Agra is quietly celebrating the 'Urs' of 'Munshi' Abdul Kareem, the urdu teacher and personal secretary of Queen Victoria who lived his last days in disrepute on property granted to him by the Queen in Agra.
Known for his personal relations with the Queen, Abdul Kareem was hired as her steward but was soon upgraded as her personal secretary in August 1887 at the age of 24. Kareem was tasked with teaching Urdu to the Queen, a duty which soon transformed into a leisurely activity for the Queen who spent hours talking to Kareem on various subjects.
The relationship between the two raised questions among the British royalty as Kareem had been given too much of a free rein over the Queen's affairs.
The Queen even arranged to have Kareem taught English so that he could mix with the royalty, a move that didn't go well with the British royalty who thought Indians to be far inferior.
Consequently, upon the Queen's death in 1901, Kareem was sent packing by her successor Edward VII and all of the mutual correspondence of the Queen and Kareem was confiscated and destroyed to prevent any scandal.
Arriving in India, Kareem returned to Agra, where he had been granted some land by the Queen and passed his remaining life in quite disrepute, finally passing away April 20, 1909 at the age of 46. This date is commemorated as the death anniversary or 'urs' of the Queen's 'Munshi', who once played an important role in making Victoria understand the culture of her Indian subjects and consequently, resulted in the commissioning of a large number of corrective policies designed to govern India better.
Although largely unrecognized, the tomb of the Kareem does find mention in the Archaeological Survey of India's list of protected monuments, lying deep inside Asia's largest graveyard Pachkuian, in Agra. An urs is celebrated annually by the locals at this tomb, although it is by and large a silent affair as not all agree with the actions of the Munshi, while he was lived in the royal household.
Social activist Braj Khandelwal says that Abdul Kareem had been honoured by the Royal Victorian Order and was to be 'Knighted' soon but the royal family intervened and did not allow this to happen. The Queen had even commissioned a gold portrait of Abdul Kareem be made by her personal painter John Angel and her personal physicians used to treat Kareem. A movie had also been made on Kareem's life in 2011.