Last modified: 2001-01-06 by jonathan dixon
Keywords: india | indian princely state | hyderabad | british india |
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![[Hyderabad]](../images/i/in-hyder.gif)
by Jorge Candeias
History: In ancient kingdom of Golconda; on overthrow of Golconda by Aurangzeb 1687, became part of Mogul Empire; ruled since 1713 by nizams, beginning with Asaf Jah, governor of the Deccan, who founded independent kingdom in 1724; after 1748 scene of rivalry over succession in which British and French supported different candidates; ceded to British Northern Circars 1766 and, in 1853, the 'Assigned Districts' which later became Berar. Refused to become part of India 1947 but yielded under threat of force 1948; reorganized and divided among Andhra Pradesh, Mysore, and Maharashtra 1956.
Jarig Bakker, 11 November 1998
It is a bit of misconception to characterise 1947 as a bid for independence. Nor did Hyderabad "yield under the threat of force": it was a war, albeit brief. 1947 was a mixed bag on the subcontinent: British India gained its independence but the princely states lost theirs. Hyderabad, as the largest of the princely states, had a chance at viability whereas most of the others were much too small to resist India. While Hyderabad submitted to India in 1948, the nizam remained as governor and the state was not broken up until 1956.
The units of the Hyderabad Army (19th century to 1948) had Muslim-style flags (Koranic inscriptions, etc.)
Todd Mills, 14 November 1998
The Hyderabad flag bears a circle instead of an oval, and within a shield. In the top and bottom stripes are arabic inscriptions (see NAVA News XXX-1).
Jaume Ollé, 23 March 1998
The flag above is a simplification of the real design. Within the white ball is a red device named "dastar", and a shield with an Urdu inscription. This flag is only based on a postage stamp. Flicher reported a different flag (with red inscriptions above and below) and Lupant two other versions: one with blue instead of green bars (and ratio 6:&) with a single inscription at the bottom and a dark yellow background instead of saffron; the other (captioned Nizam's ensign) has inscription above and below, and red bars, but the background is also dark yellow, and has a vertical narrow golden (very dark yellow) stripe at the hoist. In both, the inscriptions are golden or very dark yellow. The Central devices are a bit different in each case.
Jaume Ollé, 21 August 2000
From: http://www.mindspring.com/~amber1/hydassoc.htm
This was the old Hyderabad Flag
Here is the story of the Asafia flag... Asaf Jah 1 was a disciple of a sufi sain called Hazrat Nizamuddin Qutb-e-Deccan. According to a legend he once paid a visit to the saint while he was eating and the Saint invited him to join. Asaf Jah ate seven Kulchas and was asked to have another but he replied in the negative. The Hazrat then predicted: "You and your descendents will rule over the deccan for seven generations." The Asafia flag bears the insignia of 'kulcha' which lends credence to this tale. History shows that the prophecy of the saint indeed came true with the end of Asafia Dynasty wit Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh nizam of Hyderabad.collected by Dov Gutterman, 28 Aug 1999
That is nearly the same flag as is depiscted on p. 36 of Aldo Ziggioto's Vessillologia dell' India, 1998. In that book the image (by L.Philippe) has dark red/purple and dark green colors. The white circle in the center contains a 'chappati', a symbol of the good fortune of Mir Qamar ud-Din Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah.
Jarig Bakker, 28 Aug 1999
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