One of the grandsons of VII Nizam, Najaf Ali Khan.
| Photo Credit: ARRANGEMENT
A section of the Nizam’s family is opposing the ‘declaration’ on the anointment of Mir Mohammed Azmat Ali Khan Azmet Jah as the IX head, IX titular Nizam, of the Asaf Jahi dynasty “as per the desire and the decree” made by late Nawab Mir Barket Ali Khan Walashan Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the titular VIII Nizam, during his lifetime.
“Is there any legacy left by Mukarram Jah for his eldest son Azmet Jah to self-proclaim as Nizam IX,” Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, one of the grandsons of the VII and last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan and a cousin of late Mukarram Jah, asks.
Mr. Najaf Ali Khan said his cousin Mukarram Jah, father of Azmet Jah, did not live in Hyderabad and has never learned about the Asif Jahi tehzeeb or rituals. “How can such a man be referred to be the head of the Asaf Jah dynasty when all he knows is exclusion of the family and leaving no stone unturned to sit on the throne on his father’s ziyarat day, flanked by his servants,” he seeks to know.
Stating that Mukarram Jah did not have any interest in the title awarded to him by the last Nizam, Mr. Najaf Ali Khan said, this in turn, has complicated his (Mukarram Jah’s) life and he became a silent witness to his downfall as well as the downfall of the entire family.
“Even though he had the enormous wealth and resources to better the condition of the family, he didn’t wish to stay in Hyderabad and look after the family issues,” Mr. Najaf Ali Khan said adding that this situation would not have been faced by a once majestic family had Mukarram Jah taken action when the family’s condition had become precarious.
On the ‘declaration’ issued by the office of Azmet Jah, Mr. Najaf Ali Khan said it was pretentious and raises several objections and rejections. Firstly, a ‘decree’ could only be pronounced by a Court, Government authority or the head of a State. “A decree that self-proclaims a common citizen as the head of a dynasty is not legally valid, especially so after the abolishment of Titles and Privy Purses in 1971,” Mr. Najaf Ali Khan pointed out.
On the issue of successor in title, Mr. Najaf Ali Khan said his grandfather, the VII Nizam, had passed away on February 24, 1967 and barely three days after, on February 27, Mukarram Jah had obtained and presented a certificate that allowed him to take the control of and seize all the private properties, movable and immoveable wealth held by the VII Nizam.
“That has led to the onset of ultimate destruction to the family as it allowed him to smuggle uncountable national and familial artefacts out of India, sell and profit from them,” Mr. Najaf Ali Khan alleged. However, within a year, on January 26, 1968, the certificate produced by Mukarram Jah was quashed by the then Andhra Pradesh High Court in the Ahmedunnisa Begum alias Shahzadi Begum versus Union of India case, he mentioned.
He stated that self-declaration not only misguided people but also did not mandate Mr. Azmet Jah to hold the title of Nizam IX.