Saleem Khan – The Shia dominance of the legal profession in British India: A Study of Lawyer-Politicians of Bihar
Event Date: 9-10 September 2011
Royal Holloway, University of London
Contesting Shi‘ism: Isna ‘Ashari and Isma‘ili Shi‘ism in modern South Asia
Saleem Khan
The Shia dominance of the legal profession in British India :A Study of Lawyer-Politicians of Bihar
‘Ulema, religious rituals, sectarian violence and aristocrats have generally been the focus for studies on Shi‘ism and Shi‘as in South Asia, while high caste, upper middle class British educated Hindu Brahmins such as the Sapru-Nehru clan usually provide the focus for studies on lawyer-politicians. Yet some of the best barristers of British India were Shi‘as by origin or choice. A few like the Muslim modernist Syed Amir Ali and Muhammad Ali Jinnah have been the subject of several publications. In particular, the focus of this paper is on the Shi‘a Muslim Barristers of Bihar, who have received much less attention. Centred on two brothers, Sir Ali Imam and Justice Hasan Imam of Patna, and their distant younger relative Sir Sultan Ahmed of Gaya, they each rose to the apex of both the political and legal professions during the British Raj. The elder brother Sir Ali Imam headed the Muslim League, while Hasan Imam became the leader of the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress. Sir Sultan Ahmed, in contrast to the Imam brothers, later on came to head the All India Shi‘a Conference. The descendents and relatives of the Imam brothers acquired an elite education, often at British private schools, Oxbridge and the Inns of Law, and were well represented in the Indian Supreme and High Courts until the 1970s. This paper also looks at the relations between these Bihari Syed Shi‘a barristers with the much larger Sunni community, the Hindu majority, and their co-religionists in Awadh.
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I would like to thank Mr Saleem Khan, for shedding light on the works of Late Sir Ali Imam (my great grandfather) and Late Justice Hassan Imam (my great grand uncle). Its nice to know that people still acknowledge and remember them for their immence legal and political contribution in India.
With regards
Zahra Imam
MA Cantab
Mr Saleem Khan.
Dear Saleem,
Thank you very much for presenting your very well researched paper on my paternal great grandfather, Sir Syed Ali Imam, and his younger brother, Justice Syed Hasan Imam, and your cogent arguments and impressive question & answer session that followed.
Yours sincerely,
Imran
A wonderful effort by Mr. Saleem Khan. Even I am writing a research paper on Imam family.
Where do Zahra Imam & Imran M A Imam live ?
Mr Syed Faizan Raza. You can contact me on imaimam@hotmail.com. Imran M.A.Imam
I am highly thankful to Mr.Saleem Khan for his reserch work on my great uncles Sir ali Imam and Mr.Hasan Imam.My father Syed abid Imam(younger brother of the two great bros.) is also very happy to know this and blessing you.We observe a function in the honour of the two great bros. in Patna High Court,and I would like to include his work if he allows me.
syed shahid Imam,Patna,Bihar.
Imam Family is now converted to sunnism and there is no male heir alive.
Aqueel kazmi
Jehanabad bihar
& Delhi
Contrary to what Mr Aqueel Kazmi says, the descendents of Syed Imdad Imam (Asar) are Shia and are domiciled in Patna, Delhi, Karachi and London. Ancestors of Syed Imadad Imam (Asar) were Sunni but, unlike the mainstream Sunnis, they were devoted to the Noble Household of the Holy Prophet of Islam. Syed Imdad Imam converted to Shia Islam, and wrote several books in support of Shia Ideology. The Imam Family members, descended from Syed Imdad Imam (Asar) are Shia of the Holy Prophet and his Noble Household.
Imran M.A.Imam,
London.
Dear Mr Syed Faizan Reza,
You can contact me on zimam15@hotmail.com.
Yours sincerely,
Zahra
Dear Saleem,
Thank you very much for bringing this topic to light and delivering a very informative and interesting seminar!
Please feel free to contact me again if you need further information, whether it be about dates, events or relevant family photos. You are of course more than welcome to contact my siblings, Mr. Imran M. A. Imam and Ms. Zahra Imam, as well as they too shall be very happy to help.
Needless to say, I shall be only too glad to provide you assistance again just as I did with this presentation as well as the other, equally informative, presentation that you gave at the London Metropolitan University:
” Saleem Khan (London Metropolitan): The Imams of Patna: A Muslim Politician Lawyer Family of British India. ”
[ http://colonialfamilies.wordpress.com/conference/programme/ ]
I mentioned to you once before that it is a real pity that following India’s partition many notable leaders of the pre-partition Indian Nationalist Movement have been conveniently forgotten. So it is particularly gratifying to note that there is some one like you who has taken upon himself the task of filling this gap.
Your effort has been greatly appreciated by all of us.
Warm regards,
Dr. Aqeel M. A. Imam (PhD)
Dear Mr. Syed Faizan Raza,
I note from your above comment that you are writing a research paper on our paternal family, the Imams of Patna.
Please fell free to contact me and my siblings, Mr. Imran M. A. Imam and Ms. Zahra Imam, should you need any assistance in your project regarding further information about this family. Here is my email address:
amaimam14@hotmail.com
All of us shall be only too glad to be of help.
Sincerely,
Dr. Aqeel M. A. Imam (PhD)
@ Aqueel Kazmi
I’d like to confirm what by brother, Mr. Imran M.A. Imam, says above that many of the descendents of Syed Imdad Imam (Asar) are still Shia and are domiciled in various cities such as Patna, Delhi, Karachi, London and Rotterdam. Besides this they are also to be found in USA and Canada and they include both male and female members (in all of the places mentioned above) so the suggestion that there are no male heirs left is quite wrong!
I further confirm that some of our ancestors were indeed Sunni but like some other Sunnis were devoted to the Noble Household of the Holy Prophet of Islam. This can be gauged not only by information about them at the State Central Library, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, but also by reading the works of Syed Waheed-ud-Deen Khan (Azad) -Syed Imdad Imam (Asar)’s father- who wrote a book (in Urdu) called:
Hadd-e-Tahqeeq ba Mashrab-e-Sunni
From this it is abundantly clear what his beliefs really were. Even a cursory reading of this book tells you that he and his family were devoted to the Ahl-ul-bayt (the Noble Household of the Prophet). The arguments in this book give away his real position on the issue, despite what the title implies.
Dr. Aqeel M. A. Imam (PhD)
thank you all for your kind comments. my own family have known the imams for some 150 years, we shared the ups and downs of life. the imams are still much more approachable than most other south asian elites. Anyone can use my works provided they refer to it fully. welcome others to take on further research.
At the moment taking some time away and getting married to a nice young middle class girl whose uncle is a eminent lawyer, so there is no escape from lawyers for me, need to move on from my feudal past. hope to give further papers later.
Dear Mr Saleem Khan,
Extraordinary. Thanks you so much for this scholarly work on the legendary Imam Bros. I’ve been researching on their lives for my documentary project on the history, places, personalities of the colonial Patna for a very long time now. Mr. Syed Shahid Imam from Patna is a good friend of mine and he only gave me your reference. I was also looking into their lives from the perspectives of the architectural heritage they created in form of their grand houses and havelis. Unfortunately, some of them are gone while others are languishing in decadence. I’m pretty sure you must have seen them all. Mr. Khan I’m making this film to save those heritage as the great symbols of our glorious past. and, therefore any help/support from your part would be greatly appreciated. Sir, you live in London and you know how they keep their heritage buildings but it breaks my heart to see such great houses of royal magnificence decaying in disgrace.
Also, I’d like to thank and say hello to all the family members of the great Imam family living in India and abroad, though I know only Shahid Imam sahab from Patna, my home. (Dr. Aqueel MA Imam, Mr. Imran MA Imam, Ms. Zahra Imam) And, would like to urge all of you to assist me in restoring the great past pf Patna and relive the stories of the these great heroes of Patna. Last year I attended a seminar on Imam Bros at the Khuda Buksh Library and I must admit I feel proud of these figures as they inspire me but it also makes me sad to see them relegated from the pages of history which they so richly deserve.
I have been doing this documentary by raising funds through freelancing as no one was willing to support my project. Saleem saheb kindly if you could share your work with me, it’d be a great help. And, yes, you’d be properly credited sir, like other folks who have helpmed me so far. it was great to listen to your presentation on tape here. Wish I could be there in person to see Mehdi Imam n Jafar Imam n Fazal Imam being talked about, names which I’ve heard like legends here in Patna.
Also, Dr. Aqueel Imam, Imran Imam saheb and Zahra mam, could I reach out to you folks for family details, past incidents, documents, photographs etc. I’ll feel really blessed if I could. I’ve met so many wonderful muslim families since I started working on this project almost 2 years ago. I even went to Neora, the birthplace of the Imam brothers. I was told there that Neora was nicknamed as the “Vilayat of Bihar” or “Foreign of Bihar” as most of the educted classes became Barristers. It was sad to see their old houses in shambles. Same goes for Hasan Manzil, house of Hasan Imam which is gone. Mariam Manzil is almost eclipsed with a mall in its compound, Ali Manzil and Al Mehrab are history. So, share with me the old photographs so that I can tell the story of these families and the great lives they once lived, for themselves and for the services they rendered to the nation. I salute the Imam Brothers and Sir Sultan Ahmad whose Sultan Palace has been turned into a shanty by the government. Looking forward to great responses from all of you. I wish I could share with you all the pain I’ve undergone while making this documentary, to see legends being reduced to a footnote and in some case being obliterated.
Also, wish you all a great new year. May it bring hope for the city of Patna and Bihar too. Currently, I reside in Delhi for my one-year English Journalism course at IIMC, New Delhi.
Contact:
mailto: juvenilia.k@gmail.com
Ph:+ 91 91 87504 66648 (Delhi no.)
Sincerely,
Kunal Dutt
Independent Documentary Filmmaker
Student, PG Diploma, English Journalism, Class 2011-12
Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi
Long Live the Legend of the Great Imam Brothers.
Dear Mr. Saleem Khan,
First my compliments for the effort you have put in. You have taken up a story that needs to be told. The educated urban elite of Patna lived between the New Capital or Government Patna in the west and the Exhibition Road in the east. And this urban space was dominated by the beautiful mansions of the Imam Brothers. Sir Sultan’s Palace stood at the dividing line between government and private. Incidently Sir Sultan was a very close personal friend of my great grandfather, Raja Chandreshwar of Maksudpur Raj in Gaya and in fact Sir Sultan drafted and witnessed the Raja’s Will on 30.6.1929 at the Raja’s river bank residence at Digha, signing, “S. Sultan Ahmed kt. Government Advocate Bihar and Orrissa.”
I am interested in your piece because both my uncle, Raja Jagat and my father received a lot of affection and also education in how a gentleman conducts himself from Mr. Justice Jafar Imam as well as Aunty Asma, apart from the rest of the family. I too, while still at school in Dehradun, remember them in their York Road ( now Motilal Nehru Road) residence in Delhi. My father always refered to Jafar Saheb as the modern day Yudhistir who always adhered to his own very high bar of conduct and integrety. Justice Jafar Imam was never passed over in the appointment of the Chief Justice of India. He was very much expected to be Chief Justice, both on exceptional merit as well as seniority. Unfortunately, he had a stroke and could not become Chief. I think it is unfair to say that Nehru bye passed him as he was Muslim. That was an age when the educated urban elite were actively secular and Nehru never subverted fundamental institutions of the State.
Not meaning in any way to take away from the great effort put in by you, I have a few observations.
Some more information on the politics of the Imam Brothers covering the respective tenures as leaders of the respective parties and the context of the freedom movement would flesh out the subject you have chosen. Similarly the legal professional roles needs more flesh and understanding from the legal point of view. I think as very successful lawyers their contribution to evolving Indian jurisprudence and practice must have been much more than just gladiatorial contests between Brahimins and Shias. Religion had very little to do in the client base of the best and the brightest which the Imam Brothers and Sir Sultan certainly were. The most Orthodox Hindus went to Muslim lawyers and vice a versa. My great grand father, very orthodox hindu raja is a prime example. Even when his own gaddi itself was under serious threat in a law suit at Mathura filed by a collateral claimant claiming both the Tikari and Maksudpur Raj, the Maksudpur Raja put his trust in Sir Sultan. The claimant was represented by Moti Lal Nehru.
I wonder if you did try to get in touch with Mr. Tootoo Imam, the step brother of Asma Begum and S. Mehdi Imam. Uncle Tootoo is the only surviving son of Mr. Hasan Imam and hence the closest reletive . He is 92, he still swims for an hour every day, still rides and in the sporting world, is a legend in his own lifetime. He has authored a number of books on a variety of sport and is a leading and acknowledged authority on horses and equestrian sport. Bulu Imam is his son. Uncle Tootoo’s advice to my son, Akshay who was learning how to ride this winter at Hazaribagh, was , ” a gentleman must go through life unobserved” So good luck in trying to interview Uncle Tootoo.
Congratulations for your great contribution.
Ajai Singh of Maksudpur
Rajmandir Palace,
Maksudpur, Gaya, Bihar.
dear raja sahib of maksudpur,
thank you for your comments which i will take on. my own great grand father dr muhammed Kayum mbbs (calcutta) on my mother’s side was a leading doctor of bihar, another relative by marriage dr ahmed ali khan the ancestor of ex-sec general amnesty international irene khan, was also hasan imam’s private doctor, perhaps your ancestors were once their patients. nice to learn that your daughter has also been to soas like me, i did my ma there, i was due to give a more refined version of this paper at soas but was not able to as i am busy caring for my mother who delighted to hear that you have commented on my paper. granduncle Tootoo imam has alreadly a copy of my presentation.
Dear Mr Saleem khan
I am the son of Syed Ali Hafeez-Imam,and the grandson of Syed Hafeez Imam, and at present living in Manchester. My brother and me have been trying to put together a family tree and would like your help. We have got as far as Syed Imdad Imam, but have been unable to find out more about his ancestry . I would appreciate it if you could help us. And if you have any other research material, we would like to know more about our ancestry.
With Regards
Omar
if anyone needs info, please email me on saleemizdanikhan@aim.com, i will be happy to help, a telephone number will be useful,
saleem khan mian khel
http://www.facebook.com/groups/350003251693526/
above is the link for the facebook group on the imam brothers and sir sultan ahmed
please join
Zahra Imam (granddaughter of sir ali imam)
خاکسار کا تعلق کراچی سے ہے۔ کیا عجب اتفاق ہے کہ پرانی کتابوں کے اتواز بازار سے مجھے گیا، بہار سے شائع ہوئی خاکوں کی ایک کتاب حال ہی میں ملی ہے۔ مظفر گیلانی کی “ان سے ملیے”۔ یہ کتاب 1988 میں شائع ہوئی تھی۔ اس کتاب میں سر علی امام کا لاجواب خاکہ موجود ہے۔
Iam writing an article on this book whch would soon be available at hamareweb.com
title of Pensketch of sir ali imam is ” sir ali imam ki kahani, ladi imam ki zabani”
Author met with lady imam at mariyam manzil for an interview on the basis of which he wrote the said pensketch.
Ali imam died on 30 october 1932 in ranchi.
His last words just before his death to his son naqi imam were:
” Naqi! Dont come in between me and my God now”
Dear Zahra! May i know about naqi imam, is he alive ?
Do you know muzaffar zia ?
Khair Andaish
Rashid Ashraf
Karachi-Pakistan
zest70pk@gmail.com
http://www.scribd.com/doc/105235783/The-Imams-of-Patna-2
the above website goes along with this presentation
This is Bulu Imam in Hazaribagh.
Thank you Saleem for your devoted work on the two great Imam brothers from Patna. We are in constant touch so I dont have much to add ! God bless your work which has been helpful while I have been completing my memoirs, and adding the notes of our family history, but from a purely insider family view which is different since it is subjective.
Love,
Bulu Uncle
Email: buluimam@gmail.com
http://www.buluimam.com
http://www.karanpuracampaign.com
http://www.sanskritihazaribagh.com
http://www.buluimam@blogspot.com
Facebook – LinkedIn – Twitter
Phone India 06546-264820
Mobile 09905339231
:
my campaign website is: http://www.karanpura campaign.org, and not as given above .com.