Celebrating 425 years of Hyderabad: Ahead of its times
Banker and historian Amarbir Singh shares interesting anecdotes about the city.
More than two decades ago, Amarbir Singh came to Hyderabad after finishing his studies. The city gave him career, shelter and an aim in life. “I have a deep connection with Hyderabad. While I was researching on the city, I stumbled upon an interesting fact. The State of Hyderabad under the Nizams was the only princely state in India which had the right to print paper money, apart from its right to mint coins in gold, silver and copper. Not only Hyderabad had its own currency, it also had its own central bank (Hyderabad State Bank), airlines, railways, postal system, radio service, etc. It was one of the most modern states at that time and the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII, was considered as the richest man on earth,” he shares.
“The present Telangana, districts of Marathwada in Maharashtra and North Eastern Karnataka were part of one state,” Amarbir says, adding further, “Apart from the history which binds the erstwhile Hyderabad State together is another fact: The Bollywood film distribution area is still called as the Nizam circuit.”
Amarbir Singh now hopes that Hyderabad is world-renowned for its culture, history, peace, civil society, cleanliness, corruption-free governance, pollution-free infrastructure, modernisation, education and traffic sense.