Moghul descendant saved from slums by coal board
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
A descendant of India's last Moghul emperor has been saved from a life of utter destitution after she was discovered working at her mother's tea stand in the slums of West Bengal.
Madhu, the 33-year-old great great granddaughter of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, pictured, has been given a job in the offices of India's state-run coal industry after media highlighted her plight. The illiterate young woman will initially be employed to run errands.
"I feel pleasure in offering employment to Madhu. It will be a great tribute to the last Moghul emperor who played a key role during the first war of independence in 1857," said Coal India's chairman, Partha Bhattacharyya. "It is the duty of the country to repay its debt to the family of those who sacrificed their lives for the country's freedom."
Madhu's father, Muhammad Bedar Bakht, the great grandson of the emperor, died in 1980, leaving the family with no means of income other than a humble tea stand, run by her mother Sultana Begum, in the Cowies Ghat slum in Howrah, the twin city of Kolkata. Madhu is one of five daughters but all the others are married.
A journalist couple from Delhi discovered her plight. Neena and Shivnath Jha run a campaign to rehabilitate the descendants of Indians who fought for the country's independence and have been forgotten.
"We are trying to help the relatives of forgotten heroes," said Mr Jha.
"Muhammad Bedar Bakht died in 1980 leaving his widow at the mercy of God to maintain herself and their children on the bank of the Hooghly river. Nobody came to her rescue for three decades."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
We, Shivnath Jha and Neena Jha, are doing our best to rehabilitate the descendants of forgotten heroes who had fought for the honour of our motherland and also to protect the musicians, academicians and artists who have brought laurels and pride to the nation through the proceeds of the book. However, it can not be possible without your support.
"Prime Ministers of India:Bharat Bhagya Vidhata-1947-2009" is in commemoration on India's 60th Republic Year and also to honour 15th Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. The book is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, world's second and India’s first lady prime minister (late) Smt. Indira Gandhi and youngest and dynamic prime minister (late) Rajiv Gandhi - all three, while strengthening the democratic polity of the independent and sovereign India, had to face bullets and explosives of the terrorists for their courage and conviction.
From its sale proceeds, we are going to rehabilitate a 56-year-old great grand daughter-in-law of India’s last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, Sultana Begum, who is living in a slum with her marriageable daughter in Howrah (West Begal) in India.
Your support will strengthen our movement for the NOBLE CAUSE. Please visit http://www.bismillahkhan.blogspot.c