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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Daneesh Majid: 'History has mostly been written by those in power'
What made you address this important piece of our history and the unjustifiably long gap in public discourse? How did you approach writing about that politically sensitive moment? An epiphany back in early 2020 propelled me into action. A little before Covid, a video interview I conducted with Arshad Pirzada crystallized something I had been thinking about when carrying out some Hyderabad-centric features for The Hindu Business Line's weekly magazine two years earlier. Pirzada is a former Gulf NRI whose family came from a priestly lineage and had ties to the bureaucratic Asaf Jahi establishment. Post-1948, they had to adjust to life as numerical minorities in a democratic landscape unlike the old feudal setup in which the ruling Muslim minority held sway. The then chief editor, Ayoob Ali Khan, chided both of us for not emphasizing this fall and rise aspect of Pirzada's journey, one which included him becoming an economic migrant to Saudi Arabia and paving the way for his family's economic revival. There are plenty of such stories in Hyderabad that have remained undocumented (not only because many elders are no longer with us) and diluted through generations. A lot of these accounts have not been brought to the fore through crisp, timely and accessible narratives in the vein of works by authors like Urvashi Butalia, Anam Zakaria, Aanchal Malhotra and yourself. As for my approach, I could not solely rely on oral accounts. Besides my own enormous bookshelf, I scoured various bookstores, accessed personal libraries and found some academic articles to recreate the eras and build worlds that the 11 different families featured in the book lived in. My editor Vikram Shah's nudges in the right direction were key to this. Hyderabad is a city of syncretism, but also of stark divides – linguistic, religious, and class-based. How did you navigate these complexities while telling its story? Some of these divides existed pre-1948. For instance, many people believe that the Mulki agitation which began surfacing in the early 1950s was the earliest harbinger of the Telangana-Andhra divide. One story an acquaintance told me was about his father, a participant in the anti-Nizam and eventually anti-Indian government struggle. When his father was hiding out among Andhra Telugu cadres and interacting with ordinary citizens during the late 1940s in Bapatla, Madras Presidency, some of them either wondered how he was able to articulately communicate in Telugu while many poked fun at his Telangana dialect outright. That too, despite the fact that the Andhra Jana Sangham, which helped foment revolt in Telangana brought the Telugu populations from Madras Presidency and Telangana together on the basis of language. He also spoke of how Andhraites monopolized decision-making out of a sense of organizational superiority. So rather than only looking at these divisions through post-colonial, contemporary lenses, finding and citing primary/secondary sources that mention previous iterations of these divisions helped in navigating those present-day discords. Please tell us about your most important sources, and share any stories that surprised you or changed your thinking. Two important ones which altered specific notions come to mind — both my own and commonly held ones. Dr Rafiuddin Farouqui's compilation of the Aurangabad (then a part of the Nizam state)-born Maulana Maududi's letters, in which he beseeches Qasim Razvi to negotiate the best terms of accession with the Indian government. It showed a more farsighted, accommodating side to someone that many, including my own great-grandfather, who served as a Director in the Religious Affairs Department of Princely Hyderabad, saw as a hardliner. Chukka Ramaiah, the now 98-year-old activist who participated in the early days of the Telangana Revolt not only abhorred the ruled Hindu vs. ruler Muslim angle of looking at the anti-Nizam struggle, but a cruder version of the Andhra versus Telangana binary too. He was all praise for a class of Andhraites who arrived in Hyderabad state during the early 1950s, not as monopolisers of the commercial and ruling dispensations. This group of egalitarian-minded teachers from Andhra uplifted Telangana Telugus who previously didn't have access to education, especially in their mother tongue. Our respective works (mine on the Sindhis) trace the afterlives of two distinct but parallel communities deeply affected by the reshaping of India after Partition. What does this say about how we remember the 'unwritten histories' of India – the ones lived not by governments, but by people? History has mostly been written by those in power. Today, various political figures have been rewriting history especially through their election rhetoric. Since 2018, state, municipal and national polls saw certain opposition factions referring to then Chief Minister KCR as the 'New Nizam.'. The 'Nizam culture' was also blamed entirely for the city's so-called inability to become a global IT hub. All this amounts to a constant rewriting of the past by the powers that be as they evoke the powers that were! But it is the ordinary citizenry of today, the majority of which doesn't have the time nor resources to (re)evaluate bygone eras, who gets polarized as a result. Cinema, social media reels and WhatsApp forwards, backed by a robust ecosystem don't help either. Yes, the Nizam possessed his shortcomings, and princely Hyderabad had a dark side to it. But this us-versus-them prism, with the Nizam and the Razakars being equated as the sole aggressors, has gained too much currency. I was told first and second-hand stories from Kayasthas and Telangana Hindus about Osman Ali Khan's personal generosity and his patronage of temples. A lot of Telugu and Urdu literature chronicles how religious Muslims took to the onset of leftism against a feudal set up spearheaded by their 'own.' Micro-histories that ask the 'big' questions about historical occurrences, in the 'small' places are the need of the hour. Food, tehzeeb, language, architecture – Hyderabad's cultural distinctiveness is legendary. Which elements do you think are still thriving, and which are slipping away? Shervanis as well as Rumi topis are still worn at weddings and various functions. The food, for the most part, is still around. The feudal mentality that makes things more hierarchical while also inducing inertia among Hyderabadis won't disappear anytime soon. That being said, to varying extents, these elements certainly haven't been immune to the onset of McDonaldization. The Dakhani dialect, which isn't in danger of being fully cannibalized by shuddh Hindi or khaalis Urdu yet, can still be heard widely. But the nastaleeq script in which one can read Dakhani and standard Urdu literary gems, is rapidly fading away. Signboards on streets as well as government offices and Urdu 'jashns/anjumans' that often take place are in no way indicative of any substantive revival. Unless the prose is translated, which to some is code for 'diluted,' so much literature risks becoming obscure or an exotic relic of the past. In the past three years, some of my favourite Old City bookstores have closed or aren't selling non-religious content. Did you find yourself having to leave certain things out – whether due to space, sensitivity, or complexity? Are there stories you wish you'd been able to tell more fully? Yes. Throughout my research and fieldwork, I learned of some interesting reasons regarding why some Hyderabadis did or didn't undertake life-altering migrations to the West, the Gulf, other Indian cities, certain parts of Telangana/AP, or even Pakistan. There are some intriguing anecdotes about why some Muslims decided to either stay in India or make the move to Pakistan. After 1948, even the apolitical, professional class of Hyderabad's Muslims, regardless of whether they had ties to the nobility, considered settling in Pakistan. Despite the 1965 War, which put spokes in the wheel of Indo-Pak travel, many left for Pakistan in the 1970s out of personal grievances. Including such sagas would have provided a more personal, interior context as to why people decided to leave their families and native soil. However, if an interviewee requests for the omission of any detail or anecdote, out of respect and sensitivity, I have to oblige. Who did you imagine as your ideal reader while writing this book – and what do you hope they will take away from it? My ideal reader was always someone who wants to look at how people remember tragic episodes alongside common, sometimes militantly mainstreamed interpretations. Irrespective of whether the reader approaches my first book as such, at the very least, I hope that they get to experience the flavour of Hyderabad through its 11 diverse families. After all, a city's cultural distinctiveness isn't only defined by its monuments, cuisine and languages, but also by those who call(ed) it home. Saaz Aggarwal is the author of Sindh — Stories from a Vanished Homeland.
Express Tribune
29-05-2025
- Express Tribune
Ex-SHO dismissed over collusion with gutka mafia
The former SHO of Surjani Town police station, Ghulam Hussain Pirzada, has been dismissed from service after a departmental inquiry found him guilty of receiving regular bribes from sellers of the illegal carcinogenic substances of gutka and mawa. According to a formal notification of the dismissal issued by the Sindh Police Establishment Department, credible intelligence reports triggered the appointment of DIG Zulfiqar Mehr as the inquiry officer to investigate the allegations of corruption and negligence. A team of officers under his supervision collected detailed information about the network of those allegedly involved in the illicit gutka and mawa business in Surjani inquiry revealed that Pirzada was receiving weekly payments totaling Rs1.1 million from known figures in the illegal trade. Despite occupying the SHO position, Pirzada took no action against the organised sale of banned substances.
Kuwait Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Indian PM vows to stop waters key to rival Pakistan
JAMMU: A local resident uses his mobile on the shore near Chenab river near Sainth, the last village near the Line of Control (LOC), in Jammu district on May 2, 2025. — AFP NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that water from India that once flowed across borders will be stopped, days after suspending a key water treaty with arch-rival Pakistan. 'India's water used to go outside, now it will flow for India', Modi said in a speech in New Delhi. 'India's water will be stopped for India's interests, and it will be utilized for India.' Pakistan has warned that tampering with its rivers would be considered 'an act of war'. Modi did not mention Islamabad specifically, but his speech comes after New Delhi suspended its part of the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty, which governs water critical to parched Pakistan for consumption and agriculture. New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of contested Kashmir last month, sparking a series of heated threats and diplomatic tit-for-tat measures. Pakistan rejects the accusations, and the two sides have exchanged nightly gunfire since April 24 along the de facto border in Kashmir, the militarized Line of Control, according to the Indian army. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Monday said relations between Pakistan and India had reached a 'boiling point', warning that 'now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink' of war. Islamabad on Tuesday accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan's control according to the now suspended treaty. 'We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all,' Kazim Pirzada, irrigation minister for Pakistan's Punjab province, told AFP. Punjab, bordering India and home to nearly half of Pakistan's 240 million citizens, is the country's agricultural heartland, and 'the majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes,' Pirzada warned. 'One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced,' Pirzada added. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, large quantities of water from India were reportedly released on April 26, according to the Jinnah Institute, a think tank led by a former Pakistani climate change minister. 'This is being done so that we don't get to utilize the water,' Pirzada added. The Indus River is one of the longest in Asia, cutting through ultra-sensitive demarcation lines between India and Pakistan in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir — a Himalayan territory both countries claim in full. Hindu-nationalist Modi had already threatened to use water as a weapon in 2016 after an attack in Indian-run Kashmir. 'Blood and water cannot flow together,' he said at the time. But India also is a downstream state of China — which controls the Tibetan headwaters of the Brahmaputra, the vast river key to India's northeast, and which then flows down through Bangladesh. — AFP
Express Tribune
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Chenab surge worsens Indo-Pak water row
In a sudden and alarming development, India has significantly increased the inflow of water into the Chenab River, sparking concerns of water aggression against Pakistan. The move comes barely days after New Delhi unilaterally suspended the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Express News reported on Tuesday. The Chenab river – one of the three western rivers allocated to Pakistan under the 65-year-old treaty – saw a drastic and abrupt surge in water flow. According to Express News, the inflow at Head Marala was recorded at just 3,100 cusecs at 9pm on Monday. By Tuesday, it had surged to 26,000 cusecs - a dramatic and unexplained increase within a matter of hours. Punjab Irrigation Minister Kazim Pirzada confirmed the "unnatural change" in the river's flow. "We have witnessed changes in the river [Chenab] which are not natural at all," Pirzada told AFP. "One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced," he added. "The majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes," he said about its impact. According to daily data shared by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), a total of 132,000 cusecs of water was released from various rim stations, while the inflow stood at 188,800 cusecs. The data also indicated that 7,700 cusecs of water was released from the Chenab River at Marala. The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT}, signed in 1960 between Pakistan and India, permits India to use the shared rivers for irrigation purposes but prohibits it from diverting watercourses or altering downstream flows. However, on April 23, India unilaterally suspended the treaty, citing Pakistan's alleged involvement in the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam. In response, Pakistan warned India that tampering with its rivers would be considered "an act of war". On Tuesday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar repeated the warning while speaking in the National Assembly. "Any attempt to divert Pakistan's water resources would trigger a strong response." On Monday, according to a Reuters report, India started "reservoir flushing" process at the Salal and Baglihar projects on the Chenab River in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The activity was carried out without informing Pakistan - a requirement under the IWT. The reservoir flushing process initially results in sediment-laden waters being released downstream from the reservoirs, potentially causing sudden inundation, followed by a reduced flow of water as the reservoirs are refilled. On Tuesday, according to an Indian newspaper report, the gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam were lowered to restrict water flow as a short-term punitive action. The Punjab irrigation minister said that this was being done "so that we don't get to utilise the water". Experts said the water cannot be stopped in the longer term, and that India could only regulate timings of when it releases flows. However, the Jinnah Institute warned: "Even small changes in the timing of water releases can disrupt sowing calendars (and) reduce crop yields". Meanwhile, according to another Reuters report, India advanced the start date of four under-construction hydropower projects in IIOJK by months. Quoting sources, the report said that the updated schedule was another sign of India trying to take advantage of its unilateral suspension of the IWT. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government had asked authorities to clear hurdles to speedy construction of four hydro projects with a combined capacity of 3,014 megawatts, according to the document, an undated list made by the power ministry and reviewed by Reuters. In a speech in New Delhi, Modi said that water from IIOJK would be stopped from flowing across the borders. "India's water will be stopped for India's interests, and it will be utilised for India," he said. The four projects are Pakal Dul, 1,000 MW; Kiru, 624 MW; Kwar, 540 MW; and Ratle, 850 MW. All of them are on the Chenab River, whose waters are mainly meant for Pakistan. India's State-run NHPC is asked to start the work between June 2026 and August 2028, the document showed. Pakistan and India are already in dispute over Ratle in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The dispute is about the pondage, or small water storage area, the turbine design and some other specifications. In total, India wanted work expedited on a total of seven projects, the report stated. (WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)
Gulf Today
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Indian PM Modi vows to stop waters key to Pakistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that water from India that once flowed across borders will be stopped, days after suspending a key water treaty with Pakistan. New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of Kashmir last month, sparking a series of heated threats and diplomatic tit-for-tat measures. Pakistan rejects the accusations, and the two neighbours have exchanged nightly gunfire since April 24 along the Line of Control, according to the Indian army. Modi did not mention Islamabad specifically, but his speech comes after New Delhi suspended its part of the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty, which governs water critical to parched Pakistan for consumption and agriculture. "India's water used to go outside, now it will flow for India", Modi said in a speech in New Delhi. "India's water will be stopped for India's interests, and it will be utilised for India." Pakistan has warned that tampering with its rivers would be considered "an act of war." But experts also pointed out that India's existing dams do not have the capacity to block or divert water, and can only regulate timings of when it releases flows. Islamabad on Tuesday accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan's control according to the now suspended treaty. "We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all," Kazim Pirzada, irrigation minister for Pakistan's Punjab province, told reporters. Punjab, bordering India and home to nearly half of Pakistan's 240 million citizens, is the country's agricultural heartland, and "the majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes," Pirzada warned. "One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced," Pirzada added. "This is being done so that we don't get to utilise the water," Pirzada added. Agence France-Presse
