Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath: News and Picture Thread, Part 1

[papillon]

Originally Posted by shelley

If for any reason, the king finds himself unable to attend the Pope's funeral, what are the bets that he does not ask Prince Hassan to represent him and Jordan. To an outsider, Prince Hassan should be the obvious choice to represent Jordan, even if the king were free, both given his personallong standing relationship with the Pope and the Vatican, and in his capacity as Head of the Word Conference on Religions and Peace. It was Prince Hassan whom the Pontiff asked him to accompany him throughout his visit to Jordan and Prince Hassan whom he invited to that huge Congress of Multifaith personalities he held in Assisi some year back. Anyway,lets see !

Well, now we know the king will be attending the Pope's funeral. Once I heard how many other current and former heads of state will be attending, I didn't really think KA would pass. But it would be a nice gesture on his part to include his uncle as part of the delegation.

[Humera]

A little background info. on Princess Sarvath's Mother
'Begum' means Mrs. by the way

Begum Shaista Ikramullah [1915-2000]

Begum Shaista Ikramullah, the first female representative of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (1947), Pakistan's former Ambassador to Morocco, mother-in-law of Jordan's Crown Prince, and niece of the great leader Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, was born on July 22, 1915, at Calcutta in the prominent Suhrawardy family of West Bengal. She was educated at Calcutta and London. During that period, strict purdah environment was prevalent in the Muslim society of India. Her mother was a traditionalist while her father, an eminent surgeon and politician, was a dynamic liberal who encouraged his daughter to study.

She got married at quite a young age. Her husband was a diplomat and served as Pakistan's first Foreign Secretary. He encouraged her pursuit of modern education. She was the first Muslim woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of London in 1940. Her doctorate thesis "Development of the Urdu Novel and Short Story" was a critical survey of Urdu novel and short stories.

In 1945, Begum Ikramullah was asked by the Government of India to attend the Pacific Relations Conference. Quaid-i-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan) convinced Begum Ikramullah not to accept the offer, as he wanted her to go as the representative of the Muslim League and to speak on its behalf. Six weeks after the establishment of Pakistan, the Quaid asked Begum Ikramullah to go as a delegate to the United Nations.

Begum Shaista Ikramullah was one of the few Muslim women to have taken an active part in the Pakistan Movement. She was totally committed to the creation, and the building of Pakistan. The first legislature of Pakistan in 1947 had two women representatives, Begum Jehan Ara Shah Nawaz and Begum Shaista Ikramullah. Together with Begum Shah Nawaz, she made untiring efforts to get the "Islamic Personal Law of Shariah" approved. Her male counterparts in the legislature had certain reservations towards this law, which recognized women's right to inherit property in accordance with the Islamic Law. The law also guaranteed all citizens; male and female alike, equal pay for equal work, equality of status and equal opportunities. After protests by women both inside and outside the legislature, the bill was finally approved in 1948, and became effective in 1951 when Pakistan adopted its first constitution. She continued to play an active role in Pakistani politics in the critical years preceding the Martial Law.

Begum Ikramullah served Pakistan as a delegate to various international conferences and United Nation's Conferences. She also served as Ambassador to Morocco from 1964 to 1967.

In the late 80's, Begum Ikramullah started work on a book about the life and times of her late uncle, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. The book, "Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy: A Biography" was completed and published in 1991. Her works in the English language include "Letters to Neena", the much acclaimed "Behind the Veil" first published in 1953, and "From Purdah to Parliament" published in 1963. "Common Heritage" was her idea to improve ties between Pakistan and India by providing a platform to both Pakistanis and Indians who had lived in the Sub-continent before Partition.

She also completed her English translation of "Mirat-ul-Uroos", an Urdu classic by Deputy Nazir Ahmad, and an Urdu volume on "Kahavat aur Muhavray" but unfortunately, could not see them in print.

Begum Ikramullah often regretted that a golden era of women's struggle and achievements seemed no longer accessible to the common person and may be lost. To revive these memories, she translated her book "From Purdah to Parliament" in Urdu.

She used to contribute regularly for the magazines "Tehzeeb-i-Niswan" and "Ismat". "Koshish-i-Natamaam", a volume comprised of short stories, "Safarnama" and "Dilli ki Begamat key Muhawarey" are her other works in Urdu.

She passed away on December 11, 2000 in Karachi at the age of 85.

http://www.storyofpakistan.com/person.asp?perid=P078

[shelley]

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

A little background info. on Princess Sarvath's Mother
'Begum' means Mrs. by the way

Thank you Humera. You really are a whizz at unearthing pictures and information about Princess Sarvath. I had seen the middle picture before as it is on the cover of 'From Purdah to Parliament, 'but not the others. One point though, I had always thought that 'Begum' in its real sense was a title ( hence The Begum Aga Khan). This impression is confirmed by Chamber's Dictionary which says : Begum: A Muslim princess or a lady of rank, a deferential title given to a Muslim lady. I think like 'Madame' it has now in the modern world come to have a double meaning. For instance, the funeral service sheet of the late Grand Duchess Joesphine Charlotte read 'Madame La Grande Duchess Joesphine -Charlotte de Luxembourg'. I think after reading the autobiography, the Princess's mother was a Begum in the classic sense, more than just a 'Mrs'. :)

[Humera]

Originally Posted by shelley

Thank you Humera. You really are a whizz at unearthing pictures and information about Princess Sarvath. I had seen the middle picture before as it is on the cover of 'From Purdah to Parliament, 'but not the others. One point though, I had always thought that 'Begum' in its real sense was a title ( hence The Begum Aga Khan). This impression is confirmed by Chamber's Dictionary which says : Begum: A Muslim princess or a lady of rank, a deferential title given to a Muslim lady. I think like 'Madame' it has now in the modern world come to have a double meaning. For instance, the funeral service sheet of the late Grand Duchess Joesphine Charlotte read 'Madame La Grande Duchess Joesphine -Charlotte de Luxembourg'. I think after reading the autobiography, the Princess's mother was a Begum in the classic sense, more than just a 'Mrs'. :)

oh yes you're right. I only meant that in this case Begum means Mrs.
Actually it can serve both purposes, as Mrs. and a title of respect.
The Pakistani first lady, for example, is called Begum Sehba Musharraf.
Clearly she is not a Princess. And since royalty and ranks of nobility no longer exist in Pakistan, the word Begum usually implies Mrs.
In the Urdu language today, for example, we usually say things like "how is your Begum (wife)" or "this is my Begum (wife)" and so on...

[houri]

did any one see him on TV when he is talking ?

[shelley]

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

oh yes you're right. I only meant that in this case Begum means Mrs.
Actually it can serve both purposes, as Mrs. and a title of respect.
The Pakistani first lady, for example, is called Begum Sehba Musharraf.
Clearly she is not a Princess. And since royalty and ranks of nobility no longer exist in Pakistan, the word Begum usually implies Mrs.
In the Urdu language today, for example, we usually say things like "how is your Begum (wife)" or "this is my Begum (wife)" and so on...

You are exactly right ! That is what I meant by saying that Begum has become like Madame. But in the case of Begum Ikramullah, I think she was of the background and age that would have used Begum as a right and not just out of politesse. And to carry your arguement further, I see many girls and women of the subcontinent whose names now are something something Begum because their parents thinks it rounds off their name nicely,not because it is a title ..... then the British press ends up calling them Miss Something Begum. Very funny ! :)

[Humera]

Originally Posted by shelley

You are exactly right ! That is what I meant by saying that Begum has become like Madame. But in the case of Begum Ikramullah, I think she was of the background and age that would have used Begum as a right and not just out of politesse. And to carry your arguement further, I see many girls and women of the subcontinent whose names now are something something Begum because their parents thinks it rounds off their name nicely,not because it is a title ..... then the British press ends up calling them Miss Something Begum. Very funny ! :)

yes I thought the Madame reference was very correct.
I've actually been looking for info on Princess Sarvath's father but I only seem to find out articles on her mother. I'll have to do some digging in websites on Pakistani history. Her mother seems to have been the more prominent figure though. Im currently taking a course on Indian/Pakistani history and came across the name Mrs. Ikramullah in one of my textbooks!
She seems to have had the privilege of knowing Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder, very well, both as a leader and friend.
I think I also saw her in a documentary about Jinnah on History Television. I'll keep my eyes open just in case they repeat it.

[shelley]

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

yes I thought the Madame reference was very correct.
I've actually been looking for info on Princess Sarvath's father but I only seem to find out articles on her mother. I'll have to do some digging in websites on Pakistani history. Her mother seems to have been the more prominent figure though. Im currently taking a course on Indian/Pakistani history and came across the name Mrs. Ikramullah in one of my textbooks!
She seems to have had the privilege of knowing Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder, very well, both as a leader and friend.
I think I also saw her in a documentary about Jinnah on History Television. I'll keep my eyes open just in case they repeat it.

I think sadly Princess Sarvath's father died a very long time ago, but I have the following extract from my source, the website. I also think that Begum Ikramullah's dedication at the beginning of ' Purdah to Parliament ' is charming and tongue in cheek and says much about that couple's relationship : "To my husband, who took me out of purdah, and has regretted it ever since !" If that were really true, I do not think a) she would have said it and b) maybe achieved as much as she did professionally.

[shelley]

Mohammad Ikramullah, K.C.M.G., H.Pk., father of Princess Sarvath was a senior ICS officer in the Government of India before Partition and represented that country in many international fora, most particularly as Advisor to the preparatory commissions of the United Nations in London and San Francisco, and at its first general assembly, between 1945 and 1946.

Whilst a member of the provisional government of Pakistan, he was Secretary and Advisor at the Ministries of Commerce, Information and Broadcasting, Commonwealth Relations and Foreign Affairs. Appointed the first Foreign Secretary of the Government of Pakistan in 1947, he went on to serve as Ambassador to Canada, Portugal, France and Britain. He was instrumental in setting up the Commonwealth Economic Committee and had been nominated as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth at the time of his death. Princess Sarvath's paternal uncle, Mohammad Hidayatullah was Chief Justice, Vice-President of India and at one time Acting President. Other members of her immediate family have served their countries in Ambassadorial and Ministerial capacities, and many of them are distinguished academics and writers.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sarvath's paternal family are from Bhopal in Central India. Her grandfather, Khan Bahadur Hafiz Mohammed Wilayatullah's family served for several generations at the Court of Bhopal, one of the largest Muslim Princely States. The family is reputed to have come originally from the Hijaz and are regarded as both Quraishi and Chishti. There are documents held in the State Archives of India which trace the family's presence in India back to the time of the Emperor Auranzeb, and it is assumed that some earlier branches of the family came to India with the first Muslim conquerors. Many of the Princess' paternal ancestors were writers and poets. Unusually, Her Royal Highness' great grandmother was a published authoress and her grandfather a well known poet of his time throughout India.

[Humera]

thanx for that info shelley. Princess Sarvath's family is indeed a distinguished and learned one. Im sure she has just as much to be proud of her lineage as a royal born princess.

[shelley]

Look what I found,a link on that ever useful website ! And written by Princess
Sarvath herself. It is obviously written for a Pakistani/Indian readership because some of the refrences would only have relevance to them, but still it gives an interesting picture of a man who obviously played an important part in forming Princess Sarvath's character. ( Sorry ! I have absolutely no idea how to makes these pictures smaller. They are much smaller on the website. Please adminstrators, feel free to fiddle)



Outside 10 Downing Street
in 1956-57 around the time
of the Suez Canal/Baghdad
Pact crises



A Tribute to Abba



By HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan
as appeared in the SHE Magazine February 2003 issue

January 15th marked 100 years since my father, Mohammed Ikramullah, was born, in Bhopal, in what were then known as the Central Provinces of India. To many of the younger generation in today's Pakistan, the values of my father, and many of his colleagues, may appear totally alien. Their contribution in those early, crucial years of Pakistan's existence, is no longer remembered in the way that is their due. Despite the unimaginable problems that they had to contend with, they persevered and to a large degree succeeded, in their task of nation building, (although the blueprint they used to create Pakistan appears to have been lost!) Abba represented all that was respected, admired and desirable in a public servant; even that phrase is now an anachronism. Strong, decisive and totally focused, he was incorruptible, morally and materially. Heading a group of officials who had been entrusted with the negotiations for some of our earliest arms purchases in Germany, he, like his colleagues, was presented with a Rolex watch. He returned it to his hosts with the remark "my people stand knee deep in water to earn our foreign exchange (in those days our main source of income were jute and rice exports grown in the then East Pakistan), I cannot accept this, please add whatever its value is to our purchases." His abashed colleagues followed his lead, and result we were given several thousands of dollars of extra purchases, for free, so impressed were the Germans with this show of selflessness. This pattern was to be repeated more than once in his career, as sadly, the taking of 'commissions' became increasingly the norm.

Academically gifted, my father read history at Trinity College, Cambridge, and decided to join the ICS (Indian Civil Service), not on quota, but through competition. The difference is significant. The British in the waning of the Empire, had decided to allow a certain number of Indians to join this prestigious service. However, these men would only be allowed to progress so far and no further. On the other hand, if an Indian was able to sit the qualifying examination in open competition with the British, and succeed on merit, then he could join the Service with all the rights and opportunities open to an Englishman. My father was amongst the few who succeeded. At the time of Partition, he was the senior Indian competition ICS officer in service in undivided India. Abba died before he could record his memoirs, but I have come to realise that this was a man who had a truly extraordinary wealth and breadth of experience, possibly unmatched at that time in the Indian Subcontinent. In the Government of India he was to serve as Joint Secretary in the Ministries of Trade & Labour; Supply; Commerce and Transport; as well as Trade Commissioner at the India Office in London. Advisor & Secretary to the ILO Conferences in Geneva in 1945 & 1946; and to the Preparatory Session of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945, he was also a delegate to the First Session of the UN in London in 1946, amongst several posts and responsibilities. After Abba opted for Pakistan, despite the entreaties of many of his Indian colleagues and indeed family, he served with Mohammad Ali Jinnah on the Partition Committee of India. Having served simultaneously as Secretary of the Ministries of Commerce; Information & Broadcasting, Commonwealth Relations & Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government of Pakistan, he was, after Partition, selected as Foreign Secretary by the Public Services' Commission and was Pakistan's first Foreign Secretary and Cabinet Secretary. He was proud to relate that he had started the Foreign Office sitting on packing cases and tea chests! Later, our envoy to Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Portugal, Abba returned for a second term as Foreign Secretary. Moving back to London, in semi-retirement, Abba started yet another career, as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Economic Committee (a post for which his nomination was unusually unanimously accepted by all the countries of the Commonwealth), he was a great believer in the institution of the Commonwealth, and its potential for good, unfashionable though it may seem these days. (But for his premature death, it had been the intention of Lord Home, the then British Foreign Secretary to nominate him as the Secretary General of the then half created Commonwealth Secretariat).

Mr. Ikramullah has been decorated with Hilal-e-Pakistan KCMG, Knight Commander of the Grand Cross, (A Portuguese order), CIE amongst others
Obviously, the sort of pace my father kept took a toll on his health, and perhaps the beginnings of a certain amount of disillusionment at the path that Pakistan, and indeed the world was taking, also played its part. After suffering a couple of heart attacks in those pre bypass days, he reluctantly agreed to go 'on leave preparatory to retirement'. He had seven years of leave with full pay due to him, that somehow the demands of his work had never allowed him to take! There were countless parties in his honour hosted by friends, colleagues and diplomats, but the by far the most moving tributes were made at a unique party that was hosted by the chaprassies, drivers and clerks of the Foreign Office. An incident told to me recently illustrates perfectly my father's humanity. Abba was walking one morning from our house in Clifton to Mohatta Palace, casually, as was his wont, with his jacket flung over his shoulder, and of course no one in attendance. He was accosted by an obviously desperate looking man, who wanted a petition written for him to present to someone of authority in the Foreign Office. Sensing his desperation, and not wanting to frighten him off, my father sat down at the roadside, and quietly hearing his story composed a lucid letter for him, with a look silencing the scandalised crowd who had gathered, wondering who was this impudent man who was troubling the Foreign Secretary. Abba then helped the poor man on to his feet, on whom realisation had dawned, and taking him into Mohatta Palace, led him to the appropriate person to get his petition dealt with. This is only one of so many stories of this kind that I am still told nearly 40 years after Abba's death. Many hundreds who were totally unknown to us followed my father's cortege; obviously people whose life he had touched in a similar manner.

Despite being equally well read in both Urdu and English, with a fair knowledge of Persian, (Abba could quote with equal facility from say, Ghalib or Dickens) my father was no intellectual snob. He loved westerns films, cartoons, and comic books. In hospital, after his first heart attack, staid visitors were slightly bemused to find the extremely distinguished, silver haired Mr. Ikramullah chuckling his way through the antics of Little Lulu and Tubby! My father was also an excellent sportsman and was known to play an excellent game of tennis and hockey. A superb and courageous shot, he always stalked his prey on foot rather than wait in the safety of a 'machan'. In his early days as an ICS officer, he became well known as he rode around on his black stallion Beaunerges (named after Napoleon's war horse), followed by his massive, but harmless English mastiffs.

My parents in Canada, Banff in 1953

[shelley]

My father was inordinately proud of the achievements of his wife, children and siblings. My parents had a totally arranged marriage, and did not set eyes upon each other until their Rumnamaee. Marriage certainly was not a priority in my mother's life when the wedding arrangements were being made. She was due to take her B.A. Degree from Calcutta University that spring, and had her mother's increasingly poor health not made the marriage of her only living child a must, Amma had planned to continue her studies at Oxford that autumn. The ceremonies were first planned for the previous December, which my mother, to her horror, found clashed with her final examinations. In the traditional atmosphere in which my Naniamma lived, it would have been totally unseemly for Amma to voice an opinion as to when her actual marriage should take place, she had only one recourse, which was to get an obliging cousin to intercede with her father. Luckily my Nana was in any case loathe to part with his beloved daughter (she is my only daughter he would say to my father in later years, wanting my mother to prolong a visit to her mayka; the reply would be, 'well… she is my only wife!') When the problem was relayed to my father, he instantly agreed for the wedding to be postponed until April. This set the tone for the partnership that was to characterise my parents' marriage. In her autobiography, 'Purdah to Parliament' the dedication, 'To my husband, who took me out of Purdah, and regretted it ever since!' was the result of a flippant remark made by my mother but she was reluctant to use this, as she felt it was unfair to Abba, however both he and the publisher's assistant wanted it used. Her political career could have had serious repercussions on his own, but he was entirely supportive and proud of her. As he was of his children. He would have been so proud that all his seven grandchildren, Mashallah, girls and boys, are graduates. When my elder sister Salma got her degree from Cambridge, there was almost no containing his pride. My sister Naz was due to hold her first solo exhibition of paintings in London the week Abba died. My mother insisted that Apa stay in London and go ahead with the exhibition, rather than return to Pakistan for his funeral, as she knew that would have been what Abba wanted.

My father was a conventionally religious man, who knew and understood his religion properly. Typical of his era and his upbringing, my Dada was a Hafiz Al Quran (as well as being a gold medallist from Aligarh University in English Literature, a published poet in Urdu & Persian, a good shot and a keen tennis player!) Abba was fairly orthodox in his personal views, but with no hint of bigotry. His friends and associates encompassed all religions and many nationalities. He had respect and tolerance of the views of others, and demanded the same courtesy for himself. We were brought up not to personalise political or religious differences. My parents were surrogate siblings, parents, aunt and uncle, marriage councillors, educational advisors and father confessors to so many. Abba had time for the constant stream of people passing through our home and for us too. And both our parents had an amazing knack of making us all feel special… in fact, a few years after Abba died, we discovered to our combined surprise and amusement, that each one of us had felt rather sorry for our other siblings for not quite achieving the favourite child status, a true life example of the answer of Hazrat Ali who when asked who is your favourite child replied "the youngest till he is grown, the one who is ill until he is well, and the one who is away from home until he returns…"

Mohammed Ikramullah
In his later years, Abba took up photography, both stills and movies, specialising in flowers, animals, and us. Abba loved animals and had kept dogs before he was married, but we as a family switched to cats. Although he wrote away a small fortune in property when we came to Pakistan, he gave into my sisters' pleadings and our cat Coco came with us from Delhi in 1947, as did my cat Mink on our return from London in 1959. My father was an excellent gardener who took pleasure in growing what for those times were rare vegetables in the foreign countries we lived in: aubergines, okra, whatever. He delighted in sending photographs to my Phupee, with whom he had a life long competition to see who produced the bigger and better produce. In the last years in London, he further developed another skill: cooking. Always having been both a gourmet and gourmand all his life, he shared his love of good and unusual cuisines with us, "Chuk kar toe daykho" he would say to us, when faced with an unfamiliar dish. He had always enjoyed cooking the odd dish from his days at university. Now with more time to spare, he would make brunch for us at weekends and became wonderfully inventive. Amma not knowing much about the practicalities of housekeeping when they were first married, Abba had taught her how to recognise the various dals. Years earlier, when Amma was at the U.N it was reported 'Ikramullah can cook'. Hearing of this, a particular gentleman asked rather condescendingly, 'We hear you can cook, Ikramullah Sahib. So what is your speciality?' "An excellent Haleem, of goat's meat" replied my father, quick as a flash to the person in question, one Abu Bakr Haleem…

Abba in 1926
Abba was gentle, tolerant and witty, with the marvellous ability of being able to laugh at himself. When leaving London to return home, after a very successful term as High Commissioner, Mrs Lakshmi Pandit, as the Dean of the Commonwealth Corps. gave a party for my parents at which she paid generous, fulsome tributes. Abba replied saying, " …I have spent the last the five years asking you to disregard everything Mrs Pandit says. May I ask you one last time, to do so again!"

[Humera]

wow shelley! thats a lot of info. I will certainly take time to read this. Where did you get it from?
The intro mentions that the article appeared in the February 2003 issue of SHE magazine. Thats a Pakistani fashion/entertainment/lifestyle magazine.
I'll certainly check out the SHE website and see if they have the issue in their archives.

btw..its so cute that Princess Sarvath calls her dad "abba"
Thats what my mom called her dad. "abba/abbu" are common titles of address for fathers in Pakistan.
And she calls her mom "amma." Thats what my dad calls his mom!
Though "ammi" is the more common title of address in Pakistan now.
The two terms were certainly more widely used before and after the partition of India and Pakistan.

[Humera]

btw..I thought I should translate/clarify some of the terms used in the article shelley posted in case some of you aren't familiar with them

Abba-father
Amma-mother
Naniamma-maternal grandmother ('nani')
Nana-maternal grandfather
Mayka-term used to refer to a married woman's birth/parents' family
Apa-older sister
Dada-paternal grandfather
Hafiz Al Quran-someone who has memorized the Quran by heart
Phupee-aunt (father's sister-also called "Phupo")
"Chuk kar toe daykho" -in Urdu, "try and taste it"

btw..it was nice to read familiar references in the article. The Princess mentions that her parents had a house in Clifton. I wonder if they still do? I'll have to check up on that. Clifton is a posh area in Karachi, Pakistan, at least it is now. We used to live there too. And Mohatta Place is familiar too. It is a beautiful, historic building from colonial times. I drove by and visited it so many times when I was living in Karachi. It is now used for special events like exhibition openings, fashion shows, etc.
Great find shelley!

[monamona]

Wow..Princess Sarvath comes from a real noble family. Good job Shelley.