KOLKATA: A descendant of
Wajid Ali Shah
in Kolkata has claimed that her father is the last surviving prince of Awadh and a direct descendant of the Nawab deposed by the British in 1856 and exiled to Kolkata.
The assertion has come in the backdrop of reports of the death of Ali Raza in New Delhi whose mother
Wilayat Mahal
had insisted that he was the the last prince of Awadh and a direct descendant of Wajid Ali Shah.
There is no royalty and none of the descendants of Wajid Ali Shah use the term prince alongside their names but
Manzilat Fatima
, the daughter of
Kaukub Qudr Meerza
in Kolkata, claimed on Monday that her father is the last prince of Awadh and a direct descendant of Wajid Ali Shah.
“There is no royalty anymore and even Awadh does not exist but if you want to see in that perspective then my father Kaukub Qudr Meerza who is now 88 years old is the last surviving prince of Oudh by the virtue of the fact that he is a direct descendant of Wajid Ali Shah,” said Fatima in in
Imambara Sibtainabad
in Garden Reach.
Raza, 58, was found dead on the floor by neighbours inside the dilapidated Malcha Mahal in Delhi in September. He was believed to be ill for some time. The other recognized descendants of the Wajid Ali Shah’s dynasty have always disputed the claim made by Ali Raza’s mother
Wilayat
Mahal almost 50 years ago. The claim had stirred a controversy when Wilayat demanded compensation from the Indian government for the British taking over their properties after deposing the Nawab in 1856.
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