Thousands follow the Bibi-ka-Alam through the Old City on Ashura

Hyderabad Stories published this report on 11 October 2026 as part of a review of June 2026. It was drafted with AI assistance from the reports listed at the end, each read in full; quotations are as those reports printed them.

On Friday, 26 June 2026 — Yaum-e-Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussain at Karbala — Hyderabad's Bibi-ka-Alam procession set out after Zohar prayers from Bibi ka Alawa in Dabeerpura.

Mounted on an elephant, as it has been for centuries, the alam travelled through Yakutpura, Alijah Kotla, Charminar, Gulzar Houz, Mir Chowk, Miralam Mandi, Zehranagar, Darul Shifa and Imliban before ending at Chaderghat. Thousands of Shia Muslims, dressed in black, took part, performing matam and reciting elegies; along the way the day was marked by prayer, charity and the distribution of food and water.

City Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar paid his respects to the alam at Charminar. Waqf Board chairman Azmatullah Hussaini said the arrangements for Muharram, including the elephant procession, were made on the Chief Minister's instructions.

Sources

• Thousands join Bibi Ka Alam procession on Ashura — Deccan Chronicle, 26 June 2026