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Some Important Events of Muslim India
Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
Raziyya Sultana, the only Muslim lady to sit on the throne of Delhi
On October 13, 1240 AD, Raziyya Sultana, the only Muslim lady to sit on the throne of Delhi, was captured near Kaithal in Punjab by the local Jats and killed, along with her husband, Altuniya the Turk, after being defeated in battle near Delhi by the forces of her usurper brother, Muiz od-Din Bahram Shah. As the daughter and heir apparent of the third ruler of the Mamluk (slave) Dynasty of northern India, Shams od-Din Iltutmish, she ruled for four years, after being bypassed for six months by the Turkic nobility in favour of her brother, Rukn od-Din Feroz.
Even before she became ruler, she was preoccupied with the affairs of state during her father's reign. A shrewd politician, she managed to keep the nobles in check, while enlisting the support of the army and the populace. Her greatest accomplishment on the political front was to manipulate rebel factions into opposing each other. At that point, Raziyya seemed destined to become one of the most powerful rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, but the turbulent Turkic nobles plotted and revolted against her, resulting in her downfall.
General Malik Kafur
On 4th of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijja in 710 AH, General Malik Kafur (Camphor) returned to Delhi from his victorious campaign in the Deccan and presented Sultan Ala od-Din (1296-1316), the second and greatest king of the short-lived Khalji Turko-Persian Dynasty of India 241 tonnes of gold, 20,000 horses, and 612 elephants laden with treasure, including the famous diamond "Koh-e Noor" (Mountain of Light), excavated at Golconda.
Originally a Hindu from Khambat in Gujarat, western India, he was known as "Hazar-Dinari" (Thousand Dinar – the price paid for him by the Sultan), and on embracing Islam, rapidly rose to become an able general, who brought south India into the fold of the Muslim World, when Islamic faith was fast spreading in all directions – Russia, eastern Europe, West Africa and southeast Asia.
The Bahmani Kingdom in Deccan
On 19th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa'dah in 776 AH, Mohammad Shah I, the second ruler of the Bahmani Dynasty of the Deccan in India, passed away in his capital Gulbarga after a reign of 17 years, and was succeeded by his son, Mujahid Shah. Better known as organizer of the Bahmani Empire that was founded by his father, Ala od-Din Hassan Gangu Bahman Shah, a general of Iranian origin who revolted against the excesses of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq of Delhi, he founded many institutions and was a patron of Persian language and literature. The Bahmani Sultanate, which lasted for 180 years, developed a distinct Muslim culture and style of architecture evolved out of direct contact with Iran and the migration in large numbers of Iranian scholars, poets, architects, traders, statesmen, and soldiers of fortune.
Emperor Mohammad Zaheer od-Din Babur
On December 26, 1530 AD, Emperor Mohammad Zaheer od-Din Babur, the Founder of the Mughal Dynasty of the Subcontinent, died in his capital Kabul in what is now Afghanistan. Born in Ferghana to the local ruler, Omar Shaikh in what is now the border region of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, he was a great great-grandson of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, while on his mother's side he was descended from the bloodthirsty Mongol marauder, Chingiz Khan.
After being displaced from his fiefdom he spent a life of adventure, and succeeded in capturing Timur's capial, Samarqand, but soon lost it to the Uzbeks. A Persianized Turk, Babur, as a protégé of Shah Ismail I, the Founder of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, again gained brief control of Samarqand, before being driven out once more. He then set himself up in Kabul, and in 1526 conquered North India to establish the famous Mughal Dynasty, which eventually ruled all of today's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and eastern Afghanistan.
His army included Qizilbash Iranian fighters, who as one of the most influential groups in the Mughal court, would promote Persian language and culture in the subcontinent, as well as the teachings of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, which until then were suppressed in Hindustan (North India). Babur was a patron of arts and architecture and was himself an accomplished poet in both his native Chaghtai Turkic and Persian. He wrote his memoirs, titled “Tuzuk-e Baburi”. His tomb is situated in a garden outside Kabul.
Muslim Rule in Bengal and Orissa
On October 11, 1572 AD, Sulaiman Khan Karrani, the Afghan Sultan of Bengal, or what is now the Indian province of the same name and Bangladesh, died after a reign of six years. He had succeeded his elder brother Taj Khan Karrani and was followed by his sons Bayazid and Daud Khan who ruled the short-lived semi-independent state that acknowledged Mughal emperor Akbar Shah as the supreme ruler by reciting his name in the Friday Prayer sermons.
Though northern India and parts of southern India were ruled by the Muslim rulers, they had not yet been able to conquer Orissa. So in 1568 Sulaiman Khan sent his son Bayazid and the famous general Kala Pahar against the last Orissan Hindu king Mukunda Deva, who was defeated and the region annexed to the Afghan state of Bengal. The dynasty eventually ceased to exist with the Mughals conquering Bengal when Daud Khan Karrani made the fatal error of asserting full independence.
The Fourth Grand Moghul Emperor, Noor od-Din "Jahangir
On November 8, 1627 AD, the 4th Grand Moghul Emperor of the Northern Subcontinent and Eastern Afghanistan, Noor od-Din "Jahangir" (World Grasper), died in Lahore in what is now Pakistan, after a reign of 23 years, mostly with the assistance of his Iranian wife, Noor Jahan, the daughter of the minister, Mirza Ghiyas Beg Tehrani E'temad od-Dowla.
Named Mohammad Salim at his birth by his father Akbar, he maintained excellent relations with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. He was also a poet and writer in both Persian and his native Ghaghtai Turkic. The bleak record of his rule, however, was the execution of the prominent Iranian Islamic scholar in Agra, Qazi Seyyed Noorollah Shushtari, the author of such famous books as “Majalis al-Momineen” and “Ahqaq al-Haq”. The king was under the influence of alcohol when he signed the decree drafted by jealous court mullahs. Later he rued his decision and with the help of his wife, he executed the perpetrators of the murder of Qazi Shushtari, who is famous in India as Shaheed-e Thalis (Third Martyr).
The famous Urdu-Persian poet of the Subcontinent, Mirza Asadollah Khan Ghaleb
On December 27, 1796 AD, the famous Urdu-Persian poet of the Subcontinent, Mirza Asadollah Khan Ghaleb was born in Agra in a Persianized Turkic family, whose ancestors had migrated to India from Samarqand. Well versed in the Persian, Arabic, Turkic and Urdu languages, he excelled in composing ghazals in a unique style.
His choice of words, philosophical references, delicate metaphors, and witticism, has made his poetry, highly popular in India, Pakistan, and wherever Urdu speakers are found. He also initiated a new style in letter-writing which greatly influenced the development of Urdu language. Ghaleb was an accomplished poet in Persian, composing ghazals and qasidahs (panegyrics) in praise of noblemen as well as Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS) and the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt. In fact, his Persian Diwan is four times the size of his Urdu Diwan and has been published in Iran. He died in 1869 at the age of 73 years.
Founding of All India Muslim League
On December 30, 1906 AD the All India Muslim League was founded at the All-India Mohammadan Educational Conference in Dacca, East Bengal, which is now Bangladesh. It emerged from the Aligarh Movement, formed in the second half of the 19th century to promote modern education for Muslims.
The goal was to define and advance Muslim agendas, protect Muslim rights in India, and present a unified Muslim voice against the British colonialists. The Muslim League played a decisive role during the 1940s in the Indian independence movement, as the driving force for creation of Pakistan as an independent state for the Muslims of the northwestern regions of the Subcontinent.
After independence, the Muslim League continued as a minor party in India, especially in Kerala, where it is often in government within a coalition with others. In Pakistan, the League formed the country's first government, but disintegrated during the 1950s following an army coup. One or more factions of the Muslim League have been in power in most of the civilian governments of Pakistan since 1947. In Bangladesh, the party was revived in 1976.
A vision for the creation of Pakistan
On December 29, 1930 AD, the famous poet-philosopher of the Subcontinent, Mohammad Iqbal Lahori, in his address in Allahabad as President of the Muslim League, outlined a vision for the creation of Pakistan, by joining together the overwhelmingly Muslim majority northwestern parts of the Subcontinent. He said: "I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan (all overwhelmingly Muslim regions) amalgamated into a single state... the formation of a consolidated Northwest Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims (of these areas).”
Iqbal also considered Kashmir to be part of his vision of Pakistan, although he did not make any specific comment on the other Muslim majority areas of India like Bengal and parts of United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh). He rejected secularism and nationalism, and was also critical of his Muslim League colleague, Mohammad Ali Jinnah (the future Founder of Pakistan), for politicizing the issue of the rights of Muslims throughout India.
Azad Bilgrami
On 27th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa'dah in 1200 AH, the Indian Muslim writer, historian and poet of Persian and Arabic, Mir Ghulam Ali Hussaini Waseti, known by his pen name of Azad Bilgrami, passed away at the age of 84. He was born in Bilgram, a small town in north India, and gained reputation for possessing command over various topics of literature and learning. He stayed for two years in Delhi, then visited Lahore and Multan and lived for five years in Sind.
He then traveled to the cities of Mecca and Medina, where he devoted himself to religious studies. He returned from Arabia to India and lived in the city of Aurangabad in the Deccan till his death. The King of Yemen acknowledged his poetic qualities and accorded him the title of “Hassaan al-Hind”, a reference to the famous Arabic poet, Hassaan ibn Thabit, who lived in the time of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Azad compiled two diwans of poetry in Arabic and Persian. Mention could also be made of his book "Ghezalaan-e Hind", a book on Indian womanhood as reflected in Persian literature.
Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardi, the Fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan
On December 5, 1963, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardi, the 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan and one of its founding fathers, along with the celebrated Mohammad Ali Jinnah, passed away in Beirut, Lebanon, and his body was brought for burial to Dhaka (then capital of East Pakistan and now capital of Bangladesh). He held the premiership from 1956 to 1957. Born into a prominent academic family of Bengal, he traced his lineage to the Iranian mystic and founder of the Sufi order, Shehab od-Din Suhrawardi, who in turn was a descendant of Mohammad bin Abu Bakr, one of the loyal devotees of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).
Indian scholar and statesman, Maulana Abu'l-Kalam Azad
On November 11, 1888 AD, Indian scholar and statesman, Abu'l-Kalam Azad was born in the holy city of Mecca where his parents were settled. He was at the forefront of the struggle for the independence of India from the British rule, led by M.K Gandhi. As a member of the ruling Congress Party, he was elected to the parliament, after India gained independence in 1947, he was made Minister of Education.
As a scholar of Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English languages he wrote many valuable books, including an exegesis of the holy Qur'an, titled, "Tarjuman al-Quran". He was greatly influenced by the famous 19th century Iranian thinker, Seyyed Jamal ad-Din Asadabadi, especially concerning the importance of Ijtehad in awakening the Muslim societies. Among his other works are "War from the Islamic Point of View" and "Shahid-e Azam" (The Great Martyr) which is a book on the Prophet's grandson, Imam Husain (AS).
The famous Urdu poet of the Subcontinent, Shabbir Hassan Khan “Joush”
On December 5, 1894 AD, the famous Urdu poet of the Subcontinent, Shabbir Hassan Khan “Joush” was born in a Pashtun family in Malihabad, northern India. After mastering Urdu and English, he studied Arabic and Persian, and in 1925 began to supervise translation work at the famous Osmania University in the semi-independent state of Haiderabad-Deccan. Soon he founded the magazine “Kaleem” in which he openly wrote articles in favour of independence from Britain.
As his reputation spread, he came to be called “Sha’er-e Inqelab” (Poet of the Revolution), and was a personal friend of India’s first prime minister, Jawaherlal Nehru. Over a decade after India’s independence, disillusioned with the declining status of Muslims and Urdu language in India, he migrated to Pakistan in 1958, and settled in Karachi where he joined Anjuman-e Tarraqi-e-Urdu for promotion of the Urdu language in Pakistan. He passed away in Islamabad on February 22, 1982. Joush Malihabadi has left behind valuable works in poetry and prose, including lengthy odes in praise of the Ahl al-Bayt, especially Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), which are regarded as masterpieces of Urdu poetry.
The writer of the Pakistani national anthem, Hafeez Jullundhri
On December 21, 1982 AD, the famous Urdu poet of the Subcontinent and writer of the Pakistani national anthem, Hafeez Jullundhri, passed away in Lahore at the age of 82. Born in Jullundhur in Punjab in undivided India in a Rajput Muslim family, from 1922 to 1929, he was editor of several monthly magazines namely, "Nou Nehal", "Hazaar Dastaan", "Tahzib-e Niswaan", and "Makhzan".
His first collection of poems “Naghma-e Zar” was published in 1935. He actively participated in the struggle against British rule and used his writings to campaign for creation of Pakistan.
In early 1948, he joined the forces for the freedom of Kashmir and wrote the Kashmiri Anthem, "Watan Hamara Azad Kashmir". After independence, he migrated to Lahore in the new state of Pakistan. He wrote patriotic songs during the Pakistan-India war in 1965. Jullundhri's monumental work of poetry is “Shahnama-e Islam” that gave him incredible fame and which in the manner of the famous Iranian poet Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, is a record of the glorious history of Islam in verse.
The Tashkent Conference
On January 4, 1966 AD, the Tashkent conference was held with the mediation of the Soviet Union to broker peace between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the 1965 war. Pakistan was represented by President Ayub Khan and India by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who died of a heart attack in Tashkent shortly after signing the accord.
The Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Mrs. Benazir Bhutto
On December 27, 2007 AD, the Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, was killed in Rawalpindi, by terrorist gunfire and bomb blasts, along with twenty other people. Born in Karachi in 1953 to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who later became Prime Minister, her mother Nosrat was an Iranian settled in the Subcontinent. She completed her studies in Harvard University in the US, and at Oxford University in England.
In 1977, shortly after her return home, her father was ousted in a military coup by General Zia ul-Haq, who two years later hanged him. Benazir Bhutto assumed leadership of her father's party, and in 1988, following the death in accident of the dictator, Zia-ul-Haq, she was elected prime minister. Her cabinet collapsed two years later, but she again won the elections and became prime minister from 1993 to 1996. In 1999, when General Pervez Musharraf toppled the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, she went into self-exile abroad. In October 2007, she formed a coalition with her rival, Nawaz Sharif, and returned to Pakistan, escaping on arrival a terrorist blast that claimed the lives of 135 of her supporters. Benazir Bhutto ran for the parliamentary elections and was expected to win, when she was gunned down by terrorists this day.
Hakeem Mohammed Saeed, the Pakistani Islamic medicinal expert, scholar and philanthropist
On October 17, 1998, Hakeem Mohammed Saeed, Pakistani Islamic medicinal expert, scholar and philanthropist, was killed by terrorists at the age of 78. Born in Delhi to a family of herbal medical practitioners, who had established the Hamdard Waqf Laboratories, he learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and English in addition to the Holy Qur’an.
In 1948, he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi, where he set up the Hamdard Foundation, whose herbal medical products have become household names in the subcontinent. His cherished dream was to revive the golden age of the Islamic civilization, particularly in the medical fields, and he authored or compiled about 200 books in medicines, philosophy, science, health, religion, natural medicine, literary, social, and travelogues.
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