Latest news with #Sultana
India.com
5 hours ago
- General
- India.com
Meet the last Mughal heiress who now survives on Rs 6000 pension, has Bahadur Shah Zafar's connection, she lives in..., her name is...
Meet the last Mughal heiress who now survives on Rs 6000 pension, has Bahadur Shah Zafar's connection, she lives in…, her name is… The Mughals ruled most parts of the Indian subcontinent for over three centuries, starting from 1526 and until 1857. During their rule, Mughal emperors looted gold, jewellery and other precious stones and metals from India, making themselves enormously wealthy. When you imagine a Mughal heiress, you must have imagined her wearing several diamond and gold jewellery, living a comforting royal life. But, the imagination is not true. The great-granddaughter-in-law of India's last Mughal emperor who once lived in luxury, lives in a slum area on the outskirts of Kolkata city. 60-year-old Sultana Begum, who claimed to be related to the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, is living her life full of hardships. She lives in a hut with her family in Howrah. As per reports, she shares a kitchen with neighbours and street-side taps for washing clothes. A Mughal descendant's Journey From Royalty to Poverty In the 1980s, after the death of her husband Prince Mirza Bedar Bukht, Sultana's life changed tremendously. Since then she has been surviving on a pension per month pension of Rs 6,000. The family, burdened by the financial strain of raising six children, faces major economic hardship. Her daughters are also dealing with financial hardships and unable to help her. Sultana lives with her daughter Madhu Begam. She has filed several petitions to the government for help but get no response. As her royal ancestry is well-documented, the 60-year-old received a little support. Are Human Rights Organisations And NGOs Helping Sultana? Many descendants of India's former aristocracy, including Sultana, have experienced major financial hardship following British rule. Human rights advocates are helping these families. The contrast between their noble lineage and current poverty highlights historical negligence. While facing hardships, Sultana maintains pride in her heritage, recalling her late husband's emphasis on their royal ancestry and their refusal to resort to begging. She continues to petition the government for the support she believes her family is entitled to. The Mughal Dynasty The Mughal dynasty from which Sultana belongs contributed several architectural legacies throughout 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The Mughal, irrespective of their atrocities, built several beautiful structures such as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, the Agra Fort and the Lahore Shalimar Gardens, most of them are recognised as world heritage sites by UNESCO. However, Sultana, for several years, sending petitions to central and state governments for help and a decent pension, but got no proper response.
The National
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Jordan's literary legacy: Five novels that help define the nation
Jordan, which celebrates its Independence Day on Sunday, has built a rich literary canon in modern Arabic fiction. And that body of work has steadily grown and been celebrated for nearly 60 years. These novels provide insight into a kingdom that has long navigated and embraced its cultural and geographic position. This has not only given rise to a distinctive arts scene and close-knit communities, but provided novels that reflected on identity and exile. Some of these works are introspective, others unfold as sweeping epics – but together they chart Jordan's evolving voice in modern Arabic literature. Here are five novels from Jordanian authors that feature in The National's list of the most important Arabic novels of the 20th and 21st centuries. Tayseer Sboul wrote You as of Today as a direct response to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The novel's title is derived from a patriotic song. A mere 70 pages long, the book became a hit when it was published, as many in the region could relate to the heartbreak, disillusionment and rage that Sboul expresses. The novel features two narratives, one named Arabi ibn Arabi – or Arab son of an Arab – while the other interjects with his own insights and thoughts. As such, You as of Today was markedly experimental for its time and has come to be regarded as one of the foremost postmodern works in Arab fiction. Sultana is another novel that confronts norms and has thus stirred up its fair share of controversy. The novel is set in 1950s Jordan, in a period where the country was in the thick of political uncertainty following the assassination of King Abdullah I. The story is told by a man named Jeries as he recounts his youth in a village and his time at a boarding school in Amman. At the heart of his story is Sultana, a fiercely independent woman, and her daughter, Amira. The novel is a whirlwind of passion and politics, fearlessly delving into the shadowy world of extortion and smuggling. In Sons of the Castle, Ziad Qassim presents the history of Amman from 1940 onwards, exploring its development as well as setbacks such as during the 1967 war. The novel is populated by a panoply of memorable characters with complex and layered relationships. As the book also deals with notions of Arab unity, Sons of the Castle offers a reflection of the wider Middle East during the 20th century, even if its focus remains resolutely on Amman. Propelled by fragmented dialogues, Confessions of a Silencer is as beautiful for its polyphony as for its contemplative turns of phrase. Isolation is a key theme in the novel as a man, woman and their daughter are under house arrest and feel a sense of exile even from one another. Their only tethers to the outside world are the phone calls they receive from their son. The story is evidently published by the experiences of Ar Razzaz's own family. The writer's father, Munif, was a prominent member of the Iraqi Baath party until the 1979 purge by Saddam Hussein, after which he was placed under house arrest until his death in 1984. Winner of the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, Notebooks of the Bookseller is set in Jordan and Moscow between 1947 and 2019. It tells the story of Ibrahim, a bookseller and voracious reader, who loses his shop and finds himself homeless and having had schizophrenia diagnosed. He begins to assume the identity of the protagonists of the novels he loved and commits a series of crimes, including burglary, theft and murder. He then attempts suicide before meeting a woman who changes his perspective on life. The novel is structured as a series of notebooks and has many narrators, whose fates sometimes collide. Notebooks of the Bookseller is a heart-rending, fragmented tale of people who are ignored and overlooked by society. Barjas's work daringly depicts a difficult reality not only in Jordan, but the Arab world as a whole.
Middle East Eye
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Rights groups call on UK to end all arms sales to Israel as court case resumes
Rights groups and charities gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday to support a legal challenge against the UK government's continuing export of F-35 fighter jet parts for use by Israel. Holding Palestinian flags and signs calling on the government to 'stop arming Israel', dozens of campaigners joined the lawyers leading the case to demand an end to all UK arms exports to the country. Groups present at the protest included Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, which bought forward the current case with the support of the Global Action Legal Network (GLAN), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam. Zarah Sultana, a suspended Labour MP, joined the protest alongside independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, and Imran Hussain. Sultana told Middle East Eye that British arms exports to Israel made the UK "complicit in genocide" in Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Every F-35, which is described as the most lethal fighter by its own manufacturer, is dropping 2,000-pound bombs on people in Gaza and decimating whole neighbourhoods and universities," Sultana said. "And with 15 percent of every F-35 made here in the UK, it makes us complicit in the live-streamed genocide unfolding in Gaza." Clemence Lagourdat, Oxfam's humanitarian coordinator in Gaza, also joined the protest and submitted evidence put forward by Al-Haq. Recently returned from the territory, Lagourdat said Israel was "systematically destroying" Gaza's infrastructure. 'When you sell the weapons destroying an entire territory, you've made a clear choice: to endanger an entire population' - Clemence Lagourdat, Oxfam 'Bombing has severely affected the entire Gaza Strip. For the court case, we've submitted evidence showing that Israeli air strikes have destroyed over 70 percent of Gaza's water infrastructure," she told MEE. "In addition, Israel has systematically blocked the entry of equipment needed for repairs, making it extremely difficult for people to access safe drinking water." 'When you sell the weapons destroying an entire territory, you've made a clear choice: to endanger an entire population.' The legal challenge, brought by Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), began just over a week after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks and Israel's subsequent ground invasion of Gaza. Nineteen months later, Israeli forces have killed 52,908 Palestinians in Gaza, as the four-day judicial review opened on Tuesday. The case has had dramatic developments. In February 2024, a judge dismissed the case, stating there was 'no realistic prospect' of proving that the government's arms export decisions were legally flawed. However, a successful appeal revived the case. Even as court proceedings moved slowly, documents submitted to the court revealed key details about UK arms exports to Israel that the government had not made public. In September 2024, just hours before Al-Haq and GLAN were set to request a full suspension of UK arms exports to Israel, the newly elected Labour government announced a partial suspension affecting around 30 licences. This shifted the focus of the case to UK-made components for F-35 fighter jets. Though direct exports of these parts - critical to Israel's attacks on both Gaza and Lebanon - were suspended in September, the components have continued to be sent indirectly via a global pool supplying spare parts to Israel. The F-35 programme has stated that it does not track or trace these parts. The UK government has argued that blocking shipments to the global pool would jeopardise the entire F-35 programme and pose a threat to global peace and security. But rights groups say the carve-out for F-35 parts undermines international norms and breaches both domestic and international law. Last week, a report based on Israeli Tax Authority data suggested the UK may still be exporting F-35 parts directly to Israel - sparking questions among arms control experts that are expected to be raised in court.
American Military News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
UK firms sent thousands of military munitions to Israel despite arms export ban, report finds
UK firms continued to send thousands of arms and other military items to Israel despite an announcement by the British government in September that it was suspending about 30 arms-export licenses for the country, according to a report published on Wednesday. Campaign groups — including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Progressive International, and Workers for a Free Palestine — analyzed data from the Israel Tax Authority and found that UK businesses were still sending shipments of military items, including munitions, arms and aircraft parts. Their report states that F-35 fighter jet components were delivered to Israel as recently as March, more than five months after the UK government suspended the 30 arms-export licenses, including a ban on aircraft parts. Fighter aircraft, including F-35s and combat drones, have been a critical element of Israel's military offensive in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, carrying out airstrikes across the territory. The report said that 8,630 separate munitions had been sent since the license suspensions in September 2024 in the category of 'bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof.' UK firms also delivered four shipments of arms to Israel that included 146 items identified under a customs code as 'tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, motorised, whether or not fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles.' The authors of the report also found evidence that 150,000 bullets were shipped from the UK to Israel in October 2023, prior to the suspension of the licenses. John McDonnell, a former Labour shadow chancellor, and MP Zarah Sultana have sent a letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling for an investigation into the report's findings. Lammy told Parliament in October that much of the military equipment the UK sends to Israel 'is defensive in nature. It is not what we describe routinely as arms.' McDonnell and Sultana said it would be a resignation issue if it was discovered that he misled parliament and the public about the suspension of arms-export licenses to Israel. They also called for an immediate halt to all arms exports to Israel and said the public 'deserves to know the full scale of the UK's complicity in crimes against humanity.' Sultana said: 'This explosive report shows the government has been lying to us about the arms it is supplying to Israel while it wages genocide in Gaza. Far from 'helmets and goggles,' the government has been sending thousands of arms and ammunition goods.' McDonnell called on the government to 'come clean in response to this extremely concerning evidence and halt all British arms exports to Israel to ensure no British-made weapons are used in Netanyahu's new and terrifying plans to annex the Gaza Strip and ethnically cleanse the land.' The Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians since the start of the war in October 2023, following the deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel. The Israeli government faces an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice over its military actions in Gaza, which have led to a humanitarian crisis and mass killings. In addition, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the war in Gaza. In a statement to The Guardian newspaper, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'This government has suspended relevant licenses for the (Israeli army) that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. 'Of the remaining licenses for Israel, the vast majority are not for the Israeli Defense Forces but are for civilian purposes or reexport, and therefore are not used in the war in Gaza. The only exemption is the F-35 program due to its strategic role in NATO and wider implications for international peace and security. 'Any suggestion that the UK is licensing other weapons for use by Israel in the war in Gaza is misleading. The UK totally opposes an expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza. We urge all parties to return urgently to talks, implement the ceasefire agreement in full, secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, and work towards a permanent peace.' ___ © 2025 the Arab News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
India.com
05-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
SC trashes woman's plea seeking possession of Red Fort; she claims to be last Mughal heiress, now lives on Rs 6000..., her name is...
Red Fort- File image In a shocking turn of events on Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the plea of a woman, who claimed to be the widow of great-grandson of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II, Begum Sultana. As per a report covered by news agency PTI, Begum Sultana was seeking possession of the historic Red Fort on account of being the legal 'heir'. Here are all the details you need to know. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar termed the plea as 'misconceived' and 'meritless' at the outset and refused to entertain the petition filed against the Delhi High Court order. 'The writ petition filed initially was misconceived and meritless. It cannot be entertained,' the CJI said. 'Petitioner family member of the first freedom fighter' says Counsel 'The petitioner is the family member of the first freedom fighter of the country,' the counsel said. The CJI said if the arguments are considered then 'why only Red Fort then why not forts at Agra, Fatehpuri Sikri etc'. History of petitions claiming Mughal monuments Earlier in a case from last year, a division bench of the Delhi High Court had dismissed the appeal by Begum against the December 2021 decision of a HC single judge, noting the challenge was filed after a delay of over two-and-a-half years, which could not be condoned. Who is Begum Sultana? Begum Sultana said she could not file the appeal owing to her bad health and passing away of her daughter. Sultana lives with her unmarried daughter, Madhu Begum, and despite repeatedly petitioning the government for aid, her circumstances remain dire. Though her royal ancestry is well-documented, she has received little recognition or support. Notably, the Mughal dynasty of which Sultana is descended contributed a vast architectural legacy to the Indian sub-continent throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with the iconic Taj Mahal as the best example. It has also been reported that she is living on a meager pension of just 6,000 rupees a month. Also, Begum Sultana has spent years petitioning central and state governments asking for basic living arrangements and a pension. (With inputs from agencies)
