CORONATION GOLDEN JUBILEE: NIZAM VIII HAD GRAND AUTOMOBILE DREAM FOR HYDERABAD.

"I would just sell out completely, give this whole establishment up and live on the income from my investments", Prince Mukkaram Jah told the New York Times (NYT) when its correspondent Joseph Lelyveld asked him what he would do if the Indian government went through with the proposal to abolish the Privy Purses of the former rulers. It was a few months after Prince Mukkaram Jah was coronated as the titular Nizam VIII of Hyderabad on 06th April, 1967. The NYT published the report on 17th August, 1967. Fifty years after his coronation Prince Mukkaram Jah continues to live outside Hyderabad. Heritage activists and admirers of the Nizam VIII celebrated the golden jubilee of his coronation recalling the grand event that held Hyderabad in awe. Film recordings of the coronation event will be screened and special prayers for the good health and longevity of the Nizam were offered. 06th April also happens to be the birthday of Prince Mukkaram Jah's grandfather, Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan. The Nizam VII had bypassed his eldest son Prince Azam Jah and made Prince Mukkaram Jah his successor. Prince Mukkaram Jah was reportedly fascinated by automobiles. News archives reveal that he had proposed to set up an automobile manufacturing unit in Hyderabad, long before the indigenous car Maruti rolled onto the roads. 
The proposal did not get through but the new Nizam had 'inherited a scrapyard'. The NYT had quoted Prince Mukkaram Jah as saying "I inherited a scrapyard. I have lifetime's work before me". News archives reveal that the Nizam VIII in his younger days in fact had a large collection of cars. He used to repair his cars, old timers recall. He reportedly did enough ground-work to launch a car manufacturing unit in Hyderabad. Mukkaram Jah reportedly approached his grandfather with the proposal of establishing a car plant. City historians reveal that in a few years Mukkaram Jah was able to mobilise sufficient funds for the project. Australian journalist John Zubrzycki, who wrote a book on Mukkaram Jah, said he had heard about the car factory plan but did not gather enough recorded evidence.
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