ABSTRACT
Fareed Mirza was an exceptional man in the communally surcharged milieu in the Hyderabad State during the last decade or so leading up to India’s Independence and Hyderabad’s integration with India.
Fareed Mirza was born in 1918 in a middle-class Muslim family. He got his BA degree from Osmania University in 1940. At someone’s suggestion, he read the autobiographies of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as Nehru’s Glimpses of World History. That brought about a major change in his outlook towards life in general and Hyderabad in particular. After graduating, he joined government service and was posted as tehsildar at various places.
Between India’s independence on 15 August 1947 and Hyderabad’s eventual integration with India, the law and order situation in Hyderabad State kept steadily deteriorating. Although Fareed Mirza was tehsildar, he could not do much about it. Finally, he resigned from government service and tried to develop contacts with some moderate Muslim leaders of Hyderabad. After integration, he was taken back into government service as deputy collector. After finally retiring from government service, he led a quiet life in Hyderabad.
In the post-Independence scenario, Fareed Mirza perhaps did not get the recognition that he deserved. Of course, he did not seek anything for himself.
