Azmat Jah, a professional photographer and filmmaker who worked with leading Hollywood directors, has been appointed as the successor to his father, Mukarram Jah, the eighth and last formal Nizam of Hyderabad, who recently passed away in Turkey.
The coronation ceremony took place at the Chowmahalla Palace, attended by close family members. Azmat Jah was officially coronated as the successor to Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur.
Present at the ‘Dastar Bandi’ or coronation were Mukarram Jah’s first wife and Azmat Jah’s mother, Princess Esra, his sister Shekhyar, and other family members. This palace was also the site of Mukarram Jah’s coronation in 1967 following the death of his grandfather and the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was the last ruler of Hyderabad State.
It is important to note that Azmat Jah’s coronation will not hold any official status or title of the ninth Nizam, as the government of India abolished princely titles and privileges in 1971. As per his late father’s wishes, Azmat Jah will serve as the caretaker of the Nizam’s properties and trusts.
According to sources, Mukarram Jah desired that his eldest son, Azmat Jah, should become his successor. The coronation as successor is believed to be symbolic but significant for legal purposes.
Mir Mohammed Azmat Ali Khan, also known as Azmat Jah, was born in London on July 23, 1960. He received his early education in London and later attended the University of Southern California. Apart from his royal duties, he has pursued a career as a professional photographer and filmmaker, working with renowned Hollywood directors such as Steven Spielberg and Richard Attenborough.
Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the eighth Nizam of Hyderabad, passed away in Turkey on January 14 and was buried at the historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad on January 19 with full state honours. Born on October 6, 1933, in France to Prince Azam Jah and Princess Durru Shehvar, the imperial princess of the Ottoman Empire, Mukarram Jah was coronated as Asaf Jah the Eighth on April 6, 1967, following the passing of Mir Osman Ali Khan in February 1967.
Mukarram Jah was known as the Prince of Hyderabad until 1971 when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi abolished all titles. He was considered India’s richest person until the 1980s and spent most of his life in Turkey and Australia.
