Residents around the Charminar express a collective desire to elect leaders committed to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous life.
With the Telangana Assembly elections 2023 just days away, South First is bringing you ground reports from key constituencies. This series brings you voices from the ground, the mood of the voters, and issues that matter — as well as those that don’t.
On a typical day at Hyderabad’s iconic Charminar, a structure that bustles with activity as the sun rises, a lingering narrative of development unfolds.
Despite the progress, the residents of Charminar express a collective desire to elect leaders committed to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous life for their community.
The Charminar Assembly constituency chose independents in the initial years. The constituency was represented by independent candidates till 1989.
Following the 1989 elections, AIMIM candidate Virasat Rasoot Khan was elected as the MLA of the constituency. Since then, it is the AIMIM that has been representing Charminar in the state Assembly.
One independent MLA who had represented the constituency — Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi — took control of the AIMIM from his father Abdul Waheed Owaisi, and the party still holds power in the Muslim-dominated areas of Hyderabad.
Abdul Waheed Owaisi was preceded by Qasim Razvi — the then-leader of the originally founded Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM). It was Abdul Waheed Owaisi who renamed Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
In one of the bustling — almost crushingly so — lanes leading to the Charminar, a man with his family drives for 2-3 km, but finds no place to park his vehicle. He halts in front of a shop, asking his family to quickly walk to the Charminar, make their purchases in a particular shop, and return within minutes.
The man is Aamir, a resident of the Old City. “We usually address the surrounding areas and sometimes the Charminar as the Old City. The people who make a living here do not emigrate irrespective of their religion. They have found a connection,” he said.
“We seek a leader who protects the peace of any religion. Charminar has been without any attacks for years because the chief minister of Telangana has led by example when it comes to treating Muslims and every other religion equally,” he told South First.
Parking problems in the lanes due to more footfall to historic restaurants. (Deepika Pasham/South First)
One of the favourite spots for the people living in and around Hyderabad is the Munshi Naan Shop. Walk towards Purani Haveli near the Charminar, and the aroma of fresh naan will pull you towards it.
There are many shops surrounding Purani Haveli making these naans, but they are afraid that the place will lose significance because of a proposed intersection.
One of the older men in the area, Mohammed Ahmed, said, “I have been sitting at my naan shop for generations, and as far I have observed, the area has become calmer. But now we were being approached by the political leaders for making the chorasta (intersection or crossroads).”
He explained: “This might facilitate an easy commute for those coming to Charminar, but we would have to sacrifice half of our shops to road widening. In such a scenario, we asked the AIMIM leaders to give us land or a place in Hayathnagar, which has a lot of visitors, but nothing was confirmed by the leaders.”
Rehana Begum, a resident in the area surrounding Charminar, said: “Politicians like Yogi Adityanath have been visiting the Bhagya Lakshmi temple near Charminar, but there they have no business to say things that could lead to rioting.”
She added: “As women, the concern we have is the pending financial assistance of ₹1 lakh from the Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation. This scheme was originally for BC (Backward Class) communities, but the news is it has been extended to Muslims as the corporation received a large number of applications from the community.”
“However, there are many women representing families standing in queues near Haj Houses crying because they have plans to start tailoring and or learn beautician courses so that they can be independent. My relatives informed me that there are tailoring courses started by AIMIM leaders, but there is nothing in the Charminar constituency,” Rehana told South First.
Charminar Assembly constituency in numbers. (Click on the image to enlarge)
The iconic Charminar with differentiation in the colour of one minar. (Deepika Pasham/South First)
The Deccan Archive is documenting the history of Hyderabad on a digital platform.
Its founder Mohammed Sibghatullah Khan explained that one of the towers of the Charminar looks different in colour “because of the composition of the plaster that was used to repair the monument”.
He added: “There was a lack of consistency in the material. Apart from that, when the monument was repaired side after side, the first repairs started getting weathered by the time the work ended. Hence, the change in colour.”
He also noted: “The Archeological Survey of India has been continuously repairing for the past few years or so.”
Parking vehicles is a nightmare for visitors to the Charminar, and the area marked for parking for tourists is neglected and filled with garbage.
The driver of a van said the drivers’ associations were tired of complaining about it to the Sanitation Department.
He also pointed to posters on shop shutters, which say no one should be held responsible for any damage to any vehicle parked in front of them.
“Look at the place. It stinks. Both people and the government should maintain cleanliness,” he said.
Sai Raj, the owner of a medical shop in the area, pointed out that people living in Shah Ali Banda — the area colloquially known as Shalibanda — in the Old City are experiencing some calm now.
He noted that the area is being monitored by authorities after last year’s riots. The area had witnessed stone-pelting and police lathi charges because the followers of Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh — known for his hate speeches — and Muslims attacked each other.
“No such incident has happened since then. We are apprehensive on some festival days and Fridays, but there has been peace,” he told South First.
As for the elections, Sai Raj said: “The scheme we would like for extension is 2BHK houses. My Muslim friends have asked me if I can help them, but the applications were collected in 2016 and the houses are being distributed to those beneficiaries only.”
The Sardar Mahal constructed by the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Pasha, for his wife Sardar Begum Saheba is being restored jointly by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and Kalakriti Art Gallery as it has been crying for attention even as tourist footfalls rise.
Sardar Mahal serving the residents as the GHMC south zone office finally picks up restoration works. (Deepika Pasham/South First)
Sandeep, who has owned a bangle shop since 1990, said each such shop in Laad Bazar will have man one man at the entrance and five or six people inside, working only to show bangles.
Business in the area has returned to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, more hawkers occupy the roads leading to it. This impedes people looking to enter the Laad Bazar and businessmen leaving the bazaar, said Sandeep.
Families with debts are thus opting for a business outside Laad Bazar, he informed South First.
However, political leaders demanding commission from shops in the area has been a constant, he said.
“The politicians are aware of the value of the shops and how much they earn, and so they keep visiting us for money,” alleged Sandeep.
On 5 November, the Moghalpura police booked Charminar MLA and AIMIM leader Mumtaz Ahmed Khan and his son Khaja Ahmed Khan Imtiyaz for various reasons.
One reason was that Imtiyaz and one Ghulam Khader Jeelani alias Mannan were allegedly involved in the threatening and extortion of a businessman engaged in construction.
Sandeep- Bangle shop owner in Laad Bazar. (Deepika Pasham/South First)
Mumtaz Ahmed Khan and Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri, another senior AIMIM leader, would not be contesting in the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections this year, said party president Asaduddin Owaisi while announcing the candidate list.
The AIMIM has fielded Mir Zulfiqar Ali, who was the mayor of the municipal corporation before the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was formed, from Charminar. The move came apparently because the BRS candidate, Ibrahim Lodi, was not a known face.
The Congress has announced Md Mujeebulla Shareef as its Charminar candidate. He is being recognised by the people as he campaigns door to door on the six guarantees of the party. He has also promised to build a junior and degree college in the constituency.
The BJP candidate, Megha Rani Agarwal, is an advocate. She is arguing that the AIMIM, which has won the seat for decades, has not established a park there or agreed to the Women’s Reservation Bill.
“Ahmed Sahab and Pasha Sahab have age-related and health problems. This might be why they are not contesting in elections. However, we will still stand with the AIMIM,” said people in the Charminar area. “That way, we will have no communal riots. We will have a peaceful life.”
Rehana said: “We will cast our vote for the AIMIM. My condition is the two schemes — Shaadi Mubarak and the minority pension scheme — be introduced on priority. The government should first implement the minority scheme, and if a leader of our religion is there, he will represent us in the Assembly.
Sai Raj said he hoped that any leader could present their requirements to the ruling party. “My second point is that all MLAs of the AIMIM are available in their offices to the common public. When we approach them for help, they make sure to make it a priority,” he added.
In 2018, Mumtaz Ahmed Khan won with 53,808 votes, defeating T Uma Mahendra of the BJP, who had 21,222 votes.
The constituency has 2,24,065 voters. Among them are 1,17,480 male voters, 1,06,557 female voters, and 28 transgender voters.
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