400-YEAR-OLD QURAN RECOVERED BY MYSURU COPS

400-YEAR-OLD QURAN RECOVERED 

BY MYSURU COPS

നാലു നൂറ്റാണ്ട് പഴക്കമുള്ള ഖുര്‍ ആന്‍ വില്‍ക്കാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നതിനിടെ പിടിച്ചെടുത്തു

Police recovered a nearly 400-year-old copy of the Quran, one of the oldest so far found in India, from a ten-member gang on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap and arrested four of them near Hosa Agrahara in KR Nagar, Mysuru, when they were waiting in a car for prospective buyers. Police received information about the copy, written in Arabic, that dates back to the 17th century, along with video footage about it. They contacted the gang as prospective buyers, and first nabbed four of them. Later, six others were arrested near Mysuru. The gang, from different parts of Karnataka, quoted Rs 5 crore as the price for this rare work, and had come to KR Nagar, hoping to find a buyer. 
Historian B Sheik Ali, 93, confirmed the copy dates back to the Mughal period, and said it appears to be one of the oldest copies in India. "I haven't seen such an old Quran, in neat italic calligraphy," he said. He described it an invaluable work - the letters in black ink are in floral design, on specially made gold coloured paper. 

Based on the date (AH 1050 - Islamic Hijri calendar) mentioned on the last page of the book, the nonagenarian said it was written approximately in the early or mid 17th century. SP Abhinav Khare said, "We zeroed in on the gang, following a tip-off, and laid a trap. We don't know exactly when the copy was written, but it's a rare and antique book with 604 pages. We don't know whether pages are missing or we have found the complete work or not. We've sought the assistance of the department of archaeology to determine the age of the book." The SP claimed police found video footage of the rare work and then formed teams to nab the gang. He didn't share more information about the footage as it would hamper investigation. Abhinav said dealers carry videos of such rare items to show them to buyers, and when the deal is sealed, they bring the original article. "It's now the property of the court," he said. DSP Vikram Amathe said the words 'Al Quran-ul-Karim' were inscribed on the cover of the book, which is roughly 6"x4". 
The arrested men — Nagaraju S, 39, M Murali Krishna, 30, from Raichur, Kanakappa, 40, from Gadag, Kalappa Kambaali, 54, from Kalaburagi, Sanath, 27, Ravindra, 33, and Raghu, 30, from Udupi, Vijayendra, 33, and Prasad, 43, from Shivamogga, and Bhaskar M, 30, from Bengaluru Rural - told cops they got the rare work from Hyderabad. SP Abhinav Khare said the gang is not sure where they got the book but were asked to sell it at a high price. "The book was in the possession of Sanath when we arrested the gang. We recovered thebook and a four-wheeler used by gang members who were booked under the provisions of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972," he said. Section 25 of the Act says: If any person, himself or by any other person on his behalf, exports or attempts to export any antiquity or art treasure in contravention of Section 3, he shall, without prejudice to any confiscation or penalty to which he may be liable under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, as applied by Section 4, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine. 
Prof. B Sheik Ali, historian and former vice-chancellor of Mangalore and Goa universities, felt a good calligrapher could have taken at least 6-7 years to produce such a showpiece. The golden sheets with black ink letters are invaluable and need to be preserved, Ali felt. It's a rare work, its letters are neat and decorative with floral designs. I've seen different types of Qurans but never such an old one in my lifetime. It appears to be India's oldest Quran written during the time of Akbar, or Jahangir or Shah Jahan. Even today, the letters are not effaced and a thin white paper is placed between each sheet to prevent damage to the letters, said Ali. He explained the Quran is divided into 30 parts (Para) of equal length or into Surah (114 chapters), though there is no change in the content. The Islamic date AH 1050 corresponds to AD 1641 - a time when Shah Jahan was the Mughal emperor. Shah Jahan was a more orthodox Muslim than his father and grandfather. അക്ബര്‍ ചക്രവര്‍ത്തിയുടെ കാലഘട്ടത്തില്‍ നിര്‍മിച്ചതെന്നു കരുതുന്ന സ്വര്‍ണംപൊതിഞ്ഞ ഖുര്‍ ആന്‍ മൈസൂരുവില്‍ വില്‍ക്കാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നതിനിടെ പോലീസ് പിടിച്ചെടുത്തു. 410 വര്‍ഷത്തോളം പഴക്കമുള്ളതാണ് ചെറുഖുറാനെന്ന് പോലീസ് പറഞ്ഞു. ഹൈദരാബാദില്‍നിന്നാണ് ഇതെത്തിച്ചതെന്നു കരുതുന്നു. മൈസൂരു കെ.ആര്‍. നഗറില്‍ പത്തംഗസംഘം അഞ്ചുകോടി രൂപയ്ക്ക് കൈമാറ്റംചെയ്യാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുമ്പോഴാണ് ഖുര്‍ ആന്‍ പിടികൂടിയത്. ഇതുസംബന്ധിച്ച് കൂടുതല്‍ അന്വേഷണം നടന്നുവരികയാണ്.

604 പേജുകളാണ് ഖുര്‍ ആനിലുള്ളത്. ഹിജറവര്‍ഷം 1050-ലാണ് (ക്രിസ്തുവര്‍ഷം എ.ഡി. 1605) പുറത്തിറക്കിയതെന്ന് ഇതില്‍ രേഖപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. അക്ബര്‍ ചക്രവര്‍ത്തിയായിരുന്നു ഈ സമയം ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ഭരണാധികാരി. പേജുകളെല്ലാം സ്വര്‍ണം പൊതിഞ്ഞവയാണ്.ഖുര്‍ ആനെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള വിവരം വീഡിയോ വഴിയാണ് മൈസൂരുവിലുള്ള കച്ചവടക്കാരെ അറിയിച്ചത്. ഇതുസംബന്ധിച്ച രഹസ്യവിവരം ലഭിച്ച പോലീസ് കച്ചവടക്കാരുടെ വേഷത്തില്‍ കെ.ആര്‍.നഗറിലെത്തുകയായിരുന്നുവെന്ന് മൈസൂരു എസ്.പി. അഭിനവ് ഖാരെ പറഞ്ഞു.എന്നാല്‍, കൂടുതല്‍ പരിശോധനകള്‍ക്കുശേഷമേ ഇതിന്റെ ആധികാരികത വ്യക്തമാവുകയുള്ളൂവെന്നും പോലീസ് അറിയിച്ചു.

Prof. John Kurakar