Hyderabad: Clamour grows for state’s takeover of Nizam’s Rubats in Saudi Arabia

Hyderabad: Free accommodation to pilgrims of erstwhile Hyderabad state seems not possible this time also as the authorities of the Telangana State Haj Committee and office-bearers of Nizam Religious Trust are not in a position to communicate with Hussain Al Shareef, Nazer (Administrator) of Rubat in Makkah and Madina.

It is learned that the Nizam Rubat in Makkah was converted into a lodge and leased out. Nizam’s Rubat provided free accommodation to a certain number of pilgrims belonging to 42 districts of Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra which were part of the erstwhile Hyderabad State.

According to officials of the State Haj Committee, Nazer of Nizam’s Rubat had arranged accommodation for almost 1095 pilgrims in three buildings taken on hire in Makkah during the Haj season 2019. Afterward, the pilgrims were denied a free stay in the Rubat. During 2020 and 2021 foreign pilgrims were not allowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accommodation in Rubath was not done during the Haj 2022 due to prevailed uncertainty. However, this time State Haj Committee tried to contact Nazer of Rubath but proved futile so far. It is pertinent to mention that those pilgrims getting accommodation at Nizam’s Rubath need not pay the charges of accommodation to the Haj Committee which will be between rupees 40,000 to 50,000.

Chairman Telangana State Haj Committee Mohammed Saleem said they are trying to get in touch with Nazer Rubath, but he is not responding properly. “At this juncture, we are not in a position to say that pilgrims of the erstwhile Hyderabad State will get an opportunity of a free stay,” he said.

He said they will convene a meeting with the office-bearers of Nizam Trust to sort out the issue. In case the pilgrims were refused free accommodation then they will refer the matter to the Chief Minister requesting him to intervene and ensure free accommodation.

President Bazm e Taraq, Moulana Syed Saifullah Hussaini Baquari expressed displeasure over the information about converting Nizam Rubat into a lodge and refusal to accommodate pilgrims from 3 southern states. He said no one has the right to change the purpose.

He asked Azmath Jah and the state government to intervene in the matter and ensure that the pilgrims of the erstwhile Hyderabad state get free accommodation during Haj and non-Haj seasons. He demanded the state government raise the matter with Indian Embassy in Riyadh and get administrative control of the Rubats of Makkah and Madina. He said Hussain Shareef is misusing the Waqf Institution and taking advantage of Saudi rules.

Nizam’s Rubats are accommodation buildings for the pilgrims to Makkah purchased in 1860 by the fifth Nizam Mir Tahniyat Ali Khan Siddiqui Bahadur for the benefit of the pilgrims of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. Actually, there were 42 Rubath buildings but now only one building exists in Makkah located within a diameter of 2 km from the Grand Mosque.