This Turkish princess was married to son of world’s richest man and became ‘India’s daughter-in-law’; she is…, was married to…
New Delhi: Durre Shehwar, the elder daughter-in-law of the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, is remembered today for her social and philanthropic work done in Hyderabad. Shehwar was born in Turkey and grew up in France. She got married in 1931 to the son of the world’s richest man, the Nizam of Hyderabad. She spent her final years in London. She opened the doors of the Nizam’s household to modernity and did unprecedented work for the upliftment of women in Hyderabad. Princess Shehwar was married to the eldest son of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, Prince Azam Jah Bahadur.
This marriage established a relationship between two prominent Muslim families of the world, the Turkish Khalifa and the Asaf Jahi of Hyderabad. Durre Shehwar was the only daughter of the Turkish Khalifa Abdul Majid II. She was born in 1914 and grew up with modern education and training in martial arts. She aspired to be her father’s heir.
In March 1924, Turkey became a republic, leading to the end of the caliphate and the exile of the royal family from the country. Abdul Majid and his family settled in Nice, a southern French Mediterranean port city. The British Red Crescent Society, which sympathized with the ousted ruler, appealed to Muslim rulers around the world to help the ‘poor caliph.
Upon persuasion from Maulana Shaukat Ali and his brother Maulana Mohammad Ali, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan decided to send the deposed caliph a lifetime pension of 300 pounds and allowances to several other family members. When Durre Shehwar reached marriageable age, many royal Muslim families sent marriage proposals for their heirs, including the Shah of Persia and the King of Egypt.
Shaukat Ali asked Nizam to propose a marriage for his eldest son, Prince Azam Jah, to the daughter of the Khalifa. Shehwar’s father could not reject this alliance because Nizam had been his greatest support during tough times. The Khalifa then proposed marriage for Nizam’s younger son, Prince Mouzam Jah, with his brother’s daughter, Niloufar.
The weddings took place in a very simple ceremony on November 12, 1931.
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