getafix7 posted: " At one point in time, India was known as a country which welcomed people from all parts of the world. Poet Firaq Gorakhpuri had famously written: "Sar Zamine-e-Hind par aqwame-e-alam ke Firaq/ Kafile baste gaye/ Hindostan banta gaya". Baho"
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At one point in time, India was known as a country which welcomed people from all parts of the world. Poet Firaq Gorakhpuri had famously written: "Sar Zamine-e-Hind par aqwame-e-alam ke Firaq/ Kafile baste gaye/ Hindostan banta gaya".
Bahol Lodhi took over the reins of Delhi Sultanate in 1451, becoming the first Afghan ruler of Delhi. Subsequently, in 1454, his daughter Taj Murassa Begum married Sadruddin. Bahol Lodhi also gave Sadruddin a tract of land containing 12 large and 56 small villages [including Maler], in addition to Rs 3 lakh as dowry.
The story goes thus: A descendant of Sadruddin, Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan, was a loyal vassal of Emperor Aurangzeb. He helped the Mughal armies in the battle of Chamkaur Sahib against the army of Guru Gobind Singh. However, he opposed the inhuman treatment meted out to the two sons of the Guru, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, by the Viceroy of Sirhind.
Sher Mohammed Khan, a close relative of the Chakaldar Wazir Khan, lodged vehement protests against the inhuman act of bricking alive the two sons of the Guru. The Nawab argued passionately that crimes against children were against the glorious tenets of the Quran and Islam, and that history would not forgive those who sought to murder children. Wazir Khan refused to listen to this counsel and the Nawab of Malerkotla walked out of the court in protest.
Sher Mohammed Khan subsequently wrote a protest note to Emperor Aurangzeb. 'The humble and devoted petitioner," he stated, "begs to lay his humble appeal before your most gracious majesty and hopes from your imperial majesty's unfathomable kindness and illimitable magnanimity that the august person of the shadow of God…. be pleased to bestow his compassion and forgiveness on the young sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikh nation."
"It would be quite compatible with justice," the letter went on to state, "if the Emperor wished to inflict punishment on the Sikh nation, but it would in no way be consistent with the principles of sovereignty and supreme power to wreak the vengeance of the misdeeds of the whole nation on two innocent children who, on account of their tender age… are unable to take a stand against the powerful Viceroy."
The act, he said, is against the diktats of Islam and the laws propounded by the founder of Islam. This atrocious act would perpetually remain an "ugly blot on the face of your Majesty's renowned justice and righteousness. It may be considered that the mode of inflicting the punishment and torture as contemplated by the Viceroy of Sirhind can, by no means, be considered compatible with the principles of supreme rule, equity and justice'.
Guru Gobind Singh thanked the Nawab of Malerkotla for his intervention, even though it had failed to prevent the death of the two Sahibzadas. The Guru blessed him with a Hukamnama and a Kirpan, which are among the prized possessions of the Malerkotla house. Guru Gobind Singh also promised that the Muslim community in Malerkotla would never be harmed in the times to come.
According to a documentary by the Discovery Channel, the moment Muslims fleeing from murderous Hindu and Sikh mobs during partition riots crossed the boundaries of the town, the mobs pursuing them were halted by a white horse which patrolled the borders of Malerkotla. The white horse, it is believed, was the steed of Guru Gobind Singh, the protector of the Muslim community in the town.
The last of the descendants of Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan, Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan died in 1982. On the occasion of the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa, the late Nawab's wife, Sajida Begum, sent greetings to the Sikh community.
The act symbolically reminded younger Sikhs that the Sahibzadas had sacrificed their lives for the protection of their religion. She asked the Sikhs to remember the great sacrifices of the young Sahibzadas and abstain from any act which might deprive them of the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh.
If the first strand of tolerance was woven by the spiritual inclinations of the rulers (that is, Sufism), oral histories, which speak of the benediction given by the Guru, composed the second strand. The third strand woven into this fabric was the nature of princely rule.
The Nawabs practised tolerance. Till today, the inhabitants of the city do not consume either pork or beef. This had been decided by the Nawab. The rule of the Nawab was marked by generosity and kindness to all his subjects, irrespective of their religious affiliations. Each of the 22 rulers offered high posts to Hindus and Sikhs and bestowed privileges and property on members of the two minority communities.
Oral histories, shared forms of worship in the mazar and a respect for tradition have instilled a perceptible sense of belonging among those who live in the town. The traditions help create a political community.
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