Hyderabad’s Madrasa-i-Aliya, alma mater of cricketing greats, turns 150

Hyderabad: Madrasa-i-Aliya, the alma mater of the nobility of Hyderabad and which later churned out cricketers like Ghulam Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, Abbas Ali Baig, Mohammed Azharuddin and former Indian football captain Shabbir Ali, has completed 150 years.

Azharuddin, Shabbir Ali and other eminent alumni of the institution gathered for a reunion.

Nearly 250 alumni of Madrasa-I-Aliya, now known as Aliya Government School, came for an evening of nostalgia.

Established in 1872 by the Sixth Nizam Nawab Mir Mehboob Ali Khan, the institution’s sesquicentennial celebrations took place at the 138-year old Nizam Club, another historic institution of the Nizam era.

The reunion event was organized by a group of Aliyans whose efforts brought together students from the 1949 batch to the 1980s. Many Aliyans were posthumously remembered on the occasion.

The alumni revisited the remarkable history and legacy of the institution in a short documentary produced by Media Plus Foundation.

Zahid Ali Khan, Chief Editor of Urdu daily ‘Siasat’ and an alumni of Aliya released the souvenir in the presence of senior alumni including noted businessman and Nizam Club President Abdul Munim, and Sultan ul Uloom Education Society Secretary Zafar Javeed.

Madrasa-i-Aliya was established in 1872 for the noble and the aristocratic families. Its eminent alumni includes Seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, his grandsons Prince Mukarram Jag Bahadur, Prince Muffakham Jah Bahadur, former Prime Minister of Hyderabad State Maharaja Kishen Pershad, Nawab Ali Yavar Jung Bahadur and former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif.

It was the only English medium school those days. Top-drawer mathematicians and English tutors were hired to teach at this institution.

Madrasa-i-Aliya was first housed in the mansion of British businessman Horace Rumbold in King Kothi area. It was later moved to a portion of Asad Bagh, the present day Nizam College, belonging to great nobleman Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk.

In 1949, the Madrasa-i-Aliya was moved to its present premises, also a residence of Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk. When the Aliya School was made open for the common public, it helped countless dreamers become distinguished achievers.

The Aliya School’s close proximity to the Nizam College inspired many budding sportspersons to play for Aliya School, then for the Nizam College, then further at the L.B. Stadium in the vicinity. From here, many great cricketers were born who went on to play national and international cricket including three captains Ghulam Ahmed and Mohammed Azharuddin who led the Indian team, and Asif Iqbal Rizvi, who first played South Zone and later became captain of the Pakistani cricket team.

The institution also churned out sports greats like Abbas Ali Baig, S.M. Hadi, Nawab Mohammed Hussain, Edulji Bujorji Aibara, and Shabbir Ali.

Senior journalist Somasekhar Mulugu announced that an Alumni foundation will be set up to help payback to the institution that served as the launchpad for many of its students to become distinguished achievers. Aliyans pledged to take initiatives to help restore the now-dilapidated premises of Aliya to its former glory.

Organising team comprising Iftakhar Hussain, Hamid Lateef, Ghulam Mohammed, Syed Abdul Mutakabbir, Mohammed Yousuf Jaffar, Mohammed Nayeem Siddiqui and Mohammed Qutubuddin and others organised the reunion.