The Nizams of Hyderabad and their succession: A Tussle for the IX Nizam Title

The Nizams of Hyderabad and their succession: A Tussle for the IX Nizam Title

Zeenathfar Azmi Syed ^*

Ph.D Senior Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad, TS-India

Corresponding Author Email: zeenathfarazmi369@gmail.com

DOI : https://doi.org/10.51470/JOD.2023.2.1.13

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INTRODUCTION

The Nizams, who governed the former princely state of Hyderabad for a span of 224 years, evoke diverse notions of diligence, opulence, and extravagance. There were seven Nizams, also known as Asaf Jahis, who ruled Hyderabad; the seventh, Asaf Jah Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, ruled until 1948. Hyderabad state, which was ruled for more than two centuries by Nizams, has made significant strides in every development sector, which gave a new outlook and had a transformative effect on different sectors like health, education, irrigation, the judiciary, police, archaeology, art, and many more. Today, everyone can witness and reap the fruits of the seeds they sowed. It is important to acknowledge their astute leadership, statesmanship, visionary inputs, and farsightedness that have contributed to the advancement of society.

In January 2023, following the death of the VIII Nizam, Prince Mukkaram Jah, and a bewildering situation arose in Hyderabad regarding the title of IX Nizam of Hyderabad and the leader of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. Prince Azmat Jah, the eldest son of the eighth Nizam, proclaimed himself to be the ninth Nizam of Hyderabad, purportedly transferring his father’s erstwhile title to himself in the Chowmahalla Palace with a miniscule number of his immediate family members, which even excluded his father’s own brother, his own brother, and the claimant sister. He invited just a couple of family friends and a half dozen staffers, which included trust officials and domestic servants. Let alone informing his extended family, even his entire immediate family was left out. There was this obvious selfishness and expressed utter disregard for all but a few in the family, the already confirmed and consistent indifference, lack of communication, and attitude of unilateral actions, which only helped Azmet Jah now and earlier, his late father, gain from self-serving financial actions. This was the final provocation that propelled Majlis-E-Sahebzadegan, along with a majority of the grand children of the VII Nizam, to crown Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan (who is the great grandson of the VI Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan) as the IX Nizam. It is important to note that this title signifies his position as the leader of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty, rather than the ruler of Hyderabad. This ceremony took place at Khaja Ka Chilla in the Old City of Moghalpura. Though religiously significant, this modest venue, located between the weakest members of the family, was chosen to show solidarity. Majlis-e-Sahebzadagan is a society that was founded in 1932 by Mir Osman Ali Khan. The society, which represents almost all of the 4,500 Sahebzadas and Sahebzadis (direct descendants of Nizam I-VI), consists of 4,500 members. Combined with descendants of the VII Nizam, they represent the I to IX Nizam’s family.

Genesis of the Nizams from the perspective of their tryst with India

Kilich Khan was the grandfather of Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan (yet to be the first Nizam; a similar title of ‘Chin Qilich Khan’ was subsequently conferred on Qamaruddin, causing much confusion). Kilich Khan was from modern-day Samarkand, Uzbekistan¹. Kilich Khan arrived in India for the first time in 1654 en route to the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. In 1657, after concluding the pilgrimage, he moved to India and joined the army of erstwhile Mughal Prince Aurangzeb in the Deccan². In January 1687, Mughal commander Kilich Khan had tried and failed in an attempt at conquering Golconda and eventually he was hit by a cannon ball which led to his entombment near fort itself³. Qamar-ud-din Khan participated in the Battle of Samugarh, which resulted in the defeat of Dara Shikoh (the elder brother of Aurangzeb and the likely successor to the throne, and Aurangazeb also had Shah Jahan, their father, jailed)⁴. In addition to serving as a commander in Aurangzeb’s army, he was also the governor of Zafarabad (present-day Bidar)⁵.

The transition of power from the Mughal Empire to the Nizams: A concise historical overview

Khilij Khan’s eldest son and Qamaruddin’s father, Ghayas Uddin Feroze Jung, migrated to India in 1669, got employed in Aurangzeb’s army, was raised to the rank of general, and later served as governor of Gujarat.⁶

Ghayasuddin Feroz Jung, Qamruddin’s father, had followed Aurangazeb as his general in the victorious campaign of Aurangazeb that toppled Qutub shahi dynasty at Golconda fort in 1687, giving the Moghuls power in the south by taking over Hyderabad, which was originally founded by the Qutub Shahis.⁷

At the age of six, in 1677, Mir Qamaruddin accompanied his father to the Mughal court. Aurangzeb granted him a mansab. Mir Qamaruddin had notable prowess as a combatant, and throughout his adolescent years, he started participating in military campaigns with his father. At the age of 17, in the year 1688, he participated in a victorious attack on the fort of Adoni with his father. At the age of 19, in the year 1690, he was granted the title of Chin Qilich Khan (signifying a young swordsman).⁸

Farrukhsiyar, the grandson of Aurangzeb, appointed Qamaruddin Khan to the position of governor of Oudh following Aurangzeb’s passing in 1707. In the year 1714, Farrukhsiyar, the Mughal emperor, designated Qamaruddin as the Viceroy of the Deccan. This role included the administration of six governorates under Mughal rule. Qamaruddin Khan was bestowed with the titles Nizam-ul-Mulk, which denoted his position as the administrator of the realm, and Fateh Jung⁹. In the year 1719, Farrukhsiyar sought the assistance of Nizam-ul-Mulk in fighting the Sayyid Brothers. Farrukhsiyar lost his struggle against the Sayyid Brothers and was killed in 1719.¹⁰

Nizam-Ul-Mulk mobilised Central Asian nobles in the Mughal court against the Sayyid brothers between 1719 and 1722 to expel them. ¹¹ After defeating the Sayyid brothers, Mohammed Shah became the independent Mughal Emperor and granted the title of Grand Vazir (Prime Minister) to Asaf Jah 1 in 1722.¹²

Nizam-ul-Mulk’s conflicts with the court nobility grew in 1723, and Muhammad Shah sent him from the Delhi court to Awadh out of concern about his growing influence. By the end of the year 1723, Nizam revolted against the established order, resigned from his position as Grand Vizier, abdicated all imperial duties, and marched towards the Deccan. In the Battle of Shakar Kheda, Mubariz Khan, the Governor of Hyderabad, was defeated by Nizam-ul-Mulk.¹³ Following Asaf Jah I’s victory against Mubariz Khan in 1724, the Mughal emperor appointed him viceroy of the Deccan.

Nadir Shah attacked Delhi in 1738–1739. Muhammad Shah sent Nizam-ul Mulk to negotiate; he served as an important mediator during Nadir Shah’s invasion and was ultimately responsible for the establishment of peace. ¹⁴ Muhammad Shah bestowed the office of Amir-ul-Umara Bakshi-ul-Mumalik on him in recognition of his outstanding service to the Mughal Empire.¹⁵

In his book Masir-i-Nizam, Mansaram, the secretary of Nizam-ul-Mulk, claims that Nadir Shah (a Persian king), after defeating the Mughals, offered first Nizam the duty of overseeing the Indian Empire prior to his departure. But Nizam refused and replied “that his ancestors and he himself have been in the service of the kings of Delhi since ancient times, and such an act of impropriety will make him eternally notorious in history for being disloyal”.¹⁶

The Birth of a Dynasty: An Overview of the Succession of the Nizam Title from the I-VIII Nizam

Having both titles in hand, Qamaruddin established his position as viceroy/subedar of the Mughals over Deccan and initiated the Asaf Jahi dynasty of the Nizams in Hyderabad on October 11th, 1724.¹⁷ However, it’s a point of fact that the tiles of Nizam Ul Mulk and Asaf Jah were bestowed on Qamaruddin’s descendants on the viceroy/Subedar Gaddi from time to time by the Mughal emperors up to the point of the exile of Bahadur Shah Zafar (who was the last Mughal, by the British) coinciding with the 5th Subedar, Nizam Afzal Ud Dowla, in 1758. Thereon, the Nizams were their own lords and masters as sovereign rulers.¹⁸

Asaf Jah was married to Said-Un-Nissa Begum, who belonged to a Sayed family from Gulbargah. From this marriage he had four children, two daughters; one of them being Khair-un-Nisa Begum¹⁹ and two sons; Ghazi-ud-din Feroz Jung and Nasir Jung (later nizam). From other wives he had four more sons; Salabat Jung (later Nizam), Nizam Ali Khan (later Nizam), Basalat Jung, and Mogal Ali Khan.²⁰

In 1748, at the age of 76, Nizam Mir Qamaruddin Khan passed away after a 24-year reign.²¹ With the passing of the Nizam, the Deccan once more became the focal point of a power conflict between the British, the French, the Marathas, and the First Nizam’s sons and descendants, Nasir Jung (who was the second son), Muzaffar Jung (who was the grandson), and Salabat Jung (who was the third son), each held the Subhedari of the Deccan for over 14 years at different times.²²

According to the 1749 British archives of Fort St. George, Nizam-ul-Mulk proposed appointing Muzaffar Jung as a replacement for Nasir Jung due to his dissatisfaction with Nasir Jung’s behaviour. He recommended granting the Circars of Adoni and Raichur to Muzaffar Jung, with the approval of the Padishah.²³

Nasir Jung being Nizam-ul-Mulk’s son (i.e. have some claim to the Deccan Subah) and Muzaffar Jung being his favourite grandson  lead the succession of one of the most important Subahs of Mughal empire into a severe crisis with was well exploited first by the French and then by British.²⁴

Following his victory against Nasir Jung, Muzaffar Jung ascended to the position of Nizam with the assistance of the French. Muzaffar Jung was the son of Sahibzadi Khair-un-nisa begum, who was the daughter of Nizam-ul-Mulk.²⁵ He ruled Hyderabad until his death in 1751, and his death was in the hands of Afghans along with Nawab of Kurnool, who struck him in the head with the spear. It is noteworthy that Muzaffar Jung, who had the distinction of being the favoured grandson of Asaf Jah I, was the only factor that caused Nasir Jung to pause in carrying out his execution when he was incarcerated during the Second Carnatic War.²⁶ The untimely death of Muzaffar Jung resulted in the ascension of his uncle, Salabat Jung, as the new Nizam. Salabat Jung, who was the younger brother of Nazir Jung, assumed the position after being installed as the successor.²⁷ However, Salabat Jung’s reign was short-lived, as he was subsequently overthrown by his younger brother, Nizam Ali Khan, with the assistance of the British and the Marathas.²⁸

This history also shows the trends of the times and the flexible principles of the Mughals when they clashed with their convenience. The first son of Qamruddin (Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung II), who served the Mughals at Delhi court loyally and was supported by the Mughals to claim the Subedar seat after Muzaffar died in the Deccan,²⁹ was widely known to have been poisoned by the mother-and-son duo of Nizam Ali Khan. Yet Nizam Ali Khan was annointed as Asaf Jah II and Nizam-Ul-Mulk II by the Mughals, who entertained no grudge against Nizam Ali Khan.

In this dynasty, it also shows that external powers were kingmakers too, from time to time. The French were totally instrumental in putting the 1st Nizam’s third son Salabat Jung in the administrative seat of power and rule in Deccan. No primogeniture here. This was accepted by the Moghuls too who bestowed grand titles in variance to the 1st Nizam.

It is very strange but pertinent to mention here that the Nizam second (Nizam Ali Khan) was in fact the nizam fifth as the Mughal subedar just because the title of the first subedar Qamaruddin was Nizam Ul Mulk as well as Asaf Jah.  It is more important in a recounting dynasty that people as subedars with Mughal titles as accepted Mughal subedars though with other titles,

As one to seven ruling ones but omitting three sons and a grandson who ruled as Subedars from the seat of the first Nizam Ul Mulk as well as Asaf Jah and got titles from Mughals as acceptance, but receiving Mughal titles in variation to “Asaf Jah” or “Nizam Ul Mulk”, making them as valid as the others in being counted and acknowledged as the sequence of Subedar rulers of the Deccan under Mughals.

In the year 1762, Mir Nizam Ali Khan (his given name), the fourth son of the Nizam, was bestowed by Mughal rulers as Asaf Jah II and Nizam-ul-Mulk. At the age of 28, Nizam Ali Khan became Subhedar of the Deccan and ruled the region for nearly 42 years. In 1763, Hyderabad was settled as the Mughal’s centre of Deccan authority from Aurangabad, which helped restoring the city’s former splendour. This was on the strategic advice of revered advisers like Mohi-Ud-Dowla II / (Imperial title Yar Khan), Jafar Yar Khan, and Himmat Yar Khan, who were decedents of Hazrat Shah Abdul Gafoor Chang Siddiqui of Uzbekistan (who was a confidant of the First Nizam) and held various important portfolios of health and jurisprudence which gave them authority to streamline even the Nizam’s edicts. They also requested military aid from the Mughals to thwart the marauding Marathas during the second Nizam’s rule. The leader of the army force was Abul Fateh Khan (title Teigh Jung), who was eventually recognised as the creator of the Paigahs. The Yar Khan family and the Paigha family were then the loftiest strata of the Nizam’s renowned nobility. Recognising the strategic and central location of this city was a turning point in Asaf Jahis’ rule. On August 6, 1803, Nizam Ali Khan passed away at the age of 69.³⁰

Mir Akbar Ali Khan Sikandar Jah Asaf Jah III (1803–29) inherited a successful state. His succession was ratified by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, and his father Sikandar’s titles were also conferred upon him. In 1806, a large area north of the city was named Secunderabad after Sikandar Jah.³¹ Sikandar Jah died on May 21, 1829, and was survived by nine sons and 10 daughters. His eldest son, Nawab Farkhunda Ali Khan, succeeded him.

Mir Farkhunda Ali Khan Nasirud-Daula Asaf Jah IV (1829–1857) inherited a distressed state following the financial upheaval of Sikander Jah’s reign. With the assistance and direction of Siraj-ul-Mulk and Mir Turab Ail Khan Salar Jung I, he instituted a modern and equitable system of tax administration.³² On May 16, 1857, at the age of 64, he passed away.

Mir Tahniyat Khan Afzal-ud-Daula Asaf Jah V (1857–69): Afzal-ud-Daula retained the services of his father’s prime minister, Salar Jung I. The year 1857 was a significant turning point in the historical development of Hyderabad state, as it saw the termination of the Mughal Emperor’s authority in Delhi and the consequent end of the Nizam’s role as a Mughal subedar. Subsequent to that juncture, the Nizam assumed the status of a sovereign entity, denoting a state of independence from the Mughals. He died at the age of 42, when his son and heir, Nawab Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, became the independent sovereign of the Asaf Jah dynasty.³³

Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Bahadur Asaf Jah VI (1869–1911): The youngest Asaf Jahi ruler, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, was two years and seven months old when he was installed by his co-regents, Mir Turab Ali Khan (title Sir Salar Jung I) and Nawab Rasheeduddin Khan (title Shams-ul-Umara III). In 1885, when he was 17 years old, he assumed sovereign rights.³⁴ Among the Asaf Jahi rulers, Nizam VI, His Highness Mahboob Ali Khan, was the most popular and beloved among his subjects and was the only Nizam who was born in a family of a Monarch and crowned as an independent Monarch and ruled till death; his predecessor, Nizam V, was an independent king just for the last part of his life, and the last ‘ruling’ independent king was Osman Ali Khan, Nizam VII, but only until 1948; his rule terminated twenty years before his demise when Hyderabad was merged with India; this makes H.H. Mahboob the most unique of even the Nizams that ruled as Monarchs.

Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (1911–1967), was born in 1886. Being the most recent of the Nizam kings, many of the accomplishments of his father are attributed to him as the face of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. When India became an independent nation in 1947, the Nizam preferred to be independent rather than join the Indian Territory. Hyderabad was taken over five days after the Indian government launched Operation Polo, also known as police action, which was in fact a military operation, in September 1948. Thus, Asaf Jahi’s 224-year hegemony over Hyderabad came to an end.³⁵

On February 24, 1967, Osman Ali Khan passed away, deciding to designate his grandson Mukarram Jah as his heir instead of his elder son Azam Jah or his second son Moazzam Jah.³⁶

Nizam Mir Barkat Ali Khan/Mukarram Jah, Asaf Jah VIII (1933–2023): Following the death of Mir Osman Khan, his grandson Mukarram Jah³⁷ assumed the ceremonial position of Nizam of Hyderabad in 1967, and he never ruled after the 7th Nizam died in 1967 due to the takeover of Hyderabad state by the Indian army in 1948. He briefly obtained a certificate from the government as the sole successor to the title and wealth of his father. He lost a High Court case foisted on him by his own aunt, in which the High Court stressed in a considered and researched ruling in 1967 and 1968 that the descendant Nizam could not be the sole heir to his father’s wealth, which was subject to Sharia laws that did not recognise primogeniture and put him on equal terms of inheritance as a Muslim Indian citizen within his family, invalidating the certificate. This was eventually bilaterally compromised just between the two and had no effect on the other family members who were not part of the compromise. However, in 1971, the Indian government abolished the Privy Purse, all royal titles, and all privileges in a sweeping move.³⁸

A row over the title of IX Nizam

The VIII Nizam Mukarram Jah, only a titular ruler till 1971,³⁹ passed away in Istanbul on January 14th, 2023. He was the grandson of the VII Nizam. Soon after his death, a row over the title and an internal tussle started among Nizam’s family over the coronation ceremony for the IX Nizam of Hyderabad title by Prince Azmet Jah to the throne at the Chowmohalla Palace on January 20, 2023, who is the first-born of the VIII Nizam, Prince Mukarram Jah. A very few members of the Prince Azmet Jah family attended this event. The aforementioned ceremony caused dissatisfaction among the 4,500 members of the Nizam family since it transpired without their collective agreement or wish, contrary to what was dictated in the present rulings.⁴⁰

Individuals who designate themselves merely on the basis of a father-to-son transfer cannot be considered legitimate successors, even within the context of traditional practices, since all historical traditions of rulers and rulers appointing successors or a child succeeding a father, mother, or ruler came to an end in 1971. Given the erratic and unspecific nature of father-to-son succession, it becomes imperative for the son to provide substantiation of his selection as the rightful heir. Prince Azmet Jah’s close associates merely mentioning a letter from his father conferring him with succession without producing the letter is not substantial, and even if produced, it will have to be proved. It is evident that his father could not personally designate him for the position. In any case, since 1971, his father himself has lost the rights of monarchy and has neither formal authority nor authority based on strength, numbers, or tradition to issue his wishes. Furthermore, Prince Azmet had previously opposed his father (Mukkaram Jah/VIII Nizam) vehemently in a legal forum in a trust matter, further casting a shadow on the probability of his father’s choice.

On September 6, 1970, the President of India issued a brief order to each of the rulers of former Indian states. In exercising the authority granted to him by Article 366(22) of the Constitution, the President commanded that all rulers cease to be regarded as rulers as of the date of his order, including those they designated. This resulted in the instant end of the rulers’ privy purses and the cessation of their personal privileges. It was introduced again in Parliament in 1971 and was successfully enacted as the 26th Amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1971.⁴¹

To become the head of the family or dynasty, a majority of the family members must agree. This is because the state’s courts, especially O.P.147/1995, dated June 21, 1999, made it a requirement that the family of Nizam I to Nizam VI (which is a very large section), be consulted in all major decisions,⁴² even though there were trusts set up for them and the welfare of some family members, which may mean that it all needs to be re-evaluated. The Nizam’s singular claim cannot be supported by the law. This valid ruling permits the participation of the entire family in all dynastic decisions, which logically includes important acts such as coronations and family distributions. Thus, descendants of Nizams I through VII are unwilling to acknowledge the clandestine coronation of Prince Azmet as the successor to the VIII Nizam, as the reign of Prince Mukarram Jah, the VIII Nizam, has been terminated for at least 51 years, according to Indian law and a parliamentary act.

In India, the process of succession to power is no longer predicated on violence but rather on the exercise of democratic choice. As such, Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan, the great grandson of the VI Nizam, has been appointed as the IX Head of the Asaf Jahi family. This choice was publicly endorsed by a majority of the descendants of the I to VII Nizams on June 4, 2023, which took place on the death anniversary of the VII Nizam, Osman Ali Khan.⁴³

Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan: The choice of the Nizams family as the head of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty

The Majlis E Sahebzadagan Society, representing most of the over 4500 people from the Sahebzada and Sahebzadi of I-VI Nizam, as well as the direct descendants of VII Nizam in a separate group and the related nobility, has chosen Raunaq Yar Khan as the IX Nizam of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty at Hyderabad. The Sahebzadagan has announced in the press that Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan has constantly represented Hyderabad’s Asaf Jahi Tehzeeb (culture) and has a reputation for being a visionary, an ethical person, kind-hearted, and community-oriented, unlike the other option of an indifferent foreigner living abroad in any case.⁴⁴

Prince Azmet Jah is a foreigner who resides in a different country, just like his father who didn’t reside in India for the past half century. Despite the fact that his family name is associated with a governing dynasty that has endured for over 224 years, his father too exhibits minimal emotional attachment to it. As the offspring of Nizam VIII, who was effectively deposed from his ruling position in 1971 and subsequently resided overseas while asserting his hereditary claims to properties within India (as well as certain international investments), the individual in question solely made visits to India on occasions necessitating the signing of legal documents to finalise the sale of family assets, following preliminary steps undertaken by local intermediaries. Since none of the purported solitary claimant’s immediate family members are Indian or reside in India, it is logical and obvious to any intelligent person that the money would be a loss for India. Contrary to Indian law, the individual placed himself in the sole putative position or authority to sell and diverted nearly the entire share through agents in India who used his name to their advantage. They are still engaged in some sort of transaction, exploiting the invalid succession certificate issued to Mukarram Jah in 1967, which the High Court’s W.P. 632/1968 ruled was invalid and forbade an ex-ruler from naming a single successor, a questionable right further comprehensively invalidated in 1971.

A significant portion of the underprivileged members of the Nizam family, who are genuine shareholders, reside faithfully or sentimentally in Hyderabad or India. However, they are unlawfully denied their rightful entitlements, despite the small number of individuals who may be residing overseas and enjoying decent salaries. The family is now experiencing significant fragmentation, a lack of resources, and a respectful disposition that prevents them from challenging the authority of a fake Nizam. He has amassed considerable riches for himself, which he employs to resist the legitimate claims of the impoverished royal relatives, who want a fair distribution of assets via legal means.

The majority of the Nizam family has chosen His Excellency Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan as a means to safeguard, uphold, and garner the erstwhile esteem of the Asaf Jahi dynasty to the extent presently possible.⁴⁵ The Nawab Raunaq in question is making it abundantly clear that he is not making a claim to personal ownership of the ancestral assets, which include both tangible and intangible properties. Contrarily, he posits that the allocation of these possessions ought to be disseminated among the legitimate successors of Nizams I to IX. With the exception of certain assets, which may belong to a person at face value or as a father may have held them as self-purchased or acquired, all ownership rights are also intended to be questioned and put to legal scrutiny in the future and redistributed judiciously.

Conclusion

As the first Nizam of the Asaf Jah dynasty, Qamaruddin chose his daughter Khair un Nisa’s son, Muzaffar Jung, even though he had six other sons who could have been king, three of whom did, and the first son Giazuddin Feroz Jung II, who was a skilled courtier in Delhi, died while trying to become king. The last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, also didn’t think about the idea of primogeniture, even though it was often brought up.

Irrespective of the succession by or through either gender, this indicates that even the ruler or administrator couldn’t dictate his successor and ensure succession if he was not powerful enough to ensure his edicts if the various representatives of families, influential groups, and other forces were not in consonance with his wishes.

Based on the prevailing acceptance among the public and media, as well as the formal backing of Nizam Ul-Mulk’s existing extended family member Asaf Jah, Nawab Raunaq’s position appears consolidated. Almost all 4500 descendants of the 1st to 6th Nizam, who were members of a registered society linked to an original Nizam trust and the 7th Nizam’s listed descendants subsequent to Hyderabad’s incorporation into the Indian Union, which marked the end of the dynasty, appear to consider them all on an equal footing. In addition to this, a greater number of members of the extended royal family accepted Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan on a daily basis via legal documentation (according to research interviews with family members), pleading with him to safeguard their rights by means of all lawful means as the ninth Nizam of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty. This has further solidified Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan’s position. Additionally, he is supported by a registered society that works for the descendants, beneficiaries, and successors of the 1st to 9th Nizam. This society is comprised of numerous government officials and former high-ranking administrative officers who are well-versed in historical facts and figures.

This is ample and irrefutable evidence to support the fact that Nawab Raunaq Yar Khan is the Ninth Nizam of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty.

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