Hyderabad: The historic city observed Youm-e-Ashoora, the 10th day of Muharram, with deep mourning and solemnity on Wednesday, passing the day peacefully.
The day’s highlight was the annual Bibi-ka-Alam procession, which journeyed from Bibi-ka-Alawa to Chaderghat in the Old City. The ‘Alam’ (holy relic or flag commemorating the Battle of Karbala) was carried on the caparisoned elephant, Premavathi, brought from Karnataka.
To mark the occasion, special prayer meetings and food camps were organized throughout Hyderabad, particularly in areas like Ali Jah Kotla, Purani Haveli, and surrounding neighborhoods. Most shops in the city’s south zone remained closed to honor the 10th day of Muharram.
The Bibi-Ka-Alam procession traversed a significant route through Bibi ka Alawa road, Shaik Faiz Kaman, Yakutpura road, Alijah Kotla, Malwala Palace, Sardar Mahal, Charminar, and Gulzar Houz, culminating at the Masjid-e-Ilahi in Chaderghat after passing Panjeshah, Mir Alam Mandi, Darulshifa, and Kali Khabar.
At Charminar, Hyderabad’s Commissioner of Police, K Sreenivasa Reddy, along with other police officials, offered ‘dhatti’ to the Bibi ka Alam procession.
Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery of the Telangana Shia Youth Conference highlighted the historical significance of Bibi ka Alam, tracing its origins to the Qutb Shahi period (1518-1687). Hayath Bakshi Begum, wife of Muhammad Qutb Shah, installed an Alam in memory of Bibi Fatima at Golconda. During the Asaf Jahi era, the Alam was moved to Bibi ka Alawa at Dabeerpura, a site built specifically for this purpose.
The Alam contains a piece of the wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima was given her final ablution before burial. This Muharram relic is believed to have arrived in Golconda from Karbala, Iraq, during the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626-72), the sixth king of Golconda.
Known as the standard in English, the Alam also features six black pouches believed to contain precious jewel drops, including priceless emerald and ruby earrings given as ‘Nazr’ (offering) for Muharram by the fourth Nizam, Mir Farqunda Ali Khan (Nasir-ud-Daulah), who ruled Hyderabad between 1829 and 1857.
Another account suggests that the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, contributed large diamonds to the Alam as part of the annual Muharram tradition. The ‘heere jawaraat’ (jewelry) are not publicly displayed but are brought out annually during Muharram and then returned to the vault, a sarcophagus-like ‘zarih’ where the jewels are preserved in sealed pouches.
Hyderabad’s Muharram processions are among its largest, a testament to the city’s Shia Muslim heritage established by the Qutb Shahi kings and continued under the Nizams, who respected and upheld the core Shia traditions of the city.
