''Fake'' Nawabs busy duping tourists

Lucknow, Feb 24 (UNI) The descendants of the royal families of Awadh still fighting for their recognition, are now faced with another uphill task to identify some 'fake nawabs' trying to take the mileage.

The Association of the Royal Families has launched a campaign against the fake descendants who were duping the foreign tourists and impersonating the government officers for favours.

Asia's biggest Hussainabad Trust that owns the 'Bara' and 'Chota' Imambara and other archeological sites here was controlled by the association, which was now making efforts to go international to seek support for revival of the historical monuments.

In the recent past, it had been witnessed that innumerable commoners pose as royals for cheap and immediate gains. Such people are hired to pose as Royals in front of the innocent foreign guests, who visit India and want to get a royal taste of the Awadhi culture.

Three organisations -- Royal Family of Avadh and Nawabin-e-Awadh Foundation (RFANAF), Royal Family of Awadh, Kolkata (RFA-K) and British India Association (BIA) -- have now joined hands to counter the problems of fake royals.

These organisations, which have records of the members of the royal families of Awadh, has now issued a dictat that any one hosting dinners to foreign tourists as royal has to prove his family lineage.

The foreign tourists, mostly from UK, United States, France, were being offered package tours with special provision for a ''heritage dinner'' and are escorted into a so called ''palace.'' They are charged 650 dollar each for such dinners and if the dinner is done with Mujra (dancers in Awadhi style), the fee goes up to 1000 dollar.

But many of the royals present in these shows were fake nawabs with unfolding family history, which is not their own.

Besides, the foreign tourists were not in a position to verify the accounts, the royal family insiders said.

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