Sahebzadi Basheerunnisa Begum, Last surviving Offspring of 7th & Last Hyderabad Nizam Passes Away

Hyderabad : Basheerunnisa Begum, the last descendant of Osman Ali Khan, the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, passed away on Tuesday morning. Basheerunnisa was the last surviving daughter of the last Nizam. She died at the age of 93. She breathed her last at her home in Purani Haveli on Tuesday morning. She is survived by her only daughter Rasheedunnisa Begum.

Nizam’s grandson and president of Nizam Family Welfare Association Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, told IANS “It’s a big loss to the family as Sahebzadi Basheerunnissa Begum Saheba was an epitome of Hyderabadi culture, tradition, and values,”.

Out of the 16 daughters of the 7th and last Nizam, Sahebzadi Basheerunnisa lived with her daughter Rashidunnisa in Purani Haveli, Hyderabad. Purani Haveli is one of the Nizam’s havelis. Basheerunnisa’s husband was Nawab Kazim Yar Jung, who was known as ‘Ali Pasha’. He died in 1998.

Basheerunnisa was cremated on Tuesday. Her funeral was not performed in a royal manner due to the infection of the Coronavirus Pandemic. She was buried at the Dargah Hazrat Yahiya Pasha in the old city of Hyderabad. Many members of the Nizam’s family participated in the funeral.

Hyderabad’s last 7th Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan was featured on the cover of ‘TIME – The Weekly Magazine’ along with other princely state rulers, he was also declared the world’s richest man of his time, his net worth was equal to America’s economy at that time. He died in 1967.

The last Nizam had refused to accede to India after the country’s independence on August 15, 1947. He wanted to remain an independent state or join Pakistan. The princely state ultimately merged with the Indian Union in September 1948 after an operation by the Indian Army.