Seondha

Maulvi Akbar Husain of Seondha ( Chail )

Yamuna as seen from the cliff in Seondha

Tomb of Shah Najmuddin Ibrahim

Rauza of Ali Miyan (Rahmatullah Alaihe)

Inside view of the tomb of Najmuddin Shah

Outer view of the tomb

Road to Seondha

Seondha
Seondha is a village situated on the bank of River Yamuna and naturally an old settlement. I already had read about a saint Saiyyid Najmuddin Ibrahim (Rah) who lived here 600 years ago and is buried in the same village.

Apart from that it was a seat of a large and most dreaded Zamindari villages of Pargana Chail. Movli Nadir Ali who was a Mukhtar-i-Adalat (1855 - 1875) and his successor Molvi Akbar Husain, of this village were once the most talked about landholders of their time.

Originally Seondha consisted of two thoks, Seondha Khalsa and Seondha Aimma. A single family with two off-shoots owned both the parts of village wholly. Molvi Nadir Ali represented the first family while Sheikh Qasim Ali the second. Maulvi Nadir Ali with his acumen and managerial abilities increased his lands a lot and post 1857 era , he held the largest shares in Seondha and a number of villages in environ. Unfortanely he was murdered in late 1870s while returning from court on a Palanquin. He was succeeded by his nephew Maulvi Akbar Husain,a very influential and fiery natured zamindar of 1920s and after him we find the name of Sufi Sahib ( Zafar Maqsood) known as the most awful personage of his time who died few years ago.The family besides their zamindari in villages owned the famed Mumtaz Mahal in Allahabad and some land in Garhi Sarai as well.

Going by geneaology ,Seondha is a part of Eight villages ( Ath-Gavan) that were owned and are inhabited by the Shaikh Siddiquis of noble descent for the past many centuries.

One day I expressed my wish to visit Seondha before M.Aslam of Qadirpur and who in turn caught me next day around 6 AM in the morning and took me on his bike to Seondha. The lush green fields, heavenly fresh air,the groves and swaying mustard fields were smiling on us, it was refreshing and rejuvenating journey to some remote island. After a few turns and bumps , we saw the outskirts of the village and as I first wanted to pay my regards to Shah Najmuddin Sahib Rahmatullah. We went straight to his tomb which is located exactly on the bank of the Yamuna and naturally a very picturesque spot. We enquired the care takers of the Dargah about the Saint and his details but we could find very little. It is noteworthy that the upkeep of the Tomb is appreciable and it is in a very fine condition. With the grace of Allah swt I got some details about the saint in a Persian book that I wish to reproduce separately along with details of other Sufi Saints of Allahabad. That is another project !

Shah Najmuddin was a Suharwardi Saint and a disciple of Shaikh Ruknuddin of Multan and he died in seondha in the year 741 A.H (Manba ul Ansab ) Where did he come from and whether he had any off-spring.

There was a Qazi Khandan that lived in Seondha till 100 years ago but gradually migrated to another vilage named Mahgaon. Qaziana in Mahgaon is a famous Muhalla and a lot of people , Qazi Abu Ahmad, Qazi Ayub , Qazi Haseen Ahmad etc are from the same family.They have migrated from Seondha to Mahgaon.

We then went to see the tomb of Ali miyan who appeared to be from the family of Shaikhs of Seondha. It is a circular tomb with boundariies on all sides.

There is another spot of martyrs known as Ganj-i-Shaheedan where a lot of lives were martyred and the bodies dumped into a big Baoli ( Step-Well). We noticed the queer silence there and offered Fatiha to the martyrs. There are no detail about the time of war that took place here.

After a span of few months I happened to see Mr.Faisal Akhtar, the present representative of Maulvi Nadir Ali's family who still holds considerable property in and around Seondha and still has a say in the village.He shared with me a picture of Maulvi Akbar Husain that I have reproduced here .

As for the families in Seondha as I mentioned earlier , the primary ones were the Qazi who left the village in phases during the last century and settled in Mahgaon almost wholly.

Apart from the Qazi Khandan the main Siddiqi family is Seondha did not flourish as it should have been save the family of Maulvi Nadir Ali.Upon enquiry, it transpires that during 1870-1900 a lot of families from Seondha migrated to several nearby villages due to extreme un-inhabitable conditions and oppression they had to face at the hands of the landlord family .Such an atmosphere was created that saving their life and honour seemed difficult they had no choice but shift to other villages.Such families of Seondha origin are found in Chail Khas, Husainpur ,Qadirpur etc villages

Third important house of Siddiqis is an off-shoot of the primary family is there and some of the name of past generation are Samiuddin, Qubooluddin, Shafeefuddin etc......

Faorgh Siddiqui , a film producer and director in Bombay belongs to the same family in Seondha.

Would love to hear from you ! Let me know if I missed something or you would like to share a piece of information.

This was a brief write-up on the village ,however I intend to write a comprehensive book on the history and people of Pargana Chail seperately. Please help me with the relevant information, shajra-jat and other memoirs that could add up in making a memorable account.

Khalid Bin Umar - New Delhi

A new village very soon.