Hyderabad: The meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and the then newly-wedded Princesses Durrushehvar and Niloufer did take place on the ocean liner Pilsna at Port Said, Egypt, confirmed Mr Muffakham Jah.
After this newspaper carried an article on Monday on the possible meeting, the Nizam Trust got in touch with Prof. Salma Ahmed Farooqui of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University and confirmed that the meeting did take place.
Prof. Farooqui is a member of the research team working on relations between the Ottoman Empire (the princesses came from Turkey) and the Asafias, the dynasty that ruled the state of Hyderabad till Independence.
In the course of their research, the team had come across an interesting correspondence Hyderabad, Nice, London and Ankara where a mention was made of a request for such a meeting. The researchers could find no documented evidence that the meeting did take place. This was reported in this newspaper on September 30.
The Nizam’s family and the Nizam Trust got in touch with Prof. Farooqui, and told her that the meeting did take place.
“Prince Muffakham Jah confirmed that the two princesses met with Mahatma Gandhi on the ocean liner, and he was very keen that they work towards women’s empowerment in their state,” said Prof. Farooqui.
This brings to light the role of Gandhiji in guiding the Turkish princesses to work for women’s emancipation.
The recorded history of the princesses’ lives shows that they were strong-willed, intelligent, and rebellious young women who pushed the limits of South Asian Muslim culture.
Western ideas of freedom and liberty were embodied in their demeanour and they broke the barrier of seclusion expected of upper class women and freely mingled with nobility and common people at gatherings. They oversaw construction of hospitals, started schools for orphaned girls and day care facilities for female workers with children.
In addition, they ran a number of women’s organisations, including Hyderabad Women and Children’s Medical Aid Society, Hyderabad State Women’s Conference, Hyderabad Women’s War Work, and Lady Hydari Club. They had a deep concern for women’s empowerment and inclusion in the workforce.
