Rare Nizam-era revenue seal found in Warangal collector’s personal collection

A Warangal-based numismatist has discovered a rare bronze revenue seal used by Raja Shiv Raj Dharmwant Bahadur, a senior financial administrator under the Sixth and Seventh Nizams. The artefact provides valuable evidence of Hyderabad State's revenue administration during the Asaf Jahi period.

Hyderabad: A Warangal-based numismatist, Ragi Vaikunta Chary, was pleasantly surprised when he found a rare official bronze seal used by the Nizam’s financial administrator, Raja Shiv Raj Dharmwant Bahadur, in his collection.

Raja Shiv Raj Dharmwant Bahadur, who, according to Vaikunta Chary, was considered the Financial Architect of Hyderabad, shaped the governance of the princely State of Hyderabad and worked as a senior financial administrator under Mir Mahbub Ali Khan (VI-Nizam) and Mir Osman Ali Khan (VII-Nizam) of the Asaf Jahi dynasty.

---

Chary said the Finance Minister’s office was Malwala Palace, near Charminar, which was demolished in 2000 as it was in a dilapidated condition.

“I secured this official seal (1904–1905 CE) from my father, Ragi Satyanarayana Chary, who was a goldsmith. Raja Shiv Raja used the seal for financial matters such as bank transactions and other finance-related documents under both the Sixth and Seventh Nizams,” Chary told ‘Telangana Today’.

He found this rare seal in his house at Warangal, and the inscription on the seal was translated by his friend, who is studying at the University of Oxford, UK.

“The seal inscription is Muhr Mali Patel Mauza Rawalpalli Kalān Ilaqa-i Jagirat Raja Dharamwant Bahādur, and it means Official Revenue Seal of Patel, Village Rawalpalli Kalan, situated within the Jagir Estate of Raja Dharamwant Bahadur,” Chary said.

“This seal represents the revenue administration of a village belonging to the Jagir under Raja Dharmwant Bahadur and stands as valuable documentary evidence of Hyderabad State’s administrative and land revenue system during the Asaf Jahi period, ” he said.

Ragi Vaikunta Chary