he Rahnuma-E-Deccan Daily newspaper family are known as notables by belonging to the Ashraf class, the highest hereditary title of nobility to the highest social/political class in the Muslim World; also known in pre-modern society as Sayyids, or Lords of the House of Hashem – belonging to the Quraysh tribe, which descended from Canaan.
Paternally, we descend from Zayd b. ‘Ali b. Hussein (d.740), great great great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The maternal grandfather of Zayd b. Ali from his mother Princess Jodah of Sind was Maharaja Dahir (d.712) of the Brahman Empire of Sindh. The Brahman Empire of Sindh was founded by Maharaja Chach of Alor (d.711), and covered the entire Indus Valley and beyond.
In addition to their royal lineage, The Rahnuma-E-Decaan Daily family has a history of over 262 years of documented service to the people of Hindustan.
When it comes to foreign policy and international politics in Hindustan, our history can be traced back to at least 1758, the year our ancestor Mir Ghulam Ali of Mysore was born in India.
Mir Ghulam Ali is recorded in history as the Vakeel (Ambassador) and Chief Naval Commander, Amir ul-Bahar of the King of Mysore Mir Fateh Ali Bahadur Tipu Sultan, and part of his elite top secret Phantom admiralty.
Ali is famed for being the ‘power behind Tipu’, in addition to being Tipu’s Ambassador to France sent to Louis XVI in 1786 to enter a military alliance against the British East India Company.
Mir Ghulam Ali was also dispatched to Tipu’s Ottoman counterpart, Sultan Abdul Hamid I in Constantinople after his meeting with Louis XVI, and even recruited Napoleon Bonaparte for Tipu Sultan’s service.
However, Mir Ghulam Ali’s most notable work was his role as Custodian of Tipu Sultan’s sons, 10 year old Abdul Khaliq and 8 year old Maizzuddin, when they were to be held hostage by the British who mercilessly asked to handover both of them to Lord Cornwallis as a part of a peace treaty in 1792.
The Rahnuma-E-Deccan Daily was originally founded as The Rahbar-E-Deccan by Syed Vicaruddin and Syed Lateefuddin’s father Syed Yusufuddin and his brother Syed Ahmed Mohiuddin, who were direct descendants of Mir Ghulam Ali of Mysore.
In 2016, Syed Ahmed Khan, grandson of Syed Yusufuddin through his youngest daughter, founded The Rahnuma Daily, and was appointed as its digital Editor In Chief, and its digital Publisher to cater to the paper’s online English readership.
More than 81.1 million Indians identify Urdu as their language, and as per the annual INA (Indian Newspapers Association) report, The Rahnuma-E-Deccan ranks among the top 5 most widely circulated and read Urdu daily print newspapers throughout India.
Established in 1921 in the former Princely Nizam State of Hyderabad, Deccan, The Rahnuma-E-Deccan Daily is India’s oldest Urdu print daily newspaper, and Hyderabad’s oldest newspaper.
Its Editor In Chief and Publisher Syed Vicaruddin has hosted national leaders including several Indian Prime Ministers and Presidents alike.
From his mother, Syed Vicaruddin shares Abdullah al-Kamil b. Hasan al-Muthanna, his son Musa al-Jaun, his son Abdullah al-Salih, and his son Musa al-Thani, as common ancestors between this side of his family and the Kings of Morocco, the Hashemites (monarchy), Grand Sharifs and Emirs of Mecca, Kings of Hejaz, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, the Idrisids of Fez, Hamudites of Spain, Leaders of the Senussi Order, and the King’s of Libya (Idris I).
Syed Vicaruddin is the first Indian journalist in history to have interviewed over 16 Arab Head of States, including three Saudi monarchs, the current monarch while he was the Crown Prince, two Moroccan monarchs, Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Palestinian President Yassar Arafat and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In recognition of his work, Syed Vicaruddin was granted the distinguished rank of Officer of the Royal Order of Alaouite by His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, is the first Indian civilian to be a recipient of the prestigious Arab League of States Award on behalf of 22 Arab countries, and is the first Indian in history to be decorated with the Order of the Star of Jerusalem (Wissam Najm al-Quds) by H.E. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Order of the Star of Jerusalem is Palestine’s highest honor.
However, Syed Vicaruddin’s most notable service to Hindustan, and Indians of all backgrounds came forth from his meeting with His Majesty King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Taking advantage of his temporary access to the king’s ear, Syed Vicaruddin managed to convince His Majesty King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to open the door for employment opportunities for Indians in Saudi Arabia.
This led to the subsequent opening of the entire Middle East to Indian employees, and was achieved with cooperation of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs during the period of Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Today, India is the top remittance beneficiary from Saudi Arabia with over over $10.2 billion USD as of 2016, and thanks to the effective role Syed Vicaruddin was able to play, GCC countries in the Middle East are home to 72% of the global Indian Diaspora. NRI’s send $70 billion USD (Rs. 4.2 lakh crores) every year to India, out of which 70.5% (nearly $50 billion USD) comes back to India from GCC based NRI’s.
Syed Vicaruddin also the first Indian in history to receive the Wissam Najm Al Quds or Order of the Star of Jerusalem from H.E. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In April 2018, the Arab League, the largest organization of Arab countries, recognized the distinguished services of Syed Vicaruddin and honored him for his unparalleled services towards bringing India and the Arab world closer, and conferred upon him the prestigious Arab League Award.
The award was presented to Syed Vicaruddin on the 73rd Inception Day (of Arab League) by Union Minister of State Mr M.J. Akbar at the Embassy of Oman, New Delhi in the presence of Ambassadors of 22 Arab countries, for which he and his family are grateful.
The Rahnuma Daily (theRahnuma.com) has organically grown since its launch in 2016, and is increasingly becoming the go to site for opinions on news and international affairs for Indians in India, and NRI Indians abroad, for which we are thankful and express our deepest gratitude.
