Hyderabad State

“ Everything had its price in Hyderabad. If a man wanted a place he counted out his money to buy it. If a man wanted justice, he bade for it as for any other marketable commodity. Every public office, in every department of the State, was accessible to a bribe . . . Neither life nor property was secure . . . There was nothing left indeed but the name of government, all the rest was lawlessness and confusion." In 1853 the Minister, Nawab Seraj-ul-Mulk, died; and his nephew, Nawab Salar Jung, who was then only twenty-five years old, was chosen by Nizam Nasir-ud-Daula to succeed him. ”

“ Any one who has travelled through Hyderabad State in April and May will realize that irrigation is of supreme importance in the Dominions. Fierce, hot winds tear then across the plains, drying up the water and baking the land. People hide indoors, and animals, with heads hanging down, look in vain for a green leaf or a blade of grass. The coming monsoon is the only topic of conversation, and the blue-grey sky is anxiously scanned for a cloud, if "no bigger than a man's hand." ”

“ I venture to disagree with a member of His Highness's government in his opinion that the illiteracy of the masses in Hyderabad State is largely due to the fact that the girls of the lower classes are kept totally ignorant. It seems to me that the whole environment of the people in the districts is at fault, and that a desire for more education will come when roads open up the districts, the jagirdars are brought to a sense of their great responsibilities as landlords, and some Hindu religious text-book is introduced into the primary schools. ”

“ In 1857 when the Mutiny broke out, the attitude of Hyderabad as the premier native state and the cynosure of the Mahommedans in India became a matter of extreme importance; but Afzul-ud-Dowla, the father of the present ruler, and his famous minister, Sir Salar Jang, remained loyal to the British. An attack on the residency was repulsed, and the Hyderabad contingent displayed their loyalty in the field against the rebels. In 1902 by a treaty made by Lord Curzon, Berar was leased in perpetuity to the British government, and the Hyderabad contingent was merged in the Indian army. ”

“ HYDERABAD, Haidarabad, also known as the Nizam’s Dominions, the principal native state of India in extent, population and political importance; area, 82,698 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 11,141,142, showing a decrease of 3.4% in the decade; estimated revenue 41/2 crores of Hyderabad rupees (£2,500,000) . The state occupies a large portion of the eastern plateau of the Deccan. It is bounded on the north and north-east by Berar, on the south and south-east by Madras, and on the west by Bombay. The country presents much variety of surface and feature ”

“ No European can be appointed to the State service, nor can any one be granted the rank of commissioned officer in the State army, without His Highness's permission. Death sentences can be carried out only after the confirmation of the Nizam."
This was written while His Highness the late Nizam was on the gadi, and it is only necessary to add that the present ruler of Hyderabad has made himself intimately acquainted with the working of each State department, that he has a thirst for public affairs, and that he shews a determination to master every detail of government business. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is not possible to give here a complete list of the changes made and the institutions introduced, but among them were a Central Treasury and a State Bank in Hyderabad city, a Board of Revenue for the purpose of supervising the revenue administration of the country, and a system of police for the districts.
The following lands were then defined : Sarf-i-khas (crown) lands; Paigah (Paigah means "stable," and these lands were originally given for the maintenance of a body of horse called His Highness' Household troops) lands ”

“ There are many missionaries in the Hyderabad State, more, I think, than can be found in any similar area in British India. The greater number of them come from America, and are in consequence, pushing and energetic people. ”

“ Hyderabad State : Area, 82,698 sq. miles. Population, 13,374,676. Density per sq. mile, 162. Telingana division : Area in sq. miles, 41,320. Population. 6,724,964. Density per sq. mile, 163. Marathwara division : Area in sq. miles, 41,378. Population, 6,649,712. Density per sq. mile, 161.
Thus it will be seen that His Highness's Dominions are not very densely populated when compared with other parts of India, a fact worth noticing, because density of population has, no doubt, much to do with unrest and discontent among Indians. ”

“ Thither he went in 1873, and ever since his life has been devoted to the State, his adopted home. In 1876 he accompanied Sir Salar Jung to England, and on his return to Hyderabad, he was appointed Private Secretary to His Excellency the Minister and Secretary to Government in the Miscellaneous Department, which had, among other things, control over State education. From that time the education of both sexes absorbed much of his attention, and he set himself the task of adapting " all that is best in Western education to the needs of an Eastern people." ”

“ Southern India, rich with historical and archaeological remains, is a land of definite and yet indefinable charm. To the north of Mysore is the largest native state in India, Hyderabad, a picturesque plateau cut by the mighty Godavari River. Broad fertile plains, the lovely Nilgiris or "Blue Mountains," other regions with barren hills of limestone or granite. Hyderabad history is a long, colorful story, starting three thousand years ago under the Andhra kings, and continuing under Hindu dynasties until A.D. 1294, when it passed to a line of Moslem rulers who reign to this day. ”

“ Only 28,377 persons — independent of rent receivers — live on their income, and no less than 22,852 persons of this class are in Hyderabad city and its suburbs. Outside the city area there is no leisured class, and in the city, owing to a reduction in the number of State pensioners, this class has largely decreased, for in the Census of 1901 they were entered as 51,757 persons.
The active part taken by women in the work of the State is shewn in the new Census. No less than 130,857 are rice pounders, huskers, etc. Women cultivate the land, breed animals, and help to make roads and bridges. ”

“ He can understand his people and his people understand him; and even if the taxes are oppressive and he grinds the faces of the people into the dust to get money to squander upon his favourites and to build great palaces, the peasant will bear it all and not complain, as he feels it is ordained, and his Rajah is the child of the gods and entitled to his very life.
There is no fear in the State of Hyderabad that the present race of rulers will become extinct. ”

“ During his minority Hyderabad was wisely administered by Sir Salar Jung, who initiated a form of government which was most beneficial to his State.
The Maharaja of Mysore is the ruler of a State in southern India of a total area of 80,000 square miles, containing a population of 5,500,000, and yielding a revenue of about £1,500,000. It is an ancient Hindu dynasty which has undergone strange vicissitudes. ”

“ Mr Burgula's views on Merger of Telangana and Andhra 5. Educationally Telangana is very backward as compared to Andhra. They are particularly backward in the study of English for which there are either no facilities or very poor facilities. They are, therefore, afraid that in the matter of service in a bigger province, they will be at a terrific disadvantage. While there are thousands of graduates and M.A's in Andhra, there are not even a few hundreds in Hyderabad. ”

“ For many years past the Hyderabad finances were in a very unhealthy condition, the expenditure consistently outran the revenue, and the nobles, who held their tenure under an obsolete feudal system, vied with each other in ostentatious extravagance. But in 1902, on the revision of the Berar agreement, the nizam received 25 lakhs (£167,000) a year for the rent of Berar, thus substituting a fixed for a fluctuating source of income, and a British financial adviser was appointed for the purpose of reorganizing the resources of the state. ”

“ The importance of storing water was understood even by the ancient Hindu rulers; but most of the great reservoirs in the State were made by the Kings of Golconda, and the Nizams and their ministers. The Husain Saugar at Hyderabad, which extends, when full, over an area of 8 sq. miles, and supplies water to Hyderabad and Secunderabad, dates from 1575 A.D., when Sultan Ibrahim Kutb Shah built a dam on which, now, the wealth of Hyderabad and the beauty of Secunderabad meet, at sunset. ”

“ And here I would like to mention that Bidar, which is historically the most interesting city in the State, is very difficult to get at, unless one has a motor car, for there is no railway communication between Bidar and the capital, and the usual mode of performing the sixty miles journey between Bidar and Hyderabad city is by bullock cart. ”

“ Most of the troops are stationed in or near the capital, but some are in the chief towns in the districts. The State Army appears to be fairly popular as a means of earning a living, and there is no dearth of officers. These privileged gentlemen have a fine club on the Fateh Maidan, a suburb of Hyderabad city, and they enjoy sports and races at the local gymkhana, in fact, they have a very good time, if one may judge by their appearance.
↑ * Since this was written the army of H. H. the Nizam has been largely drawn upon for the Expeditionary Forces sent from India to the seat of war in 1914. ”

“ Although the language is common, there are instances that there is no love lost between the Telugus in both the states. The classical example of this mutual dislike can be found in the attitude of Andhra officers during the Razakar agitation and immediately after the accession of Hyderabad. While, they say, the Marathi, Kannads and other officers were comparatively kind to the people of Hyderabad, Andhra officers were particularly harsh and unrelenting. ”

“ HYDERABAD or Haidarabad, capital of the above state, is situated on the right bank of the river Musi, a tributary of the Kistna, with Golconda to the west, and the residency and its bazaars and the British cantonment of Secunderabad to the north-east. It is the fourth largest city in India ”

“ Whereas by Agreement made on the twenty-third day of January, 1950, between the Governor-General of India and the Nizam of Hyderabad, it has been decided to effect, as from the twenty-fifth day of January, 1950, a mutual exchange of certain enclaves forming part of the State of Hyderabad with certain enclaves forming part of the Dominion of India in the Provinces of Madras and Bombay ”

“ This morning both Shri Bhargava and myself had a little round of villages round about Hyderabad. It is not so very easy to assess the views of the people in any manner that can be called accurate. Besides the time at our disposal is so short that we have to do the assessment in a great hurry. Subject to these considerations I am giving below the assessment of the situation as I see it.
Mr Burgula's views on Merger of Telangana and Andhra There is, no doubt, considerable agitation in Telangana on this important question. ”

“ This kingdom, which was then a powerful and independent state, contained an abundance of fertile lands, numerous flocks and herds, and many small lakes, which furnished inexhaustible supplies of fish. Baugnuggur, the capital (the modern Hyderabad) , vulgarly called Golconda, from the fortress of that name in the vicinity, in which the king resided, was then a city of recent construction ”

“ This is one important point in favour of Vishalandhra. There can be one Governor, one High Court, one Public Service Commission and many other departments can be reduced as compared to their double strength just now for two provinces.
5. There is also a belief that in a larger province there may be a larger scope for industrial development etc.
The enumeration of these points is rather illustrative than exhaustive. Those who are strongly agitating for the retention of Telangana as a separate province do so for, amongst others, the following reasons:-
1. ”

“ Dissensions arising between the father and the uncle of the present Nawab, the family of Saiyid Asad Ali Khan Bahadur was compelled to leave the limits of the Jaghir, and betake itself to Hyderabad, by virtue of the Sunnud given by Mansurud-daulah, the ' founder of the State. The greater portion ol the youth of the Nawab was spent in Hyderabad, though he and 14 The Aristocracy of Southern India. ”

“ After luncheon Major Clerk, the Nizam’s tutor, came to take us through the town on elephants, which pleased us much. The town is most interesting, being after Cairo the most gay and busy in the Mohammedan East. Compared with Madras, it is as Paris to a decayed watering-place. Instead of the squalid back streets and the pauper population of native Madras, Hyderabad is like a great flower bed, crowded with men and women in bright dresses and with a fine cheerful air of independence, more Arab than Indian. ”