April 2nd, 2001

India moves from summary justice to such a slow judicial process that no decision is ever taken. Remember the BMW case? Or Upahaar? The accused are leading a normal life of ostentation and luxury while the victims are dead and their relatives will join them before anything happens in the cases pending. This is bad but summary justice is not to be recommended. We shall cite the case of an exceptional official, Mahmoud Gawan.

Mahmoud Gawan was executed on 15th April 1481 [5/2/886 Al Hijri]. He was 73 years of age and had served his masters, the Bahamani Sultans faithfully and well for many decades distinguishing himself in administration, battlefields, foreign affairs, architecture art literature and poetry.

Mahmoud Gawan first comes to notice in 1454 when he was entrusted with putting down the rebellion of Jalal Khan at Balkonda. The rebel was a brother-in-law of the Sultan Ahmad Shah Wali. This Sultan has been called ‘Prince amongst the learned’ by the grammarian Muhammad a’d-Damaameenee. This intellectual was of Egyptian origin and his contribution to Arabic grammer Manhalu’ Safi was completed at Mahaa’im on 6th December 1422. A’d Damaameenee then moved to Gulbarga and made a copy of his work from 5/2/1423-19/4/1423.

He notes that the Sultan was universally popular and not a single person was hostile to him.