Kin of Nizam who donated gold coins to Govt of India, visits RBI museum in city

KOLKATA: Najaf Ali Khan, grandson of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan, on Sunday visited the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) museum in Kolkata to see the gold coins donated by his grandfather to the Government of India in 1965.

A collection of 25 coins from different eras have been kept as display samples at the museum. According to the plaque of testimony displayed at the museum, over 33,000 coins were donated by the Nizam to the Union government back then.

"National Defence Fund (NDF) was set up in 1962 at the time of Chinese aggression to mobilise resources for national defence. In 1965, moved by the appeal of the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, common people donated gold jewellery to the Indian government. Huzoor Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, the then Nawab of Hyderabad donated over 33,000 gold coins to the Indian government," the plaque read. Later, a committee appointed by the Indian government suggested that barring common coins, all should be kept in a group and may be considered as important holdings by the Monetary Museum of RBI in Mumbai. The 25 coins displayed at the RBI museum of Kolkata is part of that collection.The grandson of Nizam, Najaf Ali Khan, was the first member of his family to visit the RBI museum and to see the display of coins.

According to the museum officials, a letter had been sent to the museum requesting a time of visit from the Nawab. It was decided that he would visit the place on Sunday at 11:30 am. Khan flew to the city from Hyderabad and visited the museum, where he not only saw the coins donated by his grandfather but also took a detailed tour of the museum, guided by the Assistant General Manager Sourabh Deb and accompanied by Curator of Mint Museum in Alipore Rehan Ahamad.

"I was shocked when Deb told me about the collection, I did not know about it. Thirty-three thousand gold coins of different eras, my grandfather who collected them must have the patience to do so and keep them in one place," Khan said.

According to Khan, there was a confusion amongst people that the Nizam had not donated the gold coins to the government. "People who do not know should come and see this (the display of the collection of gold coins)," he said.