Tome & Plume: Those Who Penned City Of Lakes In Pages Of History

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Man is a history-making creature who can neither repeat his past not leave it behind – WH Auden

Writing a book and ruling a country are two different things. A blend of the two is a rare phenomenon. King Bhoj of the Parmar dynasty (1010 CE to 1055 CE) was one of those rare few gifted with writing skill. The king was a fine poet as well.

He wrote about 84 books. Saraswati Kanthabharana (The Necklace of Goddess Saraswati is considered his best work. King Bhoj’s works are mostly on literature, philosophy, architecture, and astrology. But one can have a glimpse of the history of his kingdom in his works.

A student of history finds the mention of the state capital in his treatises. There is a story that it was King Bhoj who settled Bhopal. The city, being part of his kingdom, is acquainted with such ruler-writers.

Nearly 838 years after King Bhoj, another ruler-writer appeared on the scene. She was none other than the third Nawab of Bhopal, Sultan Shahjahan Begum (1838 CE to 1901 CE). She, too, was a poet and chronicler. Most of the books written on Bhopal refer to her work, the Taj-ul-Iqbal, Tarikh Bhopal (The History of Bhopal).

It contains an authentic history of the city. The book is in chaste Urdu. HC Barstow, a political agent and resident of Bhopal, translated it into English in 1876. Nizami Press of Kanpur, UP, printed the original book. A press in Calcutta (now Kolkata) published its English translation the same year. The book soon reached England.

All female rulers were prolific writers in Urdu and Persian. The second female Nawab of Bhopal was also a fine writer. She scripted a memoir on her visit to Mecca, Tarikh-i Safar-i Makkah.

The Bhopal History Forum (BHF) has brought out a book, History of Bhopal Riyasat (1722-1949). It also contains a vivid history of the city. The book dispels many doubts about the rulers of the city. It speaks about the date of Bhopal’s merger with the Union of India after independence.

The book contains a photocopy of a document that confirms the BHF’s claim on the date of the city’s merger with the Union of India. The document contains the signatures of the city’s last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, and Mountbatten. Another book, The Begums of Bhopal, written by a former Pakistani diplomat, Shaharyar M. Khan, and a descendant of Bhopal’s royal family, sheds enough light on the history of the city.

The most important part of Khan’s book is that he mentioned how the East India Company initially opposed female rule. How did the Begums cite Queen Victoria's example as their model? How did the Begums cast off the Purdah system and take over the command of the state? It offers a balanced history of the state.

There is another book, History of Bhopal State. Development of Constitution, Administration, and National Awakening, 1901-1949, written by Kamala Mittal. It also deals with the history of the city from 1901 to 1948.  She consulted the documents available at national archives in Delhi and Bhopal.

It deals with the merger movement of Bhopal with the Union of India after independence. There are a few other books on Bhopal. But they talk of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. One such work is Five Past Midnight in Bhopal by Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro.

Lapierre is an eminent writer. He, together with Larry Collins, wrote Freedom at Midnight and many other books. The book deals more with the tragedy than with the general history of the city. Yet, it consists of a few facts about the city. He writes, “In the ancient city of Bhopal, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from an American pesticide plant, killing and injuring thousands of people. When the noxious clouds cleared, the worst industrial disaster in history had taken place.”

There are dozens of books on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Most of them have cited, directly or indirectly, the history of the city. The word "ancient" at the beginning of the sentence of Lapierre indicates Bhopal’s ancientness. The story that began many years ago is still going on.