(1918-2014)

Agha Nasir Ali while resting in his room at his Rajbagh residence.
Agha Nasir Ali while resting in his room at his Rajbagh residence.

At the fag end of 1930, a youth from Srinagar came to know that Maharaja Hari Singh had nominated his finance minister Thakur Kartar’s son to England for civil service trainings – and that he would be inducted as an official in Dogra administration after his return. During Dogra rule, Maharaja used to nominate individuals for training in civil services in England.

The young man was Agha Nasir Ali – the elder brother of Agha Ashraf, who then approached Gopalaswamy Iyengar, the then Prime Minister of J&K. Upon meeting Iyengar, Agha told him: “If serving in Maharaja’s cabinet fetches one nomination for England, then I too deserve that favour – as my grandfather was also minister in Dogra regime.” Agha told Iyengar that his Muslim identity shouldn’t mar his chance. This started a verbal duel between the two.

“When will all these distinctions disappear,” Iyengar told him. “That will be the salvation of India, but so long as these considerations will prevail, I have no other alternative but to press for my claim,” Agha replied.

“How about, if we throw all these jobs to competition,” Iyengar proposed. “That will be too ideal sir,” Agha replied. “Then go and wait,” Iyengar told Agha.

For the next two years, Agha kept pressing for ending nomination system in Dogra run state to pave a way for Kashmir Civil Services (KCS). Maharaja’s administration was taking its time to take a final call on the matter. And meanwhile, Agha left for Aligarh to pursue his MA LLB.

One day while Agha was in Lahore, a letter from Jammu was dropped at his address in present day Pakistan. The letter was from Iyengar, and it read: “I am happy to let you know that I have finally started KCS. I have sent you syllabus of exam – so prepare hard for the exam.” For the next few months, Agha prepared for the exam.

It was 1941 when Agha topped the first KCS exam held in the state. And thereby, he became the first civil servant from state who secured bureaucratic post through competition, rather than nomination. His first posting was as a Tehsildar with a monthly allowance of Rs 250. After Tehsildar, he was appointed as Wazir-i-Wazarat in Hari Singh’s regime.

But as state witnessed downfall of Dogra rule in 1947, nomenclature of official postings got changed and with that, state services were amalgamated with central services. He was given IAS rank and was appointed as district commissioner in Shiekh Abdullah’s regime in the state. Later, when Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad reigned over J&K, Agha was called from New Delhi, where he was serving as commissioner in central government. He also worked as Secretary to Government of India.

This week, Agha Nasir Ali passed away after prolonged illness, at New Delhi. He was 96. He was laid to rest at Nizamuddin in New Delhi. He is survived by his wife Dr Shaheena Agha, his younger brother Agha Ashraf Ali (92). From his first wife, Nuzhat Agha, he has four children: son Oliver Agha, a Dubai-based lawyer, and three daughters.

Agha was born in 1918 at his ancestral house in Nawa Kadal area of Srinagar. After being educated at the Mission School, Agha Nasir graduated from SP College in Arts and went to Aligarh where he did his MA, LLB.

Being a tough administrator of his time, Agha was close to both Shiekh as well as Bakshi. “They were both hard-hitting, so they wanted a bold officer in their regime to run their show,” Agha told this reporter last year.

Apart from his stern administrative skills, Agha was equally known for his dressing sense and fashion consciousness. He along with his late younger brother, Agha Shaukat Ali were considered best dressed men of their times.

-Bilal Handoo

1 COMMENT

  1. http://aghafamilyofsrinagarkashmir.wordpress.com A detailed history of Agha Nasir Ali’s family.
    Agha Nasir Ali is survived by four children from his late wife Nuzhat Agha – one son and three daughters.
    Son- Oliver Agha is a New York based lawyer and founder of the first Shariah complaint Law firm in Dubai
    Agha Nasir’s eldest daughter Shafaq Hussain – married to Lt Aftab Hussain ( Grandson of Sir Fazl I Hussain of Pakistan, a Punjab Premier and a leading politician from the Unionist Party)
    The second Daughter Sehyr Saigol ( founder and owner at Libas International) is married to Mian Naseem Saigol , Partner at The Saigol Group, Pakistan’s affluent Industrialist family.
    The youngest daughter Dr Anjum Ahmed is married to Dr Pervez Ali Ahmed ( Son of Fakhrudin Ali Ahmed- Former President Of India )

    Agha Nasir Ali is also survived by his Second wife Dr. Shaheena Agha with two foster daughters- Toshina and Mohsina and a foster Son Muhammad Ali who lives with his grandmother Dr. Shaheena Agha.

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