Duchess Kate wears Nizam of Hyderabad necklace borrowed from Queen Elizabeth II at fundraiser

British Royal Jewels: The Queen's Nizam of Hyderabad Parure

"On the occasion of her marriage in 1947, Princess Elizabeth was positively flooded with gifts. According to the official list of wedding gifts released by St James Palace, Princess Elisabeth and Prince Philip received exactly 2583 presents. Not all of them were jewellery, of course; in fact, the most common gifts were stockings and books. Nevertheless, there was no lack of sparkle either.

The current demi-parure parure - the necklace and the brooches

One of the most beautiful gifts came from the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam was the owner of one of the most celebrated and largest private jewellery collections in the world, and his gift was suitably impressive – a demi-parure of a tiara and necklace." continue reading Artemisia's Royal Jewels

Prince William's wife Catherine (Kate Middleton) dazzled onlookers at a dinner for London's National Portrait Gallery with a diamond necklace borrowed from the queen.

The Duchess of Cambridge was wearing a dark Jenny Packham dress yesterday, but it was the Cartier diamond known as the Nizam of Hyderabad, given to Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 for her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh, that had tongues wagging. 

Other guests at the gala dinner -- the duchess's first official engagement of the year -- included Elizabeth Hurley, rocker Bryan Adams and artist Grayson Perry.
The duchess said she was "delighted" to be able to support the gallery.
"The gallery's achievements are exceptional," she told guests.
"They hold the most extensive collection of portraits in the world, and their unique and brilliant exhibitions never fail to inspire us all. -- Source: Siasat.com

Nizam's £34 Million Case Again Making Headlines

Background :

>> (In 1948) ...  the richest man in the world deposited £1m in a London account. It's been there ever since, and today it could be worth ...m. But no one can lay a finger on it. Luke Harding on a tale of sex, greed, international politics - and the NatWest bank [A prince's ransom, The Guardian]

>> "The origins of the Hyderabad Funds Case, dating back to September 1948, related to the transfer of over £1 million sterling from the account of the government of the Nizam of Hyderabad to Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola, the then High Commissioner of Pakistan in London.

The transfer was made by the Nizam's finance minister without the ruler's approval. The transfer instructions were irregular as the finance minister had no power to do so.

The Nizam's subsequent instructions to re-transfer the funds were not complied with, leading to arbitration in the British courts.

The matter also went up to the House of Lords. It held that the legal title to the money vested in the Pakistan government, which was not asserting a beneficiary title to the fund." [source]

Latest:

• The international row over £30million left in NatWest bank (London, UK) account by an eccentric maharajah, dailymail.co.uk  Jan 27 2014
• Solicitor general advice government to intervene as Pakistan claims Nizam's GBP 34 mn funds  The Economic Times 24 Jan, 2014, Ajmer Singh
•  Indian government to intervene, as Pakistan claims Nizam of Hyderabad's GBP 34 mn  Economic Times 24 Jan, 2014
• India, Pak revisit history, lock horns over Nizam wealth fund southasiamonitor.org Jan 24, 2014


News archive -- Hyderabad Funds Case + The Glory, Granger & Wealth of Hyderabad Nizam:
• The Nizams of Hyderabad: An Epic Tale of Wealth, Loss and Reconciliation,  saffronart.com December 4, 2012  by amyqinglin 
• Hopes of early settlement to row over Nizam’s funds, thehindu.com July 19, 2012 
• Taj Falaknuma Palace: A New Experience of Palatial Splendor forbes.com 10/17/2012
• Why wealth of Hyderabad Nizam's heirs depends on Pakistan, Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: July 20, 2012 
• Nizam's funds: Six decade Indo-Pak stalemate nearing end? Apr 11, 2008
  Economic Times
• Precious collection of Nizam's jewels lies buried in a bank vault intoday.in, Amarnath K. Menon April 30, 1988 
• A simple leisure visit to an out of bound retreat (Nizam's Residency House, aka Rashtrapati Nilayam)
• Penny pinching ruler of Hyderabad...  The Milwaukee Journal - Sep 23, 1948

Noorani's THE DESTRUCTION OF HYDERABAD -- Book Release

THE DESTRUCTION OF HYDERABAD

A. G. Noorani

 

Challenges the official narrative to demonstrate how Hyderabad was forcibly annexed to India against its will.

• Overview

The fascinating story of the fall of the Indian princely state of Hyderabad has till now been dominated by the ‘court historians’ of Indian nationalism. In this book A. G. Noorani offers a revisionist account of the Indian Army’s ‘police action’ against the armed forces and government of Hyderabad, ruled by the fabulously wealthy Nizam. His forensic scrutiny of the diplomatic exchanges between the Govt of India and the Govt of Hyderabad during the Raj and after Partition and Independence in 1947 has unearthed the Sunderlal Committee report on the massacre of the Muslim population of the State during and after the ‘police action’ (knowledge of which has since been suppressed by the Indian state) and a wealth of memoirs and first-hand accounts of the clandestine workings of territorial nationalism in its bleakest and most shameful hour. He brings to light the largely ignored and fateful intervention of M. A. Jinnah in the destruction of Hyderabad and also accounts for the communal leanings of Patel and K. M. Munshi in shaping its fate. The book is dedicated to the ‘other’ Hyderabad: a culturally syncretic state that was erased in the stampede to create a united India committed to secularism and development

Hyderabad, Kashmir victims of Partition ‘transaction’:

‘Jinnah opposed Mountbatten’s plebiscite offer on princely JK’

GK NEWS NETWORK

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Hyderabad, Nov 29: Drawing a parallel between Kashmir and Hyderabad, noted author and political commentator AG Noorani Friday said the two were part of the same ‘transaction’ of the partition of India in 1947.
“Both these states were the victims of ill decisions taken by the powers at that time,” he said, speaking at the launch of his book titled “The Destruction of Hyderabad.” It is part of a series of his books on the partition. His two-volume “Kashmir Dispute” was released earlier this year in Srinagar. continue reading GK NEWS NETWORK

On the same shelf:  

• Sardar Patel hated Hyderabadi culture: AG Noorani    
• Revealing the other side of the story  The Hindu
• Patel's communalism—a documented record Frontline  
• Where does Nizam's city belong?  
• See also the destruction of Hyderabad in this fiction: Bright Horizons by Wilson Harp

Between Tradition and Modernity: Nizams, Colonialism and Modernity...

SPECIAL ARTICLE november 30, 2013 vol xlviiI no 48 Economic & PoliticalWeekly, by Bhangya Bhukya 
[An earlier version of this article was presented as the keynote address to a seminar on “Socio-Economic and Cultural Contribution of Mir Osman Ali Khan”, Nizam VII, organised by the Nizam Museum in September 2011, Hyderabad. Bhangya Bhukya  is at the Department of Social Exclusion Studies, the English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad. Between Tradition and Modernity Nizams, Colonialism and Modernity in Hyderabad State]

"Nizam’s well acclaimed farman issued in 1933:
I do not wish that I should wound the feelings of any community or religion through short-sightedness or that I should so immerse myself in my religion that it might be called “Bigotry”. In short, my policy and that of my predecessors has been not only to look upon all religions of the world equally without discrimination or difference…But also to earn a good name by behaving in harmony with all like milk and sugar." Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan , the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1933.

Info courtesy: Mohammed Ayub Ali Khan

First Rolls Royce car in Hyderabad India

"One of the first Rolls Royce in India – the Nizam of Hyderabad’s 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Throne car – has been restored to its original glory. : http://www.carsuk.net/ In 1911 the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad – Mehboob Ali Khan - ordered a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, and had it sent off to Bakers of Edinburgh to create a very special body, fit for Nizam (think Maharajah, the generic term for Indian Royalty)." continue reading  http://www.carsuk.net/

Must Watch if u r a hyderabadi : Unknown Facts About HYDERABAD!!!

*** Must Watch if u r a hyderbadi ***