Friday, June 24, 2005
The last of the Mughals
Who was the last of the Mughals? If you had paid attention to your history text books, you would have instantly said "Bahadur Shah Zafar" - and you might have been wrong. Although the Mughal monarchy ended with Bahadur Shah Zafar, the dynasty did not.
Yaqub Habeebuddin Tucy has recently claimed that the old king had 49 children from various wives, 46 of whom died. The great grandson of one of the survivors, is none other than Mr Tucy himself! So what would you do if you were a descendant of one of India's most famous ruling dynasties? Mr Tucy has decided to regain some of his lost heritage by applying for custodianship of one of the family estates - the Taj Mahal no less! He says:
"I never thought of coming forward so far because the Taj was being looked after by the ASI. But I got concerned when I learnt that a state government run body and another individual were staking claim to the monument. After all, I am a true descendent of the Mughal lineage,"
In this news article, we learn that he has filed a formal petition (including a copy of the family tree post-Bahadur Shah). Will this most famous of monuments be given to its claimant? Whatever the outcome, in Rabindranath Tagore's words we hope that this teardrop (the Taj) will continue to glisten on the cheek of time!
Yaqub Habeebuddin Tucy has recently claimed that the old king had 49 children from various wives, 46 of whom died. The great grandson of one of the survivors, is none other than Mr Tucy himself! So what would you do if you were a descendant of one of India's most famous ruling dynasties? Mr Tucy has decided to regain some of his lost heritage by applying for custodianship of one of the family estates - the Taj Mahal no less! He says:
"I never thought of coming forward so far because the Taj was being looked after by the ASI. But I got concerned when I learnt that a state government run body and another individual were staking claim to the monument. After all, I am a true descendent of the Mughal lineage,"
In this news article, we learn that he has filed a formal petition (including a copy of the family tree post-Bahadur Shah). Will this most famous of monuments be given to its claimant? Whatever the outcome, in Rabindranath Tagore's words we hope that this teardrop (the Taj) will continue to glisten on the cheek of time!
