Move to shift funerary platform at Maqbara Akbar Jah opposed

It was to be shifted to Mecca Masjid

May 25, 2017 12:56 am | Updated 12:58 am IST - Hyderabad

Bone of contention: The funerary platform at Maqbara Akbar Jah in Riyasath Nagar.

Bone of contention: The funerary platform at Maqbara Akbar Jah in Riyasath Nagar.

The move to relocate the funerary platform at Maqbara Akbar Jah in Riyasath Nagar to Mecca Masjid ended in a fiasco on Wednesday as the fifth generation legatees of Akbar Jah turned up at the site to oppose the move.

The police had a tough time controlling the situation when the residents as well as the descendants of Akbar Jah (son of Afzal-ud-Dowla, the fifth Nizam) objected to the move. “This is our family funerary platform. Our ancestors were laid on this and given a bath before the body was wrapped in a shroud and buried,” said Qamarunnisa Begum, wife of Mubashir Ali Khan.

The black basalt platform — with four exquisitely carved legs — has been lying by the roadside in front of Akbar Jah’s daughter Afroz Begum’s grave. “Earlier, there were three platforms here. We donated two of them to Mecca Masjid but they were destroyed during the bomb blasts. Now we don’t want to lose the last remaining piece of our heritage,” said Mr. Khan, a descendant of Akbar Jah.

Interestingly, the move to shift the platform came from a police official and it was approved by the Awqaf Committee of Nizam and the permission was given by the Principal Secretary of the Department of Minority Welfare. “The chairman of Awqaf Committee approved your proposal of shifting the black marble cot from Maqbara Akbar Jah, under the towaliath of H.E.H the Nizam, subject to the permission granted by Principal Secretary, Department of Minority Welfare, Government of Telangana, to install at Mecca Masjid at a suitable place there (sic.),” wrote the secretary of Awqaf Committee of Nizam to the police official.

Vast encroachment

The neighbourhood of Riyasath Nagar near the Paigah Tombs complex is a vast complex of graves dating back to Nizam Sikander Jah and has been over-run by encroachment. “We suspect once this basalt platform is removed the graves around it will be vandalised and constructions will begin. See, one of the house owner has already dug the foundation,” said Mir Nasrullah Khan, who opposed the move to shift the platform.

“I came here in good faith. This platform was lying here in a disused condition. I was asked to relocate it to Mecca Masjid and now this fiasco is going on. Let’s see what happens,” said Mecca Masjid superintendent Khadeer Siddiqui, who was on the spot to ensure that the platform was not damaged during transport.

“We will try to shift it tomorrow if there is no trouble,” said a police official.

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