KOLKATA: Sultana Begum, the great grand daughter-in-law of India’s last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was in great financial distress, received a draft for Rs 2 lakh from Vijay J Darda, owner of Lokmat group of newspapers and a member of the Rajya Sabha at a function held here on Saturday.
The Begum was running a tea stall in a slum in Howrah. After the death of her husband, Muhammad Bedar Bakht, in 1980, the West Bengal Government provided her an accommodation in the city. But due to harassment by some local goons, she was forced to vacate the flat.
A Delhi-based journalist, Shivnath Jha, and his wife Neena Jha had launched a movement — Andolan Ek Pustak Se — under the aegis of Bismillah to protect such people through a fund from the sale proceeds of a book Prime Minister of India: Bharat Bhagya Vidhata. The book will be released shortly.
Shivnath Jha said Madhusudan Agrawal, owner of Ajanta Pharma Limited who is also a patron of the foundation, would provide an accommodation in the city and job to the Begum and her son.
“Financial support of Rs 3,000 per month will also be given to the Begum after the release of the book,” Jha said.