Hyderabad In Transition: (1948-1956)– A Case Study Of Social Reconfiguration Of The Asaf Jah Nobility

Abstract

The 19^th century State of Hyderabad was a melting pot of cultures and people of different hues. The state had adopted a policy of absorbing talent from across the vast realms of the country in its bid to strengthen and enrich its administration and promote growth of the state. This influx of people led to the shaping of a composite culture. This culture was an inclusive culture of many layers and proportions. Academicians, military personnel, administrators, physicians, legal professionals etc. from different parts of the country made Hyderabad their home. Scholars’ familiar with this position of the state, attribute this influx to the creation of a later period phenomenon known as the Mulki agitation. The intervening years of 1948-1956 in the history of Hyderabad, was witness to major structural changes in the socio-cultural and economic hierarchy of the state. Aspects which defined Hyderabad’s identity in terms of its composite culture, aristocracy and feudal character were put to test during this period. This paper attempts to revisit and understand the nature of reconfiguration of this social structure especially among the nobility, and through case studies of three very prominent aristocratic families of deccan namely, (1) Mohi ud doulas- religious scholar and physician – family which traces its lineage to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiqui (RA), (2) Mohd. Fazaullah Siddiqui- Chief Justice of Hyderabad High court and (3) Ghulam Ghouse Khan- governor-Aurangabad (then part of Nizams territory) beknown their identity, contribution and subsequent loss of the same during the transitioning years in the state of Hyderabad.