Secularists Colony

By Mouli Mareedu

Established by the VII Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan for his security guards, AC Guards is known for its secular outlookAC Guards is one of the historical places in Hyderabad and has an interesting past. The area has been developed commercially and residentially as various Government head offices and several Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies are functioning from this colony. The colony, AC Guards, is famous for secularism as scores of Muslim and Christian families stay here. “The AC Guards had a great record and the area became an epicenter for a few Nizam Nawabs when they ruled the region,” said Afzal, a 65-year-old citizen. People staying in the colony started calling the area A C Guards when the VII Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan provided the area as residential quarters to his security guards. The last Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan imported hundreds of guards. He named them African Calvary Guards, as most of them came from Africa, Somalia and Yemen to protect the region from the invasion of the enemy. As the African Calvary Guards stayed in the colony, people started calling the area A C Guards, in memory of African guards. “The Africa Calvary Guards were divided into two groups; one provided security to the last Nizam Nawab, while the other nurtured Mir Osman’s pet animal like elephants and horses,” said local church bishop, Simon Antony. “The successors of hundreds of A C Guards from Muslim and Christian communities imported from various African and Arab countries by the Nawab preferred to locate in this area,” said Saleem Bin Khalifa, local resident. Saleem, former national hockey player and general secretary of Byswa Hockey Club, said that hockey is famous in this colony and every youngster prefers it over cricket. “The A C Guards hockey teams have participated in hundreds of tournaments and achieved number of medals and certificates from different organisations,” Saleem added. Another landmark in the colony is — Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, which works on a mission of providing high quality medication at low cost. “The Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital is leading hospital in this locality and hundreds of patients come here for treatment. The hospital is equipped with modern technology to provide better treatment facilities to poor patients at low price,” said Madhusudhan, duty doctor, Mahavir Hospital. Samachar Buildings, well-known as Information and Public Relations department Commissioner Office, Electrical Engineer of Roads and Buildings office, some national media branch offices and Income Tax and CBI offices are located in this colony. “The area has been developed as commercial and residential place and is closer to some major areas of the city. People prefer to stay here as the place is very peaceful without any untoward incidents,” said Harshad, local canteen owner.