Nawab of Kalabagh
Encyclopedia
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
of Kalabagh was a prominent feudal lord, politician and the seventh nawab of Kalabagh
Kalabagh
Kalabagh a town and union council of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located on the western bank of Indus River. It is the site of the proposed Kalabagh Dam. It is also famous for its red hills of the salt range and scenic view of the Indus River traversing through the...
state, in Mianwali District
Mianwali District
Mianwali is a district in the northwest of Punjab province, Pakistan. It borders eight districts: Attock District in the north, Chakwal District in the northeast, Khushab District in the east, and Bhakkar District in the south, while Lakki Marwat lies to the west, Kohat and Karak districts to the...
of north western Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He belonged to the Awan tribe of ancient repute. He was crowned as Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
of Kalabagh after the death of his father Malik Ata Muhammad Khan in 1924. He also served as Governor of West Pakistan. He belongs to the nobility of the sword
Nobles of the Sword
The Nobles of the Sword refers to the class of traditional or old nobility in France during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods. This class was heir to a militaristic ideology of professional chivalry...
as his ancestors were Nawabs for nearly 900 years.
History of Kalabagh
Kalabagh, on the bank of Indus River, was a state ruled by the Nawabs for nearly 900 years, since the time of Sultan Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
. During the British Raj Kalabagh was not made a princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
by the British. It was a jagir that had been ruled by the Nawabs since 1100, while most of the other states were mere inventions of the British
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
.
The state was captured by his ancestors who were Awan
Awan (Pakistan)
Awan , is a South Asian Zamindar tribe, putatively of Arab origin, living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, Pakistan...
of Arabs origin. He was very proud of his Awan origin. He always maintained that he was descended from an individual named Qutb Shah
Qutb Shah
Qutb Shah was the ruler of Herat and a general in the army of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi. Qutub Shah was a Hashemite descendant of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, son of Hazart Ali, and Imam of the Kaysanites Shia , who was the son of Ali, who in turn was the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet...
, a ruler of Herat and a general in the army of Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
, who himself was a Hashemite
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
descendant of the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's cousin and son-in-law, Ali (but by a wife other than the Prophet's daughter, Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
). As Sir Lepel Henry Griffin states:
It is asserted that Qutb Shah and six of his sons accompanied and assisted Mahmud in his early eleventh century conquests of what today forms parts of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan and Northern India. It is claimed that in recognition of their services and valour, Mahmud bestowed upon Qutb Shah and his sons (who, according to tribal traditions, settled primarily in the Salt Range
Salt Range
The Salt Range is a hill system in the Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends from the Jhelum River to the Indus, across the northern portion of the Punjab province. The Salt Range contains the great mines of Mayo, Khewra, Warcha...
) the title of Awan, meaning "helper".
The Nawab
He was appointed Chairman Pakistan Industrial Development CorporationPakistan Industrial Development Corporation
Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation is a state corporation of Pakistan. It was created to set up industries in Pakistan and then resell them to private enterprise...
with the rank of a Central Minister in 1959, and subsequently Governor of West Pakistan on 12 April 1960 by Pakistan President General Ayub Khan. Both Nawab Amir Mohammad Khan and Sandhurst trained General Wajid Ali Khan Burki
Wajid Ali Khan Burki
Lieutenant-General Wajid Ali Khan Burki MBE , was a high-profile military official who served as Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Health under the military government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan...
were instrumental in Ayub Khan's Rise to power, until today the three families retain adjoining houses in Islamabad.
An autonomous and harsh ruler with great administrative capabilities, the Nawab remained Governor of West Pakistan till September 18, 1966. He was an Aitchison College
Aitchison College
Aitchison College, Lahore, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions of its kind in South Asia. Established in 1886, it has retained its character over the years, maintaining the public school tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports and co-curricular activities...
and then Oxford graduate. His role during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 is praised as he kept the law and order, controlled the prices, trafficking of the raw material and prevented the smuggling.
He has also been described as a man of principles and traditions. He liked to remain in the national dress and his cabinet members tried to please him by doing so. He once declined to shake hands with the British Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Pakistan. Ayub Khan asked him to receive her at Airport but he didn't do that.
On 26 November 1967 he was found murdered under mysterious circumstances.
Descendants
His son Malik Muzaffar Khan won the National AssemblyNational Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
seat from NW-44, Mianwali-I in December 1970 elections. His other son Malik Allah Yar also remained the member of Majlis-e-Shoora during General Zia-ul-Haq's military regime. His grandson Malik Amad Khan won the National Assembly seat from NA-71 Mianwali-I , in February 2008 elections as an independent candidate. His granddaughter, Sumaira Malik
Sumaira Malik
Sumaira Malik is a politician from Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan.Sumaira Malik is a member of Pakistan's National Assembly. She is the daughter of Malik AllahYar Khan and the granddaughter of Amir Mohammad Khan, The Nawab of KalaBagh...
, is still a member of the National Assembly. It is said that his grand son Malik Sherjeel Tufail Awan will be the next Sardar. Sherjeel is the son of his youngest son, Malik Tufail Awan who has served Pakistan Air Force for 25 years and retired as Vice Chief of Air Staff.