Khudadad Khan (ruler)

Mir Khudadad Khan (Balochi, Urdu: خُداداد خان) was the Khan of Kalat from 1857 to 1863 and again from 1864 to 1893.

Biography

He was born in 1841 to Mehrab Khan and his concubine Khadijah.[1][2] Upon the death of his brother, Nasir Khan, in 1857, he succeeded him as the Khan of Kalat.[3] On the occasion, he was a minor.[4] One of the first acts he carried out upon ascending the throne was to open fire with his guns on the chiefs encamped near the city of Kalat.[4] In 1859, the British Government granted him Rs. 50,000—apart from the regular subsidy provided under the treaty of 1854—to help him strengthen his hold and manage the expenses incurred in dealing with the rebellious Marri tribe.[5] This grant was continued for four consecutive years.[5] In March 1863, the chiefs of Kalat, including Mulla Muhammad Raisani, rebelled against him and proclaimed his cousin, Sherdil Khan, as the Khan of Kalat.[5] Rebel chiefs attempted to assassinate him; however, Shedil Khan only managed to wound him.[4][6] He surrendered the town and fort of Kalat to the rebels without a show of defense and fled to Sindh.[5][6] Raisani, who had previously supported the cause of his cousin, now joined him.[4] Upon the death of his cousin at the hands of his own guard in May 1864, he was reelected as the Khan of Kalat.[5] His succession was recognized by the British authorities and the subsidy of Rs. 50,000 was resumed by them.[5]

On 28 March 1893, while in Bhag, he killed Fakir Muhammad, his minister; Ghulam Farukh, the minister’s son; Naib Abdul Aziz, the minister’s father; and Sherdad, the minister’s trusted agent.[7][8] He was summoned to account for his actions and ordered to meet the Political Agent at Bellpat.[7][8] He complied and attended the meeting, after which the Political Agent escorted him to Quetta.[7][8] There, a jirga was convened by the Governor-General’s Agent, with the participation of influential Sardars of Baluchistan, to review Khudadad’s conduct.[7][8] James Browne prepared a detailed report on the proceedings and submitted it to the Government of India.[7][8] It was subsequently decided by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India that Khudadad be deposed.[7][8] However, in recognition of his many years as an ally of the British Government, he was asked to voluntarily abdicate in favor of his son, Mahmud Khan.[7][8] He accordingly abdicated in 1893 and was succeeded by his son Mahmud Khan.[9] He left behind a large family; however, apart from his successor, the sons born to well-born mothers and regular wives were Azim Jan, Sikandar Khan, and Ibrahim Jan.[9]

References

  1. ^ Muhammad Yusuf Mujahid. Kalat - A Memoirs on the Country and on the Family of Ahmadzais. pp. 54–55.
  2. ^ Harrison De Puy, William (1891). American Revisions and Additions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and General Literature. Vol. I (9th ed.). Chicago: R.S. Peale & Co. pp. 199–200.
  3. ^ Vadivelu, A. (1915). The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles and Zamindars of India. G.C. Loganadham. p. 96.
  4. ^ a b c d Superintendent Of Government Printing Calcutta (1908). Imperial Gazetter Of India Provincial Series Baluchistan 1908. p. 17.
  5. ^ a b c d e f A Collection of treaties, engagements and sanads relating to India and neighbouring countries. Manager of Publications, Delhi. 1933. pp. 327–328.
  6. ^ a b Branch, India Army Intelligence (1910). Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India: Baluchistan and the first Afghan war. Government Monotype Press. pp. 54–55.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g The Liberal and the New Dispensation. R.S. Bhattacharji. 1893. pp. 3–4.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g The Gazette of India. Bengal Secretariat Office, Calcutta. 1893. p. 3.
  9. ^ a b Calcutta Government Of India Central Publication Branch. Memoranda On The Indian States 1930. p. 6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.