Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan alias Sulaiman Mian, the former Raja of Mahmudabad in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, has once again lost his ‘ princely estate’. The former king had been restored his vast property in 2005 after a prolonged legal battle. But a recent central ordinance has changed all that.
Within hours of receiving the order to reclaim Mian’s ‘enemy property’, the Sitapur administration began the process to attach his vast property. Work is on to take possession of over 100 buildings and 367 hectares of land — all belonging to Mian — in Lucknow, Lakhimpur Kheri and Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh) and Nainital (Uttarakhand).
The property is valued at Rs 5,000 crore.
After Partition, Mian’s father left for Pakistan in 1957. But his mother Begum Kaneez Abdi and he stayed back in India.
In 1962, the Centre declared that the property of those who had migrated to Pakistan would be identified as ‘ Evacuee Property’. In 1965, it was renamed as ‘ Enemy Property’. Following repeated requests by Mian, the Union commerce ministry in 1981 decided to return him 25 per cent of his ancestral property. But he was not satisfied. In September 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in his favour and asked the government to hand over all his property.
But an ordinance issued by President Pratibha Patil last week — whereby even courts are not entitled to alter the status of any ‘ enemy property’ — has put Mian back to square one.
Sitapur district magistrate Sanjay Kumar said many buildings, which were used by the government before they were vacated in 2005, would be taken back. “ We have got a copy of the ordinance that empowers us to take possession of the enemy property,” he said.
“ The king is in Delhi for some treatment. We will release a statement after consulting him,” Anwar Hussain, the former king’s secretary, said.
Mian, a Cambridge graduate, is considered to be an epitome of Shia culture in Lucknow. He has always objected to the use of the term ‘ enemy property’. He says his forefathers may have moved to Pakistan, but he didn’t. He has stated several times that he is an Indian and would die one.
The landmark buildings belonging to the former ruler include Nainital’s Metropole Hotel, on 11 acres. It was built by the British in 1880 and bought by Mian’s grandfather in the 1920s.
In Lucknow, there is the ‘Jewel of Mahmudabad Crown’, popularly known as Butler Palace, which was built in 1919. Mian had been toying with the idea of converting it into a heritage hotel for some time.
The Lawrie Building and the Mahmudabad Mansion in Hazratganj are the other famous buildings in Lucknow.
There is also the Mahmudabad House, where the 1916 Lucknow Pact was signed.
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