Battle royale

IT IS battle royale among the Shi?ites of Lucknow. Rival royal Shia families have now lined up behind the Ulema (clerics) to settle scores with each other. The bone of contention is the multi-crore Hussainabad Trust presently under the control of district administration.

IT IS battle royale among the Shi’ites of Lucknow. Rival royal Shia families have now lined up behind the Ulema (clerics) to settle scores with each other. The bone of contention is the multi-crore Hussainabad Trust presently under the control of district administration.

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Calling each other “fake royals”, they have been trying to brow beat each other with the help of clerics. While the Royal Family of Awadh (RFA) has thrown its lot behind the All-India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) chairman Mirza Mohammad Athar, former Royal Family Action Committee of Oudh has come out of hibernation to retrieve lost glory of Awadh under the leadership of prominent Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad.

The RFA was also instrumental in launching of the AISPLB. The tussle among the Ulema for one-upmanship is thus reflected between warring factions in the Awadh Royals. While the RFA, by aligning itself with Maulana Athar, had tried to take Hussainabad swing in his favour, the action committee at its meeting here on Saturday made efforts to turn the tables on the rivals with the assistance of Kalbe Jawad.

The committee, while demanding removal of the administration from the trust, has also demanded a CBI probe in its functioning of the last 10 years.

The action committee, while asking the government for setting up of a commission for the Trust properties, demanded inclusion of Maulana Kalbe Jawad and two members of the royal families in it. Interestingly, the committed has also demanded representation in Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishad.

The committed appreciated the efforts of Kalbe Jawad for his efforts to protect Waqf properties in Lucknow.