Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII GCSI GBE, was the last Nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until India annexed it
Mir Osman Ali Khan, was the last Nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until India annexed it. He was styled as His Exalted Highness- the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was one of the wealthiest individuals of all time. On February 22, 1937, Time featured him on its cover as the world’s richest person.

He was known as the “Architect of modern Hyderabad” and is credited with establishing many public institutions in the city of Hyderabad, including among others: Osmania University, Osmania General Hospital, State Bank of Hyderabad, Begumpet Airport, and the Hyderabad High Court. Two reservoirs, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar, were built during his reign, to prevent another great flood in the city.

The Nizam originally wanted to join India, but after its independence in 1947, he did not wish to accede his state to the newly formed nation. By then, his power had weakened because of the Telangana Rebellion and the rise of a radical militia known as the Razakars whom he could not put down. In 1948, the Indian Army invaded and annexed Hyderabad State, and the Nizam had to surrender. Post-independence, he became the Rajpramukh of Hyderabad State between 1950 and 1956, after which the state was partitioned and became part of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

In 1951, he not only started the construction of Nizam Orthopedic hospital , Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences and gave it to the government on a 99-year lease for a monthly rent of just Re.1,[10] he also donated 14,000 acres of land from his personal estate to Vinobha Bhave’s Bhoodan movement for re-distribution among landless farmers.