That was only about sixty years ago, and when we see what has been done in Hyderabad during the last half century and watch the progress that is now being made, we cannot fail to feel hopeful concerning the future of the largest native State in India.
Mir Turab Ali Khan Bahadur, known as Sir Salar Jung I, was born in 1828, and the condition of Hyderabad at the time of his birth is thus described by Sir John Kaye. in his "Life of Lord Metcalfe":—
"The whole system of administration was rotten to the very core, it was a congeries of diseases. Nothing seemed to flourish there except corruption. Every man was bent on enriching himself at the expense of his neighbour. No one cared for the people, no one cared for the State. Everything had its price in Hyderabad. If a man wanted a place he counted out his money to buy it. If a man wanted justice, he bade for it as for any other marketable commodity. Every public office, in every department of the State, was accessible to a bribe . . . Neither life nor property was secure . . . There was nothing left indeed but the name of government, all the rest was lawlessness and confusion."
