10/04/2026
The Last Horseman of Yarkand House: A 115-Year Legacy of Grace and Exile
To look at the photograph of Haji Syed Syed Ahmed Gilani is to see a man who was a bridge between centuries and continents. His story is a tapestry of the Silk Road—woven with the "Grace of Kashmir," the prestige of a political dynasty, and the devastating "shadows" of a world that fractured around him.
The Anchor of Yarkand House
His journey began at Yarkand House in Mallaratta, Srinagar. For over 115 years, this house has stood with an unyielding dignity, mirroring the character of the Gilani family. It was here that his spirit was forged. As a student at the prestigious Islamia High School, he would recite Quranic verses with a spiritual resonance that remained his North Star through the many storms of his later life.
A Voyager of the Silk Road
Like his distinguished father, Haji Syed Ghulam Mohammad Gilani—the Political Agent for the British Government and Administrator of Yarkand—Syed Ahmed was a man of grand pursuits. He was an exceptional horse rider and a passionate polo player who maintained a private team and reared Egyptian horses with great pride.
During their heyday, the Gilani family earned immense respect in Kashgar and Yarkand through honest business and high official standing. In Srinagar, they held the formidable Yarkand House and commercial shops within the Yarkand Sarai at Safa Kadal, then a vital hub for Central Asian trade. Today, that Sarai sits in a state of decay, a fading piece of history occupied by settlers—a stark contrast to the era when the Gilani name was a cornerstone of the Silk Road.
The Shattering: A Life in Four Shadows
Despite his "luxurious life," four major events shattered his world:
Domestic Sorrow and Family Discord: He lost his first wife, Syeda Padasha , at just 35. Later, the family peace was tested by an over-ambitious and uninvited brother-in-law who sought to exploit the family’s status. To preserve their tranquility, the family was forced to ask him to leave Yarkand immediately
The Martyrdom in Kashgar:
His younger brother, Haji Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, the Imam and Khatib of the Grand Mosque of Kashgar, was killed by Chinese troops for refusing to manipulate his followers toward communist ideology. He lies buried today on the Khurmchi border, a silent sentinel of faith.
The Pain of a Divided Father:
Perhaps most haunting was the fate of his only daughter from his second wife. Because she was born in China, Syeda Tarsoun Niaz was barred by the state from moving with her father during the 1954 deportations following Mao Zedong’s takeover. This forced separation was a wound that never healed. Today, the family knows she after retiring as Teacher resides in Beijing with her grown children, unable to return to her ancestral Yarkand as the horrifying treatment of the Uyghur people continues to scar the region. Of
The Migrant’s Path:
While his brother Syed Abdullah Gilani eventually settled in Amman, Jordan, Syed Ahmed was allotted 40 kanals of land in Gilgit, facing displacement with the same stoicism he once showed on the polo fields.
The Final Return
The road ended in 1964. While in Murree, Haji Syed Syed Ahmed Gilani suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while he was on holidays. His last rites were arranged in Rawalpindi by his brother, Syed Abdullah, and his sister, Syeda Mehtab Khanam. His Nimaz-e-Jinaza was a historic gathering, attended by the exiled leader Mirwaiz Maulana Yousuf Shah Kashmiri and hundreds of displaced countrymen—a final salute to a man of singular stature.
A Legacy Sustained
Following his death, his brother, sister, and Syeda Mansoora (daughter of the martyr Abdul Qadir) settled in Amman under a UN refugee plan. In 2004, I met them along with my wife there, bridging a gap created by half a century of exile. In Srinagar, his children—Syeda Sakina Gilani, Syeda Ashiya, Dr Syed, Mohammad Amin Gilani, and Syed Mohammad Ashraf—remain the keepers of the Gilani grace. Syed Ahmed died far from Mallaratta, yet he remains a traveler who finally found peace beyond the borders that sought to divide his soul.
About the Author:
Syed Nissar H. Gilani is a former civil servant from the administrative service.
Footnote: For a detailed biography of the Yarkand House Gilani family, see the author’s articles: “Cross-Border Desire,” “The Lost Caravan,” and “From Kashmir to Kashgar,” in Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, Kashmir Pen, and Kashmir Observer
