The Nizam’s family reunites in Hyderabad to see off Mukarram Jah one last time
Prince Mukarram Jah’s younger brother Mir Karamat Ali Muffakham Jah Bahadur has also arrived in Hyderabad from London to pay homage to his brother and is in a state of shock.
By Syed Khaled Shahbaaz Published on 17 Jan 2023 5:35 PM IST
Hyderabad: The royal family is in Hyderabad once again, except that their homecoming is in a grim state of affairs. While Prince Azmath Jah and Princess Shehkyar accompany the mortal remains of their father Prince Mukarram Jah, Princess Nilufer Elif Jah and Prince Azam Khan have also arrived in the city to bid farewell to their father, the last Nizam of Hyderabad.
Here in the city by a chartered flight, according to sources, the royalty will be staying at the Chiran Palace in Jubilee Hills, from where they will visit the Chowmahalla Palace to bid farewell to their father.
Prince Mukarram Jah’s younger brother Mir Karamat Ali Muffakham Jah Bahadur has also arrived in Hyderabad from London to pay homage to his brother and is in a state of shock.
Prince Muffakham Jah Bahadur, Nawab Mohammed Faiz Khan, trustee Mukarram Jah Trust for Education and Learning, and some close members of the family, including government officials, have already received the eighth Nizam’s mortal remains at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
“His remains will be brought to the Chowmahalla palace following full official protocol and all arrangements have been finalised for Prince Mukarram Jah’s final journey,” Faiz Khan said.
Despite being separated in marriage nearly 48 years ago, Prince Mukarram Jah’s former wife Princess Esra is at the forefront of all arrangements for his last journey and funeral rites. Mukarram Jah married Princess Esra in 1959. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1974. Five years later, the Prince married again.
Arab communities in Hyderabad mourn his death
For the last two days, King Koti and Barkas areas, where the people of Arab communities dwell and shared a special relationship with the eighth Nizam, are shrouded in gloom.
Whenever Mukarram Jah visited Hyderabad, he was received with the traditional Arabic band ‘Marfa’ by the Arab communities.
The Arab communities who have been residing in Hyderabad for more than 200 years are loyal to the Asif Jahi family as Mukarram Jah’s great grandfather Nawab Mir Mehboob Ali Khan Nizam VI brought Arabs from Yemen and recruited them in his Army.
Islamic scholars and intellectuals were given the opportunity to join seminaries in Hyderabad as faculty.
Public can pay their last respects on 18 January
The mortal remains of Prince Mukarram Jah will be at Chowmohalla Palace for the public to pay their last respects. On 18 January, he will be laid to rest next to his father at the Asif Jahi tombs. The imam of Makkah Masjid, Maulana Rizwan Qureshi, will lead the Namaz-e-Janaza after Namaz-e-Asr (before sunset) at Makkah Masjid. The last rites will be performed according to the Sunni sect practices.
According to sources, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will visit the Chowmahalla Palace to pay his respects to Prince Mukarram Jah this evening.
As Nawab Faiz Khan, trustee, Mukarram Jah Trust for Education and Learning, juggles between phone calls and meetings with different officials and family members over the funeral arrangements, one cannot neglect the silent spell of gloom in the air amid the cacophony of myriad arrangements being done for the Kingdom of Hyderabad’s last official heir.
With the departure of the last Nizam, it is not known if and when the royal family members will reconvene again.
