Mulla Wahidi: a true ‘Dilli-wala’
In dinon garche Dakan mein hai bari qadr-i-sukhan
Kaun jae Zauq par Dilli ki galiyan chhor kar
Mulla Wahidi was one of those true Dilli-walas who did not want to leave their beloved city after partition in 1947 but had to for one reason or another. But he could not forget Delhi for the rest of his life and craved for it till his last breath. He himself felt that his love for Delhi was too much and was not appreciable on at least one count: it was more powerful than religious feelings. That is the reason exactly why he once prayed to the Almighty that the passion for Delhi may remain ever so intense but may it be changed into the love for Almighty and his last Prophet (peace be upon him). Such was the sincerity and truthfulness of people of the older generations, such as Mulla Wahidi, that they honestly committed such things into writing as well.
An epitome of Delhi’s old culture and traditional values, Mulla Wahidi was a learned, pious and humble soul. Having experienced Delhi’s cultured, traditional and noble ways of life, when he put pen to the paper to narrate some of the historical tales he had heard or to record Delhi’s cultural values, he brought the old times and old souls back to life. While reading his famous Mere Zamane ki Dilli, the reader feels that he is watching live the life and times of Delhi of the first half of the 20th century. He has recorded, in his naturally lucid style and chaste Urdu, his observations about the scholars, clerics, writers, kebab-sellers, hawkers, kite-flyers and other characters of the society of Delhi. This book is also known as ‘Delhi’s elegy’ because of its pathos.
Mulla Wahidi was not a mullah in the traditional sense of the word. His real name was Syed Muhammad Irtiza. During his student days, writes Jaleel Qidvai in his book ‘Chand Akabir Chand Muaasir’, Muhammad Irtiza once quipped to his classmate Mushtaq Ahmed Zahidi (who later became the principal of a college in Bhawalpur): ‘You are Zahidi and I am Wahidi’. This casual rhyming stuck to him and from then on he was known as Wahidi. He was a disciple of Khwaja Hasan Nizami who was very fond of giving nicknames to people. According to Hasan Nizami Sani, Wahidi was lovingly called ‘mulla’ by Khwaja Hasan Nizami. But Mulla Wahidi in his autobiography ‘Mera Afsana’ has mentioned that to avoid the title ‘moulvi’ and ‘moulana’ he adopted the title ‘mulla’. Anyway, this title too caught on and he became Mulla Wahidi, so much so that people forgot his real name.
Born in Delhi on May 17, 1888, Mulla Wahidi was a writer, publisher, journalist and businessman rolled into one. Though equipped with little formal schooling, Mulla Wahidi began contributing to Urdu’s established literary magazines when he was hardly 18. In July 1909, when barely 21, he launched a monthly from Delhi named ‘Nizam-ul-Mashaekh’, in collaboration with Hasan Nizami. Later, Hasan Nizami handed it over to Mullah Wahidi completely. The magazine rapidly established itself and Mulla Wahidi became quite a celebrity, making friends with the literati and glitterati, such as Allama Iqbal, Shibli Naumani, Abul Kalam Azad, Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Akbar Allahabadi and Zafar Ali Khan.
Wahidi Sahib decided to launch his own press and publishing house. With the passage of time, his venture flourished and he became a well-known and respected author, editor and publisher. He launched several magazines and a newspaper, including ‘Tabeeb’, ‘Khateeb’, ‘Inqilab’ ‘Ustani’ and ‘Durvesh’ and soon he was printing and publishing nine publications: four monthlies, four weeklies and a daily. Some of them were edited by Mulla Wahidi himself. In addition to his publishing business, he dealt in herbal medicines and tooth powder. Soon he became a well-known person respected for his honesty and penmanship. He was elected a member of Delhi’s Municipal Committee in 1934 and won two consequent elections to hold the post till 1946 and was made a rationing officer in 1940.
At the time of independence, he had no intention to leave Delhi and had launched a new weekly, named ‘Sach’, or ‘truth’, on Aug 15, 1947, celebrating the independence with an eye on the freedom of the press and the freedom to write and publish truth. But the paper could not survive beyond four weeks as the attitude of his Hindu colleagues, as he has mentioned in his book, made him realise that it was the time to leave the beloved city.
After migrating to Karachi, he launched a magazine ‘Firdous’, only to close it down shortly. He re-launched ‘Nizam-ul-Mashaekh’ from Karachi. In 1960, the government asked all publications to obtain a fresh declaration and ‘Nizam-ul-Mashaekh’ was denied one and it had to be closed down.
Wahidi Sahib visited Delhi in 1958 and recorded his impressions in a booklet ‘Dilli Ka Phera’. It was later included in the second edition of ‘Mere Zamane ki dilli’, published by Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu, Karachi, in 2000.
His other books include ‘Sawaneh umri Hazrat Khwaja Hasan Nizami’, ‘Hayat-i-Sarwar-i-Kainat’, ‘Tassauraat’, ‘Hayat-i-Akbar’ and ‘Islami Culture’. His autobiography ‘Mera Afsana’ was partially published posthumously in ‘Tehreer’, a quarterly published by Delhi’s ‘Majlis-i-Ilmi’ and edited by Malik Ram. In monthly ‘Hilal’, Rawalpindi, he used to write ‘Tashreeh-ul-Quran’, a commentary on the Quran but it remained incomplete and he could finish only about half of it.
Several of his books still remain unpublished, some of which he had issued to a limited circle after cyclostyling. Karachi’s Bedil Library has a few of the manuscripts.
Mulla Wahid died in Karachi on Aug 22, 1976.
Reputation of police goes down as crime goes up
It may be unfair, but the general perception is that police act as agent of criminals rather than protector of public interest. The mushroom growth of private security companies is the evidence that even the rich and resourceful of the city have lost faith in the police.
The feeling that the police have abandoned their basic duty is no more a cynical comment and the thought the law enforcers themselves are involved in crimes is scary.
The capital police have a number of excuses in their defence. They say incidence of crime itself has increased sharply due to increasing poverty, unemployment and unaffordable price hike. There are all indications that the police have a point there.
For the last couple of years crimes particularly involving property have registered no substantial fall. During the last year 203 robberies, 130 burglaries and 180 other theft incidents were reported in the capital city against 211 robberies, 142 burglaries and 209 other theft incidents in 2006. In the first seven month of the current year over 150 robberies, more than 80 burglaries, 150 general theft incidents have been reported. Last year 492 vehicles were stolen or snatched from citizens against 434 in the previous year.
But, there has been a big jump in this crime as in the first seven months of the current year over 450 vehicles have already been snatched or stolen in the capital. Cases of armed robbery are also registering an alarming rise as in the last three weeks since July 28 at least three armed robberies have taken place in the city.
In the first incident on July 28 in I-10/2, a group of robbers snatched at gun point Rs700,000 from Saqib Zaman, who was coming from a bank in I-10 Markaz with the cash.
Next day the capital city witnessed one of the biggest robberies in its history. In a daring daylight robbery armed criminals deprived a family of jewellery, cash and cellphones worth over Rs25 million in the high-security F-8 sector.
Police arrived at the crime scene after the robbers had made a clean sweep of the house of Sardar Tanvir Ilyas, near Johar Street in F-8/4. Police later arrested the security guard who had left his place of duty before the robbers arrived, around 12 noon, to return only after the robbers had left with the booty. The only resistance they met was from Shiraz, the personal guard of Mr Ilyas, the owner of the house and a private company’s president. After rummaging through the house for about 90 minutes and collecting the booty the gang escaped unhindered.
It is estimated the gang made away with gold and diamond jewelry worth Rs25 million, Rs500,000 in cash, 10 mobile phones, two licensed pistols and other household goods.
It was not the end. Robbers again struck in Islamabad for the third consecutive day and deprived another family of F-11/3 July 30. Four armed robbers entered the house of Syed Hussain in street 47 when most of the residents were out. They held the old parents and servant at gunpoint. During their stay of more than an hour in the house, the robbers rifled the house from top to bottom in search of valuables and cash. The culprits looted gold ornaments, cash, two mobile phones and other valuables worth Rs1.2 million and drove away.
These three incidents in a row have increased the sense of insecurity among the people living in the capital that they were at the mercy of robbers and wayside bandits and nothing was safe in the city.
Preliminary investigations suggested that different groups committed both the robberies at F-11/3 and F-8/4. The way of raiding, the houses and robbery patterns were also different though the robbers were reportedly talking with each other in Urdu and Punjabi.
The police acted quickly as both the victims were influential. But the question is will they be able to recover the stolen cash and valuables even if the robbers are caught or will the matter close after initial inquiries in the hope people would soon forget. Yet though particular incidents might be forgotten but it will not lessen the fear and insecurity of the public that is growing and not without reason.