Friday, January 15, 2010

THE GREAT INDIAN DYNASTIES

Barkatda did much else. As railway minister, he introduced Gaur Express between Sealdah and Maldah. It enables residents to travel overnight to and from the state capital. “Whenever a Maldah resident thinks of Gaur Express, he recalls Ghani Khan,” adds a Left Front minister.

One of Ghani Khan’s brothers, Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury, is the MP from Maldah South, while another, Abu Nasser Khan Chowdhury, represents Sujapur segment in the state Assembly. Sujapur was earlier represented by Ghani Khan’s younger sister, Rubi Noor and her daughter, Mausam.

“Maldah was a part of his being. He gave the place national prominence. Besides bringing in a direct power supply line from Chukha in Bhutan, he was instrumental in setting up a 1700 MW NTPC plant at Farakka in Murshidabad district, during his stint as Union minister in the 1980s. He ensured that power cuts did not affect farmers,” says Abu Hashem, alias Dalu-da. “We would ask him how he managed to do so much. His answer would be, ‘illegally’, which meant by bypassing bureaucratic channels.”

Speaking to TSI at Adina Masjid, Mausam Noor says, “We used to frequent this area with Baro Mama. He worked hard to protect these Hindu and Muslim relics of Maldah. He put pressure on ASI to release funds. Mama and my mother did much for these monuments through Zilla Parishad too."

“We owe everything to Baro Mama,” asserts Mausam. "He brought my mother and Dalu Mama into politics. But this is not all. One should regard him as the visionary of modern Maldah. Because of him, Maldah was the first town outside Kolkata to have a Doordarshan tower."

Another Ghani Khan niece, Shehnaj Kaderi, is all set to join politics. She heads the historical Piranapir’s Mosque and Chhoto Darga.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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