New Delhi: Azmet Jah, the heir to the last Nizam of Hyderabad and the titular 9th Nizam since last year, may be facing trouble. An inquiry into the H.E.H. The Nizam Awqaf Committee, which oversees 69 Waqf institutions, has deemed his chairmanship of the committee illegal due to his British citizenship.
The inquiry was initiated by the Telangana State Waqf Board after Raunaq Yar Khan, another descendant of a Nizam of Hyderabad, whose lineage traces back to the 6th Nizam, challenged Azmet Jah’s succession and appointment earlier last year.
He also submitted a representation to the Telangana State Waqf Board on 2 July, 2024, challenging the change in management and Azmet Jah’s appointment as chairman of the Awqaf Committee. The board’s report has now found “merit” in his complaint.
The report was submitted internally on 21 October, 2024, to the Telangana Waqf Board’s CEO. ThePrint has accessed the report.
Azmet’s father Mir Barkat Ali Khan, known as Mukarram Jah, passed away last year, following which his son took over as the family’s titular head. Mukarram Jah became the eighth Nizam following the death of the seventh Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, in 1967.
Under the Asaf Jahi dynasty (1724-1948), the state of Hyderabad comprised 16 districts—eight in Telangana, five in Maharashtra, and three in Karnataka.
Since then, the state has been reorganized—in 1956, with Telangana merging with the Andhra regions to form Andhra Pradesh—and later bifurcated in 2014. Through all this, Mukarram Jah continued to oversee 69 Waqf institutions, some of which now fall outside the state, that the Nizams of Hyderabad oversaw during their reign.
Awqaf Committee of the H.E.H. The Nizam’s Charitable Trust oversees all of them, and Mukarram Jah was made its chairman after the death of his grandfather Osman Ali Khan.
This is in parallel with the state Waqf Board also functioning, and taking care of other Muslim properties. A Waqf property is one that is permanently dedicated for religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law. The land or property is considered to be owned by Allah and the board appoints a Mutawalli, or trustee, to manage such properties.
After his succession in 1967, Mukarram Jah however was never around in Hyderabad much, and for most parts of his life lived abroad. He spent a considerable amount of time in Australia and later in Turkey, where he eventually died. His ex-wife, Princess Esra, and their children, had been taking care of the family’s properties in Hyderabad like the Chowmahalla and Falaknuma palaces.
Mukarram Jah passed away last year, and Azmet Jah was crowned the titular 9th Nizam in January 2023. A statement from his office at Chowmahalla Palace confirmed that he assumed the position during a ceremony. However, in March of the previous year, members of the HEH Nizams Sahebzadas of Sarf-e-khas Trust—which provides allowances to the descendants of the first to sixth Nizams—chose to recognise Raunaq as the 9th Nizam instead, citing internal disputes.
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, an ex-member of the H.E.H. The Nizam Awqaf Committee also agreed that Azmet Jah’s appointment as chairman is, in fact, illegal. “For him to succeed or, for that matter, anything the committee has to do must be accepted by the state Waqf Board. The Nizam is just a mutawalli of those institutions, and is answerable to the board,” he said.
ThePrint reached Azmet Jah, his family, as well as the H.E.H. Nizam Awqaf Committee via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
“The Waqf board is aware of what is happening. The Awqaf committee is not a recent body, it has been operating for decades as per various government approvals. I was not aware of this report. When something happens, we will respond accordingly,” said a person associated with Azmet Jah’s family on condition of anonymity.
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What the report says
The internal inquiry report by the Telangana Waqf Board casts serious doubts on Azmet Jah’s appointment as chairman of the Awqaf Committee. It highlighted that the proceedings were carried out without the mandatory newspaper notification required under Section 42 of the Waqf Act to invite objections. Moreover, the report explicitly states that there is “merit” in the concerns raised by Raunaq Yar Khan.
The report adds that his appointment is “illegal and contrary to Section 42 of the Waqf Act, 1995, which only deals with the appointment of management and not the appointment of mutawalli or committee”.
This alone spells trouble for the family, as they risk losing control of the institutions. The report also notes that Azmet hasn’t taken charge of the 69 institutions or visited them “to date.”
“Neither Azmat Jah nor the late Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan Bahadur alias Mukarram Jah performed the religious duties of the subject institutions, maintained records of funds, or paid the Waqf fund in accordance with the Waqf Act, 1995, to the Telangana State Waqf Board. They also failed to submit or maintain proper accounts certified by the Inspector Auditor of the Board,” said the findings of the report by the Telangana State Waqf Board.
It also termed the proceedings for Azmet Jah’s succession or appointment as chairman of the Awqaf committee as “illegal”, “as there has been no inquiry under Sections 70-71 of the Waqf Act, 1995, despite several representations objecting to the appointment of Azmet Jah as mutawalli”. The report also noted that “several” institutions were found to have irregularities in their management practices.
Finally, in its recommendations, it said that the current management of the several Waqf institutions under the towliath (successor) of HEH The Nizam exhibits “significant shortcomings” in terms of compliance, transparency, and financial management. “A detailed enquiry should be initiated to further investigate the irregularities and ensure accountability. An independent audit of the financial records of the 69 Waqf institutions should be conducted,” said the report. It concluded that a temporary management committee comprising experienced and impartial members should be appointed to oversee the “affected institutions”.
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