Contrary to popular belief, Hyderabad under the Nizam rule witnessed a powerful nationalist movement with several local leaders launching a fight against the British colonial rule, says senior historian Dr Thirumali

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 17: Contrary to popular belief, Hyderabad under the
Nizam rule witnessed a powerful nationalist movement with several
local leaders launching a fight against the British colonial rule,
says senior historian Dr Thirumali.

Dr Thirumali, who is associated with the department of history, Delhi
University, said Hyderabad had nationalist aristocracy and several
members of the aristocratic families in the erstwhile Nizam dominion
had participated in the meetings of the Indian National Congress. Dr
Thirumali was delivering Dr Sheela Raj memorial lecture on Mir Mehboob
Ali Khan, Nizam VI, and his times, organised by the HEH the Nizam’s
Jubilee Pavilion Trust here on Tuesday.

Dispelling the wrong notions in people’s minds, he said leaders like
Aghoranath Chattopadhyaya and Mulla Abdul Qayyum were first members of
the Indian National Congress in Hyderabad. “The aristocracy in
Hyderabad was nationalistic aristocracy and not sectarian one. The
voice of Hyderabad was the typical nationalist voice of India,” Dr
Thirumali pointed out.

Referring to the Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan, he said the Nizam was
a responsible ruler and did not side with Pakistan when the British
had put the option before him. Dr Thirumali quoted the Nizam as saying
“I have nothing to do with Pakistan. I am a Deccani ruler. If I join
Pakistan, I would be a Muslim ruler.” He said the Nizam had wanted
peace in the region. “Had the Nizam joined Pakistan, Hyderabad would
have witnessed the violent incidents that rocked Punjab and Bengal.

The Nizam played a crucial role as the Raj Pramukh in the transition
of Hyderabad from aristocracy to democracy. “Had the Nizam not helped
the Indian government in the peaceful transition of power in
Hyderabad, things would have been quite different,” he said.

Dividing the rule of the Asaf Jahi regime into three stages, he said
the regime of the Nizam VI witnessed development while that of Nizam
VII had the emergence of political parties and politics. He said
Hyderabad had provided raw material in the form of cotton to boost
industrial revolution in England. The Nizams had introduced the land
patta system, the rule of law and three-tier system of governance. The
credit of introducing an Indian language in administration during the
British rule goes to the Nizam VI, Dr Thirumali added.

Senior journalist Dr Rahimuddin Kemal, Sahibzadi Rasheedunnisa Begum,
granddaughter of the Nizam VII, Dr D Bhaskar Rao, curator of the Nizam
Museum, and Mrs Rafaq Hussain of HEH the Nizam’s Jubilee Pavilion
Trust, participated in the meeting.