April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

KARACHI, April 14: Speakers at a seminar on Sunday paid tributes to the late Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad state in India, for his services in the field of education and social welfare for the people of his state.

The Bahadur Yar Jang Academy organised the seminar in connection with the 40th death anniversary of the late Nizam.

The speakers said that the Nizam very generously helped the poor and promoted education and provided his people with basic facilities.

The former chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui, said that one of the major contributions of the late Nizam was that he had separated the judiciary from the executive owing to which the people got immediate relief and the rule of law was guaranteed.

He said that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah used to provide legal assistance to the Hyderabad state in constitutional matters and the Nizam had separated the judiciary from the executive on the advice of the Quaid-i-Azam.

The former chief justice said the Nizam had provided his people with so many facilities then that even today people in many parts of the world did not have access to such facilities.

Citing an example, he said that the railway service in the state during Nizam’s reign was among the best in entire India.

A former diplomat and scholar, Qutubuddin Aziz, stressed the need for conducting more research on the life, achievements and services of the late Nizam.

He said that the Nizam treated his people – comprising both Muslims and Hindus – equally well and even patronized various educational institutions without any discrimination.

Mr Aziz said that the nazim gave donations not only to the Aligarh University but was also very generous towards the Banaras University.

The Nizam had even constructed hostels for the pilgrims in Saudi Arabia some of which were still functional, he said.

The former diplomat said that the Nizam had also provided financial assistance to Pakistan during its initial days when the newly independent country was faced with grave financial crises.

Dr Affan Saljuk said that the Nizam introduced a strict financial discipline, which improved the state’s financial health greatly owing to which he was able to provide and improve educational and other facilities to, and carry out other social welfare activities, for the people.

He said that during World War-I, Turkey had sided with the Germans and was fighting against the United Kingdom. The Nizam not only provided financial assistance to the UK but also provided soldiers for the war, for which the British government termed him a “Faithful Ally”, but later when the Khalifa was deposed and started living in France in exile, the Nizam fixed 500 pounds sterling as honorarium for him.

Mir Hamid Ali and Prof Khwaja Qutubuddin, officials of the academy, said that Mir Osman Ali not only established the Jamia Osmania in Hyderabad Deccan but also patronized Urdu which flourished greatly in the state and the state progressed greatly under his and many historical monuments – like the Char Minar – were constructed which even today attracted a large number of tourists not only from the subcontinent but from all around the world. Mir Osman Ali ruled Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until it was militaristically invaded and annexed by India in an act in contravention of international law. Despite being one the richest men of the world, he led a very simple life and died in 1967.

Syed Sabihuddin Hussaini, Ghalib Irfan, Waseemuddin, Amir Siddiqui and others also spoke.