After the newspaper article Hussain rightly declares his pride in his grandfather but he has not quite got the point here. The statue is to celebrate personally this very special leader. Hussain worries that the asian troops are not sufficiently remembered and yet they were the overwhelming majority of the victorious – and now famous - "Forgotten Army". The story might have mentioned the large body of colonial African troops that took part, lest we forget them too. The Royal Air Force played a most important part in the victory, both firstly by cutting the supply lines to the Japanese who might otherwise have overwhelmed the defenders of Imphal and Kohima and then by supplying our advancing forces. These airmen often felt that, in theatre at the time and even in the published official histories, they were the Forgotten Air Force. Slim's leadership depended on (and made the most of) a general understanding at all levels that the allied fighters were doing the right thing. Iraq now shows (as the Viet Nam war showed) how, without such leadership and such general conviction, no amount of money and equipment can assure victory. Rupert Butler -----Original Message----- From: india-british-raj-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:india-british-raj-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Sent: 30 April 2008 09:43 To: india-british-raj@rootsweb.com Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN ARMY Snipped from http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=display Content&sourceNode=231190&home=yes&more_nodeId1=144922&contentPK=20497561 REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN ARMY Date : 29.04.08 Up to one million troops faced death, injury and disease every day during the long campaign to push the Japanese out of Burma. They were the Forgotten Army - out of sight and, to most of the British public, out of mind. Their leader, General Bill Slim, is only now being properly remembered in Bristol, the city of his birth. TORBEN LEE tells the story of Slim's Heroes. Huge distances, appalling weather, difficult terrain, tortuous lines of communication, rampant diseases, the strange jungle environment and the seemingly unbeatable Japanese. That, along with the low priority his campaign held in Allied strategy, is how Bristol-born Bill Slim, commander of the 14th Army, remembered the Burma Campaign of 1943-45. [snip] ======================= ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1404 - Release Date: 29/04/2008 18:27 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1404 - Release Date: 29/04/2008 18:27

18th of September marks the anniversary of the Great Landslide of 1880, when the town of Nainital, then with a population of just 6000, lost 151 people in a landslide. 1 At http://mynainital.com/history.htm#Landslides you'll get the history of this tragedy, plus two old photographs from British Library, showing the town before and after the mishap. 2 And at http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/7lyrc10.txt you'll find the etext of an old book which contains a poem narrating this event. '' THE NAINI TAL CATASTROPHE OF THE 18TH SEPTEMBER, 1880'' by H. S. BATTERSBY. From his HOME LYRICS - A Book of Poems, VOL II. =============== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

If anyone would like a copy of an article "Virtual Verandah. How The Internet Has Brought Anglo-Indians Together" by Lionel Lumb contact me off-line Pat

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/28/wpak128.xml or http://tinyurl.com/3hnhtn ooroo If you don't hear the knock of opportunity - build a door. Anon.

>From http://howrah.org/india_news/10624.html Gorkha troops' fate worries Army By SRIDHAR KUMARASWAMI New Delhi, April 27: Mention the Gorkhas and images of the dreaded curved blade (khukhri) wielded by fierce little hill-men comes rushing to one's mind. The Maoist threat of stopping further recruitment of Nepalese Gorkhas in the Indian Army may soon bring down the curtains on nearly two centuries of glorious military tradition and history and one of the finest tribe of soldiers ever to serve in the Indian Army. The ministry of defence (MoD) and Indian Army have so far maintained a silence on the issue. But Army officers that this newspaper spoke to, said that any future ban on recruitment of Nepalese Gorkhas into the Army would be a tragedy for the force besides depriving some of the finest soldiers in the world and their families from a means of livelihood that they have been accustomed to for nearly 200 years. There are currently an estimated 30,000 Nepalese Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army. There are seven Gorkha regiments (of the Gorkha Rifles) in the Army, in which there are both Nepalese and Indian Gorkha soldiers serving. Gorkha regiments have won numerous gallantry, including two Param Vir Chakras. The legendary Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, now in his nineties, was himself an officer from the 8 Gorkha Rifles. The first batch of Gorkha soldiers joined the British Indian Army of the East India Company in 1815 ahead of the imminent defeat of Nepal in the Anglo-Nepal War from 1814 to 1816. The Gorkhas, a sturdy hill-tribe from Nepal had established their own kingdom in the country in 1768, which eventually included Nepal, Sikkim, Kumaon, Garhwal, the Terai region and Kangra. But it was British commander, Sir David Ochterlony, who first recognised that the bravery of the Gorkha troops would serve the Indian Army well. The first Gorkha regiment was the Nasiri Regiment commissioned in 1815. From then on, the Gorkhas distinguished themselves in numerous military campaigns that included the crushing of the 1857 rebellion, the Afghan wars and the First and Second World Wars. The Gorkhas were also accorded the status of "martial race" by the British for their bravery, aggression and war-like traits that made them reliable soldiers. In 1947, a tripartite agreement was signed between India, Britain and Nepal in which six of the 10 existing regiments of the Gorkhas in the British Indian Army joined the Indian Army, while the other four joined the British Army. The Indo-Nepal Friendship Treaty of 1950 that cemented the "special relationship" between the two countries, further resolved that "neither government shall tolerate any threat to the security of the other by a foreign aggressor". Over the years however, Nepalese discomfort with the treaty grew, peaking at times such as the merger of Sikkim (once a part of the Nepalese Gorkha empire) into the Indian Union in 1974. A senior Indian Army officer at the Army headquarters told this newspaper on condition of anonymity that the Indian Army was "waiting and watching" the situation as it unfolded in the neighbouring Himalayan country. "There are about 30,000 Nepalese Gorkhas in the Indian Army. Any ban on recruitment of Gorkhas will amount to snatching away their livelihood and way of life that they have been used to for nearly two centuries," the officer said. Another senior Army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity added, "While there is a large shortfall of officers in the Indian Army, there is no shortfall of soldiers. So, there is no danger as such. Also, Indian Gorkhas will always join the Army. But definitely, the Indian Army will not be the same if Nepalese Gorkhas are not allowed to sign up. It is a question of losing one of the finest military traditions of our Army." ======== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

The actual poem "Gehazi": http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/verse/p1/ge hazi.html Rupert Butler -----Original Message----- From: india-british-raj-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:india-british-raj-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Sent: 26 April 2008 16:13 To: india-british-raj@rootsweb.com Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Rufus Isaacs,1st Marquess of Reading - India and Kipling's poem "Gehazi", a single poem by Rudyard Kipling - written in 1915 and first formally published in his collection of verse, The Years Between, in 1919 [Methuen, London], is considered the BEST hate poem in the entire poetical canon of English language. 1 All about the poem "Gehazi": http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_gehazi_moore.htm 2 All about Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Isaacs,_1st_Marquess_of_Reading 3 From the NEW YORK TIMES, January 6, 1921, Thursday Lord Reading conferred with Lloyd George yesterday morning on the offer made to him of the appointment as Viceroy of India. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E5D6143CE533A25755C0A9679 C946095D6CF 4 From http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/11/22/edold.t_43.php LONDON - Lord Reading, Viceroy of India, recently had a narrow escape from death, according to private cables received at London to-day [Nov. 21]. It was reported that Lord Reading, while golfing at Calcutta, was setting a line for his putt on the eighteenth green when a large hooded cobra raised itself up ready to strike from a short distance at the back of the Viceroy. Before it could move, however, Lord Reading's secretary rushed forward and killed the snake with a golf club. 5 Isaacs Week, from Time, dated Monday, Jan. 19, 1931 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740874,00.html?iid=chix-sph ere ======== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.5/1398 - Release Date: 25/04/2008 14:31 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.5/1399 - Release Date: 26/04/2008 14:17

Not really British Raj, but well, since they were in Goa, India, around the same time, I thought of sharing this news of the downfall of the once-mighty Portuguese with you. :-) ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India As spelling changes, Portugal feels the empire striking back LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Portugal's former empire is striking back - through language. As Brazil rises on the international stage and its one-time colonial master wanes, a proposed standardization of the Portuguese language would require hundreds of words to be spelled the Brazilian way. The Portuguese government approves, but some here are mortified. [snip] http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hzaNVZFXuPcnLm-mMOA251aYDO_gD909LCRG0

"Gehazi", a single poem by Rudyard Kipling - written in 1915 and first formally published in his collection of verse, The Years Between, in 1919 [Methuen, London], is considered the BEST hate poem in the entire poetical canon of English language. 1 All about the poem "Gehazi": http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_gehazi_moore.htm 2 All about Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Isaacs,_1st_Marquess_of_Reading 3 From the NEW YORK TIMES, January 6, 1921, Thursday Lord Reading conferred with Lloyd George yesterday morning on the offer made to him of the appointment as Viceroy of India. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E5D6143CE533A25755C0A9679C946095D6CF 4 From http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/11/22/edold.t_43.php LONDON - Lord Reading, Viceroy of India, recently had a narrow escape from death, according to private cables received at London to-day [Nov. 21]. It was reported that Lord Reading, while golfing at Calcutta, was setting a line for his putt on the eighteenth green when a large hooded cobra raised itself up ready to strike from a short distance at the back of the Viceroy. Before it could move, however, Lord Reading's secretary rushed forward and killed the snake with a golf club. 5 Isaacs Week, from Time, dated Monday, Jan. 19, 1931 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740874,00.html?iid=chix-sphere ======== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Still speaking of old movies, here is a gem for free download at youtube. The entire B&W movie 'Gunga Din', starring Carry Grant and Sam Jaffe, split in 13 parts. It's a fun movie based on Kipling's characters; although historically a fantasy and politically not correct by a huge degree. ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

April 25, 2008 GLOBALIZATION AND JUTE: BENGAL & DUNDEE: An excelent article with some old photos. And it begins with a synopsis of Jean Renoir's 1951 movie, The River (a story told through three girls on the brink of adulthood. Harriet, the daughter of the English manager of a jute mill on the banks of the Ganges; Radha, the daughter of their English neighbor whose mother was Indian; and Valerie, the daughter of a wealthy English couple whom we never meet. ) http://cambridgeforecast.wordpress.com/2008/04/25/globalization-and-jute-bengal-dundee/ ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Dear Listers, If you visit www.archive.org, go to 'Texts' and enter the search word Bombay you will get a long list of books spread over several pages. The first 3 or 4 pages contain several rare books about Bombay, such as James Douglas's book on Bombay (2 vols), several books by Edwardes on Bombay Police, Bombay Place-names and Street-names by Sheppard etc. You can browse through and select what interests you. On a given topic this site does not give as many links as books.google.com but what it gives is complete. All books are available in several formats, including .pdf and the downloads are fast. I found the format DiVu very user-friendly for online reading. The books that appear after the first 3 or 4 pages do not seem to have anything to do with Bombay. For example, what would Omar Khayyam be doing here? Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, April 25, 2008.

Govt drags its feet over war memorial http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080047726&ch =4/23/2008%208:56:00%20PM# Wednesday, April 23, 2008 (New Delhi) Most civilians think India Gate is a memorial for India's military personnel killed in action, but it is only for those who fought for the British Empire before Independence. India's soldiers who died trying to save us, their memory is discarded in the dingy corridors of South Block. For seven years the armed forces have been desperately trying to build a war memorial to honour the brave Indian soldiers. The latest proposal was prepared in 2001, it went back and forth for five years because the Army and urban development ministry could not agree on the height of the walls and the design of the memorial proposed at India Gate in 2006 even President Kalam personally pushed for it without much luck. ''War memorial is a temple for a soldier, surely independent India should have an imposing war memorial. Yet the babus are quibbling over whether the walls should four feet high or two feet high,'' said Lt Gen (Retd) Vijay Oberoi, former Vice Chief of Army Staff. Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor even went and met Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy last fortnight despite that meeting, there has been no progress, although the two sides have met again in March presumably to take a final call as has been the case in the last six years. Consider this: War over memorial January 2001: Latest proposal prepared, it goes back and forth till 2006 >From 2001 to 2006 no movement October 2006: Central Vistas Committee wants height of the walls reduced Five years later urban development ministry wants height of wall reduced November 2006: Fresh proposal with reduced wall height sent again to ministry A month later another proposal sent March 2008: Another meeting between Army and urban development ministry officials Two sides meet again, no progress April 2008: Army chief pushes the case with urban development minister Army Chief meets urban development minister for the memorial ''The earlier it is done the better it would be for the country, a proposal is with the government,'' said Gen Deepak Kapoor, Chief of Army Staff. While the government continues to drags its feet, difficult working conditions and a meagre pay perhaps hurts less than the fact that not a inch of land has been set aside to remember those heroes who died to protect it. =============== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Wednesday April 23rd 2008 Gurkha captain Kushalsing Gurung, 72, served in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers (QGE) for 30 years. He was stationed in Malaysia (then Malaya) and Hong Kong, where he built roads and bridges throughout his long career. He is one of thousands of retired Gurkha veterans currently fighting a new battle - to extract from the UK government the same pension that is given to British soldiers. Kushalsing Gurung was interviewed by Katie Monk. Full text at: http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=569&catID=9 ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Vasakh film festival starts http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=108623 4/24/2008 LAHORE VASAKH Film Festival has begun, at two locations at the same time, Dorab Patel Hall at Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Formanite Christian College, with an objective of encouraging independent thought and sharing the larger South Asian experiences with Lahoris. 'The Sky Below', another documentary made by Sara Singh painted a contemporary portrait of India and Pakistan. In the film, Singh explored the lingering commonalities as well as the remaining possibilities for reconciliation based on the countries' interwoven histories, cultures and faiths. >From both Pakistan and India, the audiences heard first-person recollections from the time of partition as well as the views of former militants, politicians, royalty, ordinary citizens, historians and others in the documentary. The last documentary which displayed at HRCP was 'Taropa Bharr Laeay Langhar Da' made by Huma Safdar, which described how Ahmed Khan Kharal had risen up against the British Colonists, which led to a rebellion that lasted long after Delhi had fallen in 1857. Eventually, the ill-equipped rebels succumbed to the British Empire's war machine. The captured were executed or deported to Kalapani (Andaman Island) for life. This war was no where to be found in history books but the people of Sahiwal district had kept the memory alive in songs and dholay, which were still sung today. [snipped] ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Thu 24 Apr 2008 From scotsman.com Today is Anzacs day, commemorating the ill-fated landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Ari Burnu on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915. 8,709 Australians and 2,701 New Zealanders lost their lives. Somewhat overlooked are the other nations' dead. Over 21,000 British and Irish troops died; nearly 10,000 French troops and over 1,300 from India. Not to mention the 86,000 Turkish dead. By the end of the campaign, over 130,000 troops from all sides were dead and Gallipoli remained in Turkish hands. ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Dear Harshoo - Thank you very much indeed for the pieces you send to the List .... much appreciated. You have your finger placed firmly on the pulse . If nostalgia was a commodity, you would be rich ! Wishes Sally Stewart 22 April 2008 The Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Home-of-Kipling-novel-on.4004762.jp Home of Kipling novel on sale

Abject apologies yet AGAIN. I thought the article interesting and meant to send to a friend for her pleasure. Wishes ....... S. Stewart P.S Outlook Express should be designed so that - when one clicks on SEND - a window drops down to ask "Are You Sure?" I wonder if Bill Gates would oblige?

Something to pore over when there's nowt else to entertain. Love much Sally > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7325117.stm > > Monday, 21 April 2008 > > Why Britons walked warily in Waziristan > > BBC News > > In 1919, a young British army officer, Francis Stockdale, was deployed to > the > Waziristan area of British India. > > The title of his book, "Walk Warily in Waziristan" seems no less > appropriate now > than it did 90 years ago, because today the autonomous Pakistani tribal > region > of North and South Waziristan is the centre of militancy orchestrated by > pro-Taleban and al-Qaeda militants. > > It is also an area where many believe the al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin > Laden, may > be hiding after the September 2001 World Trade Centre attacks. > > It wasn't until the 1980s that Capt Stockdale's family published a handful > of > copies of the book, only a few of which survive. But because or renewed > interest > in the region, the family in the English county of Norfolk are considering > reprinting it. > > 'Wait, watch and pounce' > > The book provides a fascinating account of what was regarded then - as it > is > today - as a thoroughly dangerous area. > > One of the main towns close to Waziristan is Tank. Capt Stockdale > describes it > as being "the worst station in British India". > > "It was known as 'Hell's door knocker' because in the summer the > temperature > would rise so high that a village nearby rejoiced in the highest > temperature in > the world - a modest 131 degrees in the shade. > > "But it was also an area where hostile tribesman waited, watched and > pounced," > he wrote. > > "My memories of Tank are characterised by sporadic outbreaks of rifle fire > by > night and spasmodic outbreaks of cholera during the day. The town fully > deserved > its poor reputation." > > Capt Stockdale goes on to describe just how dangerous the "hostile > tribesmen" > were in the Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, when a sniper > infiltrated > a British camp. > > "Like all tribesmen in this area, he was a marvellous shot," Capt > Stockdale > wrote, "and he killed the commanding officer with his first shot. > > "He killed or wounded 11 other men before his hiding place was > discovered." > > Ninety years ago, it seemed that British troops in Waziristan faced the > same > kind of dangers as Pakistani troops in the region do today. > > "One one occasion, tribesmen rolled down boulders in front of a military > convoy - effectively cutting them off. I could hear the firing in the > distance > and there were lots of casualties." > > Getting captured, it seemed, was not an option: "It would result in death > by > torture, an activity which I was informed the tribal women folk used to > luxuriate." > > The shortage of female company in these remote outposts of the British > empire > played heavily on officers and men alike. > > Capt Stockdale describes the lucky escape of one soldier who took to > writing > passionate letters to his wife and his mistress from a British encampment > in the > region that was surrounded by tribesmen. > > "Waiting for a target, they got bored and fired a bullet at random into > the > camp. It removed the digit finger of the man's right hand as he was > writing to > the loves of his life. > > "That incident kept me on the straight and narrow path for many months to > come - > not that there were many opportunities in Waziristan to be tempted or led > astray!" > > A book packed with colourful reminiscences, Capt Stockdale describes many > of his > brother officers. > > These included Whipples, who wore a monocle every time the bullets started > flying and specialised in using camels to provide supplies of whisky and > gin in > remote areas. > > "The tribesmen got Whipples in the end and I guarantee the monocle was in > when > the last bullet hit him," he wrote. > > He also describes attempts by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to drop bombs > on > tribesmen encamped close to the border with Afghanistan. > > "Their bombs did not always explode upon hitting the earth and the > tribesmen > soon adapted themselves to shooting at flying targets. The pilots carried > ransom > papers, so if they were captured and returned to safety, the reward would > be > large." > > Some of the unexploded bombs dropped by the RFC were "collected by the > tribesmen > who used them to decorate their mud huts or houses". > > Local fighters in the 1920s were as tough then as they are now. > > "We often used to ask ourselves, how could they survive so long living in > a > rocky area, with a film of earth capable of growing only scrub trees?" > > Capt Stockdale ended up serving two years in Waziristan and considered > himself > lucky to be returning home. > > "Many of my friends were killed, but I lived 60 years since then," he > wrote. > > Capt Stockdale - who was later promoted to be a major - died in 1989 aged > 93. > ====================== > > ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar > Nagpur, India > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Making money the royal way! 23 Apr, 2008, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Making_money_the_royal_way_/articleshow/2975511.cms HYDERABAD: Even as his heirs prepare to slug it out for the £30 million lying in a London bank, Nizam Osman Ali Khan's propensity to make money - through nazars - would even shame present day politicians. This being the case, who should the Nizam's money go to, asks Kingshuk Nag. The seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan was the fifth richest man to ever walk on the world, as per the Forbes list of 2008. The Nizam's worth has been estimated by Forbes to be around $210.8 billion, if his riches are adjusted to the present value of the dollar. The world's richest man living, Bill Gates pales in comparison, as he is worth only $56 billion! At the peak of his "earning" period in 1936, Osman Ali Khan's worth was estimated to be $2 billion. This was when the Nizam had completed a quarter century as the ruler of Hyderabad state and tales of his riches had travelled far and wide. So much so that the Time magazine did a cover story on him in 1937 dubbing him as the richest man in the world and talked of the fabulous collections of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls and other gems in his possession. The Nizam's riches included the 185-carat Jacob diamond that was casually used as a paperweight by him. Described as "miserly" much of the Nizam's fabulous riches remained in trunks in the godown of his King Kothi palace. Newspapers like New York Times which had deputed their representatives to witness the celebration of Nizam's twenty five years on the throne estimated that the combined riches of Henry Ford and his son was less than half the value of the jewels possessed by Mir Osman Ali Khan. How Did He Become So Rich? Mir Osman Ali Khan, who had been conferred the title of His Exalted Highness by the British the only Indian prince to be given this status, presided over Hyderabad state which at that time sprawled across 2,23,000 square km or the present size of Great Britain. His territories spread over present day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra and what is interesting is that his private estates (jagirs, also called sarf-i-khas land) accounted for a significant 30 per cent of this land mass. Duncan McKenzie, the English resident in 1936 estimated that (because of his large land holdings) the Nizam's annual income was 19.5 per cent of the gross revenues and 27.3 per cent of the net revenues of the state. Other than this the Nizam was entitled as per the scheme of things for customs revenue from Hyderabad city and surrounding tracts. He also drew money from diwani or state funds, corresponding to a civil list. McKenzie found that the Nizam's income from sarf-i-khas in 1936 was Rs 1,50,00,000 and from customs Rs 17,50,000. It was the view of the then government in Delhi that in probability no ruler in history had posessed so large a private fortune and his private hoards were almost beyond computation. Nazar And Bribes Other than earnings from his jagirs, the Nizam was also making a lot of moolah from nazar or gifts from his nobles, state officials and anybody who had work with him. McKenzie (as per John Zubrzycki who authored the book The Last Nizam and based his information on political papers lodged in the British Library) estimated that he was annually making Rs 2 lakh in nazars and great deal more in bribes. MacKenzie became the resident in 1935, but that was much after the British government which had labelled him as a "Faithful ally of the British crown" had felt the need for constraining the Nizam from collecting nazars which was nothing but a sophisticated way of extortion. Admittedly , however, the practice of nazar or nazarana was not an invention of Mir Osman Ali Khan. It had been prevalent in the Mughal courts and since the Nizams were a breakway from the former, the practices were inherited. By 1920, the practice of nazar had become omnipresent and so pernicious in the Nizam's court that even the British - who generally looked the other way at corrupt practices of Indian princes - started to find it extremely disconcerting. So bad was the situation that the then British resident Barton wrote in communication to his bosses (and quoted by Zubrzycki): "The nazar system is poisoning public life. The ruler is prepared to interfere in almost any matter on receipt of a nazar and is accessible to anyone for the purpose . Most of the important appointments are filled by men who have paid the highest nazar." Former civil servant V K Bawa in his seminal work on Mir Osman Ali Khan notes that: "There were rumours regarding the sale of appointments for Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 for the post of taluqdar or district officer. The Nizam (when countered by the British resident) said that he reserved the right to accept any amount offered... " Osman Ali, of course, asserted that he was taking only a few ashrafis. But the worst example of nazar was witnessed when in March 1923 a circular was issued from the Nizam's education department inviting students of middle schools to meet with the Nizam at Hyderabad's public gardens. The invitation specified the amount that the "student would have the honour of presenting" to his exalted Highness. The Resident was upset with this circular , and fourteen letters and prolonged negotiations later, a reluctant Nizam ordered it to be withdrawn. But the Nizam's view remained that nazars were a time honoured practice and withdrawing them would lead to resentment amongst the public. The Nizam's private secretary and later Sadr-i-Azam , Fariuddun-ul-Mulk however told the English resident that popular feeling against the practice was intense and that the Nizam had a mania for collecting nazars, according to Bawa. Zubrzycki notes in his book that the Nizam even insisted on receiving nazars from anyone unlucky enough to receive gifts from the palace such as vegetables, honey, mangoes from the royal gardens and even paan. Of course, employees of the state also had to pay nazars and this depended on the pay that they were drawing. Subordinates getting between Rs 30 and Rs 60 had to pay Rs 15 and those getting between Rs 60 and Rs 100 to pay Rs 30. Apart from revenue officials in the villages, the villages as a whole were not exempt and they had to pay five goats, ten fowls, two cart load of grass and tent pegs. The Nizam was however quite democratic in his demands for nazars. Not only were both Muslims and Hindus the victims of this practice, Mir Osman Ali Khan did not even leave his half brothers . Their father - who was then Nizam - had bought some property for his half brother Salabat Jah in Bombay but after his accession Mir Osman Ali got the property transferred in his name. Not Merely Money Making Machine The Nizam was not rich merely because he excelled in the art of money making. He also inherited much riches from his father. This included jewellery, pearls, kilos of uncut diamonds, tonnes of bullion, and huge quantity of currency notes. Interesting to note when Mir Osman Ali Khan became the ruler of Hyderabad in 1911, the state treasury was nearly bankrupt, his father Mahbub Ali Pasha being profligate. But that was the state of the state; the personal wealth of the Nizams accumulated through six generations remained intact. The Nizams had inherited the state from the Mughals who had conquered it from the Qutub Shahis who ruled from Golcanda . Included in their territories were the world famous Golconda mines that yielded big size diamonds. The Nizam established their rule at a time when the Mughal empire was collapsing and north India was in turmoil. Nadir Shah had sacked and pillaged Delhi and stripped the capital of its riches but it is possible that the first Nizam was able to make away with some riches from the Capital. In the subsequent decades even as the Nizams became big players in the South, they made their pile from various conquests of local rajas or deals with even bigger chieftains like Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu Sultan. Whose Riches Are It, Anyway? Even as the heirs of the Nizam, the Government of India and the Pakistani government get set to settle the issue of £30 million lying in a bank account in NatWest Bank in London, the question is whose money is it anyway? As is known, the money was put in the account of the Pakistan's high commissioner to London, Habib Ibrahim Rahimatoola by the Nizam's finance minister Mir Nawaz Jung. At that time September 1948 - the cash deposited was merely one million pounds. Though shrouded in mystery the money was probably sent abroad to be used for lobbying for an independent Hyderabad state. With many claimants the sum in question was frozen in spite of strenuous efforts by Mir Osman Ali Khan during his life time to get it back. The representatives of Osman Ali Khan's grandson Mukarram Jah who was annointed as the Nizam after him are said to have been instrumental in convincing the Government of India to agree to come to the negotiating table. Mukarram's belief is that as the officially recognised heir of Osman Ali Khan, he should be the beneficiary of the £30 million. But the other progeny of the Nizam and the progeny of this progeny - who total some four hundred, have other ideas. With Hyderabad state now abolished and there being no Nizam, they say that the riches should be distributed in accordance with the provisions of the Muslim personal law. However, some analysts say that the money transferred was that of the Hyderabad state and did not belong to Mir Osman Ali Khan's sarf-i-khas . Therefore , there is no question of the money going to the heirs of the Nizam. But irrespective of this issue, doesn't the manner in which Osman Ali Khan made his money, morally oblige the Indian government to ask for the entire moolah for the people of Hyderabad? ========================= ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India

Dear List, An interesting article on early photography in India http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_/ai_n14421662 Good wishes, Hilda Payne Masterton, NZ