Hyderabad: Three years ago, in 2023, the last and eight titular Nizam of Hyderabad, Mukarram Jah, passed away at the age of 89, leaving behind a legacy that in some ways will always remind the city of his rather unceremonious life. Mukarram Jah is now remembered more as the man who squandered away the wealth of his grandfather (the seventh Nizam) Mir Osman Ali Khan (1911-48), who was once the world’s richest man.
However, one of his ex-wives, Esra Yegane (also known as princess Esra), over the last few decades emerged as the figure who began slowly fixing things, or the legacy of Mukarram Jah. From the Chowmahalla Palace (which has been restored and is open to the public) to the Falaknuma Palace (on lease to the Taj Group of Hotels), a semblance of order had come about.
Esra, in fact, is now a well-respected figure in Hyderabad, and criticism about her efforts here is rather unheard of. Until now, that is. Prince Azam Jah, the younger son of Mukarram Jah, is gunning against Esra and seeking a portion of the properties left by his deceased father. His elder brother, Prince Azmet Jah, had been declared as the “ninth” Nizam after their father’s death in 2023.
Fight for properties of 8th Nizam Mukarram Jah
Azam is now not only contesting that, but is also seeking a claim in the family’s estates, which he says Esra has taken over fully and not given him his due share. His mother, Helen Ayesha Jah, was Mukarram Jah’s second wife, who passed away in Australia in 1989. The eighth Nizam had migrated to Australia from Hyderabad, where he had bought a massive tract of land and begun rearing cattle.
He was married to Esra (Bergen) Yegane, which was followed by Helen Ayesha Simmons, Manolya Onur (mother of Niloufer), Jameela Boularous and Ayesha Orchedi. In a chat with Siasat.com, the younger son of Mukarram Jah spoke about his late father, their relationship, his feud with Esra and what he plans to do going forward.
Mukarram Jah did not spend most of his time in Hyderabad and India. Why is that? Did he leave behind a will before his death?
Azam Jah (AJ): You see, my father wanted a life in India. He was going to manufacture a car and made plenty of trips to Japan, but it was taken away from him by the government. He used to love India. However, I think he got very, very sick and tired of all of the dirty dealings over here. He also got very tired of trying to do the right thing and being punished for it.
It got to a certain point where he just wanted to find happiness.
You are currently also fighting a legal battle with Esra over the assets held by your late father. Can you tell us what it is that you are seeking and why you had to go to the courts?
AJ: I have no feelings for the rest of his (Mukarram Jah) children. I want what’s rightfully mine, and I have been forced to fight this alone. Personally, I am a little frustrated because I want my voice to be heard. The case has not been coming up. Everything is there, but each time it comes for listing, there is some issue or the other. I want my day in court.
You are talking about historic things here, the Asaf Jahi bloodline. My last name is Jah, and you can’t take that away from me. After his death, the assets or properties have to be divided as per Islamic law, and that is what I am asking for – my share. My father did not leave a will. I am entitled to two-sixths of all the income from the properties under the control of Esra.
I want to say on record that she put out some rumours that I have my father’s assets in Australia. That is absolute garbage. Between 1994-96, one of these horrible advisors, Sadruddin Zaveri, put my father in the blind. He was selling my father’s assets here, so every single asset of my father went straight into his pocket. All of this I can back up, as it was done through a company.
So when did Esra take over? After her divorce, how did she end up in that position?
AJ: She officially came on in 1998, and surprisingly good timing. Let me use an analogy about my father when it comes to money. My father understood that a phone is something that you can pick up and call. With regards to SIM card contracts and how they actually work, he had no idea. The same can be said about money.
He knew he had money, he knew he spent it to get things and that he had a lot of money. People preyed on that. When Indira Gandhi abolished the Privy Purse, they (Indian rulers) were thrown into the real world with very little understanding of things. I got nothing of the big house, and there was a big cattle farm, etc. They (Zaveri) took it all.
They took it all and sold it all off in the 1990s. When he and Esra were divorced in 1981, my mother and he had a nikah. Esra would not give him a divorce and they carried on for many years. The ink was barely dry, she went to Switzerland and started suing him there. Then, at least four times between 1983-95, Esra, through Azmet, was suing him here for assets and a lot of other things.
The poor man was under the barrage of legal cases. I miss him greatly. He was a difficult man, there is no doubt about that, but we used to get along. There was this wonderful time before he got too old in his early 1970s when we had some great times.
Had your father been in India, what do you think he would have been good at in terms of work? How were his last days like?
AJ: He would have been very good in the army (if he were not who he was). He got very sick towards the end (lots of trouble). He was a very, very sick man. It broke me into tears. When he was around, I was in Chiran Fort where I have my room. Esra’s last name is Bergen (Yegane), so why is she living in an Asaf Jahi palace while I am living in a rented hotel in Hyderabad?
If you are asking if he was living lavishly, the answer is no. The sicker he was, the worse his accommodation got. By the end of his life, he was living in…. let’s just say medium suburb housing. At that point, he was too sick to fight it. I can’t speak for the other children, but it bothered me. My father came to Australia with my mom and I, and she was the only wife he never divorced.
Do you currently have access to any of the palaces or properties?
AJ: Not at all, but Esra has a whole house in the Falaknuma. I find it interesting that there is lack of transparency.
Do you see any attempts at reconciliation from either side?
AJ: Lots of promises were made to me all the way through. When he died, I quickly figured none of it would come through. I took stock of the situation, maybe a month or two after. I thought if that’s who she is, so be it. But then I thought he was my father and I loved him. I gave Esra a call and said, “Esra you are going to do what you want, I can’t control it. However, from his house, can I get a few of his jackets and his Qurans.”
That’s it. She told me, “Azam, I have thrown out all his clothing, and I tell you what, I don’t think my children want any of his things. So, when you come to Istanbul, we can talk about it.” She could not even put his piece of the Kaaba, his Qurans and his jackets in a box and send them to me.
