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| Primary School at PeepalGaon |
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| Green Fields at Peepal Gaon |
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| Another View of Greenery |
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| Cloudy Sky in Peepal Gaon |
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| Another Scenic View in the village |
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| Spectacular Snap ! |
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| Secondary School at Peepal Gaon |
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| Fields |
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| Houses |
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| Inside view |
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New Constructions
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| Outhouse of Dakkhini Deen |
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| People in the fields. |
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| The enclosure of maulvi Siddiq Sahib's Mazar |
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| The crop of Grewia Asiatica (Falsa ) in PeepalGaon |
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| Ruins and remnants of Zamindars |
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| The House of Meer Syed Hidayat Husain |
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| The Small Imambada |
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| Inside the village ( Nazir Manzil in background) |
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| Chauraha |
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| I.I.I.T Gate |
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Nazeer Manzil ( 1936 )
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| Inside Nazeer Manzil |
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| Outside Nazeer Manzil |
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| Mosque from Inside |
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| Extension of Mosque |
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| Another View inside the Mosque |
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| The Out-house / Nautch Ghar of Dakkhini Deen |
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| Road going towards Katahula |
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| Pond |
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A fallen Tree
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| An Old Photograph of a Makan in the village |
Name & Origin
SHAHA is the name of
village in revenue records that is known as Peepalgaon. Shaha Urf Peepal Gaon
has been a reputed village of Pargana Chail in Allahabad. It is located just
few kms away to the north-west of the present Allahabad.
Today it falls under
the in Kaurihar Block in Allahabad District. The village is just about 8 kms
away from the district headquarters of Allahabad and is at a distance of 177 km
from the provincial capital Lucknow.
The near-by villages
are Jhalwa , Bhaderpur, Katahula Ghauspur , Asrawe Kalan, Jalalpur Ghosi,
Bajaha, Shahpur and since Pipalgaon has been covered under the ADA Scheme. It
is now neighbor to several urban colonies like Kalindipuram, Arya Nagar, IIIT
Colony, Dev Prayag Colony etc.
The population of
this village in 1951 was 2066 while in 2001 it rose to 5858 whereas in the 2011
census it is recorded to be 6958 persons.
Apart from being a prinicpal Zamindari village , the location of the village was at the intersection of several roads that lead to a large no of remote villages of the Pargana. Due to this importance the British installed a police outpost here about 120 years ago.
Apart from being a prinicpal Zamindari village , the location of the village was at the intersection of several roads that lead to a large no of remote villages of the Pargana. Due to this importance the British installed a police outpost here about 120 years ago.
District gazetteer of Allahabad , 1911 Page 220
Origin
It is reported that
hundreds of years ago there was a horrifying forest in & around this area
that was full of antelopes, deer and other wild animals. Nearby flew the river
Sasur Khaderi and in its ravines lived the criminals and bandits.
It is further
reported that Jahangir, who lived in Allahabad for years as a Prince,
frequently resorted to this area which can broadly be marked from Madaripur
till Katahula and Rahimabad for leisure and hunting purposes. Jungles were cut
and halts were made for the prince and his team of hunters. The area of Pipal
Gaon was full of Peepal Trees and it was dreadful to travel even during day
time. There was a single way ( Kachcha Raasta ) that went past Peepal Gaon to
the interior villages e.g. Ghosi , makanpur , katahula etc.
After the jungles
were cut and the area was made available for farming. This area came under the
ownership of Chaudharis of Bamhrauli about 300 years ago. Thereafter the
village Peepalgaon went in to the ownership of a son-in-law of the Chaudhari
family that we do not know as to which village that (Son-in-Law) belonged to.
However the family owned entire village and was famous as the Chaudharis.
Thereafter around
1775-1810 AD a branch of the Hashmi family of Bamhrauli migrated to Peepalgaon
to look after the property that were remote and difficult to look after from Bamhrauli. This
family’s entrance to this village marks the emergence of Peepalgaon as an icon
amongst the Chail Zamindar fraternity.
Family
There were two original families and two migrant families that resided in Peepalgaon 100 years ago.
There were two original families and two migrant families that resided in Peepalgaon 100 years ago.
The first family was
of Chaudharis (origin unclear to us today but certainly from the Ashraaf class)
who lived here for the past 100 years then and were fairly well-placed. Apart
from huge shares in Peepal Gaon they had large shares in Bajaha, Bheeti, and
Silna etc villages. By and By this family went into dooms. Extravagance,
chaotic life style , unruly behavior lead them to such ignominy that today they
are now entirely forgotten however a few members of this family are still in
Allahabad. Chaudhary Muhammad Shareef was the famous Zamindar of this family in
the last century. The Last representative of this family is Chaudhari Mohammad
Haneef who had Tufail Ahmad Tuffan and Anwar Ahmad living in Allahabad.
The Second family
that came later but gradually became the owner and master of the village was a
branch of Hashmi family of Bamhrauli. I shall discuss about this family in detail as follows.
Migrant families
A family from the Jafaris of Puraini and another family of Rizwis of Bisauna had two houses each at the beginning of last century.
Migrant families
A family from the Jafaris of Puraini and another family of Rizwis of Bisauna had two houses each at the beginning of last century.
Zamindari
As mentioned earlier
,between 1800-1850 the village was almost entirely owned by the Chaudharis
& Hashmis collectively. After 1850 the Hashmi family took a lead and
purchased a lot of shares from the Chaudharis superseding them as the major
Land-owning family. However there came an interesting turn in the history of
this village when a person named Dakkhini Deen gradually started gobbling the
shares of the Zamindars and miraculously around 1910 he boasted of having owned
almost 70% of Peepalgaon. 8 Annas of
Zamindari was with him while the remaining 4 Anna share was with the famiy of
Janab Nazeer-ud-Din Marhoom and the in remaining 2 Annas was the entire
village. Moreover out of these two annas , some anna and pie were mortgaged to
Dakkhni Deen. We may say that Peepalgaon in a broader sense had gone into the
hands of Dakkhini Deen by the end of 1920.
The situation
remained as it was till the abolition of Zamindari in 1952. Though the village
does not come under Zamindari today yet the majority of lands around PeepalGaon
are still with the family of Dakkhini Deen.
Followed by the
confiscation of lands against mortgage and Dakhkhini Deen asserting more
pressure into the erstwhile Zamindars , there erupted a unceasing series of
litigation between Dakkhni and the minor shareholders to retrieve their
remaining source of sustenance . some of those suits that started in 1880
lasted as late as 1950.
Besides, there were a
number of untoward skirmishes between Dakkhini Deen and the surviving Zamindars
of Peepalgaon. In one of the most unfortunate incident in 1911 , on the day of
Juma, the estate manager (the father of Dr. Naeem of Seondha) lost his life
while he was trying to pacify and control the mob outside the house of Janab
Nazeeruddin.His death aggravated the situation to the last possible point where
only the do or die options could be available. In this scenario, almost all the
families of peepalgaon either started shifting their base to Allahabad or they
gradually shifted to their maternal or in-laws……save the family of
Jb.Nazeer-ud-din.
Only the family of
Janab Nazeer-ud-Din could manage to hold ground and maintain their property at
Peepal Gaon. Nazeeruddin Sahib was an enlightened , far-sighed retired soldier who was fortunate enough to have other source of income for he had sharing in some civil contracts in Burma done after the 1st World War and with the help
of those proceeds he not only vigorously maintained his Zamindari in PeepalGaon, but he made further purchases in
the form of Zamindari of villages Matpur, Mahmoodpur and Sultanpur etc,all these
villages are near Manauri. These villages were in the possession of his
descendents till the abolition of Zamindari. There is no doubt that he had
fairly large zamindari as compared to his kinsmen in the village and in general
Pargana Chail. This was the only family that could not be cowed down by Dakkhini Deen and held its head high against all the odds.
Dakkhini
Deen
The most important
and illustrious figure of the last century from Peepal Gaon arguably was
Dakkhini Deen, a teli by profession. He was born in Nauwapur,a village near
Chail Khas around 1870, his father Alopi Din was a traditional Bania. When Dakkhini grew up
, he made for himself some ambitious plans. The first plan was to leave the
village and he chose Peepal Gaon as he had some relatives in the village. Soon
he started two oil pressers here plus one Grit Grinder. Gitti Peesna ( Grindng
of Grit/Road Metal ) was a job done by the Oil Pressers those days. Soon he
installed some Kolhu(Oil Presser) and worked hard to earn and made an enviable
savings. Then he started his lending business , which in turn proved too lucky
for him as he would get the property written down to him in lieu of the unpaid
loan and thus by and by he took control of Half of the village. When his
designs and ambitions became clear and evident , it was already too late and he
had virtually taken control of the village. Thereafter began the strife, petty
skirmishes and hooliganism that were followed by litigation and soon the
zamindars felt that a lot of water has already passed down the bridge and they
have lost the battle.
Not only in
PeepalGaon , Dakkhini Deen then started a flourishing business of purchasing shares
of Zamindari throughout Pargana Chail and then disposing them off on a high
scale. Within a span of thirty years he was undoubtedly the richest lender and
businessman of Tehsil Chail. There is hardly a village in Pargana Chail where
Dakkhni Deen had no share. Even today I have seen in revenue records in severl
villages where an entire Patti or Mohal is named after him. Patti Dakkhni Deen
and Mohal Dakkhni Deen are very common to see in Chail Revenue records.
Dakkhini Deen was at
its peak between the years 1905-1935. This is a fact that he had garnered
zamindari shares in 52 villages of Pargana chail and still the records of those
villages are with the family unlike most of our Chaili families who claim to
have owned 52 villages but virtually they have nothing to substantiate their
claim. Dakhkhni Deen passed away in 1939 and was survived by three sons.
- Sharda Prasad
- Bindeshwari Prasad
- Kali Prasad
Whle the descendents
of the latter two are mostly living abroad. The sons of Sharda Prasad are in
Allahabad. Sharda Prasad’s son Rajendar Nath Alias Rajan still lives in the
huge Mansion at Peepalgaon. I spoke to the great-grand son of Dakkhini Deen,
Mr.Alok Gupta who promised me to provide more details and the old photographs
from the old repository in the days to come and I hope to include the details
in my proposed book on the history of Pargana Chail. In sha Allaah.
While you would
appreciate that he was crafty and shrewd in his dealings, what made his plans
easy was the carelessness, lassitude and slackness and the typical feudal
sloppiness and non-performance of the zamindars of Chail. I would even take a
liberty to say that it was the negligence and profligacy of the Zamindars that
made him the uncrowned king of the land. Below are some excerpts from Indian
Law reports that prove the litigations he was involved in.
Book: The Indian Law Reports:. Allahabad series, Volume 16
Book: The Indian Law Reports:. Allahabad series, Volume 16
Authors High Court of Judicature, India. Privy Council. Judicial Committee, India
Publisher Superintendent, Print. and Stationery, Uttar Pradesh, 1913
Page 268
Page 1105
Hashmi Family at PeepalGaon
As mentioned earlier
, Peepal Gaon was home to a concentrated branch of Hashmi Family of Bamhrauli.
They migrated to Peepal Gaon close to the end of 18th Century around 1770-1800.The first person who
migrated to Peepal Gaon was Shaikh Muhammad Zaki ,Now look at the
shajra above and read one by one the names and you will know about their
descendents.Those who are X
marked, went without an issue.
Descendants
From Fazal Rab are
Ahmad Rab, Muhd Rab, Hamid Rab , Mahmood Rab, Abid Rab, Mahboob Rab
From Abdul Rab are
Faseeh Ahmad ( At Naini) and Rafi Ahmad. Faseeh Ahmad had Masood , Matloob, Mansoob , Masroor and Masroof Ahmad. Masood Ahmad have Shagufta , Faisal and Fazal ,Matloob Ahmad have Shabistan , Sharib & Saqib , Mansoob Ahmad have Amreen and Moiz Mansoob , Late Masroor have Naureen and Shahreen while Late Masroof died young.
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| Late Faseeh Ahmad Sahib |
From Fariduddin came
Hadeeq-un-Nisa, his only child.
From Abdul Ghani were
two daughters Raffi and Massi.
From Makhdoom Bakhsh
are Abdul Ahad (No Issue) and Abdul Wahid.Abdul Wahid Had abdul Qayyum and
Abdul Hayy. Abdul Qayyum had Abdul Ghaffar while Abdul Hayy had Nur ul Hasan
and Anwar-ul-Haq. Now Nur ul Hasan had
Sadiq-un-Nisa and Khaleeq-un-Nisa and Anwar ul Haq had Mazhar-ul-Haq
(Pakistan) , Dunna Bibi ( Narvar ) and
Nafeesa Bibi ( Mahgaon ).
From Ilaahi Bakhsh
are Mohammad Raza and Shaikh Muhammad.. Mohammad Raza had Ehsan ul Haq and
Mahmood ul Haq (No Issue). Ehsan ul Haq had two daughters Mehr-un-nisa (pak)
and Zaib-un-nisa (Lucknow).
From Shaikh Muhammad came Wazeer Ahmad who had Wasi Ahmad (Advocate ) Wasi Ahmad had Razi Ahmad ( Nae
Sahab) at Nakhas Kohna, Allahabad.
From Khuda Bakhsh came Muiz-ud-din who had Sharfuddin and
Qamar-ud-din. Qamaruddin had Waheed-ud-din Urf Achhey Bhai at Allahabad and
Ahmad Javed. While Sharfuddin had Zameeruddin who have Khalid Zameer ( Sharjah
) and two daughters.
From Muhiuddin came
Ehtisham-ud-Din, Rafi-ud-din (1st wife) and Burhanuddin (2nd Wife).
Ehtishamuddin migrated to Neem Sarai (See the details in the following header
Neem Sarai)
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| Akhlaq Ahmad Hashmi & M. Shamoon Hashmi at Nazeer Manzil |
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| Nazeer Manzil few years ago ........ |
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| Taqi Miyan Marhoom with his brothers ! |
From Karimuddin came
Nazeer-ud-din and Mohammad Yusuf. Then Nazeer-ud-din had Mohammad Isa (Died
Young), Mohammad Moosa Hashmi (Taqi Miyan), Akhlaq Ahmad Hashmi and Nooruddin
Hashmi (died 05 Jun 2015) in USA along with 4 daughters.
Now Mohammad Moosa
Urf Taqi Miyan who stayed in India fathered Rashid Javed Hashmi (kareli) , Mohammad
Arshad Javed Hashmi, Shabie Hashmi and Mohammad Shamoon Hashmi.(all abroad )
Mohammad Yusuf S/o
Karimuddin had only two daughters Sabirah & Abidah Bibi.
Nooruddin Hashmi superannuated as Dy.Chief Enigineer of Pakistan Shipyard and now lives in USA with his children Shahid Javed Hashmi ,Tariq,Sajid, Asim and Arif Hashmi. Akhlaq Ahmad Hashmi was employed with the foreign services and now lives in USA with his children Javed, Asif & Naseem Hashmi.
Nooruddin Hashmi superannuated as Dy.Chief Enigineer of Pakistan Shipyard and now lives in USA with his children Shahid Javed Hashmi ,Tariq,Sajid, Asim and Arif Hashmi. Akhlaq Ahmad Hashmi was employed with the foreign services and now lives in USA with his children Javed, Asif & Naseem Hashmi.
From Nizamuddin s/o
Mohammad Shafi came – Fazal-ud-din who had Nihal-ud-din and Shafi-ud-din………This
Shafi-ud-din Urf Naib Ji migrated to Mahgaon in his in-laws. From Ghayas-ud-Din
came Saeed-udin who had shafiuddin.
From Ikram uddin came Munir-ud-din who had
Zafar-ud-din.
From Imam-ud-Din came
Mohammad Zaki,Mohammad Ameen and Mohammad Maseeh who migrated to Basedhi around
1890-95. (Details in the header Migration)
People
Deputy Ehsan-ul-Haq
of Peepalgaon was Deputy Director of Education posted at Burma.
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| Nafeesa Bibi at Kareli D/o Anwar-ul-Haq Marhoom |
Janab Nazeer-ud-din
was a immensely popular Zamindar of Peepalgaon known throughout the Pargana Chail.He
was initially employed with the Army andretired after the first world-war
and thereafter engrossed himself in looking after his Zamindari. During the world war he had travelled
immensely in Europe and Africa and gained a lot of first hand information about the difference of lives and importance of education. He was a well read person and his stress on modern education
was a direct result of his insight gained through his travels. He was fairly
large zamindar as he owned three or four entire village alongwith one fourth of
PeepalGaon yet he was a genial and God-fearing person.Apart from
his large clan he did took care of the entire village in the time of need. He
passed away in 1945 at the ripe age of 89.
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| Anwar ul Haq Marhoom with his son Mazhar ul Haq in 1925 |
Janab Anwar-ul-Haq
was an officer in the Postal department based at Burma.His son Mazhar ul Haq rose on to become a Squadron Leader in the Air force.
Faseeh Ahmad superannuaated sa Jail Head at Naini Central Jail who had a reputation for being an honest officer , he supervised the construction of Mosque in Naini Jail .family still lives in Naini.
Wasi Ahmad at Nakhas Kohna was a succesful and famed lawyer.
Wasi Ahmad at Nakhas Kohna was a succesful and famed lawyer.
Janab Hamid Rab who
migrated in 1947 rose on to become a Commodore in Pakistan Navy. He served for once as the
ADC to the President of that country. He retired in 1980. He is mentioned in the
autobiography of Admiral Iftikhar Sirohey as follows:-
Lt I.F. Quadir and
Hamid Rab were midshipmen and cadets training officers respectively. They
seemed to be doing it collectively. We were told at the conclusion of our
training as cadets that 2 or 3 midshipmen would be on a small and double ...(Truth never retires:
an autobiography of Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey-1995)
Marriages
As described above,
the Zamindars of Peepal Gaon belong to Hashmi clan of Bamhrauli being in the
direct line of Makhdom Shah Ismail Multani (RA) of Bamhrauli and thus
considered to be a highly regarded Aali-Nasab clan of Pargana Chail. PeepalGaon had the best of reputation that few amongst Shurafa-i-Chail could have enjoyed. Similarly they took great
care in contracting marriages and thus their initial marital connections were
only with few selected places like Ujihni, Jhunsi , Kakra , Saiyid Sarawan and
Naraur. Later on they struck marital alliances with the other leading families
in Chail for example in Alamchand, Neem Sarai, Chail, Neewan ,Basedhi ,Mahgaon,
etc …...
Migration
from PeepalGaon
As mentioned earlier
after the emergence of Dakhkhini Deen as the major land-owner, few members of
Hashmi family lost almost everything there in village. If one had no farming
land in village then the survival was extremely difficult in those days 100 years ago.
Thus when a family lost almost land in the village to Dakhkhini Deen and it was agonizing for them to find that the villagers and their Praja have or would have disowned them. They looked for other
options. A family migrated to Basedhi and another to Mahgaon. One more family had
migrated earlier to Neem Sarai but that was on account of personal reasons.
Basedhi
Hence the sons of
Imam-ud-din , Mohammad Zaki, Ameen and Shafi migrated to their Nanihal at
Basedhi. There they purchased some lands and merging it with the maternal share
, they got off to a new start.
Mohammad Zaki had
Bahauddin ,Qubool-ud-Din and Rahimuddin. Baha-ud-Din had Masood-ul-Haq and two daughters Ishrat-un-Nisa(Kashia) and other at (Pawan) - Then Now Masood-ul-Haq had Mansoor-ul-Haq who have Shariq , Saqib , Tariq.___While Qubool-ud-Din had Mukhtar Ahmad (Raja Miyan) at Husainpur
and Chhote Miyan., Mohd Zahid , Ahmad Mukhtar----Now Rahimuddin had Shameem
Ahmad , Shoaib Ahmad Soney (At Malaak-Mahgaon )and Shamshad Ahmad Ladey.
Mohammad Amin had
Mohammad Mubeen, Mateen and Haseen. Mohammad Mubeen had Muhammad Raees
(Pakistan) and Muhammad Mueen (Kallu Ziledar),while Muhammad Mateen had three
daughters. Mohammad Haseen had Dularey (Bade Gaon) and Mohammad Rashid.
Mohammad Maseeh had
Mohammad Umar, Muhammad Qamar and Mohammad Usman.= Now Mohammad Qamar had no
issue while Umar had daughters only and Mohammad Usman had Rasool Ahmad,Afsaar
Ahmad, Akhatrun and Maryam Bibi.
Mahgaon
Shafi Ud Din Naib Ji S/o Fazal-ud-Din of Peepal Gaon got married to Ruwab-un-Nisa D/o Kamal-ud-Din in Dakkhin Thok Mahgaon and on this share he decided to settle in his in-laws.
From Shafi-ud-din
came Sami-ud-din Darogha, Azeez-ud-Din ( Ajjan Miyan at Bahraich),
Haseeb-ud-din, Sagheeruddin and Iqbal-ud-Din(X).Jb.Samiuddin had
Zain-ud-Din, Nizam-ud-din (Dularey in London) and Misbah-ud-din(Anas) and.Now
Zain-ud-din have Asad, Nasir, Farrukh, Asim and Qasim Zain. Janab Sagheeruddin had Ahmad Sagheer Urf Shahid sb.Marhoom.
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| Ahmad Sagheer Urf Shahid Sb. Marhoom |
Misbahuddin have
Waris Misbah. Nizamuddin Urf Dularey (now Marhoom) in London has 3 daughters.
Azeez-ud-Din s/o Shafi-ud-din settled at bahraich and he had Ahmad, Anwar,
Sarwar, Ishrat and Nusrat Aziz. Haseeb-uddin s/o Shafiuddin has Aish-ud-din.
Azeezuddin Sahib has made a good fortune in transport business in Bahraich and
is quite well known there.
Neem
Sarai
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| Neem Sarai House Today |
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| Neem Sarai in 60s' |
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| Bachchoo Miyan of Neem Sarai |
Shaikh Ehtishamuddin
of Peepalgaon had no son with the problem that he had fathered few children but
none could survive in Peepalgaon. Discomfited and disappointed too much, he was
advised to leave the place if he wants his progeny to survive. He gave this
piece of advice a serious thought and consulted with his sister who was married
in Neem Sarai. The next step he took was that he disposed his property in
Peepal Gaon and purchased lands in Neem Sarai, constructed a house and settled
permanently there. This was in the year 1885. Barkat un Nisa , wife of
Ehtishamuddin built at Mosque as well in Neem Sarai on the road that goes to
Begum Sarai. Surprisingly at the fag end of the life, he was bestowed with two
sons. Qubool-ud-Din Urf Bachchoo Miyan and Iqbal Ud Din. This Bachchoo Miyan
came out to be a Haafiz-i-Quraan and was a very popular social figure of Neem
Sarai. His name appears in Mirat-i-Jalali as well.He passed away in 1958.
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| Suez Akram Alias Jadoo |
 |
| Mohammad Akram Sb |
These two brothers
are the originator of the Hashmis of Neem Sarai. As told, Ehtishamuddin had
Qubool-ud-Din and Iqbal Ud-din. Now Hafiz Qubool-ud-Din Urf Bachchoo Miyan at
Neem Sarai fathered Shafeeq-un-Nisa (PeepalGaon ), Mohammad Akram ,Mohammad
Azam, Mohammad Muazaam, Aslam , Akhtar un Nisa (Godam) and Afsar un Nisa
(Basedhi).Iqbal Uddin had only one daughter Ahmadi Bibi (pak).
 |
| Muhammad Akram Sb ( Neem Sarai ) |
Of all the sons of
QuboolUddin Sahib, only Mohammad Akram stayed in India who is still in
possession of his ancestral house and lands in Neem Sarai. He superannuated as
the Director, Ministry of Industries, Govt of India. Today he shuttles and
divides his time between Neem Sarai and his Delhi accommodation. His son Suez
Akram Alias Jadoo is well known in the Tourism Sector as a Tour Guide based at
New Delhi. He has ventured into hospitality segment also by developing a small
eco-friendly “Tented resort” adjoining Tadoba National Park, Distt. Chadrapur,
Maharashtra, for wild-lifers and serious nature lovers known as “SERAI TIGER.
Migration
to Peepalgaon
Jafris of Puraini in Peepal Gaon
The village Nizampur
Puraini had an old association with the village Peepalgaon. In 1770, a family
of Mahgaon that had already settled in Puraini had to migrate to Peepalgaon to
take care of the inherited property from their maternals.
Two brothers
Faseeh-uz-Zaman Urf Ghissu Miyan and Ameer Zaman inherited the entire property
of their Nana at Peepalgaon and to look after the same they had to move to
Peepalgaon. As per the records the elder brother Faseeh uz Zaman shifted to
peepalgaon around 1770. His sons continued
to live in Peepalgaon till 1856 when after the death of a cousin ,
Muhammad Sadiq of Puraini famly went back to his paternal place at Puraini and
thereafter in 1900 his nephew Muhammad Ashiq too left the village winding up
the residence of Puraini family from Peepalgaon. In today’s perspective ,this
line of Muhammad Ashiq and Sadiq is represented by the family of Janab Lutfur
Rahman Jafri Marhoom and his clan settled in Puraini. This family is originally
from Manjh KalaN of Mahgaon but had shifted to Puraini in 1760. They lived in
Peepalgaon from 1770 to 1900 with one branch or another and then finally went
back to Puraini.
Bisauna
Connection (Migrants )
A family from Bisauna
migrated to PeepalGaon when they got some property from the Chaudharis of
Peepalgaon.Mir Akbar Ali of Bisauna was married into the Chaudharis of
Peepalgaon , he and his sons migrated to PeepalGaon in the last decade of 19th
century around 1885-1890.From PeepalGaon a family of Meer Ansar migrated to his
in-laws at Alamchand while other Meer Zawar Husain migrated to Manauri.
Another family of Bisauna came
& settled here.One Janab Sadre Alam of Bisauna inherited some property from his maternals and settled in Peepal Gaon. He had a son Janab Haidar Hashmi who
migrated to Pakistan. Hamid & Sajid are his sons.Manzar Hashmi Alias Sajid in Karachi/Canada represents the same
family. They are not from the Hashmis of Peepal Gaon , they are originally from
Bisauna and have taken the Hashmi Surname for themselves.
Today
As discussed earlier,
it was Allaah’s grace that the family of Jb.Nazeer-ud-Din upheld the dignity of
the zamindars of Peepalgaon. It was the only family that wielded considerable
authority in the village. Neither did they leave the village nor did they sell
their share. Rather they consolidated their position by purchasing shares in
different other villages.
Janab Mohammad Moosa Hashmi Alias Taqi Miyan of Peepalgaon was the son of Jb. Nazeeruddin who is known throughout the Pargana of Chail and wherever one talks of Peepalgaon today, one person is always in the background definitely and that is Taqi Miyan Marhoom. Today his name and village are considered to be synonymous. Born in 1918 ,Taqi Miyan was initially employed with the then GIPR (Indian Railways) stationed at Far-east at Asansol when the riots broke out in the event of partition of the country. He returned to his hometown and thereafter he did not leave the city till his last breath. His house built by his father still stands in the middle of the village looking(Or Over-looking) at all the passers-by while all the passers-by look at the house as the last remnant and Yaadgar of Hashmis of Peepalgaon, the fact is this house named “Nazeer Manzil”(built in 1936) and a mosque in front of the house is all that reminds us of the erstwhile Hashmi Zamindars of Peepalgaon.
Janab Mohammad Moosa Hashmi Alias Taqi Miyan of Peepalgaon was the son of Jb. Nazeeruddin who is known throughout the Pargana of Chail and wherever one talks of Peepalgaon today, one person is always in the background definitely and that is Taqi Miyan Marhoom. Today his name and village are considered to be synonymous. Born in 1918 ,Taqi Miyan was initially employed with the then GIPR (Indian Railways) stationed at Far-east at Asansol when the riots broke out in the event of partition of the country. He returned to his hometown and thereafter he did not leave the city till his last breath. His house built by his father still stands in the middle of the village looking(Or Over-looking) at all the passers-by while all the passers-by look at the house as the last remnant and Yaadgar of Hashmis of Peepalgaon, the fact is this house named “Nazeer Manzil”(built in 1936) and a mosque in front of the house is all that reminds us of the erstwhile Hashmi Zamindars of Peepalgaon.
The exodus of
Zamindars from Peepal Gaon started during 1910-1930 when they found it stifling
to survive when they saw Dakkhnini Deen penetrating in the village
surreptitiously. This started when two families left for Basedhi, thereafter
another shifted to Mahgaon and during the 30s and 40s , the educated and
employed ones made their houses in the city of Allahabad. They kept visiting
their village off and on but when the older generation passed away , their sons
& Grand-sons could not keep the ties as it should have been owing to the
heterogeneous conditions , lack of relatives and like minded families in the
neighborhood, migration of crowd form other villages with different cultural
and social set up.
There was left the
house of Taqi Miyan and three families more but unfortunately when I visited
peepalGaon in Sep 2012, only the house of Taqi Miyan is standing whereas the
others have disposed their lands completely. The day is not far when Peepalgaon
will be a full fledged urban locality with no sign of their erstwhile owner and
masters of the place. Rahe Naam Allaah ka !
Mention should be
made here of another family that has maintained its accommodation in
Peepalgaon. This is the house of Meer Hidayat Husain and family who originally
belong to Bisauna and have maintained their house to this day.
Conclusion
When I visited Peepal
Gaon earlier this month , it was hardly looking like a village although in the
back drop one could very easily surmise that the fields and farms are beckoning
you. Yet peepalgaon has transformed a lot. It is now a part of urban Allahabad
and will change its face once again within a few years. With the city rapidly
developing into a metro, it is expanding beyond its original boundary and
residential areas are sprouting along its fringes. However, the expansion of
the city is coming at the cost of greenery.
I could notice the
concrete jungle that has come up inside the village making the map of village
quite difficult to figure out but three landmarks are proudly standing guiding
the new-comers like me. The Nazeer Manzil, The Mosque and the large housing complex
of Dakkhini Deen ( Kothi ). These three have not changed but the surroundings
have transformed.
Another noticeable
thing was the absence of Peepal tree. Let’s look at the popular couplet:-
Khayaal aata
hai aksar dhuup meN baahar nikalte hii
ham apne gaaoN
meN pipal kaa saaya chhoR aaye haiN
As famed ,I could not find even few Peepal Trees
inside the village rather I noticed a number of Palm Trees in and outside the
village. These Tar trees are conspicuous from very far. Interestingly my
colleague informed me that in the recent past people as far as from Allahabad
used to come to Peepal Gaon to have Palm Toddy in the early morning. It was
amusing to learn that PeepalGaon had been famous for Toddy drink as well and
that Palm and toddy drink of peepalgaon were quite popular in Allahabad.
If I go back into history there was a village named Peepal Gaon full of Peepal Trees with 15-20 concentrated houses where lived the
Zamindars of the village. They ruled the village and its environs. Several
villages were under their sway. Then there came a turn. An ambitious Dakkhni
Deen sneaked into the village and gradually won the hearts of Zamindars
,started lending money and then came the fall, one by one he started taking
over the shares and the losers began to leave the village. One after another houses
started getting desolate. Only the strong ones sustained. Thereafter came the
partition of the country and few more people left and finally the last jolt in
the form of Zamindari Abolition broke the back. Everyone had to look out for
other means of living ………and today there is no Dakkhini Deen who famously said
that I will spread and fill the road from Peepalgaon to Allahabad with silver
and gold coins but none of my men should get convicted ……… and there are no
Zamindar who in the past stayed back and fought with the hard times
valiantly……….
Today the migrants
from Allahabad and Kaushambi have populated the village and the story of human
civilization and migration goes on.……….These are the ways Allaah swt shows us
everything is transitory and every Nemat is a test……nothing sustains and
nothing remains……….we go empty handed in the same way as we open our eyes
without anything in hand…………
Are we ready to learn
a lesson from these instances………Are our eyes and mind open to pick up some
clues from these stories……….Perhaps not ………!!!
The countryside (Or
inside ) of village is quite green and beautiful but it is normally hidden from the visitors or Passers-by, You need to trek further into the village to come
out into a lush green open area that is spectacularly awesome. I visited the
village this month (Sep 12 ) when it was cloudy and about to rain……
It was humid
and sultry and when I was about to return the sun-set was near but I saw some
women still working in the fields weeding and clearing the grass and there were
no men around and I was reminded of an old English saying “ A man's work is
from sun to sun but a woman's work is never done”. I appreciated their hard
work and went further to reach the Qabr of Maulvi Siddiq Ahmad Sahib
(Rahmatullahi Alaihi). Now something about Maulvi Sahib.
 |
| Spectacular view close to Sun Set |
Maulvi
Siddiq Sahib (RA)
Maulvi Siddiq Sahib’s
real name was Mukhtar Ahmad and originally he belonged to Behka. His Nanihal
was in Saiyid Sarawan and his nana Maulvi Bakhshish Ali was a great Aalim and
was amongst the swaliheen of his time.His nana had no son hence he adopted his
daughter’s son (Siddiq Sahib) and asked him to stay in Saiyid Sarawan. He took
great care in his education and training. Upon attaining majority Maulvi Siddiq
Sahib went to Ganj Muradabad and learned Islamic sciences along with Hadees and
even took Baiy’at at the Hands of Maulvi Abdul Kareem Ganj Muradabadi and
became a mystic. In the later years he got so much engrossed in the love and
manifestations of Allaah Swt that he became heedless of the murky worldly
affairs.
 |
| The Qabr of Maulvi Siddiq Sahib (RA) |
One day he was
roaming around Umri and Bamhrauli in the scorching month of summers when he
caught severe sun-stroke. He somehow managed to reach Peepal Gaon which was his
Susral and lay down unconscious in a field after writing his name on the ground
with a stick. The villagers noticed a man lying in under the sun with a name
written in Urdu by his side. They called the zamindars and soon it was noticed
that it was Maulvi Siddiq Sahib who had passed away by then.
He was laid down to
rest in Peepal Goan and his grave is marked by an enclosure to the west of
Peepal Gaon.
It is reported by
several reliable persons that after he was shrouded and took out for
Namaz-i-Janazah , suddenly a low cloud surfaced up and that provided a much
needed shade to the crowd and then it rained a bit and remained there on the
sky until Maulvi Siddiq was laid to rest and his Qabr was properly laid
out......... He was considered among the Swaliheen of his time.
IIIT
 |
| IIIT , Jhalwa, Allahabad |
In 1999 in the
neighbourhood of Peepalgaon , The Indian Institute of Information Technology
Allahabad (IIIT-A) was established by
the Govt of India.The beautiful 100 acre campus, situated at Deoghat, Jhalwa,
designed meticulously on the Penrose Geometry pattern, is a fully residential
one, with all its faculty, staff and students housed in different pockets. It’s been constantly ranked among the Top 10 Engineering
Institutes of India. The most important fact to be considered is that IIIT-A is
the youngest institute to be included in India Today's top 10 ranking. It was
established just 13 years ago in 1999. It is a matter of fact that IIIT-A has
one of the best placements in India as many of the leading companies of the
world visit the campus for placements.
Conclusion
Many years ago as a teenager while I was visiting Allahabad during summers , I had a chance to see Taqi Miyan, the last figurehead of Peepal Gaon, we both were in
the mosque to offer Zuhr.I came to know that Taqi Miyan was also there .After the Namaz I approached him briskly and after
exchanging salam, I asked him about the history of his village and the elders (Oh Yes ! even then I was crazy enough to get into the history of villages)…….
We chatted for a few minutes standing on the road, he told me a few things and a few names and before departing he said "Sab chale gaye ab koi nahin hai , Assalamu’Alaikum and then walked off to his home.I remember that I stood there in silence and saw the tall man walking slowly away from me and soon he disappeared from my view.Today while standing outside Nazeer Manzil , I was reminded of him and I know that he is no more now……….and a day will come when everything and everyone will be no more.......How delusive and shoddy the life is ? I asked myself ..Where these people have gone ? Could we ever see them again.
We chatted for a few minutes standing on the road, he told me a few things and a few names and before departing he said "Sab chale gaye ab koi nahin hai , Assalamu’Alaikum and then walked off to his home.I remember that I stood there in silence and saw the tall man walking slowly away from me and soon he disappeared from my view.Today while standing outside Nazeer Manzil , I was reminded of him and I know that he is no more now……….and a day will come when everything and everyone will be no more.......How delusive and shoddy the life is ? I asked myself ..Where these people have gone ? Could we ever see them again.
********************************
Abhi Kya Kahen abhi kya Sunein
Yunhi Khwahishon ke Fishar Mein
Kabhi Be-Sabab, Kabhi Be Khayal
Kahan Kaun kis se Bichhad Gaya
Kisey Kis ne Kaise Ganwa Diya ?
Kahan Kaun kis se Bichhad Gaya
Kisey Kis ne Kaise Ganwa Diya ?
….
Kabhi Phir Milenge to Poochhna
I would take your
leave today in the words of Taqi Miyan ( May Allaah have his mery on him) in
the same way
Sab
Chale Gaye , Ab Koi Nahin Hai
Assaalamu’
Alaikum !
Have we taken a heed
from the examples of human settlement and dislocations? Or we just read it like
a story or fiction? Has not the time come
when we realize what is more important to us and what is best to be avoided? When the time would
come where we turn our faces and hearts towards the creator and not the creatures!
khud hum ik nafas hiley bhi kahan,
usko dhoondhen to vo miley bhi kahan !
Ab ta’ammul na kar dil-e-khud kaam,
rooth le, phir ye silsile bhi kahan !
Khema khema guzaar le yeh shab,
Subah Dam, ye qaafile bhi kahan !
Aao, aapas men kuch gile kar len,
warna yoon hai ki phir gile bhi kahan
Was’salaam
Khalid Bin Umar
New Delhi
WRITE TO ME @
khalidkoraivi@yahoo.com
OR
khalid.bin.umar@gmail.com
