By Alvin Manaloor
Sep 21: The State of Hyderabad was annexed to India after independence in 1948 and the Nizam joined the Government of India and was later appointed as the Raj Pramukh (Governor) of Hyderabad State. The last ruling Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, had created 52 trusts to manage a number of issues pertaining to his properties and wealth - including the most famous Nizam’s jewels.
After Nizam passed away, there have been a large number of land grabbing on his properties. Also, the government of India has allegedly acquired properties worth thousands of crores.
Himayat Ali Mirza is the grandson of His Highness (H.H) Late Walashan Prince Moazzam Jah Bahadur who was the second son and successor apparent of His Exalted Highness (H.E.H) The Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan. He is the step grandson of Princess Princess Niloufer, who had also founded the Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad.
Born in India, Mirza studied in the United States and came back to look after family business and heritage. Mirza is active in the real estate industry and has projects in India, Canada, UK, USA, turkey and Malaysia. With this, he has taken the responsibility to voice against the negligence and irregularities with respect to the late Nizam’s legacy. Himayat is liasoning with various state governments on Nizam’s lands.
Himayat is already working with Telangana Government to try to convert the lands acquired by the Indian state into public parks so that the people of the state can have access to them and enjoy the late Nizam’s legacy. With this, he is also in touch with Tamilnadu Government and has inquired about illegal encroachments of the land by external parties who have no claim to the land. A number of court cases have been opened by Mirza.
More recently, Himayat Ali Mirza also reached out to the Maharashtra Government related to the Nizams properties in Malabar Hills, Mahabaleshwar and also in Aurangabad with a case opened in Mumbai High Court. His correspondence with the Mumbai Chief Minister also talks about missing antiques and other movable items.
Besides his work with the governments to maintain late Nizam’s properties, Himayat has also started his own foundation. He already chairs a charitable network that is registered in the name of his grandfather His Highness (HH) Prince Moazzam Jah (PMJ) Foundation. Through these NGOs, he has also started to provide support (financial and food supplies) to patients and their families near the Niloufer Hospital.
Mirza was also one of the key people involved in handing over the jewels to the government of India along with his uncle Prince Mukaffam Jah in the year 1995. The Government of India locked the jewels in Reserve Bank of India vaults and they have been on display only twice since then. Himayat has appealed that the jewels should be brought back to Hyderabad to be displayed as a permanent collection in a museum. Mirza has prepared a full-fledged plan for the jewels that are estimated to be worth approximately INR 99,000 crores or more. The museum and the infrastructure around it would generate revenue by people visiting the museum. Besides, there will be generation of employment, helping the people in Hyderabad. He imagines the area as Nizam’ City, becoming an iconic landmark in Hyderabad.