The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : City home for freemasons since 1870s!

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

City home for freemasons since 1870s!

Staff Reporter

The Nizam of Hyderabad, Kishen Pershad and Salar Jung were freemasons

‘Masonic temple of Hyderabad at Goshamahal is the oldest in the country'
‘Freemasonry is not a religion and there is no discrimination based on race, caste'

HYDERABAD: The Nizam of Hyderabad, Prime Ministers of the then Hyderabad State, Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad, Nawab Salar Jung, noted educationist Sir Raja Bahadur Venkat Rama Reddy, the British Resident Terence Keyes and a slew of former Chief Justices of A. P. High Court including justice Devinder Gupta.

The list reads like who's who of Hyderabad. The common thread, however, that unites them all is that they belong to an exclusive group of men who call themselves the freemasons.

Thanks to the popular fiction works of Dan Brown and movies like National Treasure, there is a renewed interest from all quarters on freemasonry and its practices.

Hyderabad has been a home for freemasonry since 1870s and many old timers who are freemasons maintain that the younger generation, bred on copious amounts of ‘fiction' and Hollywood movies, do not appreciate the ‘real' tenets of freemasonry.

Symbol

The symbol that epitomises the evolution of freemasonry in Hyderabad is the Goshamahal Baradari, which was donated and inaugurated on February 8, 1933 by the Nizam of Hyderabad himself.

“What many people don't realise is that the Masonic temple of Hyderabad at Goshamahal is the oldest in the country. Public should also realise that freemasonry is not a religion and there is no discrimination based on race, caste or creed,” says Grand Master, District Grand Lodge of India, Aspi.K. Byramji.

The Grand Master was in twin cities to take part in the half-yearly communication of Lodge Universal Peace no-1208 held at Goshamahal Baradari Masonic Building on Saturday.

“Simply put, freemasonry is about making a good man better. Freemasonry is leading a moral and virtuous life and its three great tenets include Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth,” he said.

Charitable society

Many masons point out that by ‘relief' it means to take up charity work. “Freemasons are perhaps the largest charitable society in the world.

We support many causes but do not seek funds for charity from non-freemasons and do not publish our charitable works. Freemasons do not solicit memberships and each prospect has to ‘want' to join freemasons,” says Kersi J. Limathwalla.

First lodge

According to many accounts, St. John's Lodge was the first lodge, which are temples for freemason, to be set up in 1872 for regular meetings of freemasons in twin cities.

In due course, Lodge Deccan and Lodge Hyderabad under Grand Lodge of England and Scotland respectively came up.

“All the meetings of freemasons are usually held at the Goshamahal Masonic temple,” says Master, Lodge of Universal Peace, S. S. Ahmed.

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