Spicy tales from Junagadh

I have always thought of the Nawab of Junagadh in rather unfavorable terms, because of what I learned in my high school history classes. According to the present day locals of Junagadh my misgivings are misplaced. Here are two very interesting stories about the Nawab narrated to me by the locals.

For a while, just skip back to high school and more specifically to the history classes dealing with Indian independence. Recall that at independence, there were 400 odd princely states. Of these more than 300 were in Gujrat. All the princely states had the freedom to remain independent or join Indian or Pakistan. Out of the 300 in Gujrat, only one was a troublesome state, which refused to join the Indian Union. That is Junagadh. The Nawab of Gujrat was Muslim and he wanted to join Pakistan, but the majority population of Junagadh was Hindu and they wanted to join India. Things untangled itself and eventually Junagadh joined the Indian Union.

Now, this is the account of events which the people of Junagadh gave. The Nawab of Junagadh was a very good man. He was a just ruler, forward thinking, implemented several developmental projects etc etc. (But I think the "good" was used by my source because of the following..) Even though he was Muslim, he did not force his religion on his subjects. On the contrary, he made sure that the Hindu places of worship were protected, sufficiently funded. He even ordered that mosques be kept out of the Girnar hills, given that these hills are sacred to the Hindus. The Dewan, or prime minister, of this Nawab was a man of questionable morals and ambitions. The Dewan's progeny would later go on to rule Pakistan. Anyway, he instigated the Nawab to join Pakistan, so the Nawab signed the declaration to join Pakistan. What was signed was signed, so Junagadh was all set to join the Union of Pakistan, but then the citizens of Junagadh were appalled at the Nawab's decision. At this point, there was nothing much that India, or Sardar Patel could do. The people of Junagadh were on their own. So they formed a militia, and fought the Nawab's forces. After three months of revolt they overthrew the Nawab's forces, and installed a new King – Mr Samaldas Gandhi. Mr Gandhi, promptly singed a declaration joining the Union of India. And that is how Junagadh became a part of India. Quite an interesting tale, and something which even the source of eternal truth (Wikipedia) seems to partially corroborate.

Illustration 1: Bahauddin Arts and Science College

The Nawab's interesting life does not stop there. According to folk lore (or “ facts”), Girnar hills is considered to be the abode of holy men. Each having meditated enough to have visions and interactions with the meta-physical world. So, once upon a time, a long long time ago, there lived a widow in Junagadh. She had two young kids – a girl and a boy. She would go into the Girnar forest every day to collect firewood. She would sell this firewood and with that money, she would buy food for her children. It was a hand and mouth existence for her family.

One day as she was returning from the forest with her stash of firewood, a yogi met her on the forest trail. He needed some firewood, so he asked her if she could give him some. She gave the yogi all her firewood, without even thinking of how she would feed her children that day. The yogi was impressed. It was a test, which the widow had passed, and so the yogi blessed the widow and said – you will one day become royalty. A lot many years later the Nawab of Junagad was passing by the village of the widow and chanced upon her daughter. The daughter had grown up to be a beautiful lass – one imagines with a hour glass figure, a face to die for, and a smile that could light up a dark room. The Nawab made her his queen. So the widow became the queen mother, and the brother became the Vazir. (I am not sure if this is the same Vazir who is supposed to have “ poisoned” the Nawab's mind to join Pakistan).

Thanks to the abject poverty in which the new Queen and Vazir had grown up, school was luxury their mother could ill afford. The Vazir, though uneducated, was a worldly wise man and knew the importance of good education, so one of the first things he did was to start an arts and science college in Junagadh. That college is today known by his name – Bahauddin Arts and Science college. Further, legend has it that, during the design of the college, the Vazir wanted a pillar less auditorium, and apparently no architect (i.e. British architect) could come up with a viable design. A local carpenter eventually came up with an innovative slotted and pillar less design which keeps the structure erect even today, even withstanding the several earthquakes which have rocked the region.

A word of caution – these are uncorroborated stories, i.e. no documentary proof. But I kinda sorta see the Nawab of Junagadh in a different and slightly more kinder shade of light than I did before.

Spicy tales from Junagadh