"مذكرات وذكريات مسؤول في الخدمة السياسية الهندية" [و‎‎٣‎٨] (١٥٦/٧٥)

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CHAPTER 8: HYDERABAD 19A1 - 19A4
In May 1941 my time in Rajputana came to an end. I was posted as Under Secretary to
the Resident in Hyderabad, the most important and the largest and the wealthiest of
all Indian States. The Nizam of Hyderabad was one of the select band of five Indian
Princes who enjoyed a 19 gun salute. None of the others could boast of more than
17 guns, and there were only a few of these. The post of Resident at Hyderabad was
recognised as the 'Blue Riband' of all assignments in the whole of the Political
Service. The Residency building in the city was a magnificent mansion in the Neo-
Palladian style, built for one of the former Residents in the early 19th century
by the then Nizam, who stood in great awe of his political mentor. It was situated in
extensive grounds which also contained the larger-than-usual houses for the Secretary
and the Under Secretary, a large office complex at the rear of the Residency, and the
barracks for a company of Indian Infantry, which served as a garrison for the 'enclave'.
The whole was surrounded by a high stone wall, interspersed with bastions and loopholed
for defence. Six miles from the city of Hyderabad was the military cantonement of
Secunderabad covering an area of about nineteen square miles. Like Abu it was another
'leased area' under British Indian jurisdiction. It was garrisoned in peace-time by
two battalions of British Infantry, a regiment of British Cavalry (Trimulgherry), two
regiments of Indian Cavalry (Bolarum) and a Brigade of Indian Infantry (Bowenpally
and Begumpet). There was also a regiment of Royal Artillery in Trimulgherry. This
large garrison made Secunderabad the largest military station in southern India. It
will be remembered that it was in Bolarum that I had joined the 8th Light Cavalry on
first appointment 11 years earlier in 1930.
The Resident possessed a second large Residence in Bolarum, which enjoyed a more
salubrious and cooler situation than his much grander palace in Hyderabad City, which
was surrounded on all sides by crowded and insanitary bazaars. In addition, the
Secretary was fortunate to be able to avail himself of an alternative house in the
grounds of the Bolarum Residency. The result was that both he and the Resident spent
the whole of the hot weather months in Bolarum; only the Under Secretary had to stay
permanently in Hyderabad. However, we had a spacious, well furnished house of our own
and the run of the park and gardens which surrounded the Residency proper.
As Under Secretary, I was also ex-officio District Magistrate of Secunderabad with a
population, including the Military effectives, of close on 150,000 people. I would
drive each morning to my office and my Court in Secunderabad - about nine miles away -
and work there until lunch time, when I would return to Hyderabad to deal with my share
of the political work. At dusk, the gates of the Residency, where the sentries of the
Escort were stationed, would be closed for the night, although this did not prevent us
from going out to dinner, parties and receptions. We had a staff of good servants, who