Afsarul Tibba “Arfa-u-Daulah” Sardar Agha
Muhammad Baqir Qizilbash Aala Qadr ― Chief Physician and Vizier (Wazir-I Tibb) to Maharaja Ranbir Singh,
The Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir and
Agha Ali Naqi Qizilbash Aala Qadr.
A scion of the once
powerful Qizilbash Afshar tribe of Afghanistan, whose forefathers were Qurchi
and Sepah Salars of their Qizilbash Regiments (Dastas), later migrated from
Kandahar to Kashmir by the turn of the 19th century.
The family settled
in Srinagar, Kashmir in 1801. The progenitor Sardar Agha Rahim Qizilbash “Wallahshan”
had heard about the beauty and peaceful environment of Kashmir from his
relative Mohammad Khan Jawansher Qizilbash ,then Naib Subahdar of Kashmir.From a first lieutenant till 1772 in the Royal Afghan
Cavalry Corps to a business magnate, Sardar Agha Rahim Qizilbash settled near
the seventh bridge in the area called Khanqah-e-Sokhta, Nawa-Kadal. “Maalik-ul-Tujjar”Agha
Rahim’s father Sardar Amir Agha Ali Afshar Jung Qizilbash (d-1755), a
Sepah Salar in the Royal Afsharid Cavalry till 1747 came from the lineage of Amir
ul Umara Agha Ahmad Sultan Qizilbash (d-1520s) one time Commander in chief
and Governor of Mashhad during the reign of Shah Ismail I and Amir ul Umara
Agha Qasim Sultan Qizilbash (d-1630) (Commander in chief and Governor of
Mosul).
In Kashmir,
Rahim’s grandson Arfa-ud-daulah Sardar Agha Muhammad Baqir Qizilbash
(1828-1885) became Royal Physician in 1856 and later the
"Chief Physician" and Wazir-e-Tibb
from 1872 to 1885 to Shri Maharaja
Ranbir Singh of Jammu & Kashmir. Under Agha MuhammadBaqir’s patronage the
Maharaja established a translating institute called “Darul tarjumah”
where books related to medicine (Tib-e-Unaan) in Arabic
and Latin were translated into Persian and Dogri languages. Due to his
meritorious services (Hakeem) Muhammad Baqir (as he was famously
known) was awarded
the title of “Afsarul tibba” , bestowed with the Robes of Honour
(Khil'at) and granted Jagirs. (Both Ismwar –
retained for lifetime & Haq-e-Asami Jagirs – permanant
hereditary).
Agha Muhammad Baqir was a comprehensive
thinker, scholar, polyglot and physician
par excellence. He played an instrumental role in establishing
"Shifa-Khanas' or dispensaries in different Wazarats of the state
which later culminated into establishment of medical institutes. A full-fledged
Ministry "Wizarat-i-Tib" was established with Baqir
as Naib-i-Wazir and the chief Minister as
the head of the Tibbi Wazarat. Later Agha Baqir was designated as the
Wazir-i-Tibb from 1876 to 1885 after receiving the Firman-i-Mubarak
(Royal Decree), with the title of "Arfa-ud-daulah" and a
public service medal in silver by Maharaja Ranbir
Singh. Agha Baqir’s
Brother Agha Muhammad Taqi Qizilbash was
also inducted in the government as "Motamid Darbar" who
later served as the “Wazir-e-Dakhilah” (Minister for Internal Affairs)
and was granted estates (Jagirs) in various
villages of Kashmir for his distinguished services. Apart from
other Jagirs Maharaja also presented a village to Agha Muhammad Baqir as a Heriditary
Jagir and named it after him (Gund Baqir) in Sopore. G.M.D. Sufi in his book “Kasheer” mentions Baqir curing a paralytic
patient by applying living wasps to the parts of body that were
paralyzed. This method was replicated by a
County Hospital in London in 1900.
After Agha Baqir’s death in 1885, his only son Agha Ali Naqi took over as Royal physician and Musahib (Courtier) to Shri Maharaja Pratap Singh. Agha Ali Naqi was equally competent like his father. Various books mention him curing a patient suffering from double pneumonia even though the patient was given up as a hopeless case by British Doctors. He too was bestowed with many Jagirs and was granted the distinguished service "Sanad" and public service medal "in Silver" with the title as "Hakim-i-Aala" by Maharaja Pratap Singh. Agha Ali Naqi had two sons, Agha Sher Ali (1875-1950) and Agha Mirza Ali (1884-1925), both of whom served in the Kashmir Police Service as Thanadars during Maharaja Rule. The two brothers also inherited the Haq-e-Asami (permanant hereditary) Jagirs jointly and were honorary Magistrates of their Chaks/Villages.
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