Hyderabad

“ 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. ”

“ Encircled by great rocks and crags, which resemble the fortifications of ancient cities, and are believed by the common people to have been placed in position by giants, the city of Hyderabad, with its suburbs, and the fort of Golconda, gave me enough to think about during the short time that I spent among the ruling community—those courteous and highly-cultivated Maho-medan gentlemen who seem to take a pleasure in helping the English visitor to form and carry away a pleasant and romantic impression of the capital of His Highness the Nizam's Dominions. ”

“ At all times Hyderabad city presents kaleidoscopic views of peculiar interest; but on Langar Day it seems to surpass itself, for then the streets are filled with men in holiday clothes, among whom pace gorgeously-caparisoned elephants, while carriages dash past, driven by syces in rainbow-coloured liveries, and carrying little children dressed in the most brilliant and varied garments. ”

“ I do not care to argue this point, more especially in the case of the Hyderabad State, where all women — both Mahomedans and Hindus — of the higher classes (with a few notable exceptions) , live behind the curtain. We have seen in the new census that Hindu working-women in the Dominions are engaged in almost every kind of business, and that they show a marked aptitude for trade and possess a keen money-making instinct. And we have read in the education reports that the schools for girls of the upper classes in Hyderabad city are as good, if not better, than similar places in British India. ”

“ Positive orders having been issued that neither officers nor men should be allowed to enter Hyderabad on any pretence whatsoever, I am unable to give my readers a description of the town. It appeared to be of considerable extent, but of such little strength, that had the Ameers driven matters to extremities, I [Pg 31] have no doubt we should have carried the place in an hour.
We were exceedingly amused at the surprise and consternation displayed by the inhabitants of Hyderabad at the arrival of one of the iron steamers in the Indus, with supplies for the troops from Bombay. ”

“ The next time that I saw His Highness the Nizam was at Delhi, where, at the Coronation Durbar, he, as premier prince of India, walked first to the thrones and bowed there to King George, who, at the same time, and in the same way, returned his homage. He wore a plain English morning suit and the yellow Hyderabad turban, and his quiet manner and dignified bearing seemed to make a very favourable impression on the vast assembly. ”

“ 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 ”

“ This capital city lies towards the south of the State, and is one of the most interesting cities in India, not so much for its beauty or its buildings, but for its life and, above all, for its military population. Hyderabad is the paradise of irregular troops, and it is also rich in regulars. Of the latter there are some thousands of British troops, and 30,000 who serve the Nizam himself; of irregulars, no man knows the number, for every noble and chief maintains a private army of his own, just as our barons did in feudal times. ”

“ You talk like a young, hot-blooded boy: this cannot be. We of Hyderabad are too much beholden to the Ungrez Feringhees for freeing us from the demands of the Mahrattas, and the oppression of Hyder Ali and Tippoo, to quarrel with them ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The procession, which takes several hours to pass a given point, is swelled by nobles with their retainers; but in modern Hyderabad it would appear that the greater number of noblemen prefer to assemble at H. E. the Minister's city palace, and to watch the Langar ceremony there in shade and comfort. Thence the procession passes through the crowded streets to the city palace of the Nizam ”

“ 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. ”

“ Mir Turab Ali Khan Bahadur, known as Sir Salar Jung I, was born in 1828, and the condition of Hyderabad at the time of his birth is thus described by Sir John Kaye. in his "Life of Lord Metcalfe":—
"The whole system of administration was rotten to the very core, it was a congeries of diseases. Nothing seemed to flourish there except corruption. Every man was bent on enriching himself at the expense of his neighbour. No one cared for the people, no one cared for the State. ”

“ I mention this because every one knows what a bad name Hyderabad had. The horses show blood; they are frightened of elephants, and try to avoid them. You see everywhere wild-looking men in gaudy dresses and unveiled women. The very great "swells" have troops of men before and behind them with drawn swords. Everything is on the feudal system. ”

“ However, she gives us good scones and not bad tea, and strong peat-reekie whisky. The landlord has been a soldier, I think, for he speaks of Hyderabad. Fancy a man coming from the sunny plains of India to this fearful howling wilderness. It would make a fine penal settlement. You see poor, ragged, dirty women bending under their creels of peat, and men digging the mosses as for dear life. ”

“ 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." ”

“ Hindu Period.—The ancient history of Hyderabad is written eloquently in its ruins, and probably no area of similar size in India contains so many interesting records of the past as H. H. the Nizam's Dominions. ”

“ Hyderabad is a feudal country, with many of the customs that prevailed in France under the old feudal régime. The Nizam is the overlord. His feudal princes when possessing a pretty daughter are always anxious to give her as wife to the Nizam. He perhaps may accept her and send her to his women’s quarters, never seeing her again. But her people are satisfied, as they have the honour of having a daughter in the Imperial zenana, consequently a friend at Court, as she will naturally remember her family when Imperial offices or gifts are being distributed. ”

“ There one can learn more in six weeks than during six months spent in the capital; and chiefly so, I think, because government officials in the districts are much less reticent than is the case in Hyderabad city and its suburbs. Having read of the bribery and corruption that existed among talukdars and tahsildars in the time of Sir Salar Jung I, I was not prepared to find these gentlemen so up-to-date and so efficient. The Subedars of the four divisions I did not see, because I visited Warangal, Medak, Gulbarga and Aurangabad during the cold weather, and they were all on tour. ”

“ 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 ”

“ The princes of the East do not lose much of their valuable time in the study of geography. Major Achilles Kirkpatrick, the Resident at this Court, wished to obtain a grant of one or two fields to erect this structure upon. He requested the engineer of the English force stationed at Hyderabad to make an exact survey of the spot and when this was finished upon a large sheet he carried it to the Darbar and, showing it to the Nizam, requested he would grant the English Government a grant of the land. ”

“ I do not suppose that my opinion can be of much value, but I will say that while travelling in the districts, it seemed to me that in a country like Hyderabad, where roads are so badly needed and where, in consequence, the people do not mix freely or have much intellectual stimulus, education must be made popular among the Hindus before it can become general. ”

“ On the fourth morning we reached Beeder. If not so striking in its outward appearance as we approached it as Hyderabad, this city was nevertheless interesting. The summit of a long tableland broke into a gentle descent, and from it Beeder suddenly opened on our view. The walls of the town occupied the crest of a high ridge; and over them one tall minaret, and what appeared another rude unfinished one, of great height, towered proudly. On the right hand the large white domes of some tombs peeped out of a grove of mango trees, with which the hill was clothed from top to bottom ”

“ Jemadar, you can protect me from this; you can save my life from these fears, which make me most wretched, and are consuming my soul!"
"Thooh! good man," cried I, spitting on the ground, "do not be so abject. Inshalla! I am able by God's favour to afford protection to one who is a prince among merchants, and you are too poor to think of. In His name follow us, and we will take care of you; we are going to Hyderabad ourselves, and you can remain among the servants; do you, Peer Khan, bring this man out to us."
Peer Khan remained, and we returned to our camp. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The officers at Hyderabad, like those of other stations, act at the present crisis entirely from the impulse of passion and feeling; and they fly, as I have witnessed, from one extreme to another, with a facility that is not to be credited by persons under the influence of calm reason. Such persons can never be depended upon, whatever pledges they make, while any strong causes of agitation remain: and no act, therefore, which does not embrace the whole, can give that complete security and tranquillity which is the object of desire. ”

“ The second procession consisted of many more elephants and camels, with the addition of bands of brass and other noisy instruments. The central figure of this cavalcade seemed to be an old priest carrying on his head a bulky package wrapped in green cloth, which, I heard, was an offering to be made in an adjacent temple.
Hyderabad is unlike any other city I have yet seen in India, and, indeed, is said to resemble no other Eastern town. Nowhere, not even in the seaports, is there so mixed a population. ”