He was born to Prince Moazzam Jah whose complete name was Mir Shujaat Ali Khan.
Prince Shahamat Jah (Source: khaleequrrahman.blogspot.com/)
Hyderabad:
Prince Shahamat Jah, the grandson of the last Nizam of Hyderabad State Mir Osman Ali Khan, passed away at a hospital on Sunday (July 30).
He was about 70 years old.
He was born to Prince Moazzam Jah whose complete name was Mir Shujaat Ali Khan. He also went by his penname Shaji and wrote poetry in Urdu. Nizam had named Moazzam Jahi Market after his name.
Prince Moazzam Jah was the second son born to Mir Osman Ali Khan. His elder brother was Azam Jah also known as Mir Himayat Ali Khan.
His first wife was Princess Niloufer, niece of the last Turkish Sultan and Caliph Prince Abdul Majeed. Niloufer who built a hospital for children in the Red Hills area left her husband and settled down in France. She had no children.
Prince Moazzam Jahs married Razia Begum after separation from Princess Niloufer. His third wife was Anwari Begum who bore the only child to him—Shahamat Jah.
Shahamat Jah’s two marriages were unsuccessful. He remained alone and aloof and died childless.
After selling off his house at Red Hills, he moved to his sister’s home in Banjara Hills. He had a limited circle of friends. Most of the people who gathered around him took advantage of ‘innocence’ and deserted him.
In the evening of Sunday his body was being readied for burial at Masjid-e-Joodi, King Kothi, where his grandfather Osman Ali Khan has his mazaar.
Prince Muffakham Jah, Prince Azmet Jah, the titular head of the Nizam family, and his mother Princess Esra sent their deep condolences to the relatives and friends of Shahamat Jah. Himayat Ali Mirza, his nephew, who was taking care of the deceased took him to a hospital in Banjara Hills where he breathed his last.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Mir Ayoob Ali Khan / July 30th, 2023
Majority of domiciles and secularists of Hyderabad State love and respect HEH The Nizam even today.
source: commons.wikimedia.org
The Nizam of Hyderabad Deccan His Exalted Highness Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqui was the last Ruler of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty who ruled the largest princely state of Hyderabad & Berar by population and the second largest by size.
Factual stories about HEH the last Nizam of Hyderabad’s riches are well documented worldwide. He reportedly used a £50m ostrich-egg sized diamond as a paperweight.
HEH The Nizam VII was the second Indian to be featured on the cover-page of Time Magazine February 22nd1937 edition as the Richest Man of the world.
HEH The Nizam VII was a secular Ruler, a philanthropist & a genius architect of modern-day Hyderabad.
During the period of war, HEH The Nizam donated truckloads of gold coins to the National Defence Fund of India & as a philanthropist his generous donations of large sums of money to the Benares Hindu University & other Hindu institutions are irrefutable evidences of his secular rule.
Time Magazine with Nizam’s Cover Photo
The majority of domiciles & secularists of Hyderabad State love and respect HEH The Nizam even today; whereas his adversaries especially India’s Hindutva Rightwingers never leave an opportunity to malign his name ®ularly try to distort the history of HEH The Nizam & other Muslim Rulers of erstwhile Indian Empire.
Nevertheless, even today HEH The Nizam & his golden era is highly regarded & commands great respect worldwide to an extent that even today any antiques and works of art of HEH The Nizam’s era are highly sought-after, command a high price and every antique collector’s delight. High value bidding at international auction houses to acquire Nizam’s era antiques are a common sight wherein collectors from around the world and new generation of super rich Hyderabadis vie to own a piece of Hyderabad’s heritage & bring it back to the City of Pearls – Hyderabad.
It’s worth mentioning here that during the last eight decades, a huge quantity of immensely valuable antiques of Nizam’s era were sold at throw away prices by some of the Nizam’s descendants, stolen or looted and smuggled out of the country and sold unlawfully by the caretakers of the Nizam’s Estates, taken away as war booty by the British Indian forces and few others received them as gifts bestowed by The Nizam’s Government & passed on to the future generations as family heirlooms.
Mr. Amarbir Singh – a Numismatic Expert&Authority on Nizam era Hyderabad currency and co-author of ‘Indian Paper Money’says, “Nizam’s Hyderabad had its own railways, airways, central bank, currency, including paper notes, army, and a high court.
After Operation Polo and subsequent trifurcation of Hyderabad State, it lost a bit of its sheen which is now regained by the efforts of the experts and enthusiasts of heritage and history.
Technology has given the impetus to the curiosity and the collection interests of lot of people, many who do not even have their roots in the Hyderabad State. The coins, currency, medals, tokens, stamps, and militaria issued by the Nizam’s Government are very sought-after collectibles today. So, are the vintage books related to Hyderabad and the 1937 Time Magazine which are getting rarer by the day.”
Dr. Mohammed Safiullah – City’s well-known Historian says, “The entire world came to know about the existence of two large Gold Mohurs from Mughal era weighing 11.200 kgs and 2.240 kgs from the Nizam’s treasures after they were put up for sale in an auction three decades ago in 1986. But due to the intervention of the Indian Government, it was withdrawn by the Fine Arts Auctioneers – Habsburg Feldman of Geneva, Switzerland and later sold privately.”
In June 2019, in a single largest auction that lasted for 12 hours at Christie’s, over 700 crores worth of Nizam’s antique jewellery and regalia were sold. Among them a ceremonial sword of the Nizam of Hyderabad for a huge price tag of over $1.5M, The Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace for over $2M, Sarpech for over $1.5M apart from many other antiques.
A lesser price antique “A large Guilded Firman in the name of the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikandar Jah was sold for £1500 at Christie’s in 2016. A large and highly detailed design of the Osmania General Hospital based on the Islamic Architecture of South India by Esch was sold for over £6875 in 2011 at Christie’s also. Vincent Jerome Esch, (1876-1950) was engaged by the Nizam of HyderabadcHEH Mir Osman Ali Khancin 1914 as an Architect to assist in the redevelopment of Hyderabad city following its devastation by floods and plague in 1908 and 1911.
Mr. Ahmed Rahmatullah Khan, a Hyderabadi Techy who works for HP is one among new generation of collectors who recently acquired a rare historic military medal in an Australian auction spending over 180 AUD. The medal has an interesting story behind it as it was issued by HEH The Nizam of Hyderabad for the safe deliverance of Lord and Lady Hardinge’s (Viceroy of India and his wife) after they escaped a bomb attack by the Indian revolutionaries in 1912 while travelling on an elephant in Delhi. The medal was expected to sell for 60-90 AUS but due to the historical story and the Nizam’s tag attached to it, it was sold much over the expected price for 140 AUS plus the auction house fees and logistics.
Muzammil Rizwan Khan based in Australia is a newer generation of Hyderabadis and a proud owner of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s 650 Flintlock Cavalry-Pistol made in the year 1825 and was in the personal possession of the Nizams until 1974. Rizwan purchased the antique gun after spending few thousand pounds last year in a UK auction and imported it to Australia. Whilst the Hindutva Rightwingers are inciting hate with their rhetoric to forcibly revert Indian Muslims to Hinduism (GharWapsi), Indian origin Hyderabadi Muslims like Rizwan exerting efforts employing their resources, time & money to bring back the lost heritage &antiques of Hyderabad & India. As he proudly stated in the unboxing video on his Facebook page “Mein ne Hyderabad ki cheez Hyderabad Alhamdulillah GharWapis le aayahoon. This pistol is just not owned by me but it belongs to all Hyderabadis and I have bought it back home and in the hands of a Hyderabadi again.”
In another recent auction on 17th of December 2021, a small white metal silver plate place holder depicting a young Edward VIII (Prince of Wales) on his Royal tour of India and HEH the Nizam measuring approximately 8 inches was sold by East Bristol Auctions in UK for £110. The antique piece had some minor damages, one of the figurines of the tiger on the Coat of Arms of HEH The Nizam had a tail missing & the coloured photo of HEH the Nizam was considerably faded.
“The picture of HEH Nizam VII is hand coloured and depicts the Star of India Robes awarded in July 1914 decorated with orders and garters – a hierarchy of awards and medals granted to the Rulers, Princes, Nobles and Chiefs of the princely states of India. HH Nizam VI and HEH Nizam VII both were awarded the Star of India Robes by the then British Monarch, Dr. Mohammed Safiullah added.
On 29th October 2020 a commemorative silver scroll holder dedicated to the Nizam of Hyderabad dated 1903 from the Anjuman-i-Islam of Bombay was sold much over the expected price for £1,125 plus fees and vat.
Collectors crave to acquire Nizam era Hyderabad related antiques is ever growing and has reached to an extent in the last 80 years since India’s independence millions worth of Nizam’s antiques were traded at the international private and public auctions as well as local auctions, but there isn’t any data to give an exact figure or value of the trade.
Ahmed Shareef Askander is a Researcher based in London, UK.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Guest Contributor – Ahmed Shareef Askander / January 07th, 2022
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
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
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
awaharlal Nehru with Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan and Major General J. N. Chaudhuri after the police action | Photo Credit: THE HINDU
India’s diplomatic efforts succeeded in choking the supply of arms to Hyderabad, resulting in the September 17, 1948 surrender.
Seventy years ago, on September 17, 1948, at noon, Hyderabad ceased to exist as a princely state after a war that lasted all of 109 hours. It would have gone on for longer had India not been able to stymie the former kingdom’s attempts to procure weapons for a protracted conflict.
Hyderabad became part of India more than a year after the latter’s existence as an independent nation. Ruled by the hereditary ruler Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 212,000 sq km kingdom fancied its chance as an independent country.
Standstill Agreement
Unlike the Instrument of Accession with India signed by other princely states at the time of Independence, the Nizam nominated a three-member team to negotiate a Standstill Agreement. The Agreement signed on November 29, 1947 by Governor General Lord Mountbatten and Nizam Osman Ali Khan, specified that it would be valid for one year and that foreign affairs, defence and communications would be in India’s control while the Nizam had control over domestic affairs.
Declassified diplomatic cables between India War Office Staff, the Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO) and the UK Foreign Office, archived in the British Library, reveal that immediately after Independence, India played a high-stakes diplomatic game in London to staunch the flow of arms to Hyderabad in November 1947. This shortage of weapons ultimately forced the Hyderabad army to surrender within four days with limited Indian casualties.
The Nizam scouted for arms across the board — trying to buy them from France, tapping Pakistan for supplies and finally turning to gun runners — the role of Australia-born aviator Sidney Cotton’s role in the transport of weapons from Karachi to Hyderabad is the stuff of legends.
But the role of Indian diplomats in stalling the flow at the source is less known, carried out by hidden channels.
The British government played along with India by persuading France against selling German weapons to Pakistan, which in turn wanted to funnel them to Hyderabad.
The first of the series in the diplomatic cables sent to Donaldson at the CRO by R.H.S. Allen of the Foreign Office begins innocuously enough. “French Embassy informed Foreign Office on 1st November that Pakistan Trade Commissioner in London recently represented to French Authorities in Paris that his government urgently desired 600,000 rifles, same number of revolvers and 300,000 light and heavy machine guns from former German weapons in France. It added that, if France could not supply, his govt had other offers from Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands,” says the cable marked Important/Top Secret by CRO.
These low bore, small arms on Pakistan’s shopping list were meant for Hyderabad. But India moved the diplomatic game a notch higher, with the persuasive but often abrasive V.K. Krishna Menon, Indian High Commissioner in London, swinging into action.
“As regards Hyderabad, it was decided that we should tell Mr. Krishna Menon, who has been bothering us (FO?) on the subject, that it is not our intention, as things stand at present, to supply arms on any abnormal scale to Hyderabad, but that Hyderabad is entitled to limited quantities of arms for the legitimate purposes of their state forces and police…” (says a cable sent again to Donaldson of CRO by FO on November 14, 1947)
An exchange of nine diplomatic cables in November 1947 and multiple jottings by officials on them, show how India managed to literally starve Hyderabad of weapons.
Another cable, sent to Gordon Walker, Under-Secretary of State (the initials are illegible) dated November 11, 1947 reads: “This shows that we must have a full and frank discussion with Mr. Krishna Menon and Rahimtoolah (Habib Imran Rahimtoolah, Pakistan’s High Commissioner) on the subject. Mr Menon constantly assumes that the UK should stop Pakistan from getting arms anywhere. ..But I confess that 600,000 rifles, 300,000 machines seems to be a lot…”
A group photograph of K. M. Munshi and Swami Ramand Tirth with Indian Union officers immediately after their arrival in Secunderabad on September 21, 1948. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU
Pakistan was not just shopping for arms — it was passing around the bowl. A rather large one at that. A cable from Washington to FO on November 26, 1947, reads: “Pakistan is now trying to get a loan of 2 billion dollars from the U.S.A. of which 200 million is for military supplies. This follows their attempt to get arms from France.” On the margin is the scribbled note: “USA have told us that they are cold-shouldering this.”
By the end of 1947 — the last cable in the series is dated December 4 — India had successfully closed the official arms pipeline for Hyderabad, hampering the Nizam’s efforts to stay independent for long.
Airborne supply
Then Sidney Cotton stepped in. He was the legendary flying ace who flew the last plane out of Berlin in 1939 and pioneered aerial reconnaissance by photographing German war efforts.
However, by the time, Cotton flew into the picture to help Hyderabad, it was too late. Hyderabad could not get any fresh weapons for 11 months from the time India and Pakistan came into existence. The armed forces of Hyderabad didn’t have arms nor ammunition for training.
Cotton flew to Hyderabad in the first quarter of 1948 to meet the Nizam and got a shopping list of weapons. He quoted an amount of £20 million in cash for running the weapons. Back in London, he hired a 24-member team and bought five used Avro Lancastrians for £5000 each. Cotton’s first run of arms began from Heathrow Airport on May 11, 1948, with the first Lancastrian that halted in Basle, Switzerland, to pick up an unspecified number of Oerlikon cannons. The first shipment of weapons landed on July 10, 1948 in Warangal.
In the course of the next two months, Hyderabad received about 25,000 mortars, 1,000 anti-tank mines, 1,200 sub-machine guns from Beretta, another 3,000 sub-machine guns, 10,000 rifles, one ack-ack and six low-calibre anti-tank guns and ammunition, delivered by Cotton.
Indian forces entered from the west in Sholapur and from the east near Suryapet. The war that began at 4 a.m. on September 13, 1948, lasted 109 hours and by September 17, 1948, Hyderabad surrendered. File | Photo Credit: P.V. SIVAKUMAR
The Nizam’s Commander-in-Chief at the time of Indian pincer movement on Hyderabad was Major General Syed Ahmed El-Edroos. He writes in his biography about the 20,000 .303 rifles and other small arms and ammunition brought in by Cotton and which had Rawalpindi Pakistan Arsenal markings on them.
But the Hyderabad army, which had a strength of 17,000 soldiers, 9,000 irregulars and 362 officers, didn’t get to train on the weapons or use them on the field. Indian forces entered from the west in Sholapur and from the east near Suryapet. The war that began at 4 a.m. on September 13, lasted 109 hours and by September 17, Hyderabad surrendered.
Cotton’s last flight out of Hyderabad’s Hakimpet airstrip was on September 16, at 3 a.m. — just hours before the surrender. This time the plane was loaded with cash of about £4 million in rupees.
Cotton was also supposed to have picked up the private militia leader Kasim Razvi. Razvi headed the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, and created the Razakars (volunteers) force to defend Hyderabad and the Nizam. This private militia created terror throughout the kingdom and triggered an exodus of Hindus from Hyderabad and other urban centres.
But Razvi’s escape ended in a theatrical fiasco due to a misunderstanding about the flight timing. As Cotton thundered away in his Lancastrian thinking Razvi had boarded, the militia leader desperately ran behind the plane, too late to flee. Razvi was placed under house arrest and tried for sedition. He was freed in 1957 and he emigrated to Pakistan where he died penniless in 1970.
The diplomatic heat was kept up even as Hyderabad surrendered. According to a report in The Hindu, R.K. Nehru, India’s diplomat in the U.S., in a radio broadcast on September 17 that was heard coast-to-coast said: “The British in similar circumstances would have marched in on the first outbreak of violence to restore order, put down the Razakars and bring the Nizam to his senses.” (This is significant because Pakistan and officials from Hyderabad were portraying India as an aggressor. And this Indian diplomat put things in perspective)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Serish Nanisetti / Hyderabad – September 15th, 2018
A file photo of the iconic Moazzam Jahi Market, photos of which were part of the exhibition organised by the Deccan Heritage Trust in partnership with Heritage Buffs at the Ibrahim Mahal during Nizam VII’s 132nd Birth Anniversary celebrations.
Hyderabad:
Ninety rare still photographs depicting the public buildings constructed by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam VII were put on display as part of his 132nd Birth Anniversary celebrations.
The images, drawn from private collections, date back to the Nizam’s rule and include a picture of the Osmania Hospital in the 1920s, and an aerial view of Hussainsagar, showing a functioning thermal power station dating back to the 1940s.
On display was also a picture of the inauguration of a church in Secunderabad, and even rarer images of restoration and conservation work commissioned by the Nizam, of the Ajanta and Ellora caves, undertaken between 1914 and 1932.
“These photographs provide a glimpse of the grandeur of the Asaf Jah and bring to life the many influential and multi-faceted contributions of Osman. The photographs also highlight the treasures that Hyderabad is gifted with,” said Sajjad Shahid, convener, Centre for Deccan Studies.
The intention of organising the event was to raise awareness and kindle hope and optimism for the sustainable conservation of Hyderabad’s iconic heritage for the benefit of all.
The event was held at a heritage building, Ibrahim Mahal, La Palais Royal, and was hosted by the Deccan Heritage Trust in partnership with Heritage Buffs, a WhatsApp group of heritage lovers.
“We were delighted to host this first-in-a-series of events to catalyze a beneficial change and make meaningful contributions to the sustainable conservation of Hyderabad’s heritage and highlight its culture,” said Mohammad Safiullah, Head of the Deccan Heritage Trust.
Meanwhile, the members of the Nizam Family Welfare Association and other historians paid floral tributes at the grave of Mir Osman Ali Khan, at Masjid-e-Judi, King Kothi.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / Deccan Chronicle / April 07th, 2018
Series of public events held to mark his birth anniversary
Hyderabad marked the 132nd birth anniversary of the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan with rich tributes at his grave near Judi Masjid and a series of public events in different parts of the city. Early in the morning, family members of Nizam offered floral tributes, although they said that they had marked the event as per the Hijri calendar a few days ago.
“We are proud of our heritage. The City Improvement Board was a brilliant idea of Nizam to plan and create the modern city of Hyderabad,” said Sajjad Shahid, convener, Centre for Deccan Studies, speaking at a function organised to showcase achievements of Mir Osman Ali Khan at Ibrahim Mahal in Secunderabad. Rare photographs from the collection of Raja Deen Dayal family were put on display along with a number of firmans and hukums of the seventh Nizam.
Among the rare images were two of Hussainsagar lake with one showing smoke billowing out of the thermal power plant. Another was a document showing the establishment of archaeology department at a cost of ₹ 9,795 on September 30, 1913, with a caveat that the government bear the cost of restoration of murals in the caves of Ajanta. The accompanying photographs showed the before and after effects of Nizam’s intervention in Ajanta caves.
One of the photographs from 1940s showed a paved street near Charkaman. “Visweswariah wanted a dust-free city and the choice was cement. A cement plant was built near Shabad and most of it was used to build road and even the roofing of buildings in Patthergatti are RCC,” informed Mr. Shahid as he narrated the various aspects of Nizam’s rule.
The event was hosted by the Deccan Heritage Trust in partnership with Heritage Buffs, a group of heritage lovers. “We want to make meaningful contributions to sustainable conservation of Hyderabad’s heritage,” said Mohammad Safiullah of Deccan Heritage Trust.
Plea for statue
The Nizam Family Welfare Association made a plea for installation of statues of Mir Osman Ali Khan at Osmania Hospital, Osmania University and NIMS. “The monuments and buildings built by Nizam VII should be protected, preserved and repaired and not demolished,” said Najaf Ali Khan a descendant of Nizam.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – April 07th, 2018
Mir Mahboob Ali Khan was taken to court by the trader who sold him the huge Jacob diamond
Of all the Nizams who ruled Hyderabad ,Mir Mahaboob Ali Khan — the sixth Nizam — was the most delightful and pleasure-loving monarch. He had great liking for everything western, be it dress, cars, manners and habits.
Born in 1866, he came to the throne at the age of three after the death of his father Afzal ud Daulah, and ruled till 1911. Mahaboob Ali kept the most lavish court in Hyderabad that several native rulers in India tried to emulate. He had a passion for expensive jewellery and precious diamonds. A number of exquisite pieces of jewellery including that of the famed necklace of Mary Antoinette of France, found place in his prized collections. However, the most renowned in his collection was the Jacob diamond, said to be the fifth biggest in the world.
Victoria Diamond
Originally known as Victoria Diamond, Jacob diamond had a short, but eventful, history before reaching Hyderabad. It was found in Kimberly mines in South Africa in 1884 and was secretly transported to England to avoid heavy duties then in place for raw diamonds. It was sold to a consortium of jewellers at the Hutton Garden diamond market in London. The gem was then sent to Amsterdam in 1887 where it was polished in a specially erected workshop. The finished gem, with 58 facets, weighing 185. 75 carats was stunningly beautiful, in its cut, clarity and colour. (Kohinoor weighed only 105.6 carats).
It was this Victoria diamond, also called Imperial diamond that Alexander Jacob, the Shimla-based diamond dealer, sold to Mahaboob Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1891. Since then it came to be called, Jacob Diamond.
Deal Went Murky
Like many famous diamonds of the world, Jacob diamond too had its own tale of woes due to the shady deal in its sale by Jacob to the Nizam. Jacob was a well-known, but notorious, Jewish merchant dealing in antiques and jewels having a shop in Shimla. Quite aware of Mahaboob Ali Pasha’s obsession for diamonds, Jacob arrived in Hyderabad in early 1891 to sell the Victoria diamond that was still in London. Jacob met the Nizam through Albert Abid, Nizam’s trusted Chamberlin, himself a jeweller and like Jacob, a Jew.
Jacob, with his alluring eloquence, spoke of the fabulous Victoria diamond and showed its glass replica that he had got made. Finally, after negotiations, both agreed for a mutual price of ₹46 lakhs. Half of the agreed amount, ₹ 23 lakhs, was paid as advance immediately by depositing in the bank and the remaining amount was to be paid on delivery of the diamond.
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Czar Nicholas views Nizam’s Jewels
Czar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, was a guest of Mahboob Ali Khan in Hyderabad. Nicholas, as the Grand Duke of Russia, visited Hyderabad in 1892, two years before he succeeded his father as Emperor of Russia. The Duke stayed at the Falaknuma Palace along with other Russian officials accompanying him. The Nizam exhibited his famed jewel collection for the Russian Prince at a specially erected grand pavilion at the Chowmahalla Palace. Nicholas went on a hunting expedition in the Nekkonda forests near Warangal. A number of sports events were also organised at the magnificent Mahaboob Mansion in Malakpet for the visiting Prince and his entourage.
Much later, in the wake of Bolshevik Revolution that broke out in Russia, Czar Nicholas II was executed with family in July 1917
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It was Jacob’s suggestion that the Nizam would use it as a paper-weight on his official papers and that his image would go up with such a use.
On July 21, 1891, when Jacob came with the original diamond, the Nizam to his disappointment found the diamond was much smaller than what the model was. Therefore he refused to buy the diamond and Jacob was asked to return the money paid as advance. But the wily Jacob by then, contrary to the understanding, had withdrawn all the advance money from the bank.
Jacob insisted that the Nizam pay him the remaining amount, and went so far as to file a case in the High Court in Calcutta. During the trial, the Calcutta High Court wanted to interrogate the Nizam as a witness. Accordingly, the Nizam met the commission at the Residency on October 5, 1891 but felt it an insult to go before a Commission of enquiry. On returning from the Residency, the angry Nizam, wrapped Jacob Diamond in a piece of cloth that was used to wipe the nib of his pen, pushed it into a shoe, and staved it off in his table draw, vowing never to open.
His son and successor, Mir Osman Ali Khan who succeeded his father in 1911, discovered it and used as paper weight, the purpose for which his father bought it.
What happened to Jacob?
The case Jacob filed proved to be his nemesis for, he had to spend all his money on his advocates. Born in Armenia , to Jewish parents, Alexander Malcolm Jacob was an ambitious and unscrupulous person. He came to India in 1871 with nothing and grew enormously influential as a dealer in jewels, diamonds and antiques. After his relations with the Nizam were strained, other native rulers treated him like the plague and refused seeing him. Jacob ultimately died in penury in Bombay. His life served a model for India-born Rudyard Kipling, to create the character, Lurgan in his Nobel prize winning novel, Kim, published in 1901.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by K S S Seshan / February 21st, 2018
The sixth Nizam Mahboob Ali Pasha is remembered for combining tradition with modernity
Among the rulers of all the native states in British India, Mahboob Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad is reputed to have had the most lavish court. Born in August, 1866, Mahboob came to the throne at the age of three after the death of his father, Afzal ud Daulah. Mahboob Ali, thus knew no day when he was not the King.
A Regency under Sir Salar Jung I was set up for the young Nizam till he came of age. The Viceroy, Lord Ripon came to Hyderabad for the investiture ceremony held on February 5, 1884 and presented the Nizam a diamond-studded gold sword on the occasion.
Mahboob Ali was a perfect example of a Victorian Prince. He had a great taste for western culture and modern ways of life.
His English tutor, Major John Clark (who had earlier tutored the Duke of Edinburgh) had instilled in young Mahboob the customs and manners of high English society. As a result he imbibed great taste for all that was western. His western etiquette was so perfect that there was a rumour among the courtiers that the Nizam visited European countries incognito without the knowledge of any one!
His obsession for clothes and cars was legendary. His collection of garments was one of the most extensive in the world of his time.
The best English tailors were brought to Hyderabad to stitch the Royal robes combining tradition with modernity. There was a new dress for every day and he never wore the same dress for the second time.
It is no wonder that Mahboob Ali had a huge wardrobe in his palace that ran for more than hundred feet in length, considered to be the longest in the world. As his wardrobe was on the first floor of the palace, a lift was fitted for the Nizam to access his wardrobe every day with ease.
It is interesting to note that this hand-operated wooden lift at the Purani Haveli palace, in its shining best is still in perfect working condition.
His passion for cars was unparalleled and owned a good fleet of them. A Rolls Royce Silver Ghost that was made to order but delivered after he died in 1911, is now on display in the Chowmahalla palace fully restored, due to the efforts of Princess Esra Jah wife of the present Mukharam Jah.
The resources of the Nizam as well as the spirit of the times to which he belonged never discouraged lavish spending of money. Hyderabad came to be known for Mahboob Ali’s extravagant entertainments and lavish hunting expeditions.
Interest in medicine
It was under Mahboob Ali’s patronage, that Hyderabad Chloroform Commission was set up in 1889 and Chloroform as a safe anesthesia agent in surgeries was proved by Dr. Edward Lawrie, Principal of Hyderabad Medical School. The Nizam was personally interested in the work of the Commission. Two Hyderabadi doctors, Dr. M.G. Naidu (husband of Sarojini Naidu) and Dr. S. Mallanna (father of the future Gen. S.M. Srinagesh) were sent to England with funds provided by the Nizam to prove the efficacy of Chloroform in surgeries.
The British Medical Association journal, Lancet, hailed the work of this Commission. Mahaboob Ali, personally being interested in healing was famously known to administer a herb-based medicine to cure snake bite. During his reign, the first Hyderabad- Nagpur Railway line was laid in 1874. The advent of telegraph, telephone and electricity opened up Hyderabad towards economic growth.
Chirag Ali, a well known educationalist from Aligarh was invited by Mahboob Ali to spread English education in the Nizam’s dominions. Mahboob College in Secunderabad and Nizam College in Hyderabad stand testimony to the development of higher education initiated by Mahaboob Ali Khan. Aghornath Chattoadhyay, the father of Sarojini Naidu, the first Indian to have obtained Ph.D in Biology from Edinburgh University, was the first principal of the Nizam College.
Mahboob Ali Khan was a good polo player and an excellent marksman. He was probably the first Indian prince to have a court photographer, Deen Dayal. With his wonderful skills in photography, Deen Dayal, on whom the Nizam conferred the title, Raja, immortalised the Nizam and his times. Raja Deen Dayal employed in his studio an English lady to help him in taking the photos of the women members in the Nizam’s Palace.
Mahaboob Ali passed away on August 29, 1911 when he was hardly 45 years and was succeeded by his son, Mir Osman Ali Khan, regarded as the world’s richest man but the most frugal of all the Nizams, an antithesis to his flamboyant father.
Among the numerous expensive jewels that Mahboob possessed during his reign was the famous Jacob Diamond weighing 162 Carats, bought from the reputed London jeweller, Jacob.
Years later, Osman Ali Khan used this fabulous diamond, said to be next only to Kohinoor, as paper weight, the purpose for which Mahaboob Ali bought it.
Mahboob Ali also ever lives in the minds of the gastronomists, be the natives or visitors to this city for the aroma and the taste of the distinct Hyderabadi dhum biryani, the perfection for which the Nizam, Mahboob Ali Pasha justifiably took pride.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by K.S.S.Seshan / February 02nd, 2017
With a UK court on Tuesday rejecting India’s arguments regarding the ownership of 35 million pounds lying in the Nat West account, the case would now proceed to trial, unless settled. After 68 years, the court has arrived at who are the litigants in the case so that a trial would be started.
Though it happens to be a snub at India, experts see a bright possibility of the issue being resolved in the next couple of years. “The initial euphoria is as if the entire money is handed over to Pakistan, which is not the case. I had suggested a formula earlier, to divide the money into three equal parts -one each part to Governments of India and Pakistan and Nizam’s family (two of his eldest grandsons as he wished) and this would have been logically acceptable to all the parties. Eventually, I think that is going to happen,” said Md Safiullah, a city based historian and managing trustee of Deccan Heritage Trust
The sum of `310 crore in his opinion is quite a small amount to government of India. “The amount was huge at the time of transfer. Imagine what would have the amount been today had it been invested in business then?,” he asked.
Over the years, Pakistan had been trying to convince the court that money was sent by the Nizam to the newly formed state of Pakistan which did not have any funds at its disposal. The seventh Nizam had in fact sent `20 cr to that country by then. The Nizam’s agent General Nawab Fazal Jung Bahadur, had transferred one million pound to Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola, the high commissioner of Pakistan, in 1948 at a time of political uncertainty when the future of the then princely kingdom of Hyderabad was in the balance.
“In fact, immediately upon knowing of the transfer of funds to the Pakistan high commissioner, the Nizam sent a telegram that the amount was transferred without his knowledge,” Saifullah added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / June 22nd, 2016
