Footprints in Stone

By Mohammed Azher Siddiqui

Those that follow international migration commonly agree on the fact that the late twentieth century has been the age of migration. However, human migration started about two million years ago and continues to the present. The author hails from India and immigrated to the United States in the late twentieth century. Researching his ancestors' migration patterns led to the interesting but not surprising discovery that they, too, migrated to India from different parts of the world. Migration impacts culture, and that effect is captured in some period photographs that are part of this book.

Footprints in stone, however, is not just about the past. It also speaks to contemporary life in the United States of America and then ventures to look to the future to what could be possible if we take care of the myriad challenges that humans face in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. The readers of Footprints in stone in 2089 will hopefully gain from reading about the past, but they will be the only ones to see if the author's predictions were accurate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662470325

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Brief History of Hyderabad Deccan

To know nothing of what happened before you were born, is to forever remain a child.

—Cicero

Since the 1960s, over 2.5 million people from India have migrated to the United States of America. India is a conglomeration of over twenty-nine states and seven union territories, each with its own language and culture. In fact, there are over twenty-two major languages and over seven hundred dialects spoken in India. Indians in the United States still maintain a strong affinity to the parts of India they migrated from. There are Bengali Indians, Gujarati Indians, Bihari Indians, Punjabi Indians, and so on. Among these groups, there is a distinct group that proudly calls itself Hyderabadi Indians or Hyderabadees. The author belongs to this last group.

I immigrated to the United States of America in 1975. Often people have asked where I am originally from, and my response always has been India. Those with greater curiosity ask from what region or city, and I usually respond by saying that I am a true Indian, adding that I was born in Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh but went to schools in Ranchi in Bihar, Bangalore in Karnataka, Rajkot in Gujarat, and finally Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. My wife is from Madras (now Chennai) in Tamil Nadu state; and my father is buried in Calcutta in Bengal, where I spent some vacations during school summer break. This vast geographical coverage of the subcontinent entitles me to call myself a true Indian.

While the above is true, the fact remains that I was born in Hyderabad, where the last several generations of both sides of the family are from. No accounting of the family story would be complete without first covering the history of this historical city where these ancestors made their home and livelihood for over 150 years.

The state of Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Deccan, was an Indian princely state located in the south-central region of India and was ruled, from 1724 until 1948, by a hereditary Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. The capital city was Hyderabad. When India merged the state of Hyderabad into the Republic, the state of Hyderabad comprised of a multiethnic population of various religions and had an area of a little over eighty-three thousand square miles, making it one of the largest of the erstwhile princely states.

Pre-independence India was a conglomeration of 566 princely states, and Hyderabad was the largest and most prosperous of these princely states with a population of roughly 16.5 million people as per the 1941 census. A majority (85 percent) belonged to the Hindu religion. Hyderabad State had its own army, airline, telecommunication and postal system, railway network, currency, and radio broadcasting service. The Nizam who ruled Hyderabad was Muslim, and most of his nobles, mostly Muslims, owned 40 percent of the total land in the state despite the overwhelming Hindu majority.

Both author’s grandfathers served as senior administrative officers in the Nizam’s government as did some members of the family in generations that preceded them.

Founding dynasties—Qutb Shahi

The founder of the Qutb Shahi rule in the Deccan was Sultan Quli, whose ancestors belonged to the Turkman tribe of Qara Quyunlu of Hamadan in Iran, with the black sheep as their emblem. Sultan Quli gradually rose to power and became tarafdar or governor of Golconda under the Bahmani rulers. When the latter’s rule in the Deccan was faltering, he assumed undeclared autonomous rule in 1518, thus establishing the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Sultan Quli replaced the mud fort and built the Golconda fortress of stone and all the historical buildings and mosques inside that exist today. He gave himself the title of Qutb-ul Mulk, thus acknowledging the overlordship of the Bahmani King, Sultan Muhammad Shah. The forefathers of both dynasties had immigrated to the Deccan area from Iran, and having their origin in Iran, both the Bahmani’s and the Qutb Shahi dynasties belonged to the Shiite branch of Islam.

Qutb-ul Mulk died in 1543 and was succeeded in quick succession by three kings. The fourth to ascend the throne was Ibrahim Qutb Shah who ruled until 1580 and consolidated the powers of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. During his reign, Golconda became a center of international trade. He rebuilt the fortifications around Golconda with stone and mortar, built several tanks, mosques, and colleges. He also extended the dwelling places in the fort and planted trees, gardens, and added public baths.

Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah succeeded his father Ibrahim as the fifth ruler of the dynasty and founded the city of Hyderabad. By the early years of his rule, the population of Golconda had exceeded forty thousand by most counts and the overcrowding caused the nobility of Golconda to submit a petition to the sultan for orders to build a new city. The sultan agreed, and Mir Momin Astarabadi, the Peshwa or prime minister of the time, planned the layout of the city.

Mir Momin Astarabadi was the architect of Hyderabad. He was born in Astarabad, Persia, now known as Gorgan in present-day Iran. Before migrating to the Deccan, he performed hajj in Mecca and then, like many others of his generation, migrated to the Deccan, seeking employment. He started his career as a teacher, and soon his abilities were noticed by the ruler, who appointed him as his prime minister. Under Mir Momin Astarabadi, not only did the city of Hyderabad develop, but the Shia branch of Islam gained prominence in the area, and people belonging to different branches of Islam started to adopt the Persian manners and style.

In 1591, Sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah laid the foundation of the new city and named it Haiderabad, City of Haider, after the title of the fourth caliph of Islam, Hazrath (exalted) Ali. This was in keeping with his Shia background, as Shiites have special relevance for Hazrath Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) cousin. The city was also called Bagh-nagar, or Garden City. Several prominent buildings and mosques that exist today were built during this time.

The Qutb Shahi Sultans maintained friendly relations with Iran, and there was a continuous flow of able and learned men from Iran to Golconda. In 1603, Shah Abbas of Iran sent Ughzlu Sultan as ambassador to Golconda, where he resided for six years.

The Dutch East India Company was incorporated in 1602, and in 1606, an agreement was signed between Qutb Shah and the Dutch by which the Dutch were granted permission to establish the factories at Masulipatnam and Nizampatnam, and this was followed by the Pulicat handloom factory in 1610. The first English venture, an agency on behalf of the East India Company, was made during Muhammed Quli’s time at Masulipatnam in 1611. The British owe their Indian Empire’s origin to the Qutb Shahi grant. Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah died in 1612. His death was followed by other sultans of less consequence. In 1672, Abdul Hasan was crowned as the eighth Qutb Shahi Sultan.

It was during the time of Abdul Hasan that the last famous Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, began the conquest of Golconda. In 1687, the Mughal dynasty conquered Golconda, and Hyderabad came under the Mughal rule.

The Asaf Jahi dynasty of Hyderabad, 1720–1948

The Asaf Jahi dynasty was of Turkic origin from the region around Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan. They had their root in the Sunni branch of Islam and migrated to India in the late seventeenth century and became employees of the Mughal Empire.

As the Mughals were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, the family found a ready patronage. With the decline of the Mughals, the Deccan attained independence, though the first Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty continued to owe allegiance to the Mughal Emperor. The Deccan territories were thus the last survivors of the Mughal Empire, along with the princely state of Awadh (in North India). These territories soon came to be known as the Nizam’s Dominions and in 1760 included areas from south of Maharashtra to the southern end of Tamil Nadu, encompassing vast territories in present-day Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The Nawab of the Carnatic, who accepted the suzerainty of the Nizam, ruled southern territories that are now part of Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh. However, Hyder Ali, father of the famous Tipu Sultan, administered the regions in and around Mysore and did not owe any allegiance to the Nizam. Incidentally, Hyder Ali belonged to the Nayath community, which is detailed in later chapters. Tipu Sultan, his son, is perhaps the most famous personality of the Nayath community and many books in Urdu, Persian, and English are replete with accounts of his bravery. The English had given him the title of Tiger of Mysore. He died a martyr’s death during his war with the British in 1798.

History of the Asaf Jahi dynasty

Alam Shaikh, the great-grandfather of the first ruler of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, was a native of Samarkhnd, in present-day Uzbekistan. He had two sons, Khawaja Abid and Mir Baha-ud-Din. Khawaja Abid, the elder son, came to India in 1654 on his way to perform hajj (pilgrimage) in Mecca. After receiving favors from Shah Jehan, the reigning Mughal emperor of the time, he went on to perform his hajj and then returned to India. It was during this time that the wars of succession had started among Shah Jehan’s sons, and Khwaja Abid sided with Aurangzeb. Upon succeeding to the throne, Aurangzeb granted him the title of "Qilich Khan" (swordsman) and the governorship or subedari of Golconda where he died in 1687.

Shahab-ud-Din Khan, the eldest of Qilich Khan’s sons, later known as Ghazi-ud-Din Firuz Jung, assumed his father’s position and further attained the position of the highest distinction possible among Mughal nobles. His son, Qamar-ud-Din Khan (Nizam-ul-Mulk), took up the role after his father died.

Qamar-ud-Din Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I (reign 1724–1748)

Born in 1671, Mir Qamar-ud-Din was given his name by the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. As time went on, Mir Qamar-ud-Din proved himself loyal to Aurangzeb who bestowed the title of Chin Qilich Khan (Boy Swordsman) on him in 1690. A year later, he was appointed to the subedari (governorship) and faujdari (head of the armies) of Karnataka and Talikot. Two years later, he became subedar of Bijapur. His military services in the Deccan further focused Aurangzeb’s attention on him, and in 1706 Aurangzeb presented him with a valuable ring on which was engraved his full title, "Chin Qilich Khan Bahadur," or Brave Boy Swordsman.

When the Mughal Empire began to weaken following Aurangzeb’s death, Asif Jah defeated Mubariz Khan, a rival Mughal governor who attempted to seize control of the empire’s southern provinces. He went further by defeating two other rivals, Dilawar Ali Khan and Alam Ali, both in 1720; and later that year, he declared himself Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor of the time, ratified Nizam-ul-Mulk’s new position.

Nizam-ul-Mulk in his correspondences with the Mughal emperors continued to express profound loyalty and in the tone of a servant writing to his master and signed these correspondences as fidwi, or servant. His loyalty to the Mughal emperor remained unshakable, and he only referred to himself as Sipah Salar or military commander. Coins continued to be printed in the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah’s name, and the Friday sermons or Khutba’s of the day continued to be recited in his name.

In 1737, the Mughal emperor invited him to Delhi and entrusted him with the responsibility of facing the Maratha expedition in Malwa. Following the decline of the Mughal power, India saw the rise of Maratha Empire; Nizam himself saw many invasions by the Marathas. Some of the major battles fought between Marathas and the Nizam include the Battle of Rakshasbhuvan, the Battle of Palkhed, and the Battle of Kharda, all of which resulted in Maratha victory and suzerainty over the territory of Nizam and collection of tributaries by the Marathas. His major achievements were to deal with the Marathas in the west and south, Europeans in the east, and the Mughal government in the north.

Nizam-ul-Mulk, at the time of acquiring power and government of the Deccan, might not have thought of establishing a dynastic rule and independent state. Later the actions of the Mughal emperor to appoint sons and their successors as the subedar of the Deccan led to a dynastic rule, known as the Asafia dynasty of the Nizams. Thus, when Mughal rule and empire disappeared in North India, it continued in the shape of Hyderabad State and prospered in the Deccan until the middle of the twentieth century.

Nizam-ul-Mulk died in 1748. At the time of his death, his eldest son, Ghazi-ud-Din Feroz Jung, was serving in the court of the Mughal emperor, so the second son, Nasir Jung, took over the subedari (governorship) of Deccan from 1748 to 1750. This was contested by his nephew, Muzzafer Jung, who was the son of Nizam-ul-Mulk’s eldest daughter and who proclaimed that during his life, Nizam-ul-Mulk had named him the successor. Several skirmishes ensued between uncle and nephew who was supported by the French. Muzzafer Jung held the subedari for one year (1750–1751). Unfortunately, both contestants died within a year of each other, and Nizam-ul-Mulk’s third son, Salabat Jung, assumed the subedari of the Deccan in 1751, which was ratified by the Mughal emperor, and he held the position until 1762.

The French, by this time, had gained considerable influence and through political maneuvers had obtained four districts known as the Northern Circars (fiefdoms) from the subedar to pay for their military presence. The dissatisfaction with the French was rife, and on the outbreak of the 1756 war between the French and English, the former was driven out by the English force. The Northern Circars were granted to the English by Salabat Jung, and the Mughal emperor confirmed this grant by a farman (royal decree) in 1765.

Salabat Jung was aided in some of the wars he fought with the Marathas by his younger brother, Nizam Ali, who later returned to Delhi after assisting his brother. The English in the meantime complained to the Mughal emperor about Salabat Jung’s affinity to the French. In response, the emperor issued a farman appointing Nizam Ali, the younger brother of Salabat Jung, as the Nizam.

It is to be noted that the three subedars that preceded Nizam Ali, Nasir Jung, Muzzafer Jung, and Salabat Jung, were recognized as Nizams but not as Asaf Jahs.

Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II (1762–1803)

The Nizam’s dominions were at their greatest territorial extent at the time of the first Nizam, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I.

The fourth Nizam, Mir Ali Salabat Jung, came to the throne on French instigation, and his rule prevailed for twelve years. This period marked the height of French influence in the Nizam’s dominions. Mir Ali Salabat Jung’s successor was Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II, the fourth son of the founder. He won the territories of Aurangabad, Bidar, and Sholapur in various battles with the Marathas. Though Asaf Jah II ruled for over forty years, the Nizam’s dominions lost considerable power and, more importantly, land to both the British and the French due to infighting and debts owed to the foreign powers. He ceded the territory of Northern Circars (present-day Coastal Andhra region of the state of Andhra Pradesh) to the French as a gift for perpetuity while British, French, and Hyder Ali annexed the Carnatic regions in the south.

The Nizam was criticized for failing to form an alliance with Hyder Ali of the Kingdom of Mysore, a move that could have countered the increasing influence of the British in the Deccan. During this time, with the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo, the British also replaced the French as the supreme colonial power in the Indian subcontinent. The British also fought a war with Mysore, which increased its clout in the Deccan, and by 1800, the Nizam’s dominions came into a state of near suzerainty under the British.

To his credit, Nizam Ali Khan streamlined the administration, restored the depleted coffers, settled affairs with the Marathas, and engineered alliances with both the French and English while maintaining friendly relations with Mysore. Realizing the exposure of the then capital of Aurangabad to the Marathas, he moved the capital back to Hyderabad, thus restoring its somewhat lost glory.

The title of Haider Ali Khan was bestowed on Haider Ali, Tipu Sultan’s father, for his support in these wars by Nawab Basalat Jung, the younger brother of Nizam Ali Khan, and he was granted the subedari of Sira. Several years later, in 1792 Nizam Ali Khan sided with the English and the Marathas to march upon Tipu Sultan, who by now had succeeded his father, Hyder Ali, and handed him a crushing defeat resulting in the signing of the treaty of Srirangapatna.

Nizam Ali Khan, although the Mughal subedar (governor) of the Deccan, was, for all practical purposes, the absolute sovereign by the end of his life. It was also during his time that the practice of placing a full-time British Resident in the city of Hyderabad to maintain the affairs of the British was made permanent.

Sikandar Jah, Asaf Jah III (1803–1829)

Nawab Mir Akbar Ali Khan Sikandar Jah was born in 1768 and was the second and surviving son of Nizam Ali Khan. His succession was ratified by the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam. During his reign, a British cantonment was established in Hyderabad, and the area was christened after him as Secunderabad.

In 1812, the British Resident, Henry Russell, formed a brigade and named it Russell’s brigade. Over the years, this brigade grew into a contingent and became a drain on the Nizam’s resources. This and other geopolitical changes resulted in the further decline of the financial condition of Hyderabad State during Sikandar Jah’s reign.

Nasir-ud-Daula, Asaf Jah IV (1829–1857)

Born in 1794, Nasir-ud-Daula was the eldest son of Sikandar Jah and succeeded him upon the latter’s demise. As the new Nizam, he instituted several reforms in the internal administration of the state. One of his first acts was to dispense with the British officials appointed in the state for the management of district revenues while at the same time also instituting social reforms such as prohibiting sati, or the burning of the Hindu widow with her deceased husband’s pyre.

During the later years of his reign, the drain from the payment of the contingent established during his father’s time continued to further deteriorate the treasury. Finally, Nasir-ud-Daula was forced to sign a treaty with the British from whom the Nizam was borrowing money. He seceded territory, and the contingent ceased to be part of the Nizam’s army and became the auxiliary force kept by the British for the Nizam’s use.

It was during this reign that Mir Turab Ali Khan Salar Jung was appointed as the prime minister. The name of Salar Jung and his descendants is strongly associated with the Nizams and Hyderabad State, as Mir Turab Ali’s descendants also were appointed to this post in later years.

Afzal-ud-Daula, Asaf Jah V (1857–1869)

Nasir-ud-Daula was succeeded by his son, Mir Tahniat Ali Khan Afzal-ud-Daula, in May 1857. The most important thing that can be said of his reign is that he let Salar Jung I, his prime minister, continue the reforms he had started under his father’s reign. Reviewing his reforms, in 1857 Sir Richard Temple, a British politician and administrator in British India, said, The constitution system and principles of the Nizam’s Government are really excellent.

When Afzal-ud-Daula acceded to the throne, India’s Great Mutiny of 1857 had started. Since Hyderabad occupied a central position with the British territory all around, the British considered the Nizam’s sympathy of paramount importance during the mutiny. It was a generally accepted fact that if the Nizam had joined the mutineers, the whole of India would take part in the first war of India’s independence. This fact is confirmed by the governor of Bombay presidency, who telegraphed the British Resident in Hyderabad, saying, If the Nizam goes, all goes. The Nizam and Salar Jung remained sincere in their friendship and support of the British, and for his support, the British government on August 31, 1861, conferred on the Nizam the Order of the Star of India on August 31, 1861. The Nizam was reluctant to accept it but was ultimately persuaded to.

The year 1857 was a landmark year in the history of Hyderabad State for another reason. The Mughal Empire at Delhi vanished, and the Nizam ceased to a Mughal subedar, which by this time was only in name. The Nizams became independent sovereigns from then on. In 1858, new coins called hali were minted with Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah Bahadur, on the obverse. The coins of the Mughal emperor ceased to be current in Hyderabad from this time on.

After a reign of twelve years, Afzal-ud-Dawla died in 1869 at the age of forty-three.

Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI (1869–1911)

Mir Mahboob Ali Khan was born in 1866 and was only three years of age when he was proclaimed the Nizam. Salar Jung I, the prime minister of the time, and Nawab Rashid-ud-Din Khan Shams-ul-Umara II became co-regents of the state and ensured the best administration until Mir Mahboob came of age.

When the Nizam was eighteen years old, he took full control of the government affairs. The last Salar Jung’s son, Mir Laiq Ali Khan, was bestowed the title of Salar Jung II and in 1885 was appointed prime minister of Hyderabad. However, court intrigue and politics prevailed, and Salar Jung II was compelled to resign his office in April 1887. Sir Asman Jah Bahadur who was in England to attend the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria returned to Hyderabad and within a week was appointed prime minister of Hyderabad. On his resignation, his cousin, Nawab Vikhar-ul-Umra, took over; and following his death, Maharaja Sir Kishan Pershad was appointed prime minister.

Mahboob Ali’s reign is considered the golden era for the state of Hyderabad. The financial state had improved considerably, and Hyderabad State became one of the richest territories not only in India but the world.

Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (1911–1948)

Mir Osman Ali Khan was born in 1886. On the day of his father’s death, he was proclaimed the Nizam by Nawab Shahab Jung, the minister of police. The formal coronation and durbar (court) were held on September 12, 1911. In 1912, after Sir Kishan Pershad retired from office, the Nizam appointed Nawab Ali Khan Bahadur, Salar Jung III, as prime minister. He remained in office for two years and resigned in 1914.

This Nizam proved to be a financial wizard and, upon the resignation of his prime minister, took the administration and affairs of his state into his own hands. In the educational realm, Osmania University was inaugurated in 1917; the medical department was reorganized, and law and engineering colleges were established. It was during his administration that the railway system, whose foundations were laid by the British, was extended. He improved the economic conditions of the peasantry by establishing agriculture and cooperative departments. The famous annual numaish (exhibition) of Hyderabad was established, along with industrial exhibitions to improve the knowledge of the citizenry.

Major