Niloufer, the daughter of Mukarram Jah, grandson of the last Nizam of
Hyderabad, plans to move court "for not being allowed" to meet her father and
also to seek her share in the ancestral property.
Niloufer, the daughter of Mukarram Jah and his third ex-wife and former Miss
Turkey Manolya Onur, who is in the city along with her mother, blames Princess
Esra Birgin, a former wife of Mukarram Jah, the titular Nizam of Hyderabad, for
not allowing her to meet or speak to her father for the last two years.
Niloufer, who stays in Turkey, says she will now step up her court battle
against Esra, who holds the power of attorney for Nizam's properties, if things
do not change.
Manolya Onur, who had won a divorce case against her former husband Mukarram Jah,
popularly called Nizam VIII, in 2006, said the ancient Chiran Palace worth
hundreds of crores of rupees was bequeathed to her daughter and asserted that
Esra was planning to make a trust out of Chiran Palace for herself, her daughter
and son, which is Niloufer’s rightful share from the Nizam's properties.
Esra married Mukarram Jah in 1959. They were married for 15 years. They have a
son (Azmat) and a daughter (Shekhya).
"Esra, who is already divorced from the Nizam, is now forcing her way into my
divorce settlement and asking from my daughter's rightful share," Manolya
claimed.
"The court case has not finished despite six years. She (Esra) is acting to get
everything herself and trying to sell the lands and whatever he (Nizam) got, and
now we will have no right to ask anything because she has got power of attorney.
We are not beggars on the street. Why we are asking for it (Chiran Palace) is
because it belongs to Niloufer," she said.
Holding Esra responsible for not allowing her to meet her father, Niloufer said,
"I cannot see my father. It is heartbreaking. I don’t know the reason why, and
that's what is making my angry and sad. That is what brought me back to India.
"If things are not going to change very soon, then when I come here (Hyderabad)
in March next year, I am going to live here for most of the time and open court
cases. I miss him. He is my father and I need to see him. It is over two years
since I have seen my father and it's been done on the directions of Esra. It is
my biggest haq (right). Because I am not able to see my father who is really
old," she said.
She said her father, Mukarram Jah, has been unwell and is admitted to a hospital
in London. She said that she would do whatever she could for him, adding that
she is not doing this for money.
"I am doing this for honour and for fairness. That’s mine and that's my haq
(right). This (Chiran Palace) is written on papers and said by my father to me
personally. It's going to be me from now on. Court cases will be only against
Esra and nothing against my father. I respect and love him so much," she said.
Chiran Palace was built by the Nizam on 400 acres of land in the 1960s. Over the
years, most of the land has been taken over by the forest department and
converted into a national park.
Emerging story. Watch this space for updates as more details come in
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.