is the State Chief Scout for Tamil Nadu Branch of the All India Boys Scouts Association and an active member of the Lions Club of Marina Beach, Lion's International District 324-AI. The Prince has been the recipient of many awards for this social service, including the National Unity Award from His Excellency the Governor of Tamil Nadu on many occasions. He was the recipient of "For the Sake of Honour" award from the Rotary Club. SOURCE
No comments:
Post a Comment