CiNaRe with Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

He who can write. He who can’t criticise. He belonged to the first category. Poet, lyricist, playwright, educationist, administrator, Rajaya Sabha member — a truly multifaceted personality. But, not many know that Dr. C. Naryana Reddy was also an Urdu poet in his own right. In fact, he made people go wah wah over his Urdu ghazals.

CiNaRe, as he was popularly called, seized life by the poetic side. For him, poetry was not the purpose, but a passion. Like the kavi sammelans, he also set afire the mushairas with his soul-stirring verses. How he turned an Urdu poet is a story by itself. As a famous Telugu poet, he was often invited to chair mushairas. But Dr. Reddy felt uncomfortable being a mere spectator. “I decided to become an active participant and started penning verses in Urdu,” he told this writer a few years ago.

Urdu was not an alien language to him as he had studied up to B.A. with Urdu as medium of instruction. All he needed was just to polish the language and get into the groove. With a little effort he started composing verses with consummate skill.

Ji raha hun mout ko lori sunane ke liye
Kho raha hun mast dhun mein khud ko paane ke liye

Dr. Reddy, who set a new trend in adaptation of Urdu ghazal in Telugu poetry, however, chose to be different in his shayari. He steered clear of ‘ishq-o-muhabbat’ stuff. He did not want to meddle with romance of which Mirza Ghalib and others had written a lot. CiNaRe’s Urdu ghazals revolve around humanism, national, religious and linguistic integration. There is also a touch of optimism in his poetry as this couplet shows:

Bagh mein afwah ke murjha rahen hain phool
Gul huye ghaib, arey phal bun ke aane ke liye


CiNaRe adhered to metre, motif and other rhetorical features of ghazal. His Telugu adaptation of ghazals was also complete with poetic nuances — matla, makhta, khafia, radif and takhallus. For him, writing in Urdu was to satisfy his creative urge.

- J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated June 25,2017.

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Things have started looking up for minorities in Telangana and welfare has taken a new meaning

It has always been on the backburner — neglected and uncared for. There was nothing much to talk about minority welfare in the combined State. Enter the TRS government and things have started looking up for minorities in Telangana. For a change, welfare has taken a new meaning altogether. It has moved beyond lip sympathy to action and implementation.

Action speaks louder than words. The slew of measures taken by the government during the last three years have begun yielding results. However, the full impact of schemes like opening of residential schools, overseas scholarships and TS PRIME for minorities will be known only after some time. But the winds of change can’t be missed. Even the opposition parties reluctantly admit the positive impact the whole thing is having on the minorities.

Paradigm shift

What is significant is the paradigm shift brought about by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao in his policies towards minority welfare. The response to ground realities is robust and quick. While it has come as a morale-booster to the marginalised sections of society, it is also earning the government immense support and goodwill. The earmarking of a whopping Rs. 40,000 crore in the current year’s budget for welfare and development of weaker sections tells how serious this government is about giving the neglected communities their due. Perhaps for the first time in decades the 14.24 per cent Muslims in the State feel secure and protected. They know they can now stand up and be counted.

Welfare of minorities remains at the core of the TRS government’s development agenda and this is borne out by the schemes initiated in the last three years. Some of the measures include Shadi Mubarak scheme, raising of subsidy component for bankable schemes for minorities, introduction of honoraria for Imams and Muezzins, sanction of Rs. 10 crore for construction of Christian Bhavan in Hyderabad and construction of a facilitation centre-cum Rubaath at Dargah Hazrat Khaja Mohinuddin Chisti at Ajmer in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs. 5 crore.

Bold move

In the combined State, minorities constituted just 11 per cent of the population and government spent Rs. 509 crore on their welfare in 2013-14. After bifurcation, AP earmarked Rs. 371 crore, while Telangana allocated Rs 1,030 crore in its first budget for 2014-15. This was the highest-ever budget for the region. During 2015-16, the minorities welfare budget jumped further to Rs. 1,105 crore. The next budget of 2016-17 saw the figures going up to Rs. 1,204 crore. And this year the budget received a further hike to touch Rs. 1,249.66.

Passing of the legislation hiking the reservation quota for minorities to 12 per cent is by far a bold move. “No government has ever attempted to address the problems of minorities in such a comprehensive way within a short period of time,” says A.K. Khan, Advisor to Government on Minority Affairs.

Game-changer

The game-changer, however, remains the opening of residential schools for minority boys and girls. The Chief Minister has resolved to spend a whopping Rs. 8,000 crore on the schools, something unheard of in the annals of the State. Of the 200 residential schools proposed, half are meant for girls alone. The overwhelming response to the corporate-type schools are expected to change the face of the community in the coming years. Previous governments merely indulged in offering sops but for KCR it has to be a permanent and lasting solution. When 1.35 lakh students come out of these schools there is going to be qualitative change in the lives of the minorities.

If the hiked minority budget gets lapsed year after year and the Minority Welfare Department (MWD) has failed to live up to the expectations the reason is not far to seek. There is hardly any infrastructure or staff to implement the schemes. Statistics show that the Social Welfare Department has a cadre strength of 149 at the headquarters, Tribal Welfare 77 and BC Welfare 64. But the MWD has just 35 personnel, mostly on deputation. When this anomaly was brought to his notice, KCR immediately sanctioned an additional 80 posts. Officials say the department needs at least 250 personnel for effective functioning. The department needs to build a committed workforce which can own up the programmes and implement them with commitment.

CM determined

Think of MWD and what comes to mind is the beleaguered Wakf Board. Over the years it has become a byword for lethargy. The Augean stables have to be cleaned up and the department shaken out of its stupor. Hope with Khan, a retired cop, at the helm, things would straighten out fast.

In the final analysis, any government is as good as the commitment and dynamism of the person who steers it. In one of his addresses in the State Assembly, KCR had quoted a popular Urdu couplet to express his determination to deliver the promises. He said:
Main apne fun ki bulandi se kaam le loonga

Mujhe maqam na do, maqam le loonga

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated June 19,2017

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Niloufer. The very name evokes divergent images. For some, a bewitchingly beautiful woman’s face which takes away one’s breath away swims into view. And for some others, the image of a hospital where death stalks sends shivers down the spine.

With due apologies to the Bard, there is indeed plenty in the name. Interestingly, the connection between the two is unbreakable. It is 28 years since Princess Niloufer Farhat Begum, the Turkish wife of Prince Moazzam Jah, breathed her last. And strangely, the hospital named after her continues to be in the news for the wrong reasons.

Regal and unattainable like Mona Lisa — out of the reach of ordinary mortals — beauty and brains, fame and fortune, she had it all. With her winsome beauty and coltish charm she lit up the fabulous palaces of the Nizam. This ravishing princess also had a heart that beat for others. When she saw her maid servant, Rafathunnisa, die during childbirth she got devastated. She did not remain content with just sympathizing with the bereaved family but decided to do something for women in general. “Hereafter, no more Rafaths shall die for want of good medical facilities,” she resolved.

This tragic incident led to the establishment of a hospital for women and children which the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, named after his daughter-in-law. Niloufer used a silver trowel for the ground-breaking ceremony of the hospital on April 29, 1949. June 12 marks the death anniversary of the Princess who gave so much to Hyderabad and womanhood.


Life like no other

NilouferHow about a peep into this royal superstar of awesome dimensions? Daughter of Damaad Salahuddin Bey Moralizada, a prominent member of the Ottoman Court, Niloufer and her cousin, Durru Shehvar, were swept away into royal weddings. While Niloufer got married to Prince Moazzam Jah, the second son of the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, her cousin entered into wedlock with the Nizam’s eldest son, Prince Azam Jah

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The weddings took place on November 12, 1931, at Nice in France and were hailed as a ‘union of two great dynasties’ linking Europe and Asia. The coming together of the true blue Ottoman and the Asafia lineages became a talking point in the two continents. Both Niloufer and Durru Shehvar were arguably the most gorgeous women. The former was counted among the ten most beautiful women in the world. Interestingly, both the charming cousins have hospitals named after them in Hyderabad — Niloufer Hospital and Durru Shehvar Children’s and General Hospital.

After marriage, Princess Niloufer moved into Hill Fort with her husband. An Urdu poet of no mean repute, Prince Moazzam Jah organized mushairas almost every day. Fond of a lavish lifestyle, he doted on his wife and got her painted and photographed. Life seemed to be hunky-dory.

While Princess Durru Shehvar came into the family way an year after her marriage and returned to Nice for confinement, it was not the case with Niloufer. In a traditional society she was expected to bear children and her inability to do so put pressure in her marriage and ultimately after 21 years she parted ways with Prince Moazzam Jah in 1952 and moved back to Paris. Later, she married Edward Pope, an American diplomat, in 1963 and died in Paris on June 12, 1989.

Her mysterious appeal and enchanting persona captivated Istanbul, Paris and Hyderabad. Even to this day her violet eyes, perfect features, blue black Circassian hair, creamy complexion and dimples in the cheeks remain the talk of the town. Known for her sartorial taste, the bewitching Niloufer attired herself in the best of dresses. She wore saris designed by Madhav Das and even now the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, has a collection of her 32 fabulous saris.

Considered a torch-bearer for women’s advancement, Princess Niloufer led an active public life in Hyderabad. She attracted a lot of attention and some of the most famous people were her friends. She was also offered a role in a Hollywood film but turned it down. Along with her fashionable cousin, Princess Durru Shehvar, she dominated Hyderabad’s social circles.

rincess Niloufer was associated with the Red Cross and was also part of the elite Lady Hydari Club. The charming cousins were the cynosure of all eyes. They were at the Malakpet Race Course, graced a number of forums and attracted many European women. While their charity work received the full support of the Nizam, their celebrity lifestyle didn’t go down well with the royal family. When World War II broke out, Princess Niloufer obtained training as a nurse and treated injured soldiers brought here for convalescence.

An epitome of royalty, Princess Niloufer had the glamour of Marlo Mandarin, flamboyance of Princess Diana and beauty of Nargis. A woman of substance every which way, she was one of the rare ones, so effortlessly herself, and the world loved her for it.

- J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in The Hindu

Dated June 11,2017.

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