The life and times of HEH

3 Jul 2006, 2305 hrs IST, SHINE DIGHE AND CHARISMA MURARI ,TNN

Sarkarto many, HEH to most, the eighth Nizam of Hyderabad is as much an enigma as he is the beloved king who is the focus of many conversations these days.

The Person

While his admirers describe Mukkaram Jah as being extremely private, simple, forthright, innovative and refined, his detractors say he did nothing for Hyderabad, instead squandered his rich inheritance in a bid to settle family disputes. Subhash Patel, a retired manager with the department of tourism who was born when Hyderabad was a state in its own right, says, "I take great pride in being born when Hyderabad was not under the government of India. We had our own currency, our own language, culture and heritage. Mir Osman Ali Khan did a lot for the State. He set up universities, hospitals, waterworks etc. When HEH (His Exalted Highness) Mukarram Jah got his inheritance, he was easily one of the richest men of all time. It baffles me as to how he got into such a financial mess." Indeed the wealth has dwindled, but the man once again became the focal point of coffee table discussions after the settlement hearing with his third wife Princess Manolya Onur concluded in a family court. Writer/poet and former advisor to HEH Nizam VIII, Scheherazade Javeri, states, "Fourteen crore (the agreement reached) is still not a sum that would be difficult for the Nizam to pay up. Of course, the agreement was made 12 years ago and the sum was decided then, but the cost and standard of living have changed now." Privy purses may have been revoked decades ago, but the HEH is still the beloved king to many Hyderabadis. "The greenest patch in the heart of the city — the KBR Park — was his creation but he has not been given credit for making it. To me, after God he is the creator," says Faiz Khan, member of the Paigah family who is also an ardent admirer. The Purani Haveli is used as the Mukkaram Jah School of learning. Historian and author Narender Luther narrates an instance when he met the Nizam who was in his 30s at that time. "I met him when he was presiding over a school function. He was polite and struck an instant rapport with people, who stood in awe of him." Mukkaram Jah's love for weapons, cars and machinery is legendary. He was known to spend hours working on the machinery in his ranch in Australia...
A very hands-on man, the former Nizam was also very strong and could lift a jeep unaided. He could speak many languages and he enjoyed a close proximity to Pandit Nehru. "The Nizam could make no trip directly to Hyderabad from London without a stopover at Delhi. Panditji would insist on this," says a family friend. Mukkaram Jah also is highly regarded and respected by the current royal family of Saudi Arabia. The Nizams of Hyderabad financed the Saudi rulers during their early days, and even had a trust to support them. In fact, even today the Nizam's Rubath (boarding facilities) for Haj pilgrims in Mecca and Madina is one of the best. People close to him talk about his subtle sense of humour that is very typical of the British. Recalls a trustee of the Nizam's Trust, "When people wished him on his 50th birthday, reminding him of his age, he said, '50 is the youth of the old age'." Apparently, Jackie Kennedy, wife of the late US president John F Kennedy was among those who attended that party. A teetotaler, Mukkaram Jah enjoyed good food. "Even if he is dining by himself, he likes to see an exhaustive spread. He would be dressed for the occasion, and would be seated at the dinner table on the dot," says another trustee of the Nizam's trust.

The King

Described as a very modern member of the royal family, Mukkaram Jah was chosen by his grandfather as the heir-apparent. However, unlike his grandfather who was a simple man, Mukkaram Jah was exposed to the world and had the best education. He lived in London, studied at Cambridge and travelled the world. He married five times. Interestingly, contrary to popular belief that suggests that he was never married to more than one woman at one time, Javeri points out, "He had to divorce Princess Esra to marry Helen because he had married her under civil law, which does not allow polygamy. He also married Helen under Australian civil law. There was a nikah with Princess Manolya in Hyderabad under the Muslim Law, and he gave her a talaaq-e-awwal, which is revocable. During the marriage to Princess Manolya, he married Princess Jamilia also under the Muslim Law. He divorced Jamilia in Australia by giving her a full and final talaaq, and subsequently Princess Orchid under the Muslim Law in Hyderabad. While he was not one to scoff at the pomp that was associated with royalty, he accepted that times were changing and was aware that royalty was only symbolic in this day and age. "He was born to rule, not to do business," says an admirer when questioned about the various business ventures started by the Nizam had failed. The Nizam never stayed in Hyderabad for long periods. "Former chief minister Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, once asked him to come back and settle in Hyderabad. 'I can't work with my hands here' was his prompt reply," elaborates the trustee. He started living in Antalya, Turkey after his sheep farm in Australia was taken over. He was declared bankrupt in Australia in 1990. A close aide says, "He owes a lot of people a lot of money in Australia but he is owed billions by lots of people too...
The British government owes him money in lieu of the loans he offered during the World Wars, and the Indian government in lieu of loans he offered during the China war."

The Wealth

"I don't think even His Highness knows the value of his assets and properties," says a close aide of the Nizam. "Jab haathi baithta hai, tab bhi ghode se uncha hotha hai," is how he explains the magnitude of his wealth. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad (1886-1967) was the richest man in the world for the first 50 years of the 20th century, and he bequeathed a lion's share of all his wealth to his grandson, Mukkaram Jah. Also, in the 1930's the last Nizam was said to have 100 million (GBP) worth of gold and silver, and a further 400 million pounds worth of jewels. He placed his collection of jewels, stated unofficially at the time to have been worth between 13,000,000 and 15,000,000 pounds, under trust, dividing them into two groups: the first was made up of forty pieces which the trustees could sell; the second and slightly larger group consisted of pieces that were not for sale, unless, in the Nizam's own words, some unforeseen calamity should befall his family. After a series of legal wrangles, the Indian government bought the famed Nizam's jewellery collection for Rs 218 crores of which 180 was Mukkaram Jah's share. The government has now declared it to be worth Rs 20,000 crore." He is reported to be the owner of seven palaces in India and has assets worth hundreds of million dollars. The Murchison sheep station in Perth, Australia where Mukkaram Jah lived for 21 years with his Australian wife Helen Simmons was a sprawling estate. At the farm, he had the largest bulldozer ever ordered by a civilian. A family friend of the Nizam pointed out that it took a helicopter about 20 minutes to cross the ranch.

Nizams of Hyderabad

QAMAR ad-DIN CHIN QILIJ KHAN NIZAM ul-MULK FATEH JUNG ASAF JAH I 1725-1748
NIZAM ALI KHAN ASAF JAH II 1763-1803
MIR AKBAR ALI KHAN SIKANDER JAH ASAF JAH III 1803-1829
NASER ad-DOWLA FARKHUNDA ALI KHAN ASAF JAH IV 1829-1857
MIR TAHNIATH ALI KHAN AFZAL ad-DOWLA MAHBUB ALI Pasha ASAF JAH V 1857-1869 Lt.Gen. HH MUZAFFAR ul-MAMALIK NIZAM ul-MULK NIZAM ad-DOWLA Nawab Mir Sir MAHBUB ALI Pasha Bahadur Fath Jang ASAF JAH VI 1869-1911
Lt.Gen. H.E.H. Asaf Jah Muzaffar-ul-Mamalik Nizam-ul-Mulk Nizam-ud-Daula Nawab Mir Sir OSMAN ALI KHAN Bahadur Fath Jang ASAF JAH VII
Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur Nizam VII