As a Princely State, Hyderabad was the largest in population among over 560 tributary states under British paramountcy in colonial India. This book is a collection of profiles and sketches of some of the most important and influential people from the erstwhile Hyderabad State during the first half of the 20th century, which marked the last decades of its existence as a distinct entity under the British Raj. It features profiles of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Seventh Nizam; Mir Laik Ali, the last Prime Minister of Hyderabad; Kasim Razvi; some of the Nizam's administrators and diplomats; as well as Sir Walter Monckton, the Nizam's British Constitutional Advisor; amongst others. Unfolding the pages of history, the text gives an insight into the administration and affairs of Hyderabad during this time, through an examination of the lives of the people closely associated with it.

A unique contribution to the literature on modern Indian and colonial history, this book will be indispensable for students and researchers of history, modern Indian history, colonialism, imperial history, biography, and South Asia studies. It will also appeal to general readers interested in the history of Hyderabad.