Hyderabad: During the reign of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister of India, the Asaf Jah VIII Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan Makarram Jah Bahadur spent a brief time in the Teen Murti Bhawan where the then Prime Minister kept him as his Special Envoy.
It is said that during Pandit Nehru’s regime, measures were taken to give Asaf Jah VIII the post of Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India for Arab and Muslim countries. In fact, Makarram Jah Bahadur was once sent to Iraq as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, however, he did not visit any other Muslim or Arab country as the Special Envoy later.
During the regime of Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, Mukarram Jah was also offered the post of Vice President of India. However, Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan refused. The royal family confirmed that Mrs. Indira Gandhi had offered VIII Nizam the post of Vice President and tried to persuade him to stay in India but he refused to accept the post.
The Asaf Jah VIII was also conferred with the rank of Honorary Lieutenant in the Indian Army by the Government of India.
Makarram Jah Bahadur maintained his bond with Hyderabad even during his stay in different countries of the world like the UK, Australia, and Turkey and as long as he was healthy, he continues to visit Hyderabad for a short period and used to stay in Falaknuma Palace in addition to Chiraan Fort Palace and sometimes he preferred to stay in Chowmahalla Palace as well.
