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Mir Alam - a prime minister and his legacy
Nawab Mir Alam Bahadur and Raja Chandu Lal Bahadur, miniature painting, San Deigo Museum of Art, 1800 A.D
The city of Hyderabad which was founded by the Qutub Shahi dynasty has gone through major developments over a period of time. In the architectural structures and especially the water systems. Besides the monuments, mosques and the temples, the city also has many water reservoirs. Mir Alam Tank is a reservoir in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is located
to the south of Musi river. It was the primary source of drinking
water to Hyderabad before Osman Sagar and Himayat
Sagar were built. The tank is named after Mir Alam
Bahadur, then Prime Minister of Hyderabad State (1804 - 1808),
during the reign of Asaf Jah III, the third Nizam of Hyderabad state. The Mir Alam Tank was built by French engineers and it shows impressive engineering with 21 arches holding over 20.7 square km of water. The water tank was fed by a tributary from the Musi River. The primary inflow and outflow of water here had been the Musi River. This tank had been built considering the necessity for the supply of water to the city.
Who was Mir Alam? Mir Abul Qasim Mir Alam was born near the Charminar in an area known as Irani Gully. His father Syed Raza hailed from the Nuria Syeds of Shustar region of Iran and settled down in Hyderabad. Beginning his career as a 'vakil' to one of Nizam’s courtiers, Mir Abul Qasim led the Nizam’s soldiers to fight Tipu Sultan in the Anglo-Mysore war of 1799. Mir Alam served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad State from 1804 until his death in 1808. He was a scholar in Persian who became a philanthropist. As per sources he had built rest houses or ''caravanserais'' on the road from Hyderabad to Pune and the road from Hyderabad to Masulipatnam. It is mentionable that he belonged to the Salar Jung family. During his prime ministership Chandu Lal was appointed as ''peskhkar''. He was the great grandfather of Salar Jung I. Mir Alam laid the foundation for the water tank on 20 July 1804 and it was completed in about two years by June 1806. The legacy of Mir Alam continued when his son-in-law Munir ul Mulk became a minister in the Nizam’s court. Munir ul Mulk’s grandson Nawab Mir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I became prime minister of Hyderabad state in 1853 A.D.
Another edifice gifted by is near Charminar, a bustling market, the Mir Alam Mandi. It is framed by a graceful arch. Currently it houses many shops with tinned roofs.The Mir Alam Mandi is spread over 200 acres of land and operated by 300 vendors.
Nawab Abul Qasim Mir Alam Bahadur, portrait.
The Mir Alam reservoir was built much later after Hussain Sagar Lake, but it was a major source of water to the city of Hyderabad. The artificial lake was also the place for travellers, who used to carry the water of the lake with them when they started out on long sojourns.
Near to the lake is also the Mir Alam Eidgah used for prayers to this day. Thus the legacy of Mir Alam Bahadur continues in Hyderabad.
Mir Alam Eidgah, 1938, photo credit S.A Jabbar
pic source - https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/travelnews/story/45365/eid-in-hyderabad-1938Phot
o Credit: S.a Jabbar
View of Mir Mahmud Nimatullahi Dargah overlooking the Mir Alam Tank, 1890s
pic source https://dome.mit.edu/handle//20292
Mir Alam tank, photograph, 21st century.
Pic source - http://wikimapia.org/4001321/Mir-Alam-Tank
T
Mir Alam Mandi, photograph, 21st century.
Posted by:
Soma Ghosh
©author
References:
2. https://templesinindiainfo.com/mir-alam-tank-lake-hyderabad-telangana/
3.http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/online
4.https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/living-hyderabad-mir-alam-bahadur-is-remembered-for-his-gifts- to-the-city
5. https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/hyderabad6. Images from Wikimedia Commons unless mentioned otherwise.
7. Pictorial Hyderabad, Vol.II, Hyderabad : Chandrakanth Press, 1934
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