HYDERABAD: Although it looks unlikely that Pakistan will appeal in the UK’s Supreme Court over the right to the Rs 307 crore fund, it is highly probable that closer home, there will be a rift between the many kin of the Nizam over its distribution.
The Central government is also liable to get a certain portion of the funds, the details of which were agreed upon by the seventh Nizam’s grandsons Princes Mukarram and Mufakkham Jah.
Although the details of the division is not known, it is widely speculated that the two Princes would get a lion's share of the amount.
The problem lies as over 120 other descendants of Nizam VII Osman Ali Khan Bahadur also lay claim over the funds.
Speaking to Express, one of the great-grandsons of the Nizam VII, Nawab Najaf Ali Khan said, “I had reignited the issue in 2008. Nobody was talking about it then.”
It was in 2013, that Pakistan staked claim to the funds, forcing India and the Princes into the court battle. Now, Khan said that the distribution will be addressed when family members meet next.
Mohammed Safiullah, a heritage activist, felt that a court case regarding the matter was possible.
He said, “They (kin) have always been deprived of a large share of the Nizam’s wealth. It is possible that they might go to court for their share.”
Safiullah urged the Princes to distribute money among their needy relatives and to set up a trust which will sustain the various institutions of the Nizams.