The landscape along the state highway between Ludhiana and Patiala is typical of Punjab … But about halfway down the 100 km drive, on the approach to Maler Kotla town in Sangrur district, the people suddenly begin to look different. It is almost like a journey back into time, when many of the towns in undivided Punjab were dominated by the Muslim community, Partition and the accompanying savagery changed the demographic face of the region. But even now as Punjab seems to be hurtling towards another communal tragedy, this time between Sikhs and Hindus Muslims continue to be the biggest religious group in Maler Kotla.

If the Partition holocaust was evidence of (religious) intolerance … the survival of Muslims in Maler Kotla bears testimony to the other, more humane face of religion. In 1947, … Maler Kotla remained an island of peace. Today, even as many parts of Punjab are scorched by extremist flames, the town and its surrounding villages remain largely free of tension. Maler Kota, it seems is blessed by eternal tranquility.

Blessed it certainly was, by no less a personage than Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of the Sikhs. Residents of Maler Kota trace their good fortune to an incident which occurred over 280 years ago. As Guru Gobind Singh fled from the Mughal emperor Aurangazebs’ forces early in the 18th century, his family was dispersed. His sons, Zorawar Singh, 9 and Fateh Singh7, fell into enemy hands. A council of local Muslim chieftains headed by the Subedar of Sirhind decided to kill the boys by encasing them ina brick wall. Only Sher Khan, of Maler Kotla objected. Later, when the Guru fate, he enquired if any of the Chieftains had protested against the brutality. He was told of Sher Khan’s dissent … the Guru uprooted a tuft of grass with an arrow and proclaimed: “Zalimon ki Jadain ukhad jayengi, lekin Maler Kotla walon ki belen sada hari rahengi (the tyrannts will be vanquished but the people of Maler Kotla will prosper forever).” The Sikh Guru’s prophecy came true soon enough. After he died in the Deccan in 1708 his disciple Banda Singh Bairagi returned to Punjab and razed Sirhind and other Mughal (towns). But Maler Kotla remained untouched by the wrath of the avenging Sikhs.

“If Muslim Culture has survived in Eastern Punjab at all, itis thanks to Guru Gobind Singh’s blessing.”

.. In 1947 … Maler Kotla then ruled by Nawab Abmad Ali Khan … remained peaceful. Not only was there no violence, but armed mobs chasing terrified Muslims would halt at the boundary of the 162 sq., mile territory.

During Partition, over one lakh refugees were given shelter there, and another two lakh passed through on their way to Pakistan in 1948 … If Muslim culture has survived in eastern Punjab at all, it is thanks to Guru Gobind Singh’s blessing.

… The majority of Punjabi Muslims, an estimated 1.3 lakhs live in the Maler Kotla subdivision. The town itself has the unique distinction of being the only one in Punjab with a Muslim majority, of its 90, 000 inhabitants, 62,000 are estimated to be Muslims, 25,000 Hindus and 3,000 Sikhs, Maler Kotla is also the only constituency which has. Sent a Muslim to the State Assembly since 1952. Whether they belonged to the Congress or the Akali Dal, the MLA’s have always been from the Nawab’s family.

 

Nawab Ahmed Ali Khan died soon after Partition, and was succeeded by his son Iftekhar Ali Khan, who became the first MLA from Maler Kotla. Iftekhar Ali was succeeded in the Assembly by two of his three wives Youssef Zaman and Sajida Begum. The MLA from Maler Kotla in the recently dissolved Assembly was Nusrat Ali Khan, who was made minister of state for jails, civil defense and cultural affairs.

With the rise of Sikh extremist in Punjab, the tiny Muslim majority has begun to feel more confident of its political status. This is because they feel that now both Sikhs and Hindus want them to flourish. While the state’s majority Sikh community feels a common bond with the Muslims visavis the Hindus, ironically, the Hindus feel safer in Maler Kotla.

Certainly, Maler Kotla is the only town where the prepartition composite Punjabi culture still flourishes,. The town is famous not only for producing a Hindi film star, Dharmendra, but also for its poets, writers and qawwali singers. Besides contributing Urdu poetry and fiction to the state’s literature, Maler Kotla keeps alive the old, non sanskritised Punjabi through the works of writers like Mushtaq Warsi … “Though most of the Muslims speak Punjabi at home, their children go to Urdu medium schools. Urdu has even proved to be of unlikely practical value many Hindu traders … record their illegal business transactions in that language, which is unknown to the new generation of tax inspectors.

Some of the colorful feudal traditions of Muslim culture the last vestiges of a decadent lifestyle also survive in Maler Kotla. For instance the town is an important Centre for greyhound racing, cockfighting and pigeon racing … Many Muslim families both peasants and absentee landlords own agricultural land. While the income from Jand is about Rs 4000 per big ha (one acre equals 4.8 big has here), the absentee landlord gets Rs, 1000 per big ha as rent, leaving the remaining Rs, 3000 for the farmers, So, unlike other Muslim pockets of north India, the level of indebtedness … is negligible.

Industrial development came later to Maler Kotla … Spinning mills small engineering units, sports goods factories and agro industries have come up in the subdivision. But it is not the Muslims who have spearheaded the recent industrial development most of the major units are owned by non-Muslim outsiders. Even so, there are exceptions.

.. There’s none of the extreme poverty so typical of Muslim majority towns in Maler Kotla, And it always sends money for any Muslim cause over Rs 1 lakh for the Meerut Muslims after the riots there last years.

“On the walls of Nawab Iftekhar Ali’s crumbling palaces are paintings of Guru Gobind Singh and the Golden Temple.”

The town lags behind in essential services. It has a manual telephone exchange and no fire brigade.

Maler Kotla’s former ruling elite has always maintain special relationship with other communities. On the walls of Nawab Iftekhar Ali’s crumbling palaces are paintings of Guru Gobind Singh and the Golden Temple. Munawarunissa Begum, his widow, claims to possess a sword and letter of the Guru. More Sikhs than Muslims.

Article extracted from this publication >>  February 24, 1989