Legendary classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passes away
Mumbai: Legendary Indian classical musician and Padma Vibhushan awardee Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan passed away on Sunday afternoon at his residence here. He was 89.
Khan's daughter-in-law Namrata Gupta Khan told PTI that the veteran breathed his last at 12.37 pm at his Bandra home.
"Today morning he was fine. We had a 24 hour nurse at home. During his massage he vomited and I ran immediately his eyes were shut and he was breathing slowly. I tried connecting to doctors and when they came he had already died," Namrata told PTI.
She said the family is in shock due to Khan's sudden demise as he was keeping well. The musician was going to turn 90 on March 3.
Khan had suffered a brain stroke in 2019 and left side of his body was paralysed. Namrata also shared the news of Khan's demise on her Facebook page.
"With a very heavy heart, I inform you all that my father,-in law the pillar of our family and a legend of our nation, Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan sahab has left for his heavenly abode few mins ago," she posted on the social media platform.
Khan's last rites will be performed at Santacruze Kabrastan later this evening.
Born on March 3, 1931 in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, Khan was the eldest son in a family of four brothers and three sisters.
His father, Ustad Waris Hussain Khan was the son of celebrated musician Ustad Murred Baksh, while his mother, Sabri Begum, was the daughter of Ustad Inayat Husain Khan, credited as the founder of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of music.
Khan got his basic classical music training from his father and later studied music under his cousin, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhusan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003 he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artistes.
Soon after Khan's demise his collaborators from Indian music industry including legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and music composer AR Rahman took too social media to pay tributes to the maestro.
Mangeshkar said she was "deeply saddened" by the news of Khan's death.
"I got to know the news of passing away of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saheb. I am deeply saddened. He was not only a very good singer but also a very good human being," she said, adding, her niece had also learnt music from him.
Rahman remembered Khan as the "sweetest teacher".
"The sweetest teacher of all... May the Ghafoor-ur-Rahim give you a special place in the next world #UstadGhulamMustafa," he wrote.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan said Khan's passing away has left him heartbroken.
"He was one of the most respected and versatile Vocalists of our country. My deepest condolences to his family. May his soul Rest In Peace," he tweeted.
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Govt will not remove temples built on Waqf properties, CM Siddaramaiah tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 18: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday assured the Karnataka Assembly that the government will not remove those temples which are built on Waqf properties.
In case notices have been served to them, then they will be withdrawn, he said.
During a discussion on the issue of the Waqf Board issuing eviction notices to farmers, temples and many other individuals, the Chief Minister said, "If temples have been built on Waqf properties then we will not remove them. I am making it very clear. In case any notice has been issued, they (notices) will be withdrawn."
As the raging Waqf issue echoed in the Assembly with the BJP raising it, the Waqf and Minority Affairs Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan clarified that if notices were given to farmers and temples then they will be withdrawn.
The Chief Minister too reiterated Khan's statement and said no farmer will be evicted from the land they have been tilling.
The BJP legislator Araga Jnanendra demanded that properties mentioned in government records as Waqf should also be removed as the mere withdrawal of notices will not serve the purpose.
The Leader of the Opposition BJP, R. Ashoka, justified the demand by saying that there were 110 Kuruba families in the Krishna Raja constituency, in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's home district of Mysuru, who have been running from pillar to post to get the notices removed. They have submitted several memoranda to Siddaramaiah, but to no avail.
He said there are hundreds of such instances where people face hardship by such notices.
Minister Khan reminded the BJP that it was in its manifesto in 2014 there was a promise to remove encroachment on Waqf properties.
The Chief Minister underlined the need to save the Waqf properties saying that there were 1.10 lakh acres of Waqf properties in the state which now reduced to just 20,000 acres due to various provisions of law such as the Inam Abolition Act as well as encroachment.
Jnanendra said, "We (BJP) too support saving the Waqf properties but our point is why notices were given now." Siddaramaiah said the situation was such that there was a need to save the properties and notices were given as there is a Central law for it.
The clarification was necessary now because a march was taken out from Bidar by the Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal from Bidar, he explained.
"There is a political split in the BJP but I won't discuss your internal matter," Siddaramaiah quipped.
He was referring to the differences between Yatnal and BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra. As a show of strength, Yatnal decided to take out a march from Bidar to Chamarajanagar with the support of 12 senior BJP leaders including MP and MLAs.
He accused the BJP of politicising the issue and reminded that despite the attempt to communalise the atmosphere in the state, the BJP lost the recent bypolls in all the three assembly segments, Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggaon.
Not satisfied by the explanation given by the Congress government, the BJP staged a walkout from the assembly.
