Mirza Ismail
Encyclopedia
Amin-ul-Mulq Sir Mirza Muhammad Ismail, KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...

, Kt
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

  ; (24 October 1883– 8 January 1959) was a Diwan (Diwan means Prime Minister) of the Kingdom of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...

, Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 and Hyderabad.

Sir Chetpat Pattabhirama Ramaswami Iyer, Diwan, Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 considered him “one of the cleverest men in India”. While long time friend Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman said “Sir Mirza’s accessibility and personal charm coupled with his depth of knowledge and his keen sense of human and cultural values made him a great and highly successful administrator”

Early years

Mirza Ismail was born on October 24, 1883 in Bangalore. He was the grandson of Ali Asker. Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and him were classmates in college. After his graduation from Bangalore in 1904 he started off as an Asst Superintendent of Police with the government.

Diwan of Mysore

Mirza Ismail became the private secretary to the Maharajah, who had great faith in his administrative acumen and abilities to implement them. It was at this time the King urged Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya to guide him. It is well documented that Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya  became Mirza Ismail's mentor. In 1926 on the recommendation of Vishvesvaraya the King supplemented Mirza Ismail by elevating him to the coveted position of the Diwan of Mysore.

The Kingdom of Mysore under the reigns of Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV , also known popularly as Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar , was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is regarded as one of the most celebrated rulers among the Indian States when India was still under British rule...

 and Sir Mirza Ismail was known as "the golden age of Mysore", prompting Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 to call it Ram Rajya, implying they were like brothers and despite their religious backgrounds they put the welfare of the people of the state above all else. An ideal which he later lamented Nehru and Jinnah could not achieve.

Lord Sankey said during the Round table conference that Mysore was "the best administered state in the world". Princes from other sections of India were sent to Mysore for administrative training.

Mirza Ismail had a deep love for his state and encouraged Sanskrit and made Kannada compulsory to all in the State. He believed "If Sanskrit would be divorced from the everyday life of the masses of this country, a light would be gone from the life of the people and the distinctive features of Hindu culture which have won for it an honoured place in world-thought would soon be affected to the great disadvantage and loss both of India and of the world.”

He attended to the needs of society with an impartial outlook, religious biases were never part of his administrative agenda. Peace, Progress, Economic Wealth and welfare for the people and the state were his top priority.

Considered a pioneer he helped Bangalore attain its modern outlook and vision. His contributions over this period of time were countless the most notable would be the meticulously planned and designed Brindavan Gardens
Brindavan Gardens
The Brindavan Gardens is a garden located in the state of Karnataka in India. It lies adjoining the Krishnarajasagara dam which is built across the river Kaveri. The work on laying out this garden was started in the year 1927 and completed in 1932...

, located on the terrace of the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam, near the Mysore City. The gardens contain a number of fountains in all shapes and sizes and in the evenings they are tastefully illuminated giving the gardens a fairy tale look.

During his time the Medical College was established in Mysore also. The Bangalore Town Hall
Bangalore Town Hall
Bangalore Town Hall is a neoclassical municipal building in Bangalore, India. The town hall is named after the philanthropist and former president of Bangalore city municipality, Sir K.P Puttanna Chetty....

 and the first rural electrification programme in India were also implemented by him. Like his mentor Mirza Ismail was a man who was Industry friendly and set up Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and...

.

His contributions to the Indian Science Academy in Bangalore also are worth mentioning also. It was his initiatives which helped to get twelve acres of land from the Maharajah for the Academy in which the Raman Institute also is established. The Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman paid eloquent tributes to Sir Mirza in the following words:” For many years, in fair weather as well as in foul, Sir Mirza Ismail remained the truest of friends to me, ever ready to give support and advice. He leaves behind him a memory which will be treasured and cherished by all who have known him.”

He was a superlative administrator and set an inspiring example to the officials by undertaking extensive tours and personally looking to the grievances of the people. Over his fourteen years of service, Mysore State made substantial progress in the field of industries, both in the private and public sectors. If Vishvesvaraya paved the way for the eventual establishment of the sugar industry, the credit for actually bringing the factory into existence went to Mirza Ismail who was largely instrumental in sponsoring the company by taking advantage of the favourable opportunity presented by the grant of protection to the sugar industry in 1932. The Sugar Factory at Shimoga and the Khadi Production Centre at Badanval were the other industries that were set up during his time. A Trade Commissioner was also appointed in London.
The Cauvery high level canal was also constructed, irrigating 120,000 acres (490 km²) of land in Mandya district. Other industries started during his period as diwan include Porcelain Factory and the Glass Factory all in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 were established paper, cement, steel, fertilizers, sugar and electric bulbs. Vasya Bank, cement factory, the Chemical and Fertilizers factory and Sugar mills. In 1940, he laid the foundation stone of the Jamia Masjid
Jamia Masjid
The term Jamia Masjid refers to any central mosque in a city, town, village or other locality in the Muslim world wherein the Muslims offer congregational prayers of Friday and Eid prayers, etc....

 mosque, near City Market in Bangalore.

Mirza Ismail also ensured the Maharajas assets and investments earned healthy profits and were protected. Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV , also known popularly as Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar , was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is regarded as one of the most celebrated rulers among the Indian States when India was still under British rule...

  was deemed the richest King in the country at the time of his death.

A major part of his administration was spent in suppressing various kinds of public disturbances. He had to do a great deal of tight-rope walking in the face of popular agitations conducted by the Congress Party. He had to maintain good relations with the top Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

 leaders like Gandhi and Nehru on one hand and in alliance with Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV , he did everything possible to suppress Congress movement in the State for fear of communal violence and unrest on the Garden City of India. It was this very fear which came to the fore over Sultanpet Ganapathi Disturbances in Bangalore in 1928 this upheaval created the long desired opportunity the Congress desired and they finally gained ground in the illusive state of Mysore also.

Following the King Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV death in 1940, he continued as the Diwan with king Jayachamaraja Wodeyar. However, he resigned in 1941 over differences.

Prime Minister of Jaipur

In 1941, he joined the Kingdom of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 in Rajastan as the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

. The chamber of commerce in Jaipur duly recorded the regime of Sir Mirza Ismail was “the beginning of the Industrial era of Jaipur.”

Soon after his arrival in Jaipur, in 1942, he constituted a committee on Constitutional Reforms, these efforts considerably enhanced HH Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Sawai Man Singh II’s reputation and his Durbar in the Congress circles. Jaipur is said to be first planned city of India. Mirza Ismail contributed greatly to winning accolades from all including the British government and the locals alike for his great administrative skills. Mirza Ismail is considered the architect of Modern Jaipur and the main thoroughfare of Jaipur has been named Mirza Ismail Road in his memory.

Ghanshyam Das Birla
Ghanshyam Das Birla
Ghanshyam Das "G.D." Birla was an Indian businessman and member of the influential Birla Family.Birla's grandfather Shiv Narayana Birla wanted to diversify from the traditional marwari business of lending money against pawned items. He left Pilani, his hometown in Rajasthan with a modest capital...

 was a close friend of Sir Mirza Ismail who used to fund the grand projects Mirza Ismail envisaged for Jaipur. When banks were permitted to open branches in Jaipur, United Commercial Bank, under chairmanship of GD Birla, was the first to be permitted to open a branch there in 1945. The Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, was upgraded to grant degrees and the National Ball- bearing company was established under guidance from Sir Mirza.

Encouraged by Sir Mirza Ismail on the benefits of education, In 1943 the foundation of the Maharani Gayatri Devi School was laid. Till the Maharani's last days she continued to share a special relationship with Mysore, notably Sir Mirza Ismail and his family, as "he had rendered very noteworthy services for the planning and development of Jaipur as a Model and Modern State".

In 1945, he chaired the "Indian Writers Council" for the International PEN in Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 where Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu , also known by the sobriquet The Nightingale of India, was a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet...

 and Edward Morgan Forster were some of the attendants

Even after resigning as Prime Minister Sir Mirza Ismail remained advisor to the State and its affair pertaining to development. 1949 he was instrumental with the sanctioning of the building for the Jaipur Medical Association.

Diwan of Hyderabad

In 1945 Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....

 had a fall out with Mirza Ismail when he refused to help build a Great Pakistan, this decision was made because Mirza Ismail objected to the Partition of India in entirety and there was nothing beyond India for him. So it came as no surprise when Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....

 heard that Mirza Ismail was considering moving to Hyderabad, he opposed the decision openly.

In 1946, he finally accepted and became Diwan of Hyderabad, also called Sadar-i-Azam (Prime Minister), during the difficult years of 1946-48 of the Princely State of Hyderabad, while Lt.General His Exalted Highness Mir Osman Ali Khan (r.1911-48). Hyderabad was ruler. Sir Mirza Ismail put forth his best skills on the issue of accession of Hyderabad and negotiated a 'Standstill" agreement with the Indian Government for a one year period to resolve the issue of accession of Hyderabad province to the Indian government amicably. Pro-India leaders like Nawab Mehadi Nawaz Jung, Barrister Akbar Ali Khan
Akbar Ali Khan
Akbar Ali Khan is a Bangladeshi economist and educationist who served as a bureaucrat until 2001. He was the SDO of Habiganj during the Bangladesh Liberation War, when he decided to join the war. Later he served as an official of the Mujibnagar Government...

, famous editor Sohaibulla Khan, Nawab Ali Yavar Jung
Ali Yavar Jung
Nawab Ali Yavar Jung was an eminent Indian diplomat. He was governor of the Indian state of Maharashtra from 1971 to 1976....

 and others supported the peace moves of Sir Mirza Ismail and tried to change the attitude of the Nizam from confrontation to coordination. With the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

, the Nizam became more set against acceding to India and took on a militant stand. As a result, Sir Mirza Ismail resigned from his post in disgust, which led to a very public and unpleasant interview by the Nizam. Soon after in 1948 as a result of insubordination the police launched Operation Polo and Hyderabad became part of the Indian Union in 1948.

Honours

He was appointed an OBE in 1922 by the British Government for his services to India , and was appointed a CIE in 1924. He was knighted in 1930 and was further appointed a KCIE in 1936.

In 1938, he was appointed an Associate Commander of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

Books

Sir Mirza Ismail has penned his memoirs under the title “My Public Life” published in 1954 before his death on 5 January 1959 at his house Windsor lodge in Bangalore.

The following Books are just a few references of Sir Mirza Ismail's Essays, Lectures and Interactions

Mahatma Gandhi -Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Page 143 onwards)-An Indian Statesman's Tribute by Sir Mirza M. Ismail, KCIE (Dewan of Mysore; Bangalore, India)

Indian Round Table Conference Proceedings By Various

The new India, 1948-1955: memoirs of an Indian civil servant By Asok Mitra

Encyclopaedia of Higher Education: Convocation address By Suresh Kant Sharma (Page 111 onwards)
-Education and Unity for Economic Upliftment

Sir Mirza M. Ismail: views and opinions on his retirement from the office of Dewan of Mysore
Publisher Printed at the Bangalore Press, 1942

Studies on Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail: collection of seminar papers-Sūryanātha Kāmat

Anecdotes of Quaid-i-Azam-Masudul Hasan 1976 (Page 82 onwards )

International PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....

 Indian Writers in Council By K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar-Inaugural Address by Prime Minister, Sir Mirza Ismail

Personal life

Sir Mirza's grandfather Ali Askar was a Persian trader who fled Iran and took refuge under the wings of the Maharaja of Mysore. He trained the royal cavalry and supplied horses to the stable. He was an ardent advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. Over a period of time he evolved into a prominent builder and landowner in Bangalore and adjoining cities. Bangalore has named two thoroughfares in the honour of him Ali Askar Road and his brother Aga Abbas Ali Road honoring their accomplishments in the city of Bangalore. Ali Asker created the Ali Asker Waqf Estate.

Mirza Ismail married Zeebundeh Begum Shirazi and they had three children Humayun Mirza, Shah Taj Begum and Gauhar Taj Begum.
Khaleel Shirazie whose business empire extended from Madras to Singapore and China was his cousin, he was also the father in law to Mirza Ismail's children Humayun Mirza and Shah Taj Begum respectively. While his youngest daughter Gauhar Taj married his cousin Mirza Namazie's son in Singapore's Mirza Ghulam Hussain Namazie who was Director of MA Namazie Ltd, Singapore,

M. M. Ispahani
M. M. Ispahani
M. M. Ispahani Bengali, Urdu is a family which run M. M. Ispahani Limited, a Bangladeshi business conglomerate.-History:Haji Mohammed Hashem the founder of The House of Ispahni, moved from Ispahan origins from ancient Ispadana in Persia to Bombay in 1820 and established what was to become one of...

 the founder of The House of Ispahani and M. M. Ispahani Limited
M. M. Ispahani Limited
M. M. Ispahani Limited is a Bangladeshi industrial conglomerate. This group employs approximately 10,000 people. This company has got Bangladesh Business Awards 2003 in the category enterprise of the year. According to The Daily Star, Ispahani group is one of the most respected business concerns in...

 one of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 most illustrious businessmen was Mirza Ismail's cousin.

Sir Mirza's grandson, Akbar Mirza Khaleeli, followed in his grandfathers footsteps and joined the IFS
IFS
-Geographical:* Irish Free State, a state in Ireland which existed in the early part of the 20th century* Ifs, Calvados, a commune of the département of Calvados, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France* Ifs , a river in Francehello...

 between 1959–1994 and who served as Ambassador in Iran, Italy and Australia. He was Advisor to the Indian Government on Middle Eastern Affairs for many years after his retirement. Mirza Ismail's granddaughter Shakereh Khaleeli
Shakereh Khaleeli
Shakereh Namazie . Shakereh was the daughter of late Gulam Hussain Namazie and Gauhar Taj Begum Mirza .Shakereh's first husband Akbar Mirza Khaleeli is retired Senior IFS officer who was the Indian Ambassador to...

 née Namazie, ex wife of Akbar Khaleeli was murdered in 1991, and a final verdict of life imprisonment was awarded to her murderer in 2008. They have four daughters: Zeebundeh Khaleeli, Sabah Backhache, Rehane Yavar Dhala
Rehane Yavar Dhala
Begum Rehane Yavar Dhala née Begum Rehane Khaleeli , best known as REHANE, is a fashion designer based in Chennai, India and known for her mélange of modern Indian sensibilities with a strong sense of European haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion.Rehane's flagship store is in Chennai with...

 and Essmath Khaleeli.

Agha Shahi
Agha Shahi
Agha Shahi NI was a Pakistani diplomat and Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1977 to 1982, during the regime of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. He served as the President of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad till his death.-Diplomatic career:Shahi gained M.Sc...

 and Agha Hilaly
Agha Hilaly
Agha Hilaly was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the Government of Pakistan, including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States.-Career and Family Baxkground:...

also inspired by Mirza Ismail, they choose to migrate to Pakistan during partition and became Foreign Secretaries of the Nation.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK