Mir Jafar Thru The Eyes Of A Descendant
nkdat...@my-deja.com
The Friday Times, Lahore, Pakistan
January 12-18, 2001
The last scion of Mir Jafar
Khaled Ahmed's A n a l y s i s
[Humayun's memoir is a journey of relentless disenchantment with
Pakistan and the personalities who ruled it, including his close friend
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who also married an Iranian lady just like Iskander
Mirza. He loved his father and prides himself over the fact that he
amassed no wealth through corruption, but remains heart-broken over his
surrender to the seductions of Nahid Afghamy who became Humayun's step-
mother while his real mother was cruelly sidelined and made to suffer
for the sins of Iskander Mirza.]
Humayun Mirza is the surviving son of Pakistan's first president,
Iskander Mirza, and lives in Washington as a retired World Bank
employee. He has written a book about his father and about the nawab
background of his family. It is full of revelations about Pakistan and
the personalities who ruled it. It is also a saga of riveting detail
about a princely clan who arose and declined in Bengal in a few
generations. In Pakistan, the princely background of Iskander Mirza has
been vaguely known. Iskander Mirza himself wanted to hide it because he
grew up learning to hate it. Humayun Mirza discovered his connection to
Mir Jafar and decided to dig up the details.
From Plassey to Pakistan takes up the tale in 1716 when Murshid Quli
Khan became the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. He was sent to
be the diwan of Bihar by Akbar the Great. In 1716, Akbar's descendant
Muhammad Shah named him governor of Bengal and allowed him to rename
his capital Murshidabad. He was the first Nawaz Nazim of Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa. Murshid Quli Khan married his daughter to an officer in his
army, Aliverdi Khan, who was also distantly related to him. Soon
Aliverdi Khan was accepted as the next Nawab Nazim by the declining
Mughal court. Aliverdi Khan was under attack from the Marathas and the
Nawab of Oudh. As he had no male offspring, he named his grandson,
Siraj al-Daula his successor.
When Aliverdi Khan died in 1756, Siraj al-Daula was only twenty.
Important officers of the court who had sworn loyalty to his succession
were Mir Jafar, commander-in-chief of the army, who was married to
Aliverdi's half sister; Jagat Seth, the court banker; and Rai Durlabh,
the chief minister. But unsurprisingly, Siraj al-Daula was of unsteady
temperament, given to sudden fits of rage and acts of great savagery.
He insulted the courtiers of his grandfather, threatening Jagat Seth
with circumcision and removing Mir Jafar from his job. But in 1756,
Siraj al-Daula attacked and took Calcutta and allegedly put 147
Englishmen in a jail which is remembered in history as the Black Hole
of Calcutta. The insulted courtiers including Mir Jafar were first
greatly frustrated by this victory but later decided to secretly join
Clive against the young Nawab Nazim.
Siraj al-Daula's temperament and inexperience of military matters soon
converted victory into retreat. Clive then marched on Murshidabad and
fought what became known as the battle of Plassey where Mir Jafar was
committed to not opposing Clive through a secret treaty. Clive won with
3,000 troops against Siraj al-Daula's 50,000, and the culprit was rain
which waterlogged the gunpowder of the Bengali army. The book
establishes that Mir Jafar did no more than 'stand neuter' in the
battle. The later interpolation that he turned on Siraj al-Daula after
aligning with him is supposed to be wrong. Post-1947 historians
discovered that the Black Hole of Calcutta was a myth concocted by the
British. They somehow arrived at another conclusion that Siraj al-Daula
was a hero who offered resistance to British imperialism only to be
betrayed by his treasonous courtiers.
So widespread was this 'revision' of history that undivided India
included it in the new nationalism raising its head as a movement to
free India from the British. Mir Jafar was made the epitome of perfidy
that the British were able to enlist to defeat the true Indian. This is
what Iskander Mirza must have grown up learning and decided to disown.
British India was no place to ferret out the real truth about Mir Jafar
and his compulsion to go against a cruel Nawab Nazim. Therefore he
decided to simply erase his family background from his mind. It fell to
his son, after his retirement from the World Bank, to read the true
account of what happened at Plassey and re-own his legacy by going to
Murshidabad to look for his relatives.
What the author finds incontrovertible is that a fleeing Siraj al-Daula
was caught by Mir Jafar's brother and brought to Murshidabad where Mir
Jafar's son Miran (whose personality disorder could be no less than
Siraj al-Daula's own) put him to death and dragged his mangled body in
the city streets.
Syed Muhammad Mir Jafar Ali Khan was of Shia-Arab descent, a migrant
from the holy land of Najaf in Iraq. In 1783, the Company made him the
Nawab Nazim of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa and began the process of nibbling
away at his patrimony - a pattern of creeping occupation followed by it
throughout India. There was another pattern that dovetailed with this
strategy: the internecine local networks which succumbed to the
opportunism of marginal concessions offered by the Company to get the
better of rival rulers. No one is to blame, looking at the whole mess
today. The local landscape was deadlocked with petty wars which went
back centuries. The British had to trade and couldn't do it without
taming the local marauders. They found no morality in India and tried
to introduce none, but ended up consolidating a crazy quilt of a
country into a centralised state which began to provide a partial
representation to the common man by the time it was made free.
Humayun Mirza has the guts today to say that after the British went
away in 1947 India went back to being the mean subcontinent it was. It
became two states, then three, then settled down to the complex game of
corruption, perfidy and betrayal. He focuses on Pakistan and traces the
seeds of Plassey grown to full bloom in its soil, every leader a Siraj
al-Daula or Mir Jafar without, unfortunately, the final solvent of the
colonising British. In his seventies, Humayun Mirza retains his good
looks and a fair complexion. He spoke to a group of Pakistani
journalists in a restaurant in Washington in November this year. He
spoke without any trace of a Pakistani accent and betrayed an
objectivity of outlook unknown in South Asia.
Humayun was brought up by his father like a son of the nobility. He
went to the best schools in India including the Doon School, from where
he was sent to the UK to be trained as an accountant. He returned to
Karachi and was placed in the PIDC after doing a stint in a an
insurance company. During this time he met the daughter of a powerful
American ambassador to Pakistan, Hildreth, in the city's social
register which included Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He was dashing. He was a
sportsman (cricket and sword-fencing) and an amateur pilot in addition
to being an adept hunter. His next academic milestone was Harvard
Business School where he emerged among the top five students. He
married Hildreth's daughter, but was reluctant to surrender his
Pakistani citizenship as a precondition to getting a prize corporate
job. He finally joined the World Bank after being interviewed by its
famous president, Eugene Black.
His American marriage did not work. His next marriage, arranged in
Karachi, did not work either. He does not know to this day why his wife
ran away from his house in Washington while he was out on a tour. Her
family had been insisting that he resign his job in the World Bank and
return to Pakistan to join politics. His third marriage was to a Latin
American lady. His daughters from two marriages today hold his private
life together. His World Bank job did not survive the presidentship of
McNamara who expanded the organisation and took in people of
questionable merit. Among these people was a group of
Pakistani 'economists' whom he describes with great contempt. Their
doyen was Muhammad Shoaib who made his proteges slave for him. He made
Shahid Hussain tend his garden in return for his patronage, a prospect
that he also unsuccessfully held out to Humayun. Humayun retired on a
handsome pension a little before his time because he found McNamara's
Bank simply unpalatable.
It was after his retirement that he ran into someone in the UK who
asked him if he would be interested in his British relatives. These
relatives went back to the Mir Jafar family tree through Nawab Nazim
Mansur Ali Khan who had gone to London to plead his case against
creeping dispossession by the Indian government. He ended up living
there like Maharaja Dileep Singh, falling into another series of debt-
traps that finally pauperised him. It was during his London sojourn
that he attached himself to two Englishwomen who bore him additional
offspring. Everybody landed up finally in Musrshidabad, where the scene
was further complicated by regular sexual liaisons with Abyssinian
slave girls. A time came when the Nawab Nazims were reduced to being
pensioners living in Calcutta.
It was the marriage of the dissolute Mansur Ali Khan (1829-1984) with
Shams Jehan Begum (d.1905) which gave rise to Humayun's side of the
family. The offspring of this marriage was Khursheed Kudar Iskander Ali
Mirza whose son Syed Fateh Ali Mirza married into the Tayabjis. It was
Dilshad Begum Tayabji (d.1925) who decided not to bring up her son Syed
Iskander Ali Mirza in the Nawab Nazim tradition. Iskander Mirza was
probably more consciously reared in the Tayabji tradition of public
service. This is disclosed in the book when the Quaid acknowledged the
services of Dilshad Begum to Indian society when he first interviewed
Iskander Mirza. Iskander Mirza was married to a lady of Iranian
extraction, Rifaat Shirazi, Humayun's mother. This was perhaps the
juncture where Iskander Mirza was quietly made to forget that he was in
the direct line of Nawab Nazims of Murshidabad.
Humayun's memoir is a journey of relentless disenchantment with
Pakistan and the personalities who ruled it, including his close friend
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who also married an Iranian lady just like Iskander
Mirza. He loved his father and prides himself over the fact that he
amassed no wealth through corruption, but remains heart-broken over his
surrender to the seductions of Nahid Afghamy who became Humayun's step-
mother while his real mother was cruelly sidelined and made to suffer
for the sins of Iskander Mirza.
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My Comments on ISKANDER MIRZA: A MALIGNANT DESCENDANT OF MIR JAFAR
I would like to extend my thanks for posting this interesting article
("The Last Scion of Mir Jafar" by Khaled Ahmed) on the memoir of
Humayun Mirza. Although Iskander Mirza's name lives on infamy for his
conniving and treacherous role in Pakistan's history, (to the best of
my knowledge)there hardly exists any exhaustive book on the life of
this ruthless ruler of Pakistan. From that perspective, Humayun Mirza's
book on his infamous father is welcome. I have not yet read Humayun
Mirza's book ("From Pallasey to Pakistan"). Therefore, I will refarain
from commenting on the contents of the book at this time. (However,
after seeing Mr. NDATTA's post, I have already placed an order for the
book. May be I will write a critical review of the book).
ISKANDER MIRZA was a malignant descendent of MIR JAFOR (ALI KHAN).
Humayun Mirza's book has validated the long held belief that ISKANDER
MIRZA was a direct descendent of MIR jafor. He was literally banished
in October, 1958 from the political scene of Pakistan by General Ayub
Khan, his hand-picked Commander-in- Chief of Pakistan Army. There is no
doubt that Ayub Khan would have staged a COUP, sooner or later. There
is also no doubt in my mind that AYUB KHAN was the FOUNDER of a
Military Dictatorship in Pakistan. Yet, it needs to recognized that
General Ayub Khan was pampered by Iskander Mirza much before October,
1958. As the most powerful Defense Secretary of Pakistan, Iskander
Mirza had always favored General Ayub Khan. Both of them served in the
so-called "Talent Cabinet" of Ghulam Muhammad (Bogra Mohammad Ali was
the prime Minister). In fact, Ayub Khan was brought into the political
scene of Pakistan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator on October 7,
1958, by Iskander Mirza, the then President of Pakistan. The Martial
Law was declared by Iskander Mirza. It was Iskander Mirza who had
abrogated the Constitution. It was this very dirty politician who had
up-rooted the politicians from the political scene of Pakistan. It was
Iskander Mirza who gave the much needed legitimacy to Ayub Khan to
declare Pakistan a "Polity" without "Politics." The ouster of Iskander
Mirza from the Presidency and the country by Ayub Khan within three
weeks on October 27, 1958 was nothing but an inevitable outcome of Mir
Jafar style treachery committed by a conniving ISKANDER MIRZA.
Therefore, Iskander Mirza's dirty trick and treachery paved the way for
the introduction of military dictatorship in Pakistan.
In an article on the authoriarian rulers of Pakistan, I made the
following observations on Iskander Mirza: "Ghulam Mohammad’s successors
(Iskander Mirza, Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan) also demonstrated their
insatiable passion for ruthless authoritarianism and centralized mode
of governance. Of all the notorious political characters, it was
ISKANDER MIRZA who had formally invited the military take-over of
Pakistan Government. What was the making of Iskander Mirza? What were
his accomplishments? What was his mode of governance? What were the
main features of 1956 Constitution? How did he treat the Prime
Ministers during his tenure first as Governor General and later as the
President of Pakistan? How did he abrogate the 1956 Constitution and
introduce Martial Law in October 1958 ?"
Although Iskander Mirza had Bengal connection throgh the Nawabi
heritasge of MIR JAFAR, he was allergic to anything to do with Bengali
heriatge. Unfortunately,he was sent to East Bengal as the Governor in
1954 to unseat and demean an elected Government. I wrote in the same
article: "The worst brunt of Governor General’s unlimited power fell on
Bangalees when Ghulam Mohammad had summarily dismissed the elected
provincial Government of Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Huq in East Bengal in
1954. After dismantling the Huq’s United Front Cabinet, Ghulam
Mohammad promulgated the Governor’s rule in East Bengal through the use
of infamous Article 92 (A), an instrument enacted during Jinnah’s
tenure as Governor General. (Jinnah had also used 92-(A) provision to
oust the Prime Ministers of both Sind and West Punjab)."
As the Governor of East Bengal, Iskander Mirza had terrorized the
legitimate political scene of the province. Thousands of political
leaders and activists, including elected members of the provincial
assembly, were put behind bar without trial. Political meetings were
banned and civil liberties were suspended throughout East Bengal.
In the same article, I noted the following: "The way the Governor
General (GHULAM MOHAMMAD) had scolded and reprimanded the incumbent
Prime Minister of Pakistan (Mohammad Ali Bogra) was less than civilized
or dignified. Yet, the prestigious position of Prime Minister was more
preferable to Mohammad Ali Bogra than to be satisfied with a sense of
self-respect and dignity. Although he was allowed to retain his title
as Prime Minister, a new cabinet was formed by Ghulam Mohammad on
October 24, 1954. That Cabinet included, among others, General Ayub
Khan, the Commander Chief of Armed Forces (took over Defense Ministry),
Iskander Mirza, Governor of East Pakistan, (became Minster of Interior),
Choudhri Muhammad Ali (Finance) and Dr. Khan Shahib. (To the chagrin
of many Bangalee leaders, H.S. Suhrawardy had joined the so-called
talent- cabinet in December 1954 as Law Minister. He, however,
resigned from the cabinet in August 1955]."
In another segment of the same article, I underscored Iskander Mirza's
specialization on cliques and tricks: "Some more serious changes in the
political leadership of Pakistan also took place at that time. Given
the fact that Ghulam Mohammad was seriously ill since late 1954,
Iskander Mirza was acting as Governor General when the Governor General
decided to take leave for treatment. Of all the cabinet members, Ghulam
Mohammad had trusted Iskander Mirza to be officiating as Governor
General during his absence! Iskander Mirza, a master of cliques and
tricks, had devised a blueprint to oust the Governor General. It was on
August 11, 1955 when Iskander Mirza unceremoniously replaced Governor
General Ghulam Mohammad in office."
Hopefully,Humayun Mirza's book deals with these relevant issues
questions with which his father was associated. It is important to see
how the son of an indecent ruler has evaluated his father's betrayal
with the people, future, and Constitution of a new nation. Thanks for
your time. W.Zaman Manik (January 18, 2001)
Mr. Nibir Datta posted the following article:
In article <9403ok$dn7$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
nusrat rizvi
>My Comments on ISKANDER MIRZA: A MALIGNANT DESCENDANT OF MIR JAFAR
>ISKANDER MIRZA was a malignant descendent of MIR JAFOR (ALI KHAN).
Did you not notice that every single person responsible for
murdering democracy in Pakistan was a Paindoo.
Am I so wrong when I say that elimination of Paindoos from
this earth can do no harm but only good. That Mohajirs must
band together in their fight not only for themselves but also for
mankind.
rash...@my-deja.com
Are Indian punjabi included in your hated paindoo group ??
In article <dhtd6t45h0oo47r95...@4ax.com>,
nusrat rizvi
>
>In article <dhtd6t45h0oo47r95...@4ax.com>,
> nusrat rizvi <rizv...@pipeline.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, 18 Jan 2001 06:51:11 GMT, mwz...@my-deja.com wrote:
>>
>> >My Comments on ISKANDER MIRZA: A MALIGNANT DESCENDANT OF MIR JAFAR
>>
>> >Mohammad had trusted Iskander Mirza to be officiating as Governor
>> >General during his absence! Iskander Mirza, a master of cliques and
>> >tricks, had devised a blueprint to oust the Governor General. It was
>on August 11, 1955 when Iskander Mirza unceremoniously replaced Governor
>> >General Ghulam Mohammad in office."
>> >
>> >
>> >Hopefully,Humayun Mirza's book deals with these relevant issues
>> >questions with which his father was associated. It is important to
>see how the son of an indecent ruler has evaluated his father's betrayal
>> >with the people, future, and Constitution of a new nation. Thanks for
>> >your time. W.Zaman Manik (January 18, 2001)
>> >
>> Did you not notice that every single person responsible for
>> murdering democracy in Pakistan was a Paindoo.
>> Am I so wrong when I say that elimination of Paindoos from
>> this earth can do no harm but only good. That Mohajirs must
>> band together in their fight not only for themselves but also for
>> mankind.
>>
>Paindoo ?
>Are Indian punjabi included in your hated paindoo group ??
Did you ever see a Hindu Punjabi doing anything detrimental to the
best interest of his homeland which is India. Did you also see a
Paindoo do anything which was not?
bengal...@gmail.com
Nusrat Rizvi
wrote:
>Iskandar Mirza carried a dirty blood flow from Mir Zafar and handed over his dirty politics to another dirty man Ayub Khan.