Learning from history of Hyderabad
By Ahmad Meydari
Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare
Attending the 12th BRICS Labor and Employment Ministers' Meeting, hosted by India in the city of Hyderabad, provided an opportunity not only to discuss the future of labor markets, skills development, social protection, and employment, but also to reflect once again on the fact that the history of cities can sometimes offer deeper lessons for the future of the world than many political documents.
Hyderabad is more than just a city; it is a story of cultural coexistence, flourishing trade, and, at the same time, a warning about the relationship between development and security. Founded in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the city traces its origins to the Qutb Shahi dynasty, whose roots lay in Iranian migrants and whose cultural legacy blended Persian and Indian traditions. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah composed poetry in both Persian and Deccani, while Hyderabad's architecture and cultural heritage likewise reflected this civilizational fusion.
Under Qutb Shahi rule, diverse ethnic groups, languages, and faiths lived side by side, and free trade turned the region into one of Asia's leading economic hubs. Yet it was this very prosperity that opened the door to the East India Company. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Qutb Shahi rulers, guided by a policy rooted in trust and free commerce, granted the Company permission to conduct trade at the port of Machilipatnam, the dynasty's principal maritime gateway. The original objective was the exchange of goods and the expansion of trade. What followed, however, took a very different course.
The East India Company gradually evolved from a commercial enterprise into a military power. By raising a large army, it seized control of Bengal after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and subsequently used the financial resources of that territory to bring vast swathes of India under its rule. Colonialism did not begin with an invading army; it grew out of trade and ultimately subjected one of the world's oldest civilizations to nearly two centuries of foreign domination.
Viewed through this lens, the history of Hyderabad also holds valuable lessons for the world today.
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