Habib Mian of Jaipur, blind for the last 55 years is the oldest living man on earth. He was born at Rajgarh in Rajasthan's Alwar district. But there is some controversy regarding his actual age. He claims his date of birth to be 28th May 1870. That makes his age 138. But according to his pension documents his date of birth is 28th May 1878. So there is a difference of eight years.
A Trumpet and clarionet player in the erstwhile royal band of the ruler of Jaipur, Sawai Madho Singh, he retired from service in 1938. Habib Miyan has been drawing pension money since his retirement. His pension at the time of his retirement after 20 years of service was fixed at 1 rupee and 86 paise a month. He now gets about Rs. 2,000 a month and an ex-gratia from the erstwhile royal family. He also holds the distinction of being the oldest Haj pilgrim — he went to Mecca for Haj in 2004 — and the longest beneficiary of pension benefits since 1938, first from the Jaipur Riyasat, and later from the State Government after Independence.
Habib Mian is once again sprouting his third set of teeth and now even eats meat!.
Latest Update: News of great grief. Grand old Habib Mian, who had fever and a bout of dysentery, expired at 3 am on 19th August 2008, at an age of 139.
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