The waqf property surrounding the Hebat Jung Masjid, palace, mausoleum and graveyard in Patna is being eyed by some unscrupulous elements but Bihar's Sunni Waqf Board is a mute spectator. The four acres piece of land used to have a few Muslims residents who vacated it in the cataclysmic aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 when bloody riots broke out all over the country. Thanks to a few Hindu devotees of the mazar, the mausoleum was protected from falling into the hands of land sharks.
Nawab Hebat Jung is believed to have been governor of the Bihar province during the Mughal period from 1716 till 1734. He was reportedly killed by an Afghan while performing namaz. The area came to be named as Begumpur after his wife Begum Sahiba. The heritage site was given under the care of the Sunni Waqf Board which has neither done anything to protect the monuments from the ravages of the time nor from the real estate robbers who are now prying the property.
While Hindu devotees could protect the mazar (mausoleum), the Hebat Jung Masjid began to fall apart due to want of care and maintenance. Even graveyard has become a den for anti social elements. A few months ago when a group of people descended down with mapping and meas-urement devices, eyebrows went up as to the intentions of the intruders.
Dusrab Gob, a local Hindu resident told this scribe: “For the last 35 years, I have been spending most of the time at this Mazar but never saw any official of Waqf Board who could take stock of the situation or order any kind of maintenance. But for last few days some people who claim to be descendants of Nawab sahib are busy in cutting off trees and it is reported that that they are planning to sell the land.”
Another resident Ram Gopal said: “Since this is a Waqf Board property, the Board alone could take legal action to protect it. These intruders are felling trees and we are helpless”.
According to Syed Ausaf Imam, the Mutawalli (caretaker) of Hebat Jang Masjid, he addressed two letters on July 10, and again on October 16, last year appealing for Board's intervention. But all in vain. Imam says, the Waqf Board has no power to take any action as per the 1999 Waqf Act, and can only appeal. We have appealed to the Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar Singh, but nothing has been forthcoming. Incidentally Imam is a descendant of the Nawab Hebat Jung.
Chief executive officer of Bihar Sunni Waqf Board, Abul Hassan blames Mutawalli Syed Ausaf Imam and says the present situation is the outcome of his carelessness. Hassan says, several letters were written to the police authorities in this regard, but no action has followed.
Amid all these wrangling, it is feared that a heritage site that has been in shambles, will be lost and land sharks would loot the prime real estate in the heart of Patna. (TwoCircles.net)
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January 2010 |
