Wajid Ali Shah’s great grandson passes away

Kolkata: Sahebzada Wasif Mirza, son of Prince Ghazanfar Mirza and great grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, passed away on January 25 at his Park Circus residence. He was the president of the Awadh Royal Family Association that was set up to look after the interest of the descendants. He was 87 and is survived by his two sons and two daughters.
On May 13, 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who was deposed by the British, came to plead his case with Governor General Lord Charles Canning, only to be imprisoned at Fort William as the East India Company feared that he may be a threat to its rule.After being freed two years later, Wajid Ali Shah decided to live in Metiabruz. “My father, along with other family members, persuaded KMC to rename the most important road in Metiaburz after Wajid Ali Shah. The road was renamed in 2004. Subrata Mukherjee was the then mayor,” said Shahenshah Mirza, a civil servant and a history buff.
Many recalled how Sahebzada had actively pursued the case of enhancement of the political pensions fixed in 1887 for Wajid Ali Shah’s descendants and had even written to Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi regarding this. “Before his demise, he was eager that the government consider this demand favourably and enhance the pension to a respectable amount,” he added.
Sahebzada had inherited his love for music from Wajid Ali Shah. He would often play gramophone records and listen to the popular thumri ‘Babul Mora Naihar Chooto Jai’ that was penned by Wajid Ali Shah. An ardent Mohammedan Sporting supporter, he never missed a single match of his favourite team. There are stories of Sahebzada and his friends walking from Maidan to Nizam’s to celebrate their team’s victory and then walking to Park Circus. “He was full of life and was very conscious about his health. He was buried at the Shia Kabristan where other family members are also interred,” he said.