Sword bearing Arabic inscription unearthed from Ganjam archives
The forgotten relic attracted attention when Yubaraj Siddhanta Gangadev brought it to the notice of noted epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, who painstakingly deciphered the inscription with the assistance of Arabic scholar Sheikh Imaitullla. The sword contains verses from the Holy Quran (Surah 61:13), inscribed in classical Arabic, which reads: 'Nasrum Minallahi Wa Fathun Qareeb', translated as 'Help from Allah and imminent victory.'
This rare artifact is believed to belong to a turbulent chapter in Odisha's history, when the valiant Ganga dynasty of Khallikote, Paralakhemundi and Badakhemundi fought relentless battles against invading powers such as the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda, Hyderabad's Nizams and Mughal forces.
As per Bishnu Adhikari, though the sword lacks numerical dating, its linguistic style and religious invocation date it within the era of Islamic military campaigns in the region.
Historians recall that the Gajapati Kings Jagannath Narayan Dev and Narahari Narayan Dev had vanquished Malik Khan, a Muslim commander, and issued inscribed commemorations of their victory. The newly rediscovered inscription parallels the 1679 Paralakhemundi epigraph, suggesting it may have been crafted in the aftermath of a significant military triumph by the Ganga warriors over foreign aggressors.
Anantarama Kar Koundinya, a leading authority on the subject, commended the efforts of Bishnu Adhikari and expressed delight at the discovery. Kar noted that Ganjam region, particularly Ichhapur and Chikakole, was historically a battleground where the Ganga rulers frequently repelled Muslim invasions. The Badakhemundi Raja Ananta Padmanabha Dev's valiant confrontations with Sultanate forces find echoes in literary references by Basudev Rath Somayaji.
Historically, the Khemundis, including Parlakhemundi, Badakhemundi and Sanakhemundi, emerged from the same Ganga lineage, and this rediscovery reinforces their shared legacy of martial resistance. The sword's inscription is now seen as a symbolic artifact of not only military confrontation but also of diplomatic victories, where truce and cessation of hostilities were marked by ceremonial exchanges -- perhaps including the inscription of sacred verses.
Bishnu Adhikari further connects this discovery with chronicled histories such as 'The History of Ganga' by Padmasree Satyanarayan Rajguru, and the epigraphic contributions of Laxminarayan Harichandan Jagadev, who recorded multiple war-time inscriptions of the period.
Following the decoding of the script, the Badakhemundi royal family expressed elation, and the local population of the Digapahandi region has celebrated the find as a source of pride and cultural resurgence.
The discovery not only enriches the heritage of Ganjam but also opens new corridors of research into Odisha's resistance narratives during medieval Islamic expansion.
This inscription, now revered as a 'silent testament of valour and divine faith', reanimates a bygone era when steel and spirit defended sovereignty.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Restaurant named July 30, new house: Wayanad man who lost 11 of family in landslide rebuilds life
On July 30 last year, the catastrophic Wayanad landslides wiped out 11 members of his family, including his wife and three children. But Kalathingal Noufal decided to rebuild his life, brick by brick. A year later, Noufal's story is one of grit, determination and massive community support. The 43-year-old has found a new partner in life, started a restaurant — named 'July 30' — and got a new house. Noufal lived at Mundakkai, the village in Kerala's Wayanad district that was totally wiped out in the landslides that claimed 298 lives, washed away houses and buildings, and buried whole families. On the day of the tragedy, Noufal was in Oman, where he worked as a chef. The next day, he flew back home, only to find just rubble where his house once stood. He soon learnt that his wife, parents and other close relatives were among 11 of his family to have died in the landslides. 'I had to go through the trauma of seeing their bodies. Of the 11, I could only identify five. The rest were identified through DNA tests,' he said. A few days after the tragedy, he said, 'I made the decision that I should look forward. I realised that my lost life, my family and belongings will never come back. While lodged in a temporary building, I decided not to dwell on the tragedy and the loss.' While counsellors had been deputed to help survivors deal with the trauma, Noufal said he told them not to visit him. 'Because every such session will only bring back those haunting memories. I tried to heal myself.' Not just his family, a large number of residents of his village died in the landslides. He said all this made him feel like going back to Oman, but he decided to stay back until the results of all the DNA tests were released. Then, the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen — a Muslim socio-religious organisation — came forward with help. 'The KNM offered me Rs 7 lakh to find a livelihood. It was my wife Sajna's dream that I should come back to Kerala and settle here by starting a restaurant,' he said. Deciding to carry forward the wife's dream, he started a restaurant-cum-bakery, which he named 'July 30' in memory of the day that upended his life, in Wayanad's Meppadi town on the road leading to the tragedy-hit villages. 'When I named the restaurant 'July 30', many people criticised me. But everyone who goes to the affected areas should recall that day, the tragedy and the loss. That will make people humble and bring them closer to God,' he said. Months after the tragedy, the Oman chapter of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), an expatriate charity organisation founded by the Indian Union Muslim League, bought land and started constructing a new house for Noufal at Moopainadu village in Wayanad. Last month, the KMCC handed over the key of the new house to Noufal. Last month, Noufal ushered in another new beginning by getting married to Safna. He said, 'A lot of people I did not know have helped me get my life back on track. I have never seen most of those benefactors. This happens only in Kerala. Now, people say that my life, the way I put behind those traumatic days, is a lesson for those who lost everything in the tragedy.'
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
NMC launches plan to restore historic Gandhi Gate in Mahal
1 2 Nagpur: In a major push to preserve Nagpur's historical identity, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has unveiled plans to restore and redevelop Gandhi Gate — also known as Jumma Darwaza — one of the city's oldest surviving Mughal-era gateways nestled in the heart of Mahal. Steeped in centuries-old history and deeply tied to India's freedom struggle, Gandhi Gate stands as a silent testimony to both the rise of Nagpur and sacrifices of revolutionaries during the 1857 uprising. According to historians, built by Chand Sultan, the son of Gond King Bakht Buland Shah, the gate was once part of a sprawling palace complex constructed after Raghuji Maharaj-I declared Nagpur his capital in 1735. This complex stretched from Kotwali police station to DD Nagar Vidyalaya, featuring palatial residences, temples, and administrative structures. Much of it was destroyed in 1818 during British annexation, including a fire that reportedly raged for six months. Yet, Gandhi Gate withstood the devastation. The initiative, conceptualised by municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari, aims to both conserve the physical structure and highlight its forgotten legacy. NMC executive engineer (project) Ashwini Yelchatwar told TOI that the civic body is inviting proposals from qualified project management consultants (PMCs) with experience in heritage conservation. The scope of work includes preparing a detailed project report, architectural redesign, structural assessments, and conservation techniques tailored to historical sites. Its most poignant chapter came during the First War of Independence in 1857. As the rebellion spread across the subcontinent, the British executed nine local revolutionaries at this gate — Nawab Qadir Khan, Siddiq Ali Khan, Akbar Ali Khan, Vilayat Ali Khan, Bunyad Ali Risaldar, Yusuf Khan, Uniform Major, Moinuddin Husain Jamadar, Inayatullah Khan, and Maratha soldier Waghle Jamadar. Their bodies were left hanging for three days to deter further resistance. Their remains now lie at the Nine Gazi Memorial on Sitabuldi hill. Today, Gandhi Gate sits amid the narrow lanes and vibrant commercial hub of Mahal — surrounded by colonial-era schools, old stone-walled homes (wadas), and temples — but suffers from neglect and encroachment. NMC's effort is not just about physical conservation, but about reviving public memory and civic pride. "This is about reintroducing Nagpurians to their own history — stories that never made it to school textbooks," Yelchatwar said. The final DPR will be developed following a pre-bid meeting and technical evaluations. Once the PMC is selected, the budget for the project will be finalised. For a city rapidly reshaping itself with modern infrastructure into a smart city, the Gandhi Gate project stands out as a rare acknowledgment of the past — and perhaps, the first step toward restoring many more heritage sites hidden across Nagpur.
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
Afghan Girls Turn To Madrassas Amid Education Ban By Taliban
Kabul: For six hours every day after school, Nahideh works in a cemetery, collecting water from a nearby shrine to sell to mourners visiting loved ones' graves. She dreams of becoming a doctor - but knows it is a futile dream. When the next school year starts, she will be enrolling in a madrassa, a religious school, to learn about the Quran and Islam - and little else. "I prefer to go to school, but I can't, so I will go to a madrassa," she said, dark brown eyes peering out from beneath her tightly wrapped black headscarf. "If I could go to school then I could learn and become a doctor. But I can't." At the age of 13, Nahideh is in the last grade of primary school, the limit of education allowed for girls in Afghanistan. The country's Taliban government banned girls from secondary school and university three years ago - the only country in the world to do so. The ban is part of myriad restrictions on women and girls, dictating everything from what they can wear to where they can go and who they can go with. With no option for higher education, many girls and women are turning to madrassas instead. "Since the schools are closed to girls, they see this as an opportunity," said Zahid-ur-Rehman Sahibi, director of the Tasnim Nasrat Islamic Sciences Educational Center in Kabul. "So, they come here to stay engaged in learning and studying religious sciences." The center's roughly 400 students range in ages from about 3 to 60, and 90% are female. They study the Quran, Islamic jurisprudence, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, and Arabic, the language of the Quran. Most Afghans, Sahibi noted, are religious. "Even before the schools were closed, many used to attend madrassas," he said. "But after the closure of schools, the interest has increased significantly, because the doors of the madrassas remain open to them." No recent official figures are available on the number of girls enrolled in madrassas, but officials say the popularity of religious schools overall has been growing. Last September, Deputy Minister of Education Karamatullah Akhundzada said at least 1 million students had enrolled in madrassas over the past year alone, bringing the total to over 3 million. Sheltered from the heat of an early summer's day in a basement room at the Tasnim Nasrat center, Sahibi's students knelt at small plastic tables on the carpeted floor, their pencils tracing lines of Arabic script in their Qurans. All 10 young women wore black niqabs, the all-encompassing garment that includes a veil, leaving only the eyes visible. "It is very good for girls and women to study at a madrassa, because ... the Quran is the word of Allah, and we are Muslims," said 25-year-old Faiza, who had enrolled at the center five months earlier. "Therefore, it is our duty to know what is in the book that Allah has revealed to us, to understand its interpretation and translation." Given a choice, she would have studied medicine. While she knows that is now impossible, she still harbors hope that if she shows she is a pious student dedicated to her religion, she will be eventually allowed to. The medical profession is one of the very few still open to women in Afghanistan. "When my family sees that I am learning Quranic sciences and that I am practicing all the teachings of the Quran in my life, and they are assured of this, they will definitely allow me to continue my studies," she said. Her teacher said he'd prefer if women were not strictly limited to religious studies. "In my opinion, it is very important for a sister or a woman to learn both religious sciences and other subjects, because modern knowledge is also an important part of society," Sahibi said. "Islam also recommends that modern sciences should be learned because they are necessary, and religious sciences are important alongside them. Both should be learned simultaneously." The female secondary and higher education ban has been controversial in Afghanistan, even within the ranks of the Taliban itself. In a rare sign of open dissent, Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Abbas Stanikzai said in a public speech in January that there was no justification for denying education to girls and women. His remarks were reportedly not well tolerated by the Taliban leadership; Stanikzai is now officially on leave and is believed to have left the country. But they were a clear indication that many in Afghanistan recognize the long-term impact of denying education to girls. "If this ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement at the start of Afghanistan's new school year in March. "The consequences for these girls - and for Afghanistan - are catastrophic. The ban negatively impacts the health system, the economy, and the future of the nation." For some in this deeply conservative society, the teachings of Islam are hard to overstate. "Learning the Holy Quran is the foundation of all other sciences, whether it's medicine, engineering, or other fields of knowledge," said Mullah Mohammed Jan Mukhtar, 35, who runs a boys' madrassa north of Kabul. "If someone first learns the Quran, they will then be able to learn these other sciences much better." His madrassa first opened five years ago with 35 students. Now it has 160 boys aged 5-21, half of whom are boarders. Beyond religious studies, it offers a limited number of other classes such as English and math. There is also an affiliated girls' madrassa, which currently has 90 students, he said. "In my opinion, there should be more madrassas for women," said Mukhtar, who has been a mullah for 14 years. He stressed the importance of religious education for women. "When they are aware of religious verdicts, they better understand the rights of their husbands, in-laws and other family members."
