{ "id": "epk5054yfm", "slug": "akbar-hydari", "title": "Akbar Hydari", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history" }, { "id": "society.history.asia", "label": "Asian history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india", "label": "India and South Asia", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india.company", "label": "Company rule (1757 to 1858)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.company" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers", "label": "Princely states and rulers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures", "label": "Court officials and cultural figures", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures", "label": "India · 1800 to 1945: Court officials and cultural figures", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800", "label": "India · 1800 to 1945", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia", "label": "Asian history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india", "label": "India and South Asia", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company", "label": "Company rule (1757 to 1858)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers", "label": "Princely states and rulers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures", "label": "Court officials and cultural figures", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1800.society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Akbar Hydari (اکبر حیدری) was an Indian civil servant who served as prime minister of Hyderabad State from 1937 to 1941 and founded Osmania University.", "snippet": "Akbar Hydari (اکبر حیدری) was an Indian civil servant who served as prime minister of Hyderabad State from 1937 to 1941 and founded Osmania University.", "node": "society.history.asia.india.company.princely-states-and-rulers.court-officials-and-cultural-figures", "markdown": "# Akbar Hydari\n\nSir Akbar Hydari (اکبر حیدری), full name Sir Muhammad Akbar Nazar Ali Hydari, Nawab Hydar Nawaz Jung Bahadur (8 November 1869 – 8 January 1942), was an Indian civil servant and politician who served as President of the Hyderabad State Executive Council, the prime minister of [Hyderabad State](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad-state), from 1937 to 1941.[1](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244) • [3](https://aurobindoru.auromaa.org/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) His career ran from the Indian Finance Department through his service in Hyderabad's administration from 1905.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [3](https://aurobindoru.auromaa.org/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) \n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Born | 8 November 1869, Bombay[1](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244) • [2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) |\n| Died | 8 January 1942, New Delhi (some accounts give November 1941)[1](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244) • [2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) |\n| Community and family | Sulaymani Bohra; son of a businessman; nephew of Badruddin Tyabji[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) |\n| Hyderabad service | Accountant-General from 1905; Home Secretary from 1911[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm); Finance and Railway Member of the State Executive Council 1921–37[5](https://archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/hydari-sir-akbar-nawab-hydar-nawaz-jung-bahadur-1869-1942-knight-indian-politician) |\n| Prime Minister of Hyderabad | 1937 to 1941[1](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244) • [3](https://aurobindoru.auromaa.org/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) |\n| Best-known act | His initiative for Osmania University, the first university with an Indian language, Urdu, as its medium of instruction[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) |\n\n## Origins and family\n\nHydari was born in Bombay on 8 November 1869 into the Muslim Sulaymani Bohra community, the son of a businessman.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) His mother was the sister of Badruddin Tyabji, a lawyer and early Congress leader.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) He was educated at St Xavier's College and graduated from Bombay University at the age of 17.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0)\n\n## Career\n\n**Finance service, 1888–1905.** Hydari joined the Indian Finance Department of the [Government of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/government-of-india) in 1888, serving, according to the [University of Nottingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-nottingham)'s conference delegates project, at Nagpur, Lahore, Allahabad, Bombay, and Madras, and became Comptroller of India Treasuries in 1903.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) \n\n**Hyderabad administration, 1905–1937.** In 1905 he was deputed to Hyderabad State as Accountant-General, and became [Home Secretary](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-secretary) in 1911.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) In 1921 he entered the State Executive Council as Finance Member.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) • [4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) \n\nHis years as a [Hyderabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad) minister produced several lasting institutions. [Osmania University](https://www.edgepedia.org/osmania-university), the first university in which the medium of instruction was an Indian language, Urdu, was brought into existence in 1917 by a firman of the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, following an initiative by Hydari, who as Home Secretary had proposed the university in a memorandum.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) • [8](https://www.osmania.ac.in/aboutus.php) According to a [Sri Aurobindo Ashram](https://www.edgepedia.org/sri-aurobindo-ashram)-related account, he had the High Court building constructed and established the State Archaeology Department, which undertook the preservation of archaeological remains in the State.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) The separation of the judiciary from the executive, a first in India, was carried out in Hyderabad in 1922.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) \n\n**Prime Minister of Hyderabad, 1937–1941.** Hydari served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad from 1937 to 1941, and was President of the Hyderabad State Executive Council for 1937–41.[1](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244) • [3](https://aurobindoru.auromaa.org/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm)\n\n**Round Table Conferences and federation, 1930–1931.** He joined the Federal Structure Committee on 17 November 1930, and on 13 December 1930 [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) announced that he would read a paper, \"Hyderabad Today\", at Caxton Hall, Westminster, chaired by the Marquess of Zetland.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) On 15 January 1931 the committee's second report favored a bicameral federal legislature with British Indian and Indian States representatives in both houses, following Hydari's scheme more than that of Haksar.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) On 20 May 1931 Hydari and [Mirza Ismail](https://www.edgepedia.org/mirza-ismail) agreed five safeguards for the Indian States within a federation, including limited federal subjects and a Crown guarantee of treaty rights.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0)\n\n## Political influence\n\nWithin Hyderabad he built institutions that outlasted him: Osmania University with Urdu as the medium of instruction, the State Archaeology Department, the Hyderabad Civil Service, and the 1922 separation of judiciary and executive.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) • [3](https://aurobindoru.auromaa.org/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) At the all-India level he represented Hyderabad in the federal negotiations of 1930–31.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) The historian Ian Copland writes that \"in retrospect it can fairly be said that Hydari's conversation on the sea-road to Aden marked the moment when all-India federation became practical politics.\"[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) The Federal Structure Committee's second report of 15 January 1931 followed his scheme for a bicameral federal legislature in preference to Haksar's, and on 20 May 1931 he agreed five safeguards with Mirza Ismail.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0)\n\n## Death\n\nHydari died on 8 January 1942 in New Delhi.[1](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244) • [2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) A differing account, in the biographical page associated with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, gives his death as November 1941 in Hyderabad.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm)\n\n## Historians' assessment\n\nIan Copland treats Hydari's role in the Round Table Conference era as decisive in making all-India federation a practical political proposition.[2](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0) Scholarly work on Hyderabad's structure of rule, such as the Modern Asian Studies article \"Reassessing Indirect Rule in Hyderabad: Rule, Ruler, or Sons-in-Law of the State?\", addresses the political context in which ministers like Hydari operated.[6](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/reassessing-indirect-rule-in-hyderabad-rule-ruler-or-sonsinlaw-of-the-state/9C935D484B241A8188EEABE37F2093E8)\n\n## Legacy\n\nHydari's papers are held in the [Trinity College, Cambridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/trinity-college-cambridge) archives, which catalog him as \"Sir Akbar Nawab Hydar Nawaz Jung Bahadur (1869-1942), knight, Indian politician\"; the collection includes correspondence such as a letter to F. W. Pethick-Lawrence referring to his Punjab University Convocation Address.[5](https://archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/hydari-sir-akbar-nawab-hydar-nawaz-jung-bahadur-1869-1942-knight-indian-politician) • [7](https://archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/letter-from-sir-akbar-hydari-to-f-w-pethick-lawrence) In 1938 he arranged a gift of one lakh (100,000) rupees from the government of Hyderabad that largely funded the construction of Golconde, a fifty-room dormitory for Ashram inmates.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm) Osmania University, established under his responsibility in 1918 as the first university with an Indian language, Urdu, as its medium of instruction, was founded during his years as a Hyderabad minister.[4](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Hydari, Rt Hon. Sir Akbar Nawab Hydar Nawaz Jung Bahadur, Who Was Who (Oxford University Press)](https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u227244)\n2. [Attendees: Sir Muhammad Akbar Nazar Ali Hydari, Nawab Hydar Nawaz Jung Bahadur, University of Nottingham](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/conferencing-the-international/delegates/people.aspx?id=52e91fac-5a0e-4db1-a0bb-909f71f8e3b0)\n3. [Sir Akbar Hydari, Sri Aurobindo Ashram-related biographical page (mirror)](https://aurobindoru.auromaa.org/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm)\n4. [Sir Akbar Hydari, Sri Aurobindo Ashram-related biographical account](https://sri-aurobindo.co.in/images/00005/02290_m_e.htm)\n5. [Hydari, Sir Akbar Nawab Hydar Nawaz Jung Bahadur (1869-1942), Trinity College Cambridge archives](https://archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/hydari-sir-akbar-nawab-hydar-nawaz-jung-bahadur-1869-1942-knight-indian-politician)\n6. [Reassessing Indirect Rule in Hyderabad: Rule, Ruler, or Sons-in-Law of the State?, Modern Asian Studies](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/reassessing-indirect-rule-in-hyderabad-rule-ruler-or-sonsinlaw-of-the-state/9C935D484B241A8188EEABE37F2093E8)\n7. [Letter from Sir Akbar Hydari to F. W. Pethick-Lawrence, Trinity College Cambridge archives](https://archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/letter-from-sir-akbar-hydari-to-f-w-pethick-lawrence)\n8. [Aboutus (osmania.ac.in)](https://www.osmania.ac.in/aboutus.php)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › India and South Asia › Company rule (1757 to 1858) › Princely states and rulers › Court officials and cultural figures*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Akbar Hydari\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Akbar Hydari](https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari](https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Akbar Hydari\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/akbar-hydari. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Akbar Hydari was an Indian civil servant who served as prime minister of Hyderabad State from 1937 to 1941 and founded Osmania University." }