Oct 6, 1933-Jan 14, 2023
The death of Mir Barkat Ali Khan, popularly known as Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the 8th Niẓām [shortened from Niẓām-ul-Mulk, meaning Administrator of the Realm] of Hyderabad, in Istanbul on January 14, marked the end of a historical era.
He was one of the few princes who drew royal lineage from two royal families in the Islamic world.
His father was Azam Jah, the eldest son of Niẓām Mir Osman Ali Khan of Hyderabad, whose kingdom was merged with the union of India on September 18, 1948, and his mother was Imperial Princess Dürrüşehvar Sultan, the only daughter of Abdülmecid II, the last Caliph of the Ottoman dynasty.
Mukarram Jah was born on October 6, 1933, in Nice, France. His early childhood was spent in India, and he studied at the country’s prestigious Doon School before being sent to the famous Harrow School in London.
He graduated from the University of Cambridge and later topped it off with a stint at the London School of Economics and 15 months of training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
The Seventh Niẓām, Mir Osman Ali Khan, made his grandson the successor to the “throne” instead of his first son, Prince Azam Jah Bahadur.
Hence, Mukarram Jah succeeded as the eighth Niẓām on April 6, 1967, after the death of the last former reigning ruler of Hyderabad. Although several royal properties were the subject of multiple court disputes, he was considered the wealthiest heir of the erstwhile princely states in India, with assets running into at least $1 billion.
After India gained independence in 1947, almost all the princely states joined one of the two fledgling nation-states, India, or Pakistan, except Hyderabad, which remained independent. Positioned in the middle of India, the Indian government could not afford to have an independent state there, so on September 13, 1948, the Indian government launched “Operation Polo” to “liberate” Hyderabad.
In a war that lasted five days, the Indian Army took over the powerful state of Hyderabad after over 500 people were killed. The Niẓām ordered a ceasefire and signed the instrument of accession with the government of India.
The Government of India recognised Mukarram Jah’s succession in principle. He was officially called the Prince of Hyderabad until 1971, when the titles and the privy purses were abolished by the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi’s order discontinuing this privilege given to erstwhile princes broke a promise given at the time the princely states agreed to merge into India.
The Niẓām married five times. His first wife was Princess Esra of Turkey, whom he wed in 1959.
He had two children: Prince Azmat Ali Khan and Princess Shehkyar. Esra and Jah divorced in 1972, when the prince visited Australia, and moved there permanently, and Esra refused to move with him. In 1979, Jah married Helen Simmons, a former air hostess who worked for the BBC. Simmons converted to Islam and changed her name to Ayesha.
They had two sons, Prince Alexander Azam Khan and Prince Mohammed Umar Khan, but the younger son died of a drug overdose in 2004 at age 20. Simmons died in 1989, and in 1992, the Niẓām wed Manolya Onur, a former Miss Turkey, with whom he had a daughter, Niloufer.
This marriage ended in divorce after five years. In 1992, Jah also married Jamila Boularous, with whom he had a daughter, Zairin Unnisa Begum. In 1994, he married for the last time another Turkish woman, Princess Ayesha Orchedi.
Mukarram Jah led a colourful life beyond the pale of the fading royalty of the 20th century as he darted between Hyderabad, Istanbul, Australia, and Europe. Like his grandfather, Mukarram Jah was considered the richest man in India until the 1980s. He invested heavily in Australia, where he bought a half-a-million-acre sheep and cattle station, a gold mine, a mansion in Perth, a luxury yacht, and bulldozers and cars. However, many of his business ventures resulted in significant losses.
Mukarram Jah owned many properties in Hyderabad, including the Falaknuma Palace, Khilwat Palace, King Koti Palace, and Chiran Palace, which are in the middle of KBR National Park in the posh Jubilee Hills. The properties were looked after by his first former wife, Princess Esra, who occasionally visited Hyderabad and stayed at the Falaknuma Palace, which has been converted into the Taj Falaknuma Palace, a super-luxury 5-star hotel.
In 1996, Mukarram Jan moved from Australia to Turkey and lived a substantial part of the latter half of his life there in the shadow of the past glory of his ancestors.
It’s a pity that the once-richest man in India passed away in a two-bedroom flat in Istanbul, having lost his wealth to mishandling, debts, family infighting, and legal battles. His grandfather, Osman Ali Khan, had 104 grandchildren, so there were many legal battles over property and inheritance. Mukarram Jah also lost some properties to alimony.
As most of his properties were under litigation, he couldn’t sell them. Jah will be remembered not only as the titular Niẓām of Hyderabad, but also as an individual who cared about the people of his homeland.
Jah kept his ties to Hyderabad alive. In December 1971, he set up the Mukarram Jah Trust for Education and Learning, through which he funded several academic institutes.
The Trust has contributed significantly to promoting education in Hyderabad, especially in medicine.
His mortal remains were brought to Hyderabad from Turkey on a chartered flight and kept at Chowmahalla Palace for public viewing. A day later, he was laid to rest next to his father, Azam Jah, in the family vault in Mecca Masjid, as per his last wish.
In recognition of his social service to the poor, Telangana State officials arranged the highest state honours for Mukarram Jah’s final rites. Officials from the Niẓām Trust oversaw the construction of the vault where other members of the Niẓām’s family, who ruled Hyderabad beginning in 1724, are interred. He is survived by two wives and seven children.
Following Mukarram Jah’s burial, his son Mir Mohammad Azmat Ali Khan Azmat Jah was declared the ninth Niẓām of Hyderabad on January 20, according to an official release from Chowmahalla Palace, the Niẓāms’ office. The Indian government, however, will not recognise him as the Niẓām, which ended with Mukarram Jah.
Portait of Prince Mukarram Jah in Chowmahalla
Palace, Hyderabad.
(Credit: Nagarjun Kandukuru/WikiCommons)
Shahanshah Mirza,
The great-grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of the princely state of Awadh,
