FOREWORD
Hyderabad has away of setting the seal of her special trqdi-,*
tion on all her sons and daughters, investing them, irrespective of'
their communities and beliefs, with a subtle kinship whose
claims have seldom been denied.
It is, perhaps therefore, that Mr. Zahir Ahmed has invited
me, afellow-Hyderabadi, to write a brief foreword to his excellent
little biographical study of Nawab Sir Nizamat Jung, un-
questionably one of the most eminent among the elder citizens
and servants of the State. I am happy to be given this oppor-
tunity of offering a just meed of praise to this old and valued
friend, this-gifted man of wide intellectual attainments and
distinguished personality whom we esteem so highly for his
Jproud integrity and independence of character, this brave and
pious devotee of Islam whom we so deeply honour today for his
allegiance to the lofty spiritual ideals which have inspired him,
in the late autumn of his years, to choose a life of voluntary
* poverty, in a quiet ecstasy of renunciation, yielding up all
wordly possessions for the benefit of the needy and the destitute
\ in Medina, holy City, beloved of the Prophet Muhammad.
Deftly and wisely has the author designed his own narrative
to serve as an effective background for the tapestry woven by
Sir Nizamat Jung himself out of intimate recollections of his
early life, his impressions of men and events, at home and
abroad, the incidents and experiences of his long and varied
official career, his intellectual preferences and pastimes, his
personal approach to human problems awaiting a final solution,
his personal reactions and adjustments to the changing spirit of
the times.
Of especial interest are his nostalgic Tnemories of an older
Hyderabad, scarcely touched by modern influences, which still
f retained the glamour and grace, the colour and splendour of a
\ bygone age : the Hyderabad of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan whose
name is enshrined in the hearts of his people, whose fame is
XI