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to bring into proper perspective in my picture of
Hyderabad is the position of the Hindus and their
admitted status.
A fact that must never be overlooked is the
traditional practice of giving the highest or next
highest place in the administration to a Hindu
nobleman. This has made the Peshkar's or Assist-
ant Prime Minister's office hereditary in the
family of Raja Chandulal, of which Maharaja Sir
Kishen Pershad was a scion. Besides this, here-
ditary offices of the highest importance and trust
have been held by successive generations of some
of the more prominent among the Hindu families
such as Raja Rai Rayan Amanatwant and
Raja Sheoraj Dharamwant. State Records—
which were the very foundation of the State
administration—were entrusted to their custody
and care and jagir lands were granted to them in
perpetuity to maintain them in affluence and suit-
able dignity. I have personally known these
two Rajas and regarded them as models of refine-
ment and high-bred courtesy. They were devo-
tedly loyal to their Master, the Nizam, and
sincerely attached to their Muslim fellow-subjects.
My friendship with them was ancestral; the
relations between them and my father, Nawab
Rifat Yar Jung, and my uncle, Nawab Emad
Jung, were always cordial and in my own time
the family sentiment remained unaltered. With
Raja Sheoraj in particular, it almost became an
affectionate regard combined with the respect
due to an elder member of the family ; for even