Hyderabad: Three majestic gates still stand strong in the Jahanuma locality in the Old City, remnants of a bygone age. The area now known as ‘Jahanuma Lancer’ once housed a light cavalry unit of the Paigahs. The unit was armed with the lance - a long wooden shaft and a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers while charging on horseback.
The Paigah family was the senior aristocracy of Hyderabad during the rule of the Nizams and maintained its own army of a few thousand troops. It had its own police, courts, and individual palaces, says Dr Muhammed Safiullah, trustee of the Deccan Heritage Foundation.
Close to the Jahanuma Lancer locality was the Jahanuma Palace, the residence of Nawab Shams-ul-Umra, one of many palaces owned by the Paigah family. Jahanuma means ‘view of the world’.
After the rule of the Nizams ended, the Jahanuma Palace was pulled down and converted into a residential colony. However, there are still some old houses in the area and several families living here claim to be descendants of the Paighar army.
Till about two decades ago, Jahanuma Lancer still looked like a historic enclave with these old houses. Then people started making additions to the houses and some new buildings were also constructed, says Mohammed Khalid, a local resident. The three gates served as the entry and exit points and still have the original big guard rooms, though they have been converted to shops and godowns. “The impressive main gate led into the compound and was heavily fortified. Even today it stands tall,” says Mr Nayeemuddin, an old resident of the locality.
