From private passion to public treasure, the story of Hyderabad’s Salar Jung Museum

Hyderabad: Anyone visiting the Salar Jung Museum is left awestruck by the opulence, grandeur and uniqueness of its vast collection. What many do not know, however, is the story of how the institution came into being 75 years ago. According to members of the Salar Jung family, the museum’s genesis can be traced to an informal conversation between a statesman-politician, a distinguished bureaucrat and a senior member of Hyderabad’s nobility. That discussion eventually led to the creation of what is today one of the world’s largest and most important museums.As Hyderabad prepares to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the Salar Jung Museum with week-long festivities beginning June 14, Ahtheram Ali Khan, a scion of the Salar Jung family, reflects on its origins and on a centuries-old family tradition of collecting art, artefacts, manuscripts and rare objects. A former member of the Salar Jung Museum board, Ahtheram Ali Khan told TOI that India’s first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, bureaucrat-educationist Nawab Mehdi Nawaz Jung, and Nawab Turab Yar Jung, a senior member of the Salar Jung family, were discussing Hyderabad’s traditions and culture when the conversation turned to the need for a museum to house the collection of Nawab Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung III.Within months, Nehru’s suggestion became a reality. The Salar Jung Museum formally came into existence on December 16, 1951, at Diwan Deodi, the residence of Salar Jung III.Hyderabad was still settling down after Operation Polo in 1948, which brought the Asaf Jahi dynasty to an end. Nehru had already made a couple of visits to the newly integrated state and often interacted with members of the city’s nobility. Turab Yar Jung, a first cousin of Salar Jung III and the founding president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, was among them.According to Ahtheram Ali Khan, Nehru’s visit to Diwan Deodi and his fascination with the extensive collection of art, artefacts and manuscripts convinced him that these treasures should be placed on public display. Salar Jung III, who had served as prime minister of Hyderabad State, passed away in 1949 and had opposed displaying his personal collection. However, multiple claims emerged over his estate after his death, and the proposal to establish a museum helped prevent the collection from being divided among relatives or pilfered away.Ahtheram Ali Khan, the grandson of Turab Yar Jung, says the Salar Jung family traces its lineage to Hazrat Owais Al-Qarni, who lived during the time of Prophet Muhammad about 14 centuries ago, through Owais II, who migrated to the Deccan during the reign of Yusuf Ali Shah of the Adil Shahi dynasty.“The ancestors of the Salar Jungs were known for their extensive collections of manuscripts. This special quality was also evident among the Salar Jungs,” he says.Explaining how Salar Jung III developed his passion for collecting at a young age, Ahtheram Ali Khan says he carefully preserved toys gifted by family members, visitors and relatives. “Most children would play with toys and discard them after some time. But Salar Jung III would not. He kept them safely as part of his collection. Today, these toys are displayed in one of the museum’s galleries,” he says.The museum today houses objects collected not only by Salar Jung III but also by his ancestors, particularly Mir Turab Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung I. All three Salar Jungs, along with two of their forefathers, served as prime ministers to the Nizams of Hyderabad.Salar Jung III, who briefly served as prime minister during the reign of Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam VII, stepped away from politics after two years and devoted himself full-time to collecting. The result was an extraordinary assemblage of treasures that would eventually form the Salar Jung Museum—perhaps the largest single-man collection in the world..