Alipur, Karnataka
| Alipur Karnataka (Mini Iran in Karnataka) | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Chickaballapur |
| Founded by | Syed Mustafa Hussain Abedi |
| Government | |
| • Body | Anjuman-e-Jafria |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 26,000 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Urdu |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 561213 |
| Telephone code | 08155 |
Alipur is a Shia Muslim-majority town in Karnataka state of India. It is located off highway SH94, 55 km away from Kempegowda International Airport and 70 km from Bangalore. Visiting Alipur is an altogether new experience. Surrounded by the nature's bounty, Shi'a mainstream in India, it is a unique town, harboring a Shia population of 20,000+ fashioning the lives of its inhabitants according to the orders of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Grand Ayatollah and the former supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Alipur makes the replica of Iran, hence the town is named as 'Mini Iran in Karnataka'. Alipur was known as Belligunta 300 years ago. It began to attract attention following arrival of Syed Mustafa Hussaini, an Abidi Sadat following the downfall of Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur. Hussaini and his wife Bathoola settled down here. Much later poet-scholar Mohammad Shaffi Baqari arrived from Hyderabad 150 years ago. He founded the Madrassa-e-Jafria. His son Abbas Baqari who lived upto an age of 115 years, made strenuous efforts and taught a lot of people in and around the town. He founded the Anjuman-e-Jafria which today controls the mosques, ashurkhanas, madrassa, eidgah and graveyard. Alipur is the Center of Shia Community in South India.
Did Iranian revolution cause any impact in Alipur? Going by the simple profile of the town, Iran is still a remote land of Alif Laila imagination. Alipur Shias did bring processions in the days of revolution and still continue to do so. There has been occasional visits by Iranian leaders. Among them top listed is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the seat of supreme spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic. Then came a clutch of MPs such as Ayatollah Jannati, Kashani, Ghayuri and Asafi. The main thoroughfare, Imam Khomeini Road (IK MAIN ROAD), named after the Iranian spiritual leader, culminates in an outsized, onion-domed mosque on one end and a modest Imam Khomeini Hospital on the other. Imam Khomeini Hospital came up in 1991 under Imam Khomeini Medical Trust.[1]
References
- ↑ Harish Ramaswamy (1 January 2007). Karnataka Government and Politics. Concept Publishing Company. p. 352. ISBN 978-81-8069-397-7.
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