4. INTRODUCTION OF ASAF JAHI RECORDS
Asaf Jahi records occupy the pride of place in the repository of historical documents in the Archives. These records
pertain to the Asaf Jahi period of 224 years from 1724-1948. The chequered history of
the Asaf Jahi period had its ups and downs in the political arena. Within fifty years of
the death of Nizam-ul Mulk,. Asaf Jahi
(1724-1748) the first Nizam, founder of the Asaf
Jahi dynasty, his successors lost to the
Birtish, the greater parts of the territories he had administered, and were also unable to
prevent the erosion of their external sovereignty, the British even made attempts to
interfere in the internal affairs of their State. After the total elimination of the
remanants of the Mughal Empire in 1857, Asaf Jahi rule,
hitherto functioning as Mughal Subedari, received the status of a
native state, which continued up to its accession to the Indian Union on 17th
September, 1948. The Asaf Jahi records
preserved in the Archives (estimated to be about ten million) covers a linear
space of 16,800 feet, and reflect all the happenings in the political, administrative,
economic, social as well as other important spheres of life.
In fact, the Asaf Jahi records occupy a
very prominent place among the various categories of records preserved in the Archives.
The Asaf Jahi records are cohesive in
their perfect series and sequence, standing out both quantitatively and qualitatively.
They can be divided into the following sub-categories.
I) Daftar
Records (records of the 14 Administrative Offices)
II)
Secretariat
Records
III)
Muntakhabajats
IV)
Farmans
V)
Gazeettes
VI)
Siyahanamas
(Marriage certificates)
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