Tonk (princely state)
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The founder of the princely state of Tonk was Amir Khan, a Muslim freebooter of Afghan descent, leader of the early 19th century. In 1817, upon submitting to the British during the War, he received the territory of Tonk and the title Nawab. The state was part of the Rajputana agency and consisted of six isolated tracts, some of which were under the Central India Agency.
The total area of the princely state was 2553 sq. mi, with a total population in 1901 of 273,201. The town of Tonk, capital of the state, had a population of 38,759 in that year. The town was surrounded by a wall and boasted a mud fort. It had a high school, the Walter female hospital under a lady superintendent, and a hospital for males.
The princely state enjoyed an estimated revenue of £77,000/-; however, no tribute was payable to the British Raj. Grain, cotton, opium and hides were the chief products and exports of the state. Two of the outlying tracts of the state were served by two different railways. The state suffered much distress due to drought in 1899-1900.
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[edit] In the twentieth century
Nawab Mahommed Ibrahim Ali Khan GCIE (ruled 1867-1930) was one of few chiefs to attend both Lord Lytton's Durbar in 1877 and the Delhi Durbar of 1903 as ruler. A former minister of Tonk state, Sahibzada Obeidullah Khan, was deputed on political duty to Peshawar during the Tirah campaign of 1897.
Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Nawab of Tonk acceded unto the Union of India; most of the area of the state of Tonk later became part of Rajasthan state, while some of its eastern enclaves became part of Madhya Pradesh.
[edit] Dynastic history
The ruling family belongs to the Afghan Salarzai Pathan tribe, from Buner. The progenitor of their Tonk Nawab Genealogy, Taleh Khan, migrated to India during the reign of Muhammad Shah and first settled at Surai Turina.
[edit] Amir Khan
Amir Khan, his grandson joined the Pathan tribal formations, similar to the Pindaris with whom they are often confused, who roamed Northern India during the latter half of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century as free-booters and mercenaries. He rose to be one of the strongest and most influential of these leaders, who hired out his services and his army to the highest bidder, with the further right to loot and the 'spoils of war'.
By the early years of the twentieth century, all vestiges of the warlike past had disappeared. In 1925 the army consisted of just 50 old men armed with decrepit rifles, more a danger to their possessors than any imagined enemy. While the library boasted one of the best collections of Muslim learning in India, with ancient Korans and texts, and a centre of Urdu, this attracted scholars from around the empire. Virtually every ruler, and many of the princes of the house, were learned men entitled to the epithet of 'hafiz'.
[edit] Wazir Khan
Nawab Wazir Khan supported the British during the Indian Mutiny and received further territories to augment his domains. However, his court also became a refuge for those writers, artists and musicians who fled Delhi after the revolt and no longer enjoyed the patronage of the Mughals. Several members of the former Imperial Family, together with their retainers and connections, took service with or received refuge from the nawab. In the years that followed, the court at Tonk emerged as an important cultural and artistic centre, preserving the best of the old Mughal world
He died in 1864, to be succeeded by his eldest surviving son.
[edit] Muhammad Ali Khan
Sporting some of the traits of his ancestors, Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan soon fell into evil ways. A dispute with one of the principal nobles of Rajasthan, the Thakur of Lawa, escalated beyond all proportion. Various armed contests ensued, until the Nawab decided to end it all by eliminating his opponent and many of his relatives. An enquiry conducted by the Government of India in 1867 found him complicit, and he was deposed and banished from the Tonk by order of the Viceroy. He was sent to live out his days at Benares, where he died in 1895.
[edit] Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan
The Government of India proclaimed Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan, minor son and heir of Muhammad Ali, as nawab under the regency of his able uncle. A number of modernising reforms were introduced during this period, including schools and hospital, government departments of state, and a modern administration. The Nawab reached his majority and assumed full ruling powers in 1870. He continued with the modernisation schemes of his uncle, but his chief interests lay in propagating and preserving the Muslim cultural heritage. He supported many charitable and learned institutions, both within and outside Tonk, expanded and embellished the famous library, and added to the architectural heritage of the town. He reigned for sixty-three years and was one of the very few people who attended all three of the Delhi Durbars, in 1877, 1903 and 1911.
[edit] Muhammad Sa'adat 'Ali Khan
Nawab Muhammad Sa'adat 'Ali Khan succeeded his father in 1930. He resembled his father in many ways, but did not enjoy good health. Nevertheless, he managed to introduce a number of reforms. Not least of these, the extension of participatory institutions at state, district and town level. In this, he was far ahead of most rulers in Rajasthan. He died in May 1947, just a few short months before India gained its independence.
[edit] Muhammad Faruq Ali Khan
Nawab Muhammad Faruq Ali Khan followed his brother but did not enjoy his position very long. It fell to him to decide whether to opt for Pakistan or India. He was coerced to chose the latter as his small town was landlocked, but died within a few months. The family and most of its retainers then re-settled in Pakistan. After a short enquiry by the new government of independent India, his younger brother succeeded in February 1948 who was left behind to settle the family's affairs.
[edit] Hafiz Muhammad Ismail Ali Khan
The new nawab, Hafiz Muhammad Ismail Ali Khan, was faced with two immediate problems. The future of his state and the subsequent maintenance of the large family he had to provide for as head of the family. The first problem was relatively easily resolved by joining the Union of Rajasthan, followed shortly afterwards by Greater Rajasthan in 1949. The second problem proved more intractable, and dogged for the rest of his days. The decision of Mrs Gandhi's government to abolish privy-purse payments came as a heavy blow, forcing him to struggle to meet his commitments. He died in 1974, being succeeded by his father's nineteenth son,
[edit] Nawab Masum Ali Khan Sahib
[1974 - 1994] H.H. Wazir ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Masum 'Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur, Nawab of Tonk. b. at the Nazar Bagh Palace, Tonk, 1923, nineteenth son of H.H. Amin ud-Daula, Wazir ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Ibrahim 'Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur, Saulat Jang, Nawab of Tonk, GCSI, GCIE, by his sixth wife, Mubarak Begum Sahiba, educ. Mayo Coll., Ajmer. He d. at Tonk, 4th September 1994, having had issue: 1) H.H. Wazir ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Aftab Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur,(current Nawab of Tonk )- see below.
[edit] Nawab Aftab Ali Khan Sahib
[1994]The present ruler, H.H. Wazir ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Aftab Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur, Nawab of Tonk. b. 24th August 1944, son of H.H. Wazir ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Masum 'Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur, Nawab of Tonk , educ. Aligarh Muslim Univ. (B.Sc. Eng. 1967). Succeeded on the death of his father as Head of the Royal House of Tonk, 4th September 1994. He had issue, one son and two daughters: 1) Sahibzada Muhammad Junaid Ali Khan.
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