PART FOUR
CHAPTER V.—THOUGHTS ON MEN
AND MATTERS
In this chapter the reader will find Sir Nizamat compar-
ing the unsophisticated past of Hyderabad with its " modern"
and " progressive " present. He speaks of a change in our
mental habits and in our mode of living, of the loss of that
tone and colour which belongs to the days that are no more.
He tells us of the pestilential qualities inherent in modern
progress which, in his view, are tending to become an epide-
mic wherever they go. Speaking generally, there is perhaps
no denying of a growing irreverence towards the sanctities
of life and an increasing tendency to mistake mere change
for real progress. One may or may not agree with all that
Sir Nizamat has to say about the prevalence of noxious
ideas, the confusion of thoughts and of the unmindfulness
of some of the best traditions of the past, but I would again
say that Sir Nizamat speaks for himself!
I have thought fit to begin this chapter with Sir Nizamat's
estimate of two very striking personalities whom Hyderabad
has prematurely lost—Sir Ross Masood and Nawab Bahadur
Khan—both of whom I personally knew and admired for
their many lovable qualities.
Sir Ross Masood
Aligarh and Hyderabad have been in the habit
of exchanging benefits since the foundation of
the M. A. 0. College by Syed Ahmed Khan (one
of India's truly great men) in the seventies of the
last century. Of the presents we received from
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