Nizam's kin unhappy over being ignored at OU centenary

The family of Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad State, on Friday expressed their unhappiness over being ignored during the centenary celebrations of Osmania University.

The Nizam's grandson Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, who attended the inaugural ceremony of the centenary celebrations addressed by President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday, said the family members of Nizam should have been invited on the dais.

"We regret to share our dissatisfaction and dissent that none of the posters of Nizam VII who founded of the University were put up during the celebrations," he said in a statement.

He pointed out that even the name of Mir Osman Ali Khan was not pronounced correctly during the speeches at the inaugural ceremony.

Najaf Ali Khan, who is president of Nizam Family Welfare Association, appealed to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who did not address the centenary celebrations, to release his speech copy highlighting numerous contributions made by Mir Osman Ali Khan for all-round development of Hyderabad.

He also demanded that a statue of the Nizam VII be installed at a suitable place in the premises of Osmania University.

Najaf Ali Khan, who attended the ceremony with his family member, had earlier stated that he felt proud and happy over being invited by university authorities.

"It made me immensely happy that it is due to the effort of my grandfather that so many people in various walks of life have learned from this institute and achieved so much in their lives. Those people remembered my grandfather fondly," he had said.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir criticised the state government for ignoring both Nizam and Urdu language during the celebrations.

He said that the tributes should have been paid to Nizam by placing his portrait on the stage and by inviting members of his family on the dais.

The university officials had said that they invited Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah, Mir Karamath Ali Khan Muffakham Jah, Nawab Mir Azmet Ali Khan and Nawab Shahamat Jah, all grandchildren of Mir Osman Ali Khan, to the centenary celebrations.

However, none of them turned up.

--IANS

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