This examination of the formally autonomous state of Hyderabad in a global comparative framework challenges the idea of the dominant British Raj as the sole sovereign power in the late colonial period. Beverley argues that Hyderabad's position as a subordinate yet sovereign 'minor state' was not just a legal formality, but that in exercising the right to internal self-government and acting as a conduit for the regeneration of transnational Muslim intellectual and political networks, Hyderabad was indicative of the fragmentation of sovereignty between multiple political entities amidst empires. By exploring connections with the Muslim world beyond South Asia, law and policy administration along frontiers with the colonial state, and urban planning in expanding Hyderabad City, Beverley presents Hyderabad as a locus for experimentation in global and regional forms of political modernity. This book recasts the political geography of late imperialism and historicises Muslim political modernity in South Asia and beyond.

The dramatic story of Mehdi Hasan and Ellen Donnelly, whose marriage convulsed high society in nineteenth-century India and whose notorious trial and fall reverberated throughout the British Empire, setting the benchmark for Victorian scandals. In April 1892, a damning pamphlet circulated in the south Indian city of Hyderabad, the capital of the largest and wealthiest princely state in the British Raj. An anonymous writer charged Mehdi Hasan, an aspiring Muslim lawyer from the north, and Ellen Donnelly, his Indian-born British wife, with gross sexual misconduct and deception. The scandal that ensued sent shock waves from Calcutta to London. Who wrote this pamphlet, and was it true? Mehdi and Ellen had risen rapidly among Hyderabad’s elites. On a trip to London they even met Queen Victoria. Not long after, a scurrilous pamphlet addressed to “the ladies of Hyderabad” charged the couple with propagating a sham marriage for personal gain. Ellen, it was claimed, had been a prostitute, and Mehdi was accused of making his wife available to men who could advance his career. To avenge his wife and clear his name, Mehdi filed suit against the pamphlet’s printer, prompting a trial that would alter their lives. Based on private letters, courtroom transcripts, secret government reports, and scathing newspaper accounts, Benjamin Cohen’s riveting reconstruction of the couple’s trial and tribulations lays bare the passions that ran across racial lines and the intimate betrayals that doomed the Hasans. Filled with accusations of midnight trysts and sexual taboos, An Appeal to the Ladies of Hyderabad is a powerful reminder of the perils facing those who tried to rewrite society’s rules. In the struggle of one couple, it exposes the fault lines that would soon tear a world apart.

There is great interest in recent scholarship in the study of metropolitan cultures in India as evident from the number of books that have appeared on cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Though Hyderabad has a rich archive of history scattered in many languages, very few attempts have been made to bring this scholarship together. The papers in this volume bring together this scholarship at one place. They trace the contribution of different languages and literary cultures to the multicultural mosaic that is the city of Hyderabad How it has acquired this uniqueness and how it has been sustained is the subject matter of literary cultures in Hyderabad. This work attempts to trace some aspects of the history of major languages practiced in the city. It also reviews the contribution of the various linguistic groups that have added to the development not just of varied literary cultures, but also to the evolution of an inclusive Hyderabadi culture. The present volume, it is hoped, will enthuse both younger and senior scholars and students to take a fresh look at the study of languages and literary cultures as they have evolved in India's cities and add to the growing scholarship of metropolitan cultures in India.

Hyderabad cricket has had a long and colourful history involving flamboyant players with interesting stories behind them. The game was first patronized by the aristocrats of the region especially Nawab Moin ud Dowla Bahadur who was a great cricket lover and ensured that the leading names of the pre-independence period were seen in action in Hyderabad. Players like CK Nayudu, Lala Amarnath, Mohammed Nissar and Englishmen such as Jack Hobbs and Bert Sutcliffe played on the fields of Hyderabad back then. There was a man named Syed Mohammad Hadi who represented India in the Davis Cup and also scored the first ever century in the Ranji trophy back in the 1930s. Hadi was talented in so many sports that someone nicknamed him Rainbow Hadi. He had as many skills as the colours of a rainbow. This book chronicles the beginnings and subsequent development of Hyderabad cricket right up to its present time and status. There was an aura about cricket in Hyderabad that was in keeping with the culture and ethos of the city. The lifestyle of Hyderabad was unique in the sense that it reflected the language and attitudes of the people who live in the city. It also had an effect on the way the game was played in this region. There are insights into the lives and careers of players such as M.L. Jaisimha, Mohammed Azharuddin, V.V.S. Laxman, Venkatapathy Raju and many others. Their exclusive comments and interviews with the author are fascinating to read

Legendary Narratives of Hyderabad is a compendium of narratives woven around the legends associated with Hyderabad. The book is a tribute to the great city of Hyderabad. Each legend vividly portrays the enchanting soul/spirit of the city. The magnificent city embodies a rich heritage and a unique culture and its secular spirit embodies peace and amity. The ten chapters of the book beautifully bring to life the confluence of cultures, cuisine, language and literature. They finely blend and enrich the Dakhni Tehzeeb, showcasing a style which is distinctly Hyderabadi in its nature and ethos. Hyderabad remains true to its epithet, “city of good fortune” (Farkhunda Buniyad in Persian). It is a majestic replica of heaven on earth and this book takes you on the journey of its past glory.

It is 1948. A newly-independent India is trying to persuade Hyderabad to join the Indian Union. Negotiations are difficult for both sides. The State Congress, now operating from Indian territory, has launched a campaign of violent raids, designed to cripple civil administration in the border areas, and provoke an annexation. The leading Islamic party inside Hyderabad, in an equally rash move, has created a paramilitary body, the Razakars, to counter the threat to Hyderabad’s borders. For Mohammed Hyder of the Hyderabad Civil Service, the newly-appointed Collector of Osmanabad District (situated on the Hyderabad-Bombay border), both, the wayward State Congress and the ramshackle Razakar outfit are a threat to law and order. This first-person account conveys a vivid picture of Hyderabad under pressure, through the eyes of a senior district administrator.