CHAPTER III.
The Nizams and their Ministers.
After leaving the ruins that make H. H. the Nizam's Dominions so interesting, the history of Hyderabad is not easy to follow.
In the public libraries in British India I could discover nothing about Hyderabad further than the condensed summaries contained in such books as the Imperial Gazetteer of India and the Encyclopædia Britannica; and only in the Hyderabad State Library was I able to find particulars concerning the Nizams and their Ministers.[1]
Moreover, some of the most important books on these subjects are becoming rare, even in Hyderabad itself, such as, for instance, "Hyderabad (Deccan) under Sir Salar Jung" by Moulvi Cheragh Ali, and the biography of Sir Salar Jung I, which was written shortly after his death by Nawab Imud-ul-Mulk Bahadur. The "Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the Nizam's Dominions," compiled by Syed Hussain Bilgrami, b.a.; and C. Willmott, c.s., is out of print; and this book, which is, no doubt, the best history (in English) of Hyderabad, and which is, I believe, used as the text-book on Hyderabad for Civil Service examinations in England, ends with the death of H. H. Afzul-ud-Daula in 1869.
And it is a fact that there is no history of the long reign of H. H. Mir Mahabub Ali Khan—1869-1911—whatsoever at the present time, and that for information concerning all that has taken place during the last fifty years in Hyderabad State affairs we must go to the Administration Reports that have been published from time to time by His Highness's ministers. Consequently we read of the great reforms and improvements introduced by Sir Salar Jung I, and we find these things full-grown in the reign of the present Nizam, and so much altered and improved that Sir Salar Jung himself would scarcely know them now. And I need scarcely point out that Government Administration Reports are difficult to obtain, and that until about twelve years ago these official documents were published in Urdu.
As to this little book, I have had neither time nor opportunity to fill in the gap between the reigns of H. H. Nizam Afzul-ud-Daula and H. H. Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur. I have drawn on recent administration reports for information concerning the State as it is to-day; but I have not attempted to supply one of the greatest wants of the State, namely, a history of the reign of H. H. Mir Mahabub Ali Khan.
Asaf Jah, the first Nizam, was born in 1671 a.d., at Delhi, where he, at an early age, attracted the favourable notice of the emperor Aurangzeb. His original name was Kamar-ud-din, and the title of Asaf Jah was conferred upon him by the emperor Muhammud Shah when he obtained the keys of the fortress of Golconda. He was at that time engaged in re-conquering the possessions of the Delhi emperor in southern India, and about the year 1730 a.d. he was confirmed in his appointment as Viceroy of the Deccan by the emperor Muhammud Shah, who not only sent him the title of Asaf Jah, but also some jewels and an elephant, and told him "to settle the country, repress the turbulent, punish the rebels, and cherish the people." He went several times to the assistance of the emperor at Delhi, and "all his undertakings shed a new lustre on the house of Timur," and "he never moved a hair's breadth in opposition to the Imperial dynasty." In 1742 he formed projects for conquering the Carnatic, and in 1748 he died in camp, near Burhanpur, and his body was interred near the fort of Daulatabad, where his tomb may be seen to-day.
He was succeeded by his second son, Nasir Jung, who had rebelled against him in 1740 a.d., and had then been made a prisoner and confined in the fortress of Kandahar, near Nander. During the reign of this Nizam, M. Dupleix, the governor of the French possessions in India, began to intrigue in Hyderabad, and Nasir Jung collected a large army and marched on Pondicherry. But he was killed by one of his own followers before he could accomplish his project, and in 1750 a.d. he was succeeded by Muzaffar Jung, M. Dupleix's puppet.
A very interesting account of Muzaffar Jung's visit to Pondicherry and his installation there by M. Dupleix as Subedar of the Carnatic may be found in the French Library at Pondicherry; and we learn that he tried to arrange a marriage between the emperor of Delhi and Mile. Chou-Chou, the step-daughter of M. Dupleix, and that that astute Frenchman had some difficulty in refusing the honour that the Delhi emperor desired to confer upon his family.
Muzaffar Jung was murdered during his return journey, and M. Bussy, the commander of the French troops that had accompanied him, then persuaded the people of Hyderabad to place Salabat Jung upon the gadi. This was done in 1751, and afterwards the French gained much influence in Hyderabad, where territory was assigned to them for the support of their troops. But in 1755, when hostilities commenced in Europe between the French and the English, M. Bussy was obliged to return to Pondicherry, where the Count de Lally required his assistance; and after the departure of "the guardian angel of my life and fortune," as the Nizam called the gallant French captain, Salabat Jung was dethroned by his brother Nizam Ali Khan—the ally of the English—and confined in the fort of Bidar, where he died in 1762.
Nizam Ali Khan was the first Nizam who made a treaty with the English. In 1766 he ceded to them the Northern Circars, on condition that he was to be furnished with a subsidiary force in time of war, and should receive six lakhs of rupees annually when no troops were required, he, on his part, promising to assist the British with his troops when called upon to do so. Further treaties were made between the Nizam and the British in 1768, in 1790, and in 1798, when the subsidiary troops were augmented and the Ceded Districts of Madras were made over to the English by the Nizam for the payment of the troops, including the famous Hyderabad Contingent, which had been formed in 1709 by Mir Alum.
Nizam Ali Khan died in 1803, and was succeeded by his son Sikandar Jah, who died in 1829, and was succeeded by his son Nasir-ud-Daula.
Nasir-ud-Daula was a humane and broad-minded ruler, and much beloved by his subjects. He was six feet three inches high, and possessed great bodily strength and a handsome appearance. But he was wanting in energy and ability, and towards the close of his reign he became very self-indulgent. In 1853, the payment of the Contingent troops having fallen into arrears, he made a treaty with the English by which the Districts of Berar, Osmanabad, and the Raichur Doab were ceded to the British, and he pawned his jewels, which were taken to England. In May 1857, just at the commencement of the Mutiny, he died; and on his death-bed he told his son and successor, Afzul-ud-Daula, that as the British had always been friendly to the Nizams, so he should continue to be faithful to the English.
Nizam Afzul-ud-Daula followed his father's advice, and all through the terrible days of the Mutiny, he, and his minister, Sir Salar Jung I, stood by the English, thus preventing the Mutiny from spreading into southern India. In 1858 "Our Faithful Ally" received the thanks of the British Government, and a new treaty was then made between the Nizam and the English by which Osmanabad and the Raichur Doab Districts were restored to the Nizam, the assigned District of Berar being taken in trust by the British Government for the purposes specified in the treaty of 1853. (In November 1902 the assigned District of Berar was leased in perpetuity to the British Government at an annual rental of twenty-five lakhs of rupees.)
In 1869 Afzul-ud-Daula died and he was succeeded by his son, Mir Mahabub Ali Khan, who was then only three years old. Sir Salar Jung I and Nawab Shams-ul-Umara were made co-regents, the advice of the British Resident being taken on all important matters, and the Regency continued until 1884, when His Highness was invested with sovereign rights and the full enjoyment of an annual income of some ten millions of rupees derived from Sarf-i-khas (crown) lands, to say nothing of crown jewels and precious stones, that are said to be priceless.
During the reign of H. H. Nizam Mir Mahabub Ali Khan many improvements were introduced into the State, and the changes brought about by Sir Salar Jung I were further developed. In 1893 the Cabinet and Legislative Councils were formed, and in the latter Council, for the first time in the annals of Hyderabad, the non-official element was allowed a voice in the work of administration, a privilege that has not, so far, been appreciated or developed by His Highness's subjects.
Education received much encouragement, the valuable State Library was opened, the Guaranteed State Railway became a paying concern, three large spinning and weaving mills and many small ginning and pressing factories came into existence, the Singareni coal fields were developed, and municipal government was fostered in the city and in the suburb of Chadarghat, and was introduced in the form of Local Boards and Local Funds into the Districts. The good work done during the long reign of H. H. Mir Mahabub Ali Khan will be seen in the following chapters, including the changes made in the four Divisions and the sixteen Districts into which the State was re-divided in 1905, the introduction of up-to-date machinery into the State Mint about the same time, and many kindred matters.
His Highness Mir Mahabub Ali Khan died in 1911, and was buried in the Cathedral Mosque in Hyderabad city amid the lamentations of his subjects. He was succeeded by H. H. Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, who, if he lives, will (I quote the words of one of his Ministers) do more for Hyderabad than any Nizam has done before him.
The Nizams.
Mir Kamar-ud-din, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah . . 1712— 1748
Mir Ahmed Khan, Nasir Jung 1748— 1750 Muzaffar Jung .. .. 1750— 1751
Salabat Jung .. .. 1751— 1761
Ali Khan .. .. 1762 — 1803
Sikandar Jah .. .. 1803 — 1829
Nasir-ud-Daula .. .. 1829 — 1857
Afzul-ud-Daula .. .. 1857 — 1869
Mir Mahabub Ali Khan .. .. 1869 — 1911
Mir Osman Ali Khan .. .. 1911 —
The Ministers.
Raja Rajunath Das .. 1750— 1752
Nawab Lashka Khan .. 1752— 1755
Nawab Shah Nawaz Khan .. 1755— 1758
Nawab Basalut Jung .. 1758 — 1760
Raja Partabwunt .. 1761 — 1763
Nawab Rukum-ud-Daula .. 1765— 1775
After the powerful Rukum-ud-Daula came the joint ministers Nawab Vikar-ud-Daula and Nawab Samsam-ul-Mulk; and the former was afterwards appointed sole minister. When the next minister, Aristo Jah, assumed office is not certain, but he was Minister in 1797 and remained so until he died in 1804.
Nawab Mir Alum (grand-father of Sir Salar Jung I) . . 1804 — 1808
Munir-ul-Mulk .. .. 1809— 1832
Raja Chander Lai .. .. 1832 — 1843 Raja Ram Baksh . . .. 1843 — 1846
Nawab Siraj-ul-Mulk .. .. 1846— 1848
Amjud-ul-Mulk .. .. 1848— 1848
Nawab Shams-ul-Umara .. .. 1848— 1849
Raja Ram Baksh . . .. 1849— 1851
Ganesh Rao .. .. 1851— 1851
Nawab Seraj-ul-Mulk .. .. 1851— 1853
Sir Salar Jung I . . .. 1853-1858
Sir Salar Jung II .. .. 1884—1886
Sir Asman Jah .. .. l887 - 1894
Sir Vikar-ul-Umara .. .. 1894 — 1901
Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad .. .. 1901 — 1912
Nawab Salar Jung III .. .. 1912 —
- ↑ As the ancient history of the Hyderabad State is somewhat contradictory and confusing, I have given the names and dates found in the Imperial Gazette of India, Hyderabad State, Provincial Series, 1909, a.d