Hyderabad: The 53rd death anniversary of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, was observed in a simple manner. Members of the erstwhile royal family and of various social organisations paid floral tributes at his mausoleum at Masjid Jodhi, King Kothi. A prayer congregation for absolution of the departed soul was also held here. Members of the family, historians, social activists and students of Osmania University, which he founded, paid floral tributes. Captain L. Pandu Ranga Reddy and Dr Chiranjeevi Kolluri, both historians, Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of the Nizam, Mohammed Affan Quadri, secretary of Mehr Organisation, Mohammed Farooq, founder secretary of the Maulana Gouse Khamo-oshi Trust, Abdul Sattar Mujahid, president, Muslim League, Shaikh Mahboob Multani, vice president TNGOs, Subia Jaweria, secretary, Rabta Foundation, and students of Osmania University attended the absolution prayer. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which used to remember Mir Osman Ali Khan on his birth and death anniversaries during the struggle for statehood and elections, sent no representative this time.
The Urdu department of the Osmania University College for Women, Koti, has organised the first Mir Osman Ali Khan Memorial Lecture on February 26 at the college premises. A collection of handwritten poetry of the last Nizam written during his last days will be displayed on the occasion.
Students of Osmania University also commemorated the death of the last Nizam at an event organised by the Dalit Minority Students Association (DMSA) in which several students and professors participated.
The student community has demanded that a permanent vice-chancellor be appointed to the university and all vacant posts be filled as soon as possible.
Speaking on the occasion, DMSA state president Dudapaka Naresh said: “The Nizam was one of the great secular kings in the country.”
