Nawab Mehdi Nawaz Jung

Syed Muhammad Mehdi, also known as Mehdi Nawaz Jung, was born in Hyderabad on May 24, 1894. He came from a respected family of Hyderabad and his ancestors served Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I.

Mehdi Nawaz Jung began his education at Madrasa-i-Aliya and later attended Nizam College. After completing his education, he joined Nizam Government and was sent to Bellary district for revenue administration training in 1915. Upon his return, he was appointed as Assistant Collector at Gulbarga and later as Revenue Divisional Officer at Aurangabad. He then served as a special officer responsible for famine relief, where he made a significant impact. He took a particular interest in co-operative societies, and in 1923, the Nizam’s Government sent him to Europe to study the co-operative movement. Nawab Saheb was also a pioneer promoter of Cottage Industries and its sales depots in Hyderabad, and the present flourishing business of Bidriware and Nirmal industry is due to his efforts.

In 1926, Mehdi Nawaz Jung was appointed as a Cabinet Secretary, and he remained in that post for 11 years. In 1937, as Municipal Commissioner of Hyderabad, he took a special interest in the electrification of the old city and undertook construction of dust-proof roads on an extensive scale. As a result of these measures, Hyderabad became famous for its network of wide roads, and a good drainage system was also initiated by him as a model in the region.

After a brief spell as Secretary of Commerce and Industry, he was elevated to a diplomatic post in 1947 as Nizam’s Agent General in Berar. He also served as Peshi Secretary to Maharaja Kishen Pershad when he was the Prime Minister of Hyderabad. Later, Mehdi Nawaz Jung wrote the Maharaja’s biography in Urdu, which was published in 1955. The Nilofer Hospital, the Radium Institute, and Cancer Hospital in Hyderabad stand as monuments to the social work of Mehdi Nawaz Jung.