Sahebzadi Feroze Jahan Begum, the great granddaughter of last Nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan, in this special edition of Dil Se, recalls the immense contribution of Mir Barkat Ali Khan Siddiqi Mukarram Jah (Asaf Jah VIII), popularly known as Mukarram Jah, who passed away in Istanbul on January 15.
Mukarram Jah, titular Nizam of Hyderabad between 1967 and 1971, despite his elite upbringing, was simple by choice, courteous, and always generous. He was close to former PMs Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He never flaunted his wealth, says Sahebzadi Feroze Jahan Begum, in a conversation with The Pioneer’s Shikha Duggal. She also shares how her ‘personal royal blog’would cover reminiscences from the heritage palace hotels in which she stays occasionally as well as the significance of Nizam’s Museum, Purani Haveli, Chowmahalla Palace, Salar Jung Museum and other enduring symbols of Nizam’s heritage.
The 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan named my mother
When my mother was born, he had flown to Hyderabad. The 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan named my mother. The royal protocols were followed.As soon as she was born, a cannon was lighted in anticipation of the celebratory moment in the royal family. It may have sounded somewhat unusual for others, but to us, it signified a lot of reverence. These protocols were meant to honor members of the royal family.
Mukarram Jah shared a beautiful bond with my grandfather. What my mother recounted often was how she and his father used to go for “tafreeh”. Mukarram used to interact a lot with my grandfather. They shared a beautiful bond so much so that my uncle was the one who chose the bride for my grandfather. My grandmother also belonged to an influential family, being the daughter of a financial advisor to the Nizams. Mukarram Jah found her to be the best fit for our family. Surprisingly, the age difference was 26 years, but it was a successful marriage. Until he was alive, it was the 7th Nizam’s prerogative to choose the daughters-in-lawentering the royal family. It was he who used to officially confer the status of daughter-in-law everytime! Another royal protocol was that newlyweds must get officially clicked in the King Koti Palace wearing the Nizam jewelry.
Fabled jewels
The coveted jewels of our era are sometimes on display. They are from the fabled Nizam treasure, a shining example of our Deccani craftsmanship. They were relegated to the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India in 1995, after a prolonged battle for its possession between the government and us. My aunt has once again appealed to the government to bring the jewels back to Hyderabad and make them Deccani showpieces. After the formation of Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had promised my aunt that he would initiate talks on getting the jewels back to the city. We know that the jewels have been kept safely in the vaults as the government considers them to be a priceless national heritage which should not be auctioned to foreigners. So far, the jewels have been displayed twice at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad but have otherwise been largely kept away from the eyes of the public. After Mir Osman Ali Khan decided on the accession of the State of Hyderabad to India in 1948, the jewels were moved out of the palace and trusts were created to safeguard them. We also stipulated that the jewels must not be sold until the death of my uncle’s eldest son Azam Jah.
Elite upbringing
Born in 1933, my uncle moved to Turkey and had been residing there until his death. To fulfill his desire, his children travelled to Hyderabad with his mortal remains (Mukarram Jah was laid to rest at Mecca Masjid on Wednesday with full state honors). He was a private man, but his classmates included King Faisal of Iraq and his cousin King Hussein of Jordan. Such was his upbringing.
How he met Princess Esra
While holidaying in Istanbul, he met Esra Birgin. Daughter of a research chemist, she lived on one of the Princess’ islands. The pair married secretly. My great grandfather briefly served as Jawaharlal Nehru’s ADC. He counted this as one of his greatest achievements. He was spending his final years in Istanbul, being looked after by a caregiver. He leaves behind four children: Azmet, his eldest son, and a daughter Shekhyar by his first wife Ezra; Azam, his son by his second wife, Helen; and Niloufer by his fourth wife Manolya Onur. Over seven generations, we have created a state that is a repository of Islamic culture and learning. Our culture attracted Muslim migrants from across the world who had worked with us in varying capacities from traders, money lenders to military personnel.
Turkish influence
We started to embrace all ethnicities across the world when Mukarram Jah got his sons married to the Princesses of Turkey. There was a revolution then! He became the Caliph’s successor. The Niloufer hospital we all know is one of his assets. A lot of Turkish influence has come in and my parents saw through the processes,while adopting Hyderabadi culture. They were glad. A special mention must be made of Princess Esra. Her ex-husband had left the city, but she continued to love Hyderabad. She literally brought our famous palaces back to life. Shewas the main woman involved in the restoration of Chowmahalla Palace! She built Taj Falaknuma Palace from scratch.
Haven for the family
The Taj Falaknuma Palace was previously in a dilapidated state. It was in 2010 that the princess restored it. An English architect designed the palace. It is made completely with Italian marble. The palace was built in the shape of a scorpion with two stings spread out as wings in the north. We are avid travelers, and her influences show in the architecture. We had previously used the palace as a guest house for royal guests visiting Hyderabad. The last important guest was the President of India Rajendra Prasad; it was in 1951 and later the palace fell into disuse. My mother has celebrated many of her parties at that beautiful palace. It is the architecture that attracts celebrities! Even when we visit every now and then, there is an aura that we are surrounded by. My mother is deeply attracted to it; she is often nostalgic about her newly wedded days spent there. Most of my kids’ birthdays are always celebrated there. It was our haven during the spread of coronavirus.
Exploring heritage
Because of the era I was born into, I am deeply intrigued to explore the Nizami heritage. I am helming a private project on this too! I acknowledge we are privileged, for example, none of the ladies are allowed to step into the kitchen. My mother didnot know how to cook. We have a royal “messkhana”. My uncle owned seven bungalows in a row opposite the King Koti Palace; they were for the first seven sons born. There is always an official taster appointed to check whether the food is poisoned: those were spine-chilling moments.
Mukarram Jah never flaunted his wealth
Mukarram Jah’s upbringing was unconventional, even by princely standards. His Doon School teachers noted, somewhat optimistically, that he was very keen on carpentry and spent a good deal of his spare time in the workshop and this can provide unlimited scope in the future. We describe him as a person who was courteous and generous. He never flaunted his wealth. After graduating, he joined the Royal Military Academy, where he could indulge in his greatest passion: engineering.
Ancestors were tolerant
As I mentioned earlier, I am deeply rooted in our Hyderabadi culture. I miss our tehzeeb passed on by my ancestors. They were not at all intolerant; they were so secular in their behavior! Their courts had both Muslim and Hindu officials appointed with so much of dignity. These two prominent religions were like both their eyes, catered equally. There is a book published on this too, I go through it every now and then and learn diverse variations about both the religions. It is the world’s most important political document today! All our generations follow that book. Our ancestors used to correspond to all the holy places equally. They opened uncountable trusts for the deprived too!
Religious atmosphere changing
Why people called him courteous was because he never wasted his wealth. He could see other kings of the country being so flamboyant about their status; still he continued to be well- bred. He wanted to teach other rulers to be just as simple as him. Instead of wearing moneyed accessories, he distributed things to the needy and that too to every religious community! I also remember when a religious head from northern India wrote to him that a part of the popular temple was being demolished and floods had devastated the region, he immediately sent a heavy amount of grant to them without being biased. Looking at our atmosphere changing today, belonging to the youth, it hurts me. One religion is becoming dominant over others now. Eighty-year-olds come up to me and call this religious divide a “total rubbish”. We were so happy earlier. Presently, religion is taken far more seriously. Today’s generation believes in how we are separated as different “religious communities” way too seriously because of media. This is destruction to our legacy in Hyderabad!
Ties with the Gandhi family
It’s true that he was a friend of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and the latter had wanted him to become his personal envoy to a Muslim country. Nehruji then introduced my uncle to Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Indira Gandhi often used to come down to Hyderabad just to meet him. Once, there was an immediate requirement in the Indian Army and he donated five tonnes of gold in their service. He was the first person to do so across the whole country! The Gandhis were impressed. One day my mom told me that Indiraji visited Mukarram Jah post his dinner time when he stops meeting anyone and there she was at the entrance. As soon as he got to know it was her, he broke the protocol and met Indira Gandhi owing his respect for Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru because she had come in an emergency. The two major assassinations in the Gandhi family were extremely catastrophic and we evensaw a lot of those in our family too. Royalty comes with a price, sometimes!
‘Khada dupatta’ a legacy
Our family is getting bigger and bigger. My cousins did face classified prejudices, but I was lucky. My classmates were inoffensive to me. The crowd of Hyderabad accepts us whole-heartedly! But for obvious reasons, nationalist movements are gaining prominence and 
political developments are bringing repercussions to us. No matter what, I will continue to promote our era because the present generation hardly knows what our ancestors did, how they built an empire! The education system is deleting important history chapters that should be known to this generation. For example, our ‘khada dupatta’ will always remain dear to me. It belongs to my uncle’s legacy: begums and daughters have worn it.
Generous rulers
After ‘Operation Polo’, it was my uncle who was allowed to keep most of the assets; yet, he was so unassertive in his demeanor. I feel with his death, it’s also the magnificent end of a lineage of its own. Running from 200 years, we knew he missed Hyderabad, and I am pleased to be a part of his legacy. I convey my heartfelt condolences to my great 
grandmother and my cousins. I still remember, it is a usual treaty that the throne should be passed on to the ‘son’, but in my great grandfather’s case – this treaty was die-casted due to personal reasons,and he eventually turned out to be the prince! From the day of his demise, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Princess Esra is taking care of his cremation rituals on the burial ground prominently. What happens in a royal family is that we get too involved in discussing wealth and court cases that we forget our bequest. I promised my great grandfather that until my last breath I’ll continue to save his inheritance. Our heritage is very rich, I want to inspire the youth about who were the Nizams and what were their intentions.
No communal exclusion
During Mir Osman Ali Khan’s regime, financial support of Rs. 97,000 and more than twolakhacres of land were donated for Hindu temples. Hindu temple histories in Hyderabad, both oral and written, feature close interaction with the Nizam’s court and administration. The Aurobindo Ashram was given a large donation and numerous grants were made to the gurdwara at Bidar. He also offered funds for regular pujas and ceremonies of Hindus! Annual grants were sanctioned for the temples at Gowlipura, Madannapet, Yadgirigutta and Golnaka too. We also helped to institute a Gokhale Memorial Scholarship, which shows my great grandfather’s zeal in helping the cause of education.
Royal blog
My early years of education were in Nasr school. Later I went on to do my master’s in Psychology and Mass Media. I am starting a personal royal blog. I stay in all the palaces of the country and promote our heritage by being photographed in royal attire. A part of my project will also involve spreading the history of historic places that I visit. My first destination was Bhopal! Realized how it was a kingdom of female rulers. I also cover the heritage palace hotels as a part of my luxury project. The part of our heritage which is up on display includes the Nizams Museum, Purani Haveli, Chowmahallah Palace, Salar Jung Museum which gets me nostalgic about the exquisite jewels which were once displayed there as an exhibition but sadly now lie in the RBI vault. These should be up for public display; it will boost the morale of Hyderabadis! Back in those days, the best of craftsmen, architects and artists were made to fly down from all parts of the world to inculcate the best that could be offered to finish an assignment, besides utilizing the local craftsmen in the best possible way.
