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Bengaluru- the city of beautiful gardens and Jaipur- the city full of pinkish hues of happiness and glee. Aren’t these definitions set in the frameless frame of our minds? But how did these definitions come to existence and who was responsible for them?
Born on 24th October 1883
“Dadu, aren’t these horses beautiful? I love the white one.”, exclaimed a 15-year-old Mirza, staring intently at the horses. “Nothing of it would have been possible without Maharaja. When Abbas, your granduncle and I came to Mysore, all that we had was the knowledge of the trade and a few horses that we were planning on selling and earning a few bucks, but we didn’t have any stable business setup. We had lost all our hope of living a prosperous life until Maharaja came to our rescue. We were not only providing horses to the royal family but people all over India. Soon, our business grew and I set up a business named Ali Asker Waqf Estate. Then I married your Dadi Jaan and today we are standing here.”, said Ali aka Mirza’s grandfather.
From here started the journey of Mirza Ismail, whose footsteps followed his grandfather’s. While Ali took shelter under the Maharaja’s wings, Mirza too opted for the same road. But Ismail was no businessman. Kickstarting his career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police, he went on with his life to seize many more opportunities waiting for him.
Though he was initially given the position of the private secretary of the Maharaja, the king had immense faith in him and his administrative abilities. Wanting him to understand the position of responsibility, Maharaja appointed Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya to mentor Ismail. Under Visvesvaraya’s tutelage, he grew up to be a responsible and wise man. Upon Moksh’s recommendation, Ismail got the position of the Diwan of Mysore.
It was not a position that was offered to him because of his powerful connections, but because of his ability to handle pressure and power. During his reign, Mysore made enormous progress. Both the public and private sector industries including the Sugar Factory at Shimoga and Khadi Production Centre at Badanval bloomed. He not only ruled but also understood the grievances of the citizens.
Though not a huge fan of religious biases, Ismail was still somehow considered as the spokesperson for setting up numerous mosques in the state.
To keep Mysore free from communal riots, Mirza made sure to keep good relations with the INC leaders like Nehru and Gandhi. However, his illustrious rule came to an end when he resigned from the post of Diwan in 1941 due to some difference in opinion with King Jayachamraja Wodeyar.
Though he left the position of responsibility, responsibilities never left him. Ismail again joined the kingdom of Jaipur as the Prime Minister and his regime was popularly known as “the beginning of the Industrial era of Jaipur.” His tenure saw the opening of banks and various other industries including ball-bearing companies.
Once Muhammad Ali Jinnah asked Mirza to support his decision on creating a new state for Muslims, but Mirza outrightly refused this because, for him, partition was nothing but a cruel decision that would doom India and being the citizen of India, he cannot support another state or country.
Moving from state to state and serving the people might not be the perfect job for most of us, but for Mirza, this job was his life. Understanding people and their difficulties made him realise that his contribution might not prove to be very significant, but even if it affects any one person, his objective of doing something for society would be fulfilled.
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