Hyderabad Nizam kin points to Kolkata museum, douses RTI row on gold donation

Hyderabad Nizam kin points to Kolkata museum, douses RTI row on gold donation

HYDERABAD: With the last Hyderabad Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan's donation of 5,000kg gold to National Defence Fund (NDF) during the Chinese aggression, embroiled in a controversy following a RTI reply, one of his grandsons has dug out records to support the claim that the Nizam indeed donated 33,000 kg gold coins to bolster the coffers during the exigency of war.

Controversy was triggered a few years ago when the Centre purportedly claimed in an RTI reply that it has no concrete information on Nizam's donation, while neither denying nor accepting that five tonnes of gold were gifted by the Nizam.

Nizam's grandson Najaf Ali Khan, who visited RBI museum in Kolkata last month, told TOI that a board with photographs of then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Nizam VII displayed at the museum makes a mention of the "donation" to the defence fund.

Some rare coins, part of the 33,000 donated ones, are on display at the museum. A photograph of the display board was shared by Najaf Ali Khan.

The board reads - National Defence Fund (NDF) was set up in 1962 during the Chinese aggression to mobilise resources for national defence. Contributions came in cash and kind, including gold in all its forms. In 1965, moved by the appeal of then PM Shastri, common people donated gold jewellery to the government. ...Mir Osman Ali Khan, then Nizam of Hyderabad, at this instance, donated over 33,000 gold coins to the Indian government.

Najaf Ali said the board clearly mentions "donated". "There is a controversy. It's unnecessary and deliberate. The board in the museum mentions "donated" and not "invested". If the Centre does not have information or records on something, it does not mean the event did not take place. The RTI reply is not categorical, but some people made it into a controversy," Ali said.

He said according to information available in the museum, "a committee appointed by the government of India suggested barring common coins, all should be kept as a group and may be considered important holdings by the Monetary Museum of Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai. The coins displayed here (Kolkata museum) are a part of this collection". He said 25 gold coins that were part of the Nizam's donation are priceless and command heritage value. In the world numismatic market, these coins are worth several tens of crores. "They were from Nizam VII's personal collections and pertain to the Colonial era, French and Awadh period," Najaf Ali added.