As the new Telangana government decides to replace Ravindra Bharathi with another structure and change the face of our city in other areas, I would like to remember and place on record the accomplishments and contributions of its renowned Hyderabadi architect and town planner, Fayazuddin, before his works are forgotten or about to be demolished.

It was an honour to have known Fayazuddin ‘Sahib’ and I have seen his works. Fayazuddin was born on September 22, 1903 and passed away in 1977. He pursued architectural studies at Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Bombay, and was the winner in an open competition for Hyderabad government’s scholarship to study architecture at A.A. School (Architectural Association School of Architecture) in London, England. He briefly worked in the London County Council with Dr. Leslie C. Martin, chief architect and city planner of London County Council. His class fellows were well known architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, who were members of the design team for the capital city of Chandigarh in Punjab under the leadership of Le Corbusier of France.

In the year 1934, he returned to India to take up a job in his native city of Hyderabad Deccan and joined the Nizam’s government in the Local Fund department as a town planner under chief engineer Ahmed Mirza. He completed the Regional, Master Planning and Town Planning for Greater Hyderabad in 1942, the first such undertaking in India. He was subsequently invited to develop Regional, Master and City Plans for Jamshedpur, Udaipur, Bhopal and Bikaner.

Between 1952 and 1960, Fayazuddin Sahib was given the task of establishing the first Indian Institute of Town Planners, called Institute Of Town Planners, India, and was elected a founding member of the institute and was its first president. Mr. Fayazuddin initiated the overhaul of the curriculum of technical education in India, including the recruiting, enhanced teaching standards and pay, and increased the number of seats in architecture and engineering schools. A number of books were written and published by him during his professional career including ‘Regional, Master Planning and Town planning for Greater Hyderabad’.

Anuradha Reddy

Co-Convenor, Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH)

Telangana chapter