India used to be a land with several kingdoms, both large and small until it became independent. Even during British rule, these kingdoms, ruled by rajas, were extremely wealthy.
However, their influence, fame, and riches diminished over time, and the descendants of once-royal families were reduced to commoners. Here are a couple of their accounts.
1. Descendants of Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad
In 2012, the Nizam was ranked the 6th richest person in the world and the all-time richest Indian, with a fortune of $236 billion, or $17,49,80,07,600 (inflation-adjusted).
He had 18 sons and 16 daughters, according to reports. Following the death of Mir Osman Ali Khan, Prince Mukarram Jah has crowned the eighth Nizam of Hyderabad in 1967. He now resides in Turkey.
According to recent news, about 120 descendants of Hyderabad’s last Nizam are currently engaged in a legal dispute to recover their rightful share of a fund of 36 million pounds deposited in a London bank seven decades ago.
2. Raja Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mohapatra of Tigiria
When he wasn’t racing one of his 25 antique cars, the Raja of Tigiria, also known as a playboy prince of colonial India, lived in a palace, hunted big game, and traveled by elephant.
He lost his state’s tax revenues when his kingdom was combined with the Indian republic in 1947, and only received an annual income of Rs.11,200 from the state. Due to a lack of money, he was forced to sell his palace, which is now a girls’ high school.
He lost his annual income after the Indira Gandhi government abolished the last remaining royal rights, and he was left to the mercy of the local villagers until his death in November 2015. He lived in a mud shack, poor and alienated from his relatives.
His wife, Rasmanajari Devi, who is also an MLA, and three sons survive him.
3. Sultana Begum, wife of the great-grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar
Sultana Begum, wife of late Prince Mirza Bedar Bukht, Bahadur Shah Zafar’s great-grandson, now lives in a two-room house in Kolkata, West Bengal. According to sources, she used to run a tea stall before the government granted her an Rs. 6000 monthly pension. Several activists have brought her plight to light. Sultana is the mother of five daughters and one son, all from the lower middle class.
4. Descendants of the Travancore royal family
When Travancore entered the Indian republic after independence, it was the second richest kingdom in India, after Hyderabad.
Tirunal Utharadom After his elder brother, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last princely ruler of Travancore, died in 1991, Marthanda Varma became the head of the royal family. Marthanda Varma and his family were from a poor family. In 2018, he passed away.
He was the Chairman of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trust, which gained notoriety in 2011 after jewels worth Rs. 90,000 crores were discovered in its vault. Varma said at the time that the wealth had been hidden in the vaults for decades and that the royal family was aware of it.
It is the wealth of Lord Padmanabha and we never ever felt any interest in it. It should be preserved as God’s wealth in the future also.
5. Descendants of Tipu Sultan, the ‘Tiger of Mysore’
The British moved them to Kolkata after Tipu Sultan’s death, ensuring that they did not return to the south.
When the East India Company took possession of Tipu Sultan’s eldest daughter Fatima Begum’s jewelry, it took six bullocks to move it. Her descendants still reside in hutments in Kolkata today.
Sahebzada Syed Mansoor Ali, who is married to Sahebzadi Raheemunnisa, Tipu’s great-granddaughter, has been lobbying for financial assistance for the Sultan’s family members. The majority of them work odd jobs such as pulling rickshaws, fixing bicycles, or working as electricians or tailors.
6. Descendants of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Awadh
Dr. Kaukab Quder Meerza, the great-grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, used to live in a one-story building in Kolkata’s bylanes. After contracting COVID-19, he passed away in September 2020. Meerza, a former professor at Aligarh Muslim University, is survived by his wife, Mamlikat Badr, a descendant of Lucknow’s illustrious Shia cleric family, and their six children.
Meerza’s ancestors are Birjis Quder, the son of Wajid Ali Shah, and his wife Begum Hazrat Mahal, a courtesan who later became the Nawab’s second official wife.
You can read the Indian Express story about him and his family here.
Despite the fact that many royal families are now involved in big business and politics, these lesser-known tales must be told.
