Aga Syed Hussain

Aga Syed Hussain
خان بهادر ﺁقا سيد حسين
Khan Bahadur III in Order of Nobility after Dewan Bahadur and Nawab.
1st Matriculate of Kashmir,
1st Muslim Minister in Dogra Rule. [[Governor of Kashmir, Judge of first High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, Education Minister, Home and Judicial Minister]]
Personal details
Born August 1876
Maternal Home, Qasr-e-Qazalbaash, Agha Manzil, Khanqah-i-Sokhta Nawa Kadal, Srinagar, Kashmir
Died 25 November 1944
Children Begum Zafar Ali, Aga Syed Mehmud, Aga Syed Ahmad(Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha)
Residence 'Gulshan', Lal Mandi, Adjacent to Sri Pratap Singh Museum, Srinagar
Religion Shia Islam

Khan Bahadur Aga Sayed Hussain Thakkar (1876–1944) was the first matriculate of Kashmir (1894),[1] a Judge of the first High Court of Jammu and Kashmir[2] and the first Muslim Minister in the Dogra Rule.[3] He retired as the Home and Judicial Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.[3]

Early life

Aga Syed Hussain was the son of Syed Ali Rizvi who was a descendant of Aaqa Mir Syed Hussain Qumi Rizvi Kashmiri, a Sufi Saint and a descendant of Imam Ali al-Ridha. Aga Syed Hussain was brought up at his maternal home, Qasr-e-Qazalbaash, Agha Manzil, in the Nawa kadal area of Srinagar, the residence of his maternal grandfather, Agha (Hakim) Muhammad Baqir, a Qizilbashi Agha of Afghan descent.[4] Baqir's ancestors were commanders in the Royal Afsharid forces of Emperor Nader Shah[5] and before that the Safavid Shahs of Iran.[4] (Agha) Hakim Muhammad Baqir was the Chief Physician to Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, and headed "Daarul-ul-Tarjumah", the translating institute established under a Royal Firman by the Maharaja where books related to "Tibb-i-Unaan" were translated from Arabic and Latin into Persian and Dogri. He was assigned the title of "Afsar-ul-Tibba".[6] Agha Baqir was succeeded by his son (Agha) Hakim Ali Naqi.[4][4][7]

Aga Syed Hussain was provided with the finest available education, thus becoming the First Kashmiri to pass the Punjab University Matriculation for the first time in Kashmir in 1894. Later Ved Lal Zutshi became the second Matriculate of Kashmir.[8] As there was no college in the state, Syed Hussain was advised by Sir Walter Roper Lawrence, then Settlement Commissioner, to enter the Civil Services of his own Country. Hussain received the requisite training in settlement with a graduation course and passed successfully in the Tehsildari and Wazarat examinations (1895-1898). He was bestowed with the title of "Kanwar" by Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir. Aga Syed Hussain served in various capacities including Governor of Kashmir.[4][7] By 1925 Aga Syed Hussain was Conferred with the title of khan Sahib for his distinguished services by the Viceroy and Governor General of British India. He remained as Governor of Kashmir (1926-1927). Due to his meritorious services he was made a Judge of the first High Court of Jammu and Kashmir (along with two Hindu judges, Lala Kanwar Sein and Bodh Raj Sawhney) on its establishment in 1928. He remained as Judge of the High Court till 1929.[9][10] He was again conferred with the Higher title of Khan Bahadur the third in order of Nobility after Dewan Bahadur and Nawab and decorated with the Imperial Service Medal by the then Viceroy and Governor General of British India Lord Irwin. He was appointed as Home and Judicial Minister of the state and held additional charge of Education Ministry (1929-1932). On his retirement, he was bestowed with the "Robes of Honour" and awarded the title of "Thakkar"[11] with estates in various Villages in Kashmir.[4][7] After retirement, he was nominated as a member of Prajha Sabha (legislative Assembly).[12][13] Aga Sayed Hussain died at his Model Town, Lahore residence on November 25, 1944. As per his will his body was brought to Srinagar and was buried at the Gulistaan Baba Mazaar Cemetery in Zadibal area of Srinagar.

Legacy

Hussain's Eldest Son Aga Sayed Mehmud was appointed as the Council Secretary to Maharaja Hari Singh. However owing to his vision impairment he couldn't continue his job. Mehmud was survived by his three sons- S.Aga Muzaffar, IAS, Former Chief Secretary of J&K, S.Aga Afzal ICS, C.S.P, Former Chief Secretary of Punjab, Pakistan and Syed Jalal Aga. Mehmud was also survived by a daughter who was married to Anwar Sayeed of the Pakistan Navy.[14][15][16] Aga Sayed Hussain's second son, Aga Syed Ahmed, IAS former Home Secretary, J&K, was later Member of Parliament Lok Sabha (1967-1977). As a Parliamentarian, he was a member of the Indian Delegation to the 25th Session of the United Nations and Fourth Committee for Decolonization.[17][18] He was also Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s special Envoy on various Diplomatic tours of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, France, UK, U.S.A, Japan, Hong Kong, and Russia.[18][19] Aga Syed Ahmed was survived by four children- 2 daughters and 2 Sons- Lt Syed Farooq Abbas Aga IAS and Engineer Aga Syed Raza.[17] Aga Syed Hussain's daughter Syeda Fatima was married to her cousin Agha Zafar Ali Qazalbaash and was later known as Begum Zafar Ali.[20] [21] She was the first woman matriculate of Kashmir.She remained as Chief Inspector of Schools, Director of Education Kashmir, Secretary Social welfare Board, Member of the Legislative Assembly. She was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India for her outstanding contribution in the field of Social Work.[4][21] She was survived by her three sons- Agha Nasir Ali IAS, Kashmir's first Civil Servant through competition(1941) and the first Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar, later Labour Secretary of India, Agha Shaukat Ali KCS, C.S.P Pakistani diplomat, and the youngest Agha Ashraf Ali, educationist, former Commissioner of Education, J&K.(father of Agha Shahid Ali).[12][22] Today the members of this Family live in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir and abroad. In Srinagar, after Nawa Kadal, Rajbagh and Lal Mandi used to be the harmonious abode of the family. Today only a handful of the members live in Srinagar and its outskirts.[7] Among the Qazalbaashi Aghas Dr Agha Ashraf Ali lives at Rajbagh, Dr Agha Maqsood Ali lives at Nishat, Agha Sajad Ali and Agha Humayun Advocate live at Alamgari Bazar.They along with their families are the scions of the Agha Qazalbaash Family in Srinagar, Kashmir. Among the Descendants of Khan Bahadur Aga Sayed Hussain Thakkar, Aga Sayed Jalal lives at Lal Mandi, Er Aga Sayed Raza lives at Nishat, Aga Sayed Askar Abbas lives at (Rawalpora,Rangreth) and Sayed Ali Turab Aga (Rajbagh/ Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh).[4][7]

References

  1. ↑ Altaf, Sana (2011-12-01). "Changing times..". Newsinsight.net. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  2. ↑ "History". Jkhighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  3. 1 2 Maqbool, Majid (22 May 2009). "My life has been wedded to excellence". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Agha Nasir Ali | Libas". Libasapp.pakkapapita.com. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  5. ↑ "The Army of Nader Shah" (PDF). Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  6. ↑ http://medind.nic.in/jab/t12/i1/jabt12i1p91.pdf
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 December 20, 2015 (2015-08-05). "Agha Family of Srinagar Kashmir | Agha Family History". Aghafamilyofsrinagarkashmir.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  8. ↑ "Kashmiri Pandit Personalities: Pandit Nityanand Shastri". Koausa.org. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Former Chief Justices & Judges". Jkhighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  11. ↑ "Home". Kashmirheritage.org. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  12. 1 2
  13. ↑ http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/gk-magazine/my-life-has-been-wedded-to-excellence/52023.html
  14. ↑ https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=0143061976
  15. ↑ "Lahore : A Sentimental Journey - Pran Nevile - Google Books". Books.google.co.in. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  16. ↑ Dec 23, 2012 09:05pm (2012-12-23). "An ideal civil servant dead - Newspaper". Dawn.Com. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  17. 1 2
  18. 1 2 "Members Of Lok Sabha". Parliamentofindia.nic.in. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  19. ↑ http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/members/former_Biography.aspx?mpsno=1699
  20. ↑
  21. 1 2
  22. ↑ "Agha Sr". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 2015-12-24.

Further reading

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