No trace of Alam stolen 10 yrs ago
Muharram, the month of mourning, is already under way. The 10th day —Yaum-al-Ashoura — falls on Sunday. Besides Muharram, there is another cause of grief for Muslims in Hyderabad.
The ‘Alam’ stolen 10 years ago from the Azakhana Zahra, an Ashoorkhana located in the Dar-Ul-Shifa area of Hyderabad, hasn’t been found yet.
“The precious Alam was made on the orders of the Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan,” recalls Dr Safi-ullah, managing trustee of the Deccan Heritage Trust.
It was made of panchloha — a unique alloy. Locals blame police inaction for the non-recovery of the ‘Alam’.
Noted scholar in the city Allama Aijaz Farruq said, “It was due to the authorities’ negligence that the precious items were stolen. It is too late now to recover them”.
An ‘Alam’ means a lot to devotees. The famous Bibi-Ka-Alam, located in the Ashoorkhana of Yakutpura, is taken out in grand style on an elephant every year. “The police commissioner too pays tribute to it annually,” said Mr Aijaz Farruq.
It was during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah (who ruled from 1625 to 1672) that his mother Hayat Bakshi Begum had the Alam made from a wooden relic brought from the holy city of Madina.
It is said to have belonged to Hazrat Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad. Later the Asaf Jahis added precious stones to the relic.
Muharram mourning in various Ashoorkhanas of the city is in progress, under police protection.
Sunday will mark the day called the ‘Yaum-e-Ashura’ when the faithful will express their grief with a procession starting from Dabeerpura and ending at Masjid-e-Elahi in Chaderghat.
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