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Prime Minister in 1887. From 1891 political
intrigue by means of concealed agencies became rife
in Hyderabad, and lasted for four or five years. It
brought about a change of Ministers—Sir Viqar-ul-
Umara succeeding Sir Asman Jah —and then follow-
ed the downfall of several persons and Moulvi
Mehdi Ali was one of them.
After his departure from Hyderabad, he busied
himself with the affairs of the Aligarh College and
the cause of Muslim education in India as a disciple
of the great Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to whom the
Muslims of India owed a new lease of life. He had
come to Hyderabad at the recommendation of
Sir Syed and was one of his chosen men ; it was
therefore natural for him to go back to the seat of
his chief and spend the rest of his life in serving his
community. He thus atoned for whatever errors
he may have committed during his official career
in this State; and whatever his faults, we cannot
believe him to have been a vicious man. With his
sharp intellect he may have allowed considerations
of expediency to outweigh all others on some
occasions—as men of the world generally do—and
he may thus have fallen ultimately into the trap
laid for him ; but let us remember only the brighter
side of his nature when more than half a century
has gone by and friends and enemies rest in peace.
Moulvi Mushtaq Hussaiii
The third man of outstanding personality who
possessed solid worth was Moulvi Mushtaq Hussain.
He too had been one of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's