Prince of Berar

The Prince of Berar is the title given to the heir apparent or heir presumptive of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The wife of the Prince is called the Princess of Berar.

History

In 1853, the East India Company signed a treaty with the Nizam of Hyderabad by which the British were required to maintain for the Nizam an auxiliary force of not less than 5,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and four field batteries of artillery, and to provide for the payment of this force the Nizam assigned in trust certain districts, including some in Berar, which were estimated to yield a gross revenue of Rs. 5,000,000. In 1860, this treaty was revised by the Government of India and the Hyderabad State, and under the new terms, a portion of Berar was restored to the Nizam, and all outstanding capital debt due by him was remitted. In 1902, this treaty was again revised, and Berar was ceded in perpetuity to the British by the Nizam in return for an annual payment of Rs. 2,500,000. As a mark of his sovereignty over Berar, the Nizam was allowed to fly his flag there and to have a salute fired annually on his birthday. After much difficulty, the Government concluded another agreement with the Nizam, by which his sovereignty over Berar was recognised and it was to be administered together with the Central Provinces under the Government of India Act 1935. The Nizam was to be styled as the Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, his flag was to be flown alongside the British flag on all public buildings in Berar on ceremonial occasions, and the Governor of the Central Provinces and Berar was to be appointed in consultation with the Nizam and his heir-apparent, was to be styled as His Highness the Prince of Berar.

Style The heir apparent of the Nizam is titled Walashan Nawab (personal title), Sahibzada Mir (personal name) Khan Bahadur, the Prince of Berar, with the style of His Highness; the wife of the heir apparent is titled (personal name) Begum Sahiba, the Princess of Berar, with the style of Her Highness.

Bearers of the title