Tag Archives: 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan

‘Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace’ is worn by Queen Elizabeth II and also by Kate Middleton

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA (formerly) HYDERABAD STATE :

Imaginative cuisine, stylish wardrobes, magnificent palaces, and an opulent lifestyle. These are just a few things that the Nizams of Hyderabad are known for. Well, there’s one more thing: spectacular jewelry.

Most people already know that the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan was one of the wealthiest men in the history of the world. So, it comes as no surprise that he owned a fabulous collection of jewelry – diamonds, gold ornaments, and precious stones.

Almost all this collection was purchased by the Government of India, which arranges its exhibition from time to time. 

However, the most fitting exhibition of the Nizam’s jewelry occurs, albeit unwittingly, when Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, wears the spectacular Cartier diamond necklace. It was gifted to her by the 7th Nizam on the occasion of her wedding to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark on 20th November 1947. He had also gifted her the “Hyderabad Tiara” which had a design based on English roses with 3 detachable floral brooches, all made of diamonds and set in platinum.

The aptly named Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace is also a floral piece made of diamonds that are set in platinum.

The British art historian, Hugh Roberts who authored the best-selling book “The Queen’s Diamonds”, describes it in his book as: “The pavé-set centre with detachable double-drop pendant incorporating 13 emerald-cut diamonds and a pear-shaped drop; the chain of 38 brilliant-cut open-back collets with an elongated oval brilliant-set snap”. 

The Nizam, in his generosity, reportedly instructed Cartier to let the bride (then Princess Elizabeth) choose whatever she desired from their collection. The princess then chose the necklace and the matching floral tiara. She is not its first owner, however. Cartier made the necklace in 1935, sold it and then reacquired it from the first buyer in 1936. One of its earliest pictures is of Elfrida Greville, the Countess of Warwick who wore it for a portrait in the 1930s.

But the piece has remained a mainstay in the Queen’s jewelry collection. It appears to be one of her favorites as she has worn it on many official engagements, for instance on her first ever trip to Washington in October 1951 where she met President Harry Truman. She can also be seen posing in it for official portraits that would be used on currency bills like the Bahamas Dollar. She still wears it on important occasions.

Of late there has been a renewed interest in the necklace among jewelry enthusiasts when the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton was photographed wearing it on at least two occasions. It was lent to her by the Queen as the duchess is her grand daughter-in-law due to her husband Prince William. It may now be safely assumed that the necklace has passed on from being a personal wedding present to a family heirloom and will adorn the subsequent generations of British royalty.

Dr Mohammed Najeeb Shahzore

Dr Mohammed Najeeb Shahzore is a specialist physician based in Kuwait with an interest in Hyderabad’s history & culture.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Dr. Mohammed Najeeb Shahzore / September 26th, 2021

The last Nizam’s indelible imprint on Kalaburagi

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Hyderabad / Kalaburagi (formerly Gulbarga) , KARNATAKA :

AiyaneShahiMPOs17sept2019

The city has many structures built during the time of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur

A kilometre away from Kalaburagi railway station is Aiwan-e-Shahi, a magnificent stone structure built in early 19th Century. For political leaders and bureaucrats visiting the city, it’s the most preferred accommodation.

Kalaburagi has several such architectural remnants of the times of the Nizam rule, uniquely Indo-Islamic in style, and still in use. Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, the last monarch, who ruled the province between 1911 and 1948, stayed in Aiwan-e-Shahi when he visited the city and is today a government guest house. The Nizam used to travel in his own train from Hyderabad to reach the palace in Kalaburagi and a special railway track was laid up to the entrance of the complex for the purpose.

Like most buildings constructed during the Nizam’s rule, the Aiwan-e-Shahi portrays a rich and imposing architecture synthesising medieval and modern styles. It is constructed using local white stones, popularly known as Shahabad stones, abundantly available in the surrounding area. The front view of the palace was greatly inspired by Gothic style architecture.

Kalaburagi-based heritage collector and artiste Mohammed Ayazuddin Patel has copies of some rare photograph of Nizam. In one of them, he is the Nizam is seen playing tennis outside the Aiwan-e-Shahi palace complex. His train is also visible in the background. The picture was said to have been taken by Raja Deen Dayal, the official photographer at the Nizam’s court.

The Nizam, known as the architect of modern Hyderabad, left an impression on Kalaburagi too. The building now houses the tahsildar office, zilla panchayat and central library. The entrance arch gate of Vikas Bhavan, the mini Vidhana Soudha that has the district administrative complex and one of the entrances of Mahbub Gushan Garden in the heart of the city were built during his time. There are several private houses across the city that were built for the families of Deshpande, Deshmukh, Mali Patil, Police Patil, Jamadar, Mansafdar, Pattedar, Inamdar, Jagirdar, Kulkarni, Hawaldar – the official and administrative titles given by the Nizam.

“At least, the Aiwan-e-Shahi should be included in the protected monuments and converted into a museum to showcase the region’s cultural past,” says Rehaman Patel, Kalaburagi-based researcher and artiste. According to him, the Nizam had expanded public spaces such as parks, lakes, town hall, and gardens in the city engaging several engineers. Mahbub Sagar (now called Sharnbasweshwar lake) and Mahbub Gulshan Garden continued to be used by the public. The town hall is used by the Kalaburagi City Municipal Corporation as a conference hall.

The Filter Bed built for providing pure water to the residents continues to supply drinking water to parts of the city. The Mahbub Shahi Kapda Mill that produced high-quality cloth and supplied it not just to various cities across India, but to other countries as well, was in operation till the 1980s. The Nizam had also established Asif Gunj School and MPHS school, the oldest educational institutions of the city.

“In the early 1930s, he formed the Hyderabad Aero Club and built Begumpet Airport for his Deccan Airways, one of the earliest airlines in British India. He had the distinction of employing, perhaps, the world’s first woman commercial pilot, Captain Prema Mathur, during the late 1940s. The other airport built in Bidar in 1942 is now used by the Indian Air Force to train its pilots. The Nizam was also credited for renovating several monuments belong to Buddhists, Jains, Chalukyas, and Bahmanis. The renovation and excavation of the caves of Ajanta and Ellora was undertaken with the funds of the Nizam government and supervised by then archaeology director Ghulam Yazdani,” Mr. Rehaman said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Kumar Buradikatti / Kalaburagi – September 16th, 2019

Nizam’s jewels set to go on display in Delhi again

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The date of inauguration of the exhibition hasn’t been decided yet, but most of the groundwork for the event has been completed.

For the first time in almost 12 years, the National Museum in Delhi is preparing to display the priceless jewellery collection of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

The date of inauguration of the exhibition hasn’t been decided yet, but most of the groundwork for the event has been completed. The National Museum exhibited the jewellery for the first time in 2001 and again e in 2007. There have also been two exhibitions of the jewellery at the Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad during the same period.

“In India, jewellery is an integral part of lifestyle. Among them, the Nizam’s collection of jewels is especially unique. It, therefore holds a significant position in the history of gemology and jewellery,” said Sanjib Kumar Singh , curator of the exhibition.

Soon after India’s independence and the annexation of erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad, the seventh and last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, created 54 trusts. The jewels, now in the custody of the Indian government, were part of the assets of these exclusive trusts. In March 1951, HEH the Nizam’s Jewellery Trust was created and it took over 103 items including state regalia; in February 1952, HEH the Nizam’s Supplemental Jewellery Trust took custody of 144 pieces of jewellery.

Negotiations began in 1972 between the Indian government and the family for the sale of the priceless heritage. In 1995, the Indian government finally acquired a part of the inventory for Rs. 217 crore. The actual value of this precious legacy is difficult to asses because it not only represents some of the finest jewels found in the Indian subcontinent, but also stands as a silent witness to the history of the Deccan region.

According to the government, the present collection comprises a total of 173 items acquired from the two trusts. The actual number of pieces, if pairs and groups of ornaments are split up, is 325 not, including 22 unset emeralds, and the 185-carat Jacob diamond, one of the world’s largest by size.

The collection includes turban ornaments, necklaces, earrings, armbands, bracelets, bells, buttons and cufflinks , anklets, watch chains and rings—all jewels once worn by the once fabulously wealthy Nizams of Hyderabad, their wives, children and grandchildren.

“This collection is a national treasure and comprises of jewels of fine beauty and rarity. I believe the jewels should be on permanent display as they belong to the people of India,” says art historian Deepthi Sasidharan, who has co-authored the book, Treasures of the Deccan–Jewels of the Nizams, published recently.

The exhibition is likely to feature around 33 showcases. The National Museum proposes to charge visitors Rs 50 for a 30-minute tour of the exhibition.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Vanita Srivastava, Hindustan Times, New Delhi / January 11th, 2019

The truth about the Nizam and his gold

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HYDERABAD :

Key deposit: Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, centre, with Lal Bahadur Shastri and others in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Key deposit: Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, centre, with Lal Bahadur Shastri and others in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives

RTI queries bust myth of 5,000 kg gift for national defence

A series of Right To Information applications have busted an urban legend that Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan of Hyderabad  donated 5,000 kg of gold to the National Defence Fund in the aftermath of the 1965 war with Pakistan.

The Prime Minister’s Office, under which the National Defence Fund functions, responded to this reporter’s RTI query that it has no information of any such donation.

According to popular lore, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan is said to have given 5,000 kg of gold to Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri during his visit to Hyderabad in 1965. The Prime Minister was touring the country to raise funds to steady the post-war economy. The story goes that after donating the gold, the Nizam asked only that the boxes containing the precious metal be returned.

In fact, the Nizam invested 4.25 lakh grams (425 kg) of gold in the National Defence Gold Scheme, floated in October 1965 with a generous 6.5% interest, to tide over the economic crisis.

The Hindu report

A report in The Hindu of December 11, 1965, from Hyderabad, corroborates the less glamorous version of the Nizam and his gold. As The Hindu reports:

The Prime Minister, Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Nizam of Hyderabad exchanged a few words to-day at the airport when the ageing ex-ruler came to greet India’s Prime Minister…

Addressing a public meeting later in the evening, Mr. Shastri congratulated the Nizam on his investing 4.25 lakhs grams of gold in gold bonds which was valued at about Rs. 50 lakhs. The investment contained old gold mohors (coins) whose value was more depending on their antiquity. “We do not want to melt these gold mohors but send them to foreign countries to obtain a higher value. We may get a crore of rupees,” he said.

The report also mentions a donation of 1.25 lakh grams of gold from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and a purse of ₹8 lakh in cash from Telegu film stars to the government.

The October 1965 National Defence Gold Bonds had the additional benefit of being an amnesty scheme. “The provisions of the gold control or customs regulations will not apply with respect to gold in any form tendered as a subscription to the gold bonds and no proceedings will be instituted… Further, where such gold has been acquired out of income which has not been disclosed under the Income-Tax Act … such income, or the wealth represented by the corresponding assets, will not be liable to tax under these enactments in assessments,” said the press note from the government.

Secret beneficiary?

While the Nizam’s investment was a smart move, mystery shrouds the beneficiary of the investment. The RBI rejected an RTI query on the investment as well as the final beneficiary, citing Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act: “unwarranted invasion of the privacy.”

Najaf Ali Khan, one of the grandsons of Nizam Osman Ali Khan, said he was unaware of the payout. “This is news to me. I don’t know who has claimed it. The Nizam had created 52 trusts but I am not aware of any trust receiving this money,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad > Sunday Special / by Serish Nanisetti / Hyderabad – November 11th, 2018

The progressive princess of Hyderabad

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Hyderabad :

Princess Durru Shehvar
Princess Durru Shehvar

Princess Durru Shehvar ushered modernity into Nizam’s household

The name of Durru Shehvar, the elder daughter-in-law of the Nizam of Hyderabad ,  Mir Osman Ali Khan, is remembered for the social and philanthropic work she so zealously engaged in Hyderabad. Born in Turkey, brought up in France but married to the son of the world’s richest man, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Princess Durru Shehvar chose to spend her last years in London. She brought modernity to the Nizam’s household and worked for the upliftment of women in Hyderabad.

Her marriage with prince Azam Jah Bahadur, the elder son of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, resulted in the union of two illustrious Muslim families, the Turkish Caliphate and the Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad. Durru Shehvar, the only daughter of Abdul Majjid II, the Caliph of Turkey was born in 1914 and brought up with modern education, training in martial arts and was intended to succeed her father.

Nizam and the exiled Caliph

In March 1924 after Turkey became a Republic, the Caliphate was abolished and the royal family expelled. Abdul Majjid and his family settled in Nice, a southern French Mediterranean port city. The British Red Cresent Society , friendly with the deposed ruler appealed to Muslim rulers around the world to come to the aid of the impoverished Caliph. Persuaded by Maulana Shaukath Ali and his brother, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan decided to send a life-time monthly pension of 300 pounds to the deposed Caliph, and allowances to several individuals in the family.

When Durru Shehvar, came of age, she was sought in marriage by several Muslim Royals including the Shah of Persia and the King of Egypt for their heirs. Shaukat Ali prevailed on the Nizam to send a proposal to the Caliph asking for Darru Shever’s hand for his elder son, Prince Azam Jah. The deposed Caliph could hardly reject the offer from his benefactor.

But it was not that easy; the Mehr (the bride money) of 50,000 pounds that the Caliph demanded for his daughter was “too big”, the Nizam felt. But with the intervention of Shaukath Ali, the Caliph proposed to offer for the same Mehr, the hand of his brother’s daughterNiloufer, for the Nizam’s younger son, Prince Mauzam Jah. The Nizam readily agreed and sent his two sons to France.

The marriage of Princess Durru Shehvar with Prince Azam Jah, along with that of Prince Mauzam and Niloufer took place in Nice, in France, on 12 November, 1931, in a simple ceremony attended by only a simple affair with only the members of Sultan’s family at Nice, a few Turkish nobles and friends as well as representatives of the Nizam — Sir Akbar Hydari and Nawab Mehdi Yar Jung, who happened to be in Europe at that time to attend the Round Table Conference. The Khalifa himself performed the ceremonies. All the offices and educational institutions in the Nizam’s dominions were given a holiday on the day.

A photograph of the princess and her family
A photograph of the princess and her family

Meeting the Mahatma

After a month of festivities in Nice, the Princes with their concerts set sail from Venice to India on December 12, 1931. The ship they were travelling in also contained a star co-passenger, Mahatma Gandhi, who was returning after attending the Second Round Table conference in London. Shaukat Ali, who was accompanying him, having known Gandhi’s sympathy for the exiled Caliph for whose restoration, he pleaded during his non-cooperation struggle, arranged a meeting of the young Hyderabadi Royals with Gandhi on the board of the ship.

However, there was a hitch Gandhi who was traveling in III class would not step into Ist. class where the young couples stayed; nor would the Hyderabad Princes be willing to go to III class where Gandhi stayed. Shoukath Ali, worked out a compromise and the meeting of Gandhi and the newly weds took place in a lounge in the II class.

Active in Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, Durru Shehvar soon identified herself with the people . With a great passion for providing health care and education for common people, she set up a general and children’s hospital in Purani Haveli, which still runs in her name. A Junior College for girls in Yakutpura, Bagh-e-Jahanara, is also run on the funds she provided. She inaugurated the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College Hospital in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) . The Nizam called her his precious Jewel (Nagina) and encouraged her to participate actively in Hyderabad’s social life. The proud father -in -lawloved to point out how Durru Shehvar was taller than his son. In the company of her friend Rani Kumudini Devi, she rode horses, drove cars and played Tennis. With her beauty and charm, etiquette and dress sense, she transformed Hyderabad’s social circuit.

Durru Shehvar also laid the foundation stone of the Begumpet Airport building in 1936. Until then a small strip at Hakimpet served as the airport for Hyderabad. She ensured her sons, Prince Mukarram Jah and Prince Muffakam Jah, received the best possible western education in Europe and married Turkish brides, as she desired. Mukarram studied in Eton, where India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru had earlier studied. Years later, Mukarram, declared heir to Hyderabad throne, at the suggestion of his grandfather, Mir Osman Ali Khan, served as Honorary Aid De Camp (ADC) to Prime MinisterNehru!

Durru Shehvar was fluent in French, English, Turkish and Urdu and even contributed articles to French magazines. She believed that women should earn their own living and worked hard to remove the practice of purdah. However, there was a great gulf between the Princess and the Prince, Azam Jah and their marriage fell apart within few years. It is an irony that when she was born, her father, the Caliph was the head of all the Muslims in the world; but was overthrown and sent away in exile. After her marriage, Hyderabad state was abolished and integrated with the Indian Union in 1948. She faced fame and power as well as adversary, displacement and agony, all with equanimity, and won the hearts of the people in Hyderabad, where she spent most of her adult life.

Princess Durru Shehvar, after shifting permanently to London, frequented the city. Her last visit to the city was in 2004, two years before she passed away in London at the age of 92. With her death, ended a glorious chapter of Hyderabad.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture – Nizam Matters / by KSS Seshan / October 30th, 2018