When it began functioning in the middle of 60s it was known as ‘bokkal dawakhana’ or ‘bokkalu asupatri’ (orthopaedic hospital) in Hyderabad.
The foundation stone of what began as Nizam’s Orthopaedic Hospital was laid in 1961 by the then Union Finance Minister Morarji Desai. It was ready by December 1964 and was declared open by the Nizam Osman Ali Khan’s daughter-in-law Princess Durrushehwar. Nearly 50 years later, the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences is set to become one of the largest medical facilities in the country.
According to an apocryphal story, the hospital came up when an appropriate medical facility was not available when Osman Ali Khan’s driver fractured his hand. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao referred to this when he inaugurated the first Industrial Exhibition after the formation of Telangana.
