| Sheikh's unreal b'day observed as holiday, JK's real hero remains unsung | | It can't get more bizarre than this | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 5: At a time when the file related to the declaration of state holiday on Maharaja Hari Singh's birthday is gathering dust at Civil Secretariat, the government ironically continues to observe holiday on the date which even is not the actual birth date of National Conference founder Sheikh Abdullah.
Pertinently, on January 24, 2017, the Upper House adopted a resolution urging the government to declare holiday on September 23 every year on birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra king of Jammu and Kashmir. The private member resolution was moved by BJP MLC, Ajatshatru Singh, who is the grandson of the late Maharaja. The resolution was accepted and Deputy Chairman Jahangir Hussain Mir asked government to respond.
However, more than a year has passed and there are no whereabouts of the file.
On the other hand, the wrong birth date of NC founder Sheikh Abdullah is being observed in the state as a holiday. Sheikh Abdullah's one of the trusted lieutenants was Mohammad Yousuf Taing. He was also Sheikh's literary assistant in penning down his biography. Taing has come out in open claiming that Sheikh's birth date as December 5 is incorrect. He says the NC founder was not born on December 5, 1905, but on January 29, 1903.
"I argued with Sheikh Sahib about it and told him that December 5 is not his actual date of birth. Sheikh Sahib admitted that his brother had registered his wrong birth date and year," Taing has said.
Taing was the sole amanuensis of late Sheikh's autobiography entitled 'Aatish-e-Chinar' which won the Sahitya Akademi award.
Contesting that December 5 is not the actual birth date of NC founder, Taing claims that he had wrongly mentioned his date of birth as December 5. Taing said that Sheikh at that time told him that the Muslims at that time were not serious in mentioning the actual date of birth of children and that his brother at that time had registered the wrong date.
Taing further claimed that he told Sheikh to rectify the error and that the misinformation must not spread. On this Taing quoted Sheikh as saying, "It will trouble my supporters and general masses will get disturbed if I do any such act."
Taing claimed that Sheikh decided that neither the actual birth date shall be mentioned, nor the incorrect one shall be entertained in his autobiography.
Taing has worked as the Director of Information, Cultural Adviser to Chief Minister, and Director General of Culture. Meanwhile, when two years ago, Taing spilled the truth about Sheikh's date of birth, there were voices of concern that are mounting from everywhere in the state, pitching for the rectification of errors.
"Why should we narrate the erroneous historical date to our coming generations? They deserve truth and it should be told to them. If we know that December 5 isn't Sheikh Abdullah's actual date of birth, government should seriously do something about it," says Sheikh Saqib, a student of history here. |
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