RAMPUR
(Dar ul-Insha)
The Rohilla (or Barech) Dynasty
BRIEF HISTORY
The
state of Rampur was founded by Nawab 'Ali Muhammad Khan,
the adopted son and successor of Sardar Daud Khan, chief
of the Rohillas in Northern India. He received the
territory known as Kather from Emperor Muhammad Shah in
1737, but then lost virtually everything in a contest
with the Nawab Wazir of Oudh in 1746. Two years later, he
assisted Ahmad Shah Durrani in his invasion of India and
thus recovered all his former possessions in reward. At
his death, he divided his territories equally amongst his
many sons. Faizu'llah Khan, the second son, receiving
those around Rampur and Chachait. He was confirmed in his
possessions by a treaty with Oudh, which was guaranteed
by the HEIC, 7th October 1774. Thereafter, the
Rohilla chiefs and their troublesome followers were
encouraged to settle peaceably within the borders of the
new state.
Despite the fearsome warlike history of his clan, Nawab
Faizu'llah Khan, was a remarkably gifted and far-sighted
ruler. Conversant in a number of languages, he laid the
foundations of one of the most prestigious libraries in
Asia. Now known as the Rampur Raza Library, it contains
more than 15,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu, Persian and
Turkish, many of them priceless and ancient. Amongst its
treasures, a Koran written before 661 by the fourth
Caliph, 'Ali bin Abu Talib.
Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan succeeded his father in 1793, but
was deposed by his nobles within twenty-four days. His
younger brother and successor, Ghulam Muhammad, proved
tyrannical and a danger to his subjects and neighbours
alike. This coupled with a fear of resurgent Rohilla
aggression, prompted intervention by a combined force
belonging to the Nawab Wazir of Oudh and the HEIC. Nawab
Ghulam Muhammad Khan was deposed in favour of his nephew,
Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan. The latter ruled for forty-four
prosperous years, greatly enhancing the cultural and
artistic environment of his realm. He became tributary to
the HEIC when the whole of Rohilkand was transferred to
the company in 1801.
Nawab Muhammad Said, younger son of Ghulam Muhammad,
succeeded his cousin in 1840, but was clearly cut from a
different cloth than his father. Benevolent and
progressive, he established courts of law and an advanced
legal framework, formed a modern army out of feudal
levies, built irrigation works and developed several
projects aimed at increasing the economic welfare of his
people.
Nawab Muhammad Yusuf 'Ali Khan, son and successor of
Muhammad Said, inherited a near model state and did much
to enhance his father's example. He assisted the British
authorities during the Mutiny in 1857, receiving many
honours and lands for his efforts. Nevertheless, he did
much to preserve the Mughal heritage of the country by
inviting and sponsoring court scholars, musicians and
artists to settle in Rampur, after the dissolution of the
Imperial court in 1858. Amongst these many beneficiaries,
the renowned poet and chronicler, Ghalib.
Nawab Kalb-i-Ali Khan was highly literate in Arabic and
Persian, and consequence expanded the famous library
several times over, patronising scholars from all-over
India and the Muslim world. He did much to improve
education and was responsible for constructing the famous
mosque, the Jama Masjid, at a cost of Rs. 3 Lakhs. His
son, Nawab Mustaq Ali Khan, continued many of his good
works, but concentrated especially on architectural and
irrigation works.
Nawab Hamid Ali Khan, succeeded his father aged fourteen
in 1889 and reigned for forty-one years. A
benevolent and modern ruler, like his predecessors, he
vastly expanded the number of schools and educational
institutions within his state and also donated very
generously to colleges of higher learning in other parts
of India. Aligarh Muslim University and Lucknow Medical
College are amongst two of the many institutions which
owe their existence to his generosity. His army saw
service in several theatres of war, including
Afghanistan, the Middle East and East Africa.
Nawab Raza Ali Khan, who became Nawab in 1930, inherited
his father's energetic and modern-thinking Dewan, Colonel
Zaidi. Together, they expanded industrialisation at
breathtaking speed. Within ten years of the Nawab's
succession, the canal system was vastly expanded,
electrification projects completed, roads, sanitation
systems and schools constructed, and factories and
industrial concerns had sprung up everywhere. Though a
Muslim ruler, with a majority of Muslim subjects, the
Nawab greatly expanded the employment of Hindu's in state
service, and half his Council of Ministers were Hindus.
Like his father, he volunteered the services of his
forces on the outbreak of the Second World War and
soldiers from his state served with distinction in
the Middle East, in Africa and South East Asia.
Rampur acceded to the Dominion of India in 1947, and
merged with the United Provinces in 1950. Thereafter, the
Nawab devoted himself to his many educational, cultural
and charitable activities. Foremost among these, his
place as the Muslim head of the Masonic organisation in a
secular state, overwhelmingly composed of devout Hindus.
At his death he had left instructions for his burial at
Karbala in Iraq, a feat that was only accomplished after
two years of intense negotiations between the Indian
government and the secular and hostile Ba'athist regime.
Nawab Raza Ali Khan's descendants continue to engage in
public affairs within modern, democratic India. Both his
sons served as members of parliament, either at the union
level in Delhi or in the state legislature. His
daughter-in-law, likewise served as a popular and
indefatigable representative of the people in the Indian
Parliament. Similarly, his grandson and the current head
of the Rampur family, Nawab Syed Muhammad Kazim 'Ali
Khan, has served as a Cabinet Minister in the state
government.
SALUTE:
15-guns.
ARMS:
Vert, within an orle two sabres with points
upward or. Crest: A mailed arm
embowed proper holding in bend sinister a
pennon or. Supporters: Stags proper.
Motto: "Allah Muhammad" vert
on a riband or. Lambrequins: Vert
and or.
FLAG:
A swallow-tailed flag with a gold vertical band at the
hoist, and a white fly.
STYLES & TITLES:
The ruling prince: 'Ali Jah,
Farzand-i-Dilpazir-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mukhlis
ud-Daula, Nasir ul-Mulk, Amir ul-Umara, Syed* (personal
name) Khan Bahadur, Mustaid Jang, Nawab of Rampur,
with the style of His Highness.
The principal consort of the ruling prince: Nawab (personal
name) (personal title) uz-Zamani
Begum Sahiba, with the style of Her Highness.
The Heir Apparent: Nawabzada Syed* (personal name)
Khan, Wali Ahad Bahadur.
The younger sons of the ruling prince: Nawabzada Syed* (personal
name) Khan.
The daughters of the ruling prince: Kaniz-i-(personal
title) Nawabzadi (personal name) Begum
Sahiba.
*The Rampur family attest that Nawab 'Ali Muhammad Khan
came from a sayyidi family in the Jansath district of UP,
and consequently adopted the title of Syed during the
latter half of the nineteenth century.
ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
Nishan-i-Iqbal (the Decoration of Good Fortune):
founded by Nawab Hamid 'Ali Khan Bahadur, ca. 1927.
Awarded in three classes (1st class - breast star, sash
and sash badge, 2nd class - breast star and neck badge,
and 3rd class - neck badge)..
 |
Nishan-i-Iqbal - second class, breast star.
Nishan-i-Hamidiya
(the Hamidiya Decoration): founded by Nawab Hamid 'Ali
Khan Bahadur in 1894. Awarded in three classes.
RULES OF SUCCESSION:
Legitimate male primogeniture.
SOURCES:
Administration Reports Rampur State 1868-1944. IOR
(V/10/1846), Oriental and India Office Collection,
British Library, St Pancras, London.
Lewis Bentham Bowring, Bowring Collection. MSS. Eur.
G.38, Oriental and India Office Collection, British
Library, St Pancras, London.
Charles Allen and Sharada Dwivedi, Lives of the Indian
Princes. Century Publishing, London, 1984.
Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Burke's
Peerage Ltd, London, 1900-1959.
Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and
Companionage. Odhams Press Ltd, London, 1900-1959.
Gazetteer of the Rampur State. Supt. Government Press,
United Provinces, Allahabad, 1911.
Jahanara Habibullah, Remembrance of Days Past: Glimpses
of a Princely State during the Raj. Oxford University
Press, Karachi, 2001.
W.H.L. Impey (ed.). Manual of Titles, North-Western
Provinces. North-Western Provinces and Oudh Government
Press, Allahabad, 1889.
Waman P. Kabadi (ed.), Indian Who's Who 1937-38,Yeshanand
& Co., Bombay, 1937.
Sir Roper Lethbridge, KCIE. The Golden Book of India.
Macmillan and Co., London, 1893.
J.S. Mackintosh (ed.). Manual of Titles, North-Western
Provinces. North-Western Provinces and Oudh Government
Press, Allahabad, 1877.
Hafeez Malik & Morris Dembo (transl.). Sir Sayyid
Ahmad Khan's History of the Bijnor Rebellion. Asian
Studies Center, Michigan State University, East Lancing,
1971.
Manual of Titles, United Provinces of Agra & Oudh.
The Superintendent, Printing and Stationery, United
Provinces, Allahabad, 1932.
Who Was Who, Vol. I to Vol. VII, A&C Black, London,
1915 - 1980.
Who's Who in India 1911.
Who's Who in India, Burma & Ceylon, Who's Who
Publishers (India) Ltd., Bombay, 1940.
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Sahibzada Kazim Ali Khan.
Syed Hasan 'Ali Khan.
Father Lawrence Ober, SJ.
Michael Rushby.
Saman Vashisth
I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may have changes, corrections or additions to contribute. If you do, please be kind enough to send me an e-mail using the contact details at: Copyright© Christopher Buyers
Copyright©Christopher Buyers, March 2004 - August 2008