Hyderabad, June 05: On the 129th birth anniversary of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam, scholars say that he has been forgotten by the modern state and its people, though he was responsible for an educational revolution and other infrastructure development in Hyderabad. “Modern history has ignored his contribution to literature and the educational and technological growth of the State and the country.
He gave scholarships to scientists, research institutes and universities in the 34 years of his regime,” says Prof. Fatima Parveen, vice principal, Arts College, Osmania University.
She says he was a poet of high calibre with seven books of poetry to his credit, but she has been able to collect only five. In his ghazals, he has discussed every aspect of human life. He has also written ghazals on Basanthi and Holi, Ms Parveen added.
Prof. Ashraf Rafi, chairperson of the Abdul Kalam Azad Oriental Research Institute, says, “He established a university and also donated lakhs of rupees to many other universities in the country such as Pune University, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University and Jamia Millia Islamia etc.
The Institute of Science, Bangalore, was given `10,000 for 30 years.” One of those who benefitted from a fellowship instituted by the Nizam was the famous scientist C.V. Raman.
Curator of the Nizam’s Museum, Dr D. Bhaskara Rao, says the last Nizam was ignored because of political misunderstandings, but his contributions should not be forgotten.
“His contribution to the justice system and education are remarkable. In 1911 he suspended capital punishment, which even European countries had not done then. He separated judiciary from the executive in 1922 and allotted 7.5 per cent of the budget to education,” he said.