Caught in cycle of misery
PROUD LEGACY Undeterred by penury and government apathy, this descendant of 1857 freedom fighter narrates the tale of valour to his customers as he fixes punctures in their cycles
LUCKNOW: Almost every customer who visits Shaffan Miyan’s cycle puncture repair shop in Delapeer market of Bareilly is asked this question- have you heard of Khan Bahadur Khan?
When most visitors respond with a no, 78-year-old Shaffan Miyan doesn’t get disappointed. Instead, with great pride in his voice, he introduces himself as Shaffan Khan, the descendant of Khan Bahadur Khan, a freedom fighter who took part in the revolt of 1857.
Khan also claims to be the eighth generation of descendants of Hafiz Nawab Hafiz Rehmat Khan—an Afghan Rohilla chief in Rohilkhand in the late 18th century who ruled the region for 30 years. Khan Bahadur Khan was Rehmat Khan’s son.
“I don’t get disappointed when people say that they haven’t heard about my ancestors. It gives me great joy to narrate their tales of valour about how they fought against the British government. This is how I make people aware of their contribution,” says Shaffan claiming that Bahadur Khan was the only freedom fighter to be hanged with his shackles on.
However, despite his grand legacy, Khan has been a victim of government apathy and is struggling to make ends meet. As he talks about the achievements of his ancestors, the smile on his face slowly fades into despair.
On the 100th anniversary of the 1857 uprising, Shaffan’s father Hamid Ali Khan received a letter from the President’s office with job assurance for all his family members in the Railways.
“Sixty years on, we still haven’t received a single penny as financial aid or the promised jobs from the government,” says Shaffan, who is the sole breadwinner in a family comprising 11 members.
“Even though I was young back in 1957, I vividly remember how my father was elated at the generous gesture of the government towards the descendants of Nawab Hafiz Rehmat Khan. However, it turned out to be a false promise,” laments Shaffan. When the family didn’t get the promised jobs from the government till 1961, Shaffan was forced to open a shop where he fixed puncture in cycles to earn a livelihood. “My average daily income is Rs 80. How can a family survive on such meagre income. But what more can you expect in a country where a family with a daily spend of Rs 32 is not considered poor,” he says taking a dig at the apathy of the government.
In 1976, the family once again received a letter from the office of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, directing the district magistrate to verify if they were actual descendants of the freedom fighter. Even after the verification was completed, it took eight years before the family received another letter from the district magistrate on January 26, 1984, establishing that they were the freedom fighter’s descendants and were invited to collect the ‘Tamra Patra’ from the DM’s office.
Unfortunately, Shaffan’s father Hamid Ali couldn’t live to receive the honour. “My mother collected the ‘Tamra Patra’, along with the assurance that the family would get a pension,” claims Shaffan.
The government apathy continued for another 22 years while the family struggled in penury. In the meanwhile, Shaffan’s mother also passed away and he got married.
During the Samajwadi Party’s government in 2006, the family saw a ray of hope again when they received a letter from the district magistrate seeking completion of formalities to avail the financial aid. However, their hardship didn’t end as the SP government lost the 2007 assembly polls and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) came to power, putting the previous government’s initiative on hold. Ten years on , Shaffan and his family are yet to receive financial aid or a job from the government.
“We have lost everything, including our ancestral property, and are only left with a two-room house in Shahbad Mohalla. I no longer have the strength to fight for the pension. My son and grandson have also accepted the bitter truth. I don’t want anything from the government now. Jab Allah ki marzi hogi tab (financial aid) milegi, aur tab tak dukan ke sahare zindagi kat jayegi,” he says.