The amount of ‘wasiqa’ (pension) for the descendants of the erstwhile nawabs of Oudh has been increased 30 times.
The amount of ‘wasiqa’ (pension) for the descendants of the erstwhile nawabs of Oudh has been increased 30 times.
At first sight, this might seem huge, calling for hearty celebrations among them. But it doesn’t even evoke a smile.
For, the fact is that the ‘wasiqa’ can’t even buy the daily bread for the ‘wasiqedars’ (royal descendants) who get paltry sums, the lowest being 35 paise and the maximum Rs100 — that too annually!
The Royal Family of Oudh, an association of the nawabs’ descendants, has been demanding a raise in ‘wasiqa’ since 2006.
Now that their demand has been met, the Hussainabad Trust, which oversees the pension distribution, would be spending a princely sum of Rs4,67,520 instead of the measly Rs15,884 per annum, a district administration official handling the matter informs.
For the royal family descendants, the ‘wasiqa’ means much more than just the money they get.
“It’s a tradition which has come to us through several generations. It’s not just an amount for us.
Through the ‘wasiqa’, we cherish our identity as descendants of Oudh’s one-time rulers,” says Shikoh Azad, general secretary of the Royal Family of Oudh.
He says the Lucknow District Magistrate (DM) Anil Sagar and ADM OP Pathak had taken the initiative in this regard, and the royal families’ association honoured them for getting them the 30-fold increase.
The tradition of ‘wasiqa’ was the brainchild of Oudh’s third ruler Mohammad Ali Shah who wished to provide for his successors, lest they should face tough times during the British rule.
In November 1839, he executed a trust deed with the East India Company to which he entrusted a sum of Rs12 lakh at an interest rate of four per cent per annum.
According to this deed, out of the annual interest of Rs48,000, a sum of Rs30,000 was to be used to care of road repairs and the expenses of the Hussainabad Trust and related properties, while the rest (Rs18,000) was to be paid as ‘wasiqa’ to the nawab’s descendants. At the time the deed was executed, the nawab’s immediate family had 21 members.
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