The Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi is organising a slide presentation by Fakir S Aijazuddin, one of Pakistan\'s leading scholars and art-historians on February 6 at the auditorium of the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, Chandigarh. The title of his presentation is The Fakir Brothers at the Sikh Court of Lahore.
Aijazuddin has written a book titled The Resourceful Fakirs and he would be talking about this book with a power point presentation. Eminent art historian Professor B N Goswamy would also speak on this occasion. Fakir Aijazuddin is one of Pakistan\'s leading scholars and art-historians whose specialty has been the history of the Punjab. He belongs to the famous Fakir family of Lahore which achieved considerable prominence during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
The wise Maharaja used Fakir Azizuddin as his spokesperson on all matters relating to foreign affairs, employing him to conduct negotiations with his British neighbours in the East and the Afghans in the West. The level of confidence the Maharaja had in Azizuddin can be gauged from the fact that for almost 25 years - from 1810 to the death of the Maharaja in 1839 - there was no diplomatic negotiation or treaty that was concluded without Azizuddin\'s involvement. His services were as valuable to Ranjit Singh\'s successors - Maharajas Kharak Singh, Naunihal Singh and Sher Singh.
Two other Fakir brothers who were an integral part of the Sikh Court of Lahore were Fakir Imamuddin (keeper of the Govindgarh Fort, Amritsar) and his younger brother Fakir Nuruddin (member of the Regency Council for Maharaja Duleep Singh).
Fakir Aijazuddin has published a number of books on this period of Punjab history. The first was Pahari Paintings and Sikh Portraits in the Lahore Museum (1977), a catalogue of the miniature paintings collection in the Lahore Museum. The counterpart to it is in the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh.