Page:The People of India — a series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan Vol 6.djvu/82

 MIRZA ZAIN-OOL-ABIDEEN. (293)

GENTLEMAN of Persian descent, son of Syud Ismael Shah, who had great political influence at the Court of the Ameers, and whose name occurs frequently in the Sind blue books. He was held in high regard by Meer Noor Mahomed of Hyderabad, owing to his intelligence and wealth, and frequently acted as envoy in communication between the Ameers and the British. After the conquest of Sind, a small pension of 960 rupees a year was settled upon him by the British Government.

It will be seen that his costume differs in some respects from that of ordinary Sind gentlemen. His cap, covered with cloth of gold, is rather Georgian than Persian, and he wears a short jacket of cloth of gold over the ordinary silk tunic. A Cashmere shawl is thrown over his left shoulder and arms. His handsome features show a decidedly Persian or Georgian origin, and it is probable the family has preserved its purity by avoiding intermarriage with ladies of Sind.