Nawab Sir Akbar 1-lydri (Muhammed Akbar Nazarally Hydri) was born on 8th November, 1869 at Bombay. His ancestors migrated from Arabia to Bombay as traders Sir Akbar as a boy was exceptionally intelligent and passed his matriculation examination with Latin as his second language at the age of 14. He graduated at the age of 17.

After his graduation he sat for the Government of India Finance Test and passed the examination with distinction. Then he joined the Finance Department and his first posting was at Nagpur. Thence he was posted at Lahore and later at Calcutta, Allahabad and Madras. In 1905, Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Nizam VI requested the Government of India to spare the services of Hydri and he came to 1-lyderabad as the Accountant General. Subsequently he served the Nizam’s Government in various departments namely finance, judicial and education and in 1907, he was appointed Finance Secretary.

During his term of office in the Finance department he not only introduced many reforms but also extended his effors in the direction of education. In 1911, he was appointed as the Home Secretary. He was closely associated with the construction of the High Court building, the City College and the Osmania Hospital. In 1920 Sir Akbar Hydri. of his own accord, returned to British India and the Government appointed him as the Accountant General of Bombay. During the following year on the request of the Nizam he returned to Hyderabad and took over the Finance portfolio. It was during this period of his career that he introduced his splendid scheme of departmentalisation of finance.

Within a short period Sir Akbar raised one crore rupees for financing industries. Sir Akbar’s greatest contribution to the State was to push forward the scheme to set up the Osmania University. His contribution to the cause of education was not confined to Hyderabad. He was one of the trustees of Aligarh Muslim University, presided over several educational conferences and delivered several lectures with mature thoughts and valuable advice.

Sir Akbar was also a passionate advocate of women’s education and Mahboobia GirlsSchool is a concrete example. In 1927, Hydri received Knighthood from His Imperial Majesty the King Emperor. His contribution to the State was great and unforgettable. The formation of the university, the extension of railways, the surplus funds for the welfare of the people, the implementation of various irrigation projects, are all due to the ability with which he prepared the budgets and provided the necessary funds.

Sir Akbar Hydri represented the Nizam’s Government at the Round Table Conference which was held in 1931 in London. His long political and administrative experience, particularly his fame as one of the most successful finance ministers in India, entitled him to great respect.