Sher Shah Suri's tomb to get new lease of life

By IANS,

Patna : The 16th century tomb of emperor Sher Shah Suri, standing in a tank filled with acidic industrial discharge and surrounded by illegally constructed buildings, is set to get a new lease of life with the Patna High Court directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to preserve the monument in Bihar's Rohtas district.

Sher Shah Suri

The tomb in Sasaram town, about 150 km from here, has fallen into disrepair due to years of neglect and exposure to pollution. Some parts of the monument have also been encroached upon.

On Monday, the Patna High Court directed the ASI to initiate measures to protect the monument. The court order was in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Sasaram resident, who alleged that the state government was not taking adequate steps to preserve the tomb.

Officials said the court has asked the ASI to work in tandem with the Rohtas district administration to solve the problem of encroachment and reduce pollution of the area surrounding the monument.

"The court directed the ASI to clean silt of the water tank in which the tomb stands, make it pollution free and remove the encroachments from the tomb premises," a court official said.

The court has ordered that the ASI and the district administration should ensure that polluted water from the town does not enter the tank in which the five-storey monument stands.

Industrial discharge has made the water in the tank acidic, which is threatening the structure of the tomb.

ASI officials said the body has last year warned the state government about the ecological threats to the tomb.

It had earlier moved the Patna High Court to protect the monument by removing illegal constructions. It had also approached the district administration for revival of inlet and outlet channels of the tank, and to prevent the immersion of idols, washing of clothes and its use for bathing.

The district administration allowed the immersion of idols in the tank from 1980 after a pond in the neighbourhood dried up.

Sher Shah Suri's Tomb

"If urgent steps are not taken immediately, it would be impossible to save the stone mausoleum for future generations," an ASI official said.

"The tank's water has turned acidic. It is posing a serious threat to the mausoleum's life - it will destroy the building material and weaken the structure. It also pointed out that the tank's depth has decreased alarmingly in the last two decades," the official added.

Since 1977, illegal buildings, including Hindu temples, have been built within the mausoleum premises. However, the state says it spends about Rs.700,000 on the tomb's maintenance each year.

The historical tomb was declared a national heritage under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (1958). The ASI took it for preservation and protection in 1938.

Suri (1472-1545) was also known as Sher Khan or the Lion King. Although his empire was short-lived, from 1539 to 1545, he left a fairly deep imprint in history.

A masjid for women in Shillong

By Anju Azad for TwoCircles.net,

North Eastern states in India are comprised of more than 213 ethnically diverse groups and communities with distinct languages, culture, and social identities different from mainland India. Women in this region enjoy greater mobility. ‘Purdah’ and caste system is not so prevalent here. Women’s participation in economic activities is quite high and the Asia’s largest women’s markets ‘Ima market’ (‘Ima Keithel’ or Mother’s Market) is situated in Imphal, Manipur. All these factors have definitely left a positive impact in the life of Muslim women of this region. But patriarchal notions predominates all the liberal values and have restricted women’s mobility even in this part of India.

Like rest of India, women’s access to public religious places like masjids is restricted by the Muslim society of North East India. Women offering prayer five times a day in mosques is a taboo in almost all societies in India. It is often preached that women world is inside the four corner of the house of her husband and she should be happy with the ‘household’ work only.

Two women take a break from their work and offering noon-prayer in the Masjid


Inside the Masjid: Covered area is meant for women to offer namaz


Men looking at the entrance of the masjid exclusively built for women to offer prayers 5 times a day, in Shillong. September 21, 2008


Finally a shoe rack – Only for women
The establishment of a masjid exclusively for women in Shillong, Meghalaya is an answer to all these stereotyping tactics against women. The Masjid was inaugurated on August 29, 2008 and about 150 women took part in prayer on the very first day. ‘It’s a gift to our mother and sisters for the Ramadan’, said Sayedullah Nongrum, MLA and Secretary of the Shillong Muslim Union since 1982. Shillong Muslim union established in 1905 took the initiative in establishing a masjid that had facility for women as well.

Shillong Muslim Union was founded by Khan Bahadur Amjad Ali with the aim of catering the religious, socio-cultural needs of muslims in the entire East Bengal from Siliguri to Cox Bazar and from Chittagong to Dibrugarh in the present Assam. After partition of India, it narrowed down its jurisdiction to Assam. When Meghalaya was created in 1972 its jurisdiction was curtailed to only Meghalaya. Sir Sayedullah, Moinul Haque Choudhury had presided this organization.

Sayedullah Nongrum, MLA and secretary of Shillong Muslim Union who initiated and mobilized members of Shillong Muslim Union to establish the masjid for women

Shillong Muslim Union has established Unshyprio College which teaches Science, Art and Commerce and is considered as one of the best ranked colleges in the city. The most impressive part of the working of this organization is that they are secular in their activities and students across all culture and religion can come and study here. In fact right now non-Muslim students have outnumbered Muslim students in this college.

Shillong Muslim Union has a women wing too called ‘Shillong Mahila Majlish’ established in 1958 with the Zubeida Ataur Rehman as the founding president. It is a socio-religious organization meant for the upliftment of the muslim women. This forum became a meeting place for muslim women in Shillong. This year the organization celebrated its golden jubilee and brought out a souvenir.

Justifying women’s access to the masjid, Nongrum said, ‘I have seen Muslim women offering prayers with great difficulty in absence of space and privacy especially while at work or when she is out of the home. Many times I offered my office room to use for offering prayers. If our women ca go to market which is considered to be the worst place for a muslim women under the Sharia, we the menfolk are not objecting to it then why not women going to a masjid and offer prayer there? Why the fanatics are objecting to it? ‘

Mr. Nongrum strongly believes that the interpretation of Islamic laws is not free from the patriarchal notion. He said ‘I don’t believe in the interpretation of the fanatics. Purdah means the inner shyness of women. If the shyness is retained she can go anywhere. There’s nothing forbidden in going to a place and offer prayer.’ He said that about 40-50 women attends prayer everyday and the number is increasing day by day. Nongrum lamented that fanatics are forbidding women to come and pray in the masjid and he challenged the fanatics and said ‘they should come here and show me the scripts which prohibits women to go to a masjid. If men and women can pray together during hajj, why not in Shillong masjid?

Women, who participated in the prayer meeting on the 29th August, 2008 expressed great satisfaction and delight over the establishment of the masjid. Syeda Mushfiqua Haque and her daughter in law said ‘when we went for the prayer, we felt that we have achieved something and it gave us satisfaction of being empowered’.

Syeda Mushfiqua Haque with her daughter in law who attended prayers in the masjid
The opening of this masjid in Shillong is a step toward gender equality. If such initiatives are taken in every field and create space for women; Muslim women in this region too can contribute to their community and society.

Muslims in Shillong struggling to make their presence felt

By Mudassir Rizwan, TwoCircles.net,

Muslims settled down in Shillong in 17th century though, they are at best still struggling to make their presence felt. With migration of Muslims from Hindi heartland including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the position of local Muslims have got strengthened a little in Shillong that is dominated by Christians.

The capital of Meghalaya (The Abode of Clouds) an Indian state, Shillong is located at an altitude of 1496 metres above the sea level. It was a small village until 1864, when it became the new civil station of the Khasi and Jaintia hills.

Shillong that falls in the East Khasi Hills district was made capital of Assam in 1874 and remained so till January 1974. In 1972, Shillong became the capital of the newly formed state of Meghalaya. Shillong is also called “Scotland of the East.” The highest point of the entire state is the Shillong peak whose elevation is about 1965m above sea level.

Meghalaya is a region of great scenic beauty with lush, undulating hills, fertile valleys, 250 species of orchids, meandering rivers, waterfalls, sparkling mountain streams and lakes. The state is known for its natural beauty and the simple lifestyle of its tribal people. It is also known for Cherrapunjee, the wettest place on earth, which is only 56 kms away from Shillong.

Christianity is the main religion of Shillong and Meghalaya. However, a small number of Muslims also reside in Shillong. The people here are hard-working and simple. The Muslim population of the town comprises of the Khasi, Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Nepali speaking people.

The Umshyrpi College which have 300 Muslim students and some minority schools like Madrasa Hemayatul Islam and Islamia Secondary High School are the examples of living presence of Muslims in the city of Shillong. For centuries, Muslims have been living in peace and harmony with the majority community.

The personalities like late Syed Muhammad Sadullah, the first premier of Assam, Sir Akbar Hydari, the first governor of Assam and late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad who became the president of India once lived in Shillong and immensely contributed to its growth and development.

The total population of Meghalaya is 2,318,822, out of which Shillong has 660,923 according to the census 2001. Muslims are roughly around 60,000 in Shillong.

TwoCircles.net talked to Sayeedullah Nongrum, Health Minister of Meghalaya, to know about Muslims in Shillong and Meghalaya. He said the total population of Muslims in Meghalaya is 300,000 (approx). The total population of Tribal Muslims in Shillong is 13,000 and non-tribal Muslims including those from Bihar and UP is 50,000 (approx). They have been struggling hard for their socio-economic development and preservation of their religious and cultural identity, said Sayeedullah Nongrum. “I am also Tribal Muslim,” said Nongrum. Some Muslims are in government job, some have business like shoemaking and meat trade. Some have their own house and some in rent. Nongrum, MLA of Raja Bala in Garo Hills district, is also the general secretary of Shillong Muslim Union. Some other Muslim MLAs in Meghalaya are Abu Tahir Mandal of Phulbari and Abdus Saleh from Mahander Ganj in Garo Hills.

Non-natives of the state cannot buy land or house in their name.

There are six mosques in the city of Shillong. They are located at Police Bazar, Laban, Laitumkhra, Garikhana, Bara Pathar and Jhalupara. There are also two graveyards located at Laban and Mawprem, and three Idgah fields at Laitumkhra, Laban and Mawprem.

There are some Muslim organisations like SIO, Shillong Muslim Union, and NGO like Seng Bhalany Islam.