Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji (22 December 1911 – 13 February 2003) was the ruler of Manavadar State, one of the princely states associated with

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Although Khanji chose to accede to Pakistan after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, the state was soon annexed by India and a subsequent referendum resulted in a massive Indian victory. An able sportsman, Khanji played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...

and in his later life, was also the president of the

Pakistan Hockey Federation The Pakistan Hockey Federation () is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Management posit ...

Early life

Khanji was born as Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji at

Manavadar Manavadar is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district of India. History Bantva Manavadar was a princely state of British India. Founded in 1733, it became a British protectorate in 1818. On 25 September 1947, it acceded to the newly ...

Bantva Manavadar Bantva-Manavadar or Manavadar State was a princely state during the era of the British Raj in India. It was located on the Kathiawar peninsula in Gujarat. See also *Political integration of India * Bantva Memons * Bantva References Extern ...

(in present-day

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India) on 22 December 1911. He was the eldest son of Nawab Fatehuddin Khanji. His mother, Fatima Siddiqa Begum was the second wife of Fatehuddin. Moinuddin graduated from Rajkumar College, Rajkot.''Who's Who in India, Burma & Ceylon'' (Who's Who Publishers (India) Limited, 1936), p. 541

Reign

Khanji ascended the throne of Manavadar on 19 October 1918 after the death of his father. Since he was only seven years old, his mother acted as Regent until 1931, when 20-year-old Khanji's investiture took place. Following the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

and

in 1947, the princely states were invited to either join India or Pakistan or remain independent. On 24 September, Khanji acceded to the new

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

. However, on the orders of the

Deputy Prime Minister of India The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: ''Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantrī''), although not a Constitutional post, is the second-highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of ...

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

, India annexed the state on 22 October. A referendum was held in

, Mangrol, and three other states. Out of 31,434 votes which were cast, 34 were in favour of Pakistan. Khanji was initially put under house arrest at Songadh and later arrested at

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

. He was released as a result of the Liaquat–Nehru Pact of 8 April 1950 and left for Pakistan in 1951.

Sportsman

Khanji was the founder of the Manavadar hockey team coached by Mirza Nasiruddin Masood. Under his captaincy, the team toured New Zealand and won all the matches in 1934. In the same year, he was a member of the India hockey team representing the country at the Western Asiatic Games. Khanji also played cricket and represented

in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

between 1935 and 1941. After migrating to Pakistan, he became the president of the

. Khanji was sometime captain of the Ranji Trophy cricket team, beside he led Manavadar cricket-hockey teams in national and international expeditions.

Personal life

Khanji married his first wife Qudsia Siddiqa Begum, daughter of the Nawab of Kurwai on 14 November 1933. He married for a second time in July 1945 to Nawab Abida Begum. He had five sons and six daughters, the last of whom was born in 1963. His eldest son Aslam Khan was also a cricketer. One of Khanji's granddaughters, Sarwat Gilani, is an actress. Khanji's full name, with titles, was ''Major Nawab Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji Fatehuddin Khanji Babi, Khan Sahib of Manavadar''. He received the Hilal-e-Quaid-i-Azam in 1953. Khanji died on 13 February 2003 at the age of 92 at

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh province Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanji, Ghulam Moinuddin 1911 births 2003 deaths Indian monarchs Muslim monarchs Pakistani people of Gujarati descent Indian cricketers Muhajir people Western India cricketers Indian male field hockey players Indian emigrants to Pakistan Prisoners and detainees of India Pakistani sports executives and administrators