Bibi Ka Alam procession to be taken out today

The historic Bibi Ka Alam procession will be taken out on Saturday in the old city.

A pachyderm Madhuri, from Kolhapur, Maharashtra was brought by the organizers to carry the Bibi-ka-Alam from Bibi-ka-Alawa to Masjid-e Ilahi grounds Chaderghat, covering a distance of around seven kilometers.

The procession will start at 1 pm and pass through Bibi-ka-Alawa, Pather ka Makaan, Shaik Faiz Kaman, Yakutpura Road, Alijah Kotla, Charminar, Panjesha, Mandi Mir Alam, Zehranagar, Darulshifa and reach Chaderghat in the evening.

Syed Hamed Hussain Jaffery of Telangana Shia Youth Conference explained that the practice dates back to Qutub Shahi period when Muhammad Qutb Shah’s wife installed an alam in the memory of Bibi Fatima at Golconda. Later, during the Asaf Jahi era, the alam was moved over to Bibi ka Alawa at Dabeerpura



specially built for the purpose.

“The alam contains a piece of the wooden plank on which Bibi Fatima was given her final ablution before burial. The relic is believed to have reached Golconda all the way from Karbala in Iraq during the reign of Golconda king Abdullah Qutub Shah,” said Jaffery.

The ‘alam’ has six diamonds and other jewels donated by the builder of Azakhana-e-Madar-e-Deccan, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The jewellery is kept in six black pouches and tied to the standard.

Thousands of mourners will participate in the procession and several other Alams from different areas of the city will join the main procession. On Friday, Director General of Police, Anjani Kumar, MA&UD Special Chief Secretary, Arvind Kumar, and other officials visited Bibi ka Alawa.