50 yrs after death, legacy of Hyderabad’s last Nizam fades
It was 50 years ago today that Hyderabad lost its last “monarch” – Mir Osman Ali Khan—but the city and the state government appear to have forgotten the once revered ‘noble king’.
The Nizam breathed his last at King Koti palace on February 24, 1967, after suffering from pneumonia. The Masjid-e-Judi, near the palace —where he was buried— however lies neglected.
The contributions of the once richest man in the world , who is credited with laying the foundation of Osmania University, also do not find a mention in school textbooks, his family rues.
Born on April 6, 1886, Osman Ali Khan was the last ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad, from 1911 to 1948. After Hyderabad acceded to the Indian Union, he was appointed Rajpramukh of the state in 1948.
Witnesses and old timers recount the grief that swept the state when the Nizam passed away.
“Lakhs of people from different parts of the state poured into the city in buses, bullock carts and trains to have a last glimpse of the king. People were crying and remembering the contributions made by the Nizam,” septuagenarian Nawab Shahamath Ali Khan, who witnessed the Nizam’s last rites, said.
The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also flew down along with her younger son Sanjay Gandhi to pay homage to the Nizam. Former President Rajen- dra Prasad and several other VIPs also paid their respects, Khan said.
According to Khan, the Nizam’s funeral procession was the largest the city ever witnessed as people from all religions thronged the five kilometrestretch between Mecca Masjid to Masjid-e-Judi. “As per police estimates, more than eight lakh people participated in the funeral procession,” Khan recalled.
The offices of the then Andhra Pradesh government remained closed on February 25, 1967 and as a mark of respect for the Nizam, the national flag was flown at half-mast at all official buildings.
However, according to Nizam’s family members that was the last time the state government remembered him.
“There was not a single event held by the state government in the name of the Nizam (after 1967). There is neither a day marked in his honour nor is any statue of his installed,” Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of Mir Osman Ali Khan and president of the Nizam Family Welfare Association, said.
“He remains the unsung king of Hyderabad despite his contributions to the city’s development,” managing trustee of the Deccan Heritage Trust, Mohammad Safiaullah said.