Hyderabad: Political and social structure

Harvard University’s Wilfred Cantwell Smith states that Hyderabad was an area where the political and social structure from medieval Muslim rule had been preserved more or less intact into modern times. The last Nizam was reputed to be the wealthiest man in the world. He was supported by an aristocracy of 1,100 feudal lords who owned a further 30% of the state's land, with some 4 million tenant farmers. The state also owned 50% or more of the capital in all the major enterprises, allowing the Nizam to earn further profits and control their affairs.

Next in the social structure were the administrative and official classes, comprising about 1,500 officials. A number of them were recruited from outside the state. The lower-level government employees were also predominantly Muslim. Effectively, the Muslims of Hyderabad represented an 'upper caste' of the social structure.

All power was vested in the Nizam. He ruled with the help of an Executive Council or Cabinet, established in 1893, whose members he was free to appoint and dismiss. The government of the Nizam recruited heavily from the North Indian Hindu Kayastha caste for administrative posts.

There was also an Assembly, whose role was mostly advisory. More than half of its members were appointed by the Nizam and the rest were elected from a carefully limited franchise. There were representatives of Hindus, Parsis, Christians and Depressed Classes in the Assembly. Their influence was however limited due to their small numbers

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