Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan (8 November 1849 – 23 June 1930) was the

Nawab of Tonk Tonk was a princely state in India under the supervision of the Rajputana Agency of the British Raj. It was located primarily in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan with small portions in Madhya Pradesh. The town of Tonk, India, Tonk, w ...

from 1867 until his death in 1930. He ascended the throne of Tonk following the deposition of his father by the British, who was charged guilty of mass murder. He attended all three

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by Britain at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was he ...

s. In 1901, he passed a law for the conservation of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

and the environment in his state. This was also the first law enacted in present day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

for such a purpose.

Early life

Ibrahim Ali Khan was born on 8 November 1849 at

Tonk State Tonk was a princely state in India under the supervision of the Rajputana Agency of the British Raj. It was located primarily in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan with small portions in Madhya Pradesh. The town of Tonk, which was the ...

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 ...

. His father Muhammad Ali Khan was the third Nawab of Tonk. His mother was a daughter of Ahmad Ali Khan. In 1864, Ibrahim Ali Khan started a practise of sacrificing camels on

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

. The family discontinued the practise in 2014, after Rajasthan declared the camel as a state animal.

Reign

Ibrahim Ali Khan's father Muhammad Ali Khan was found guilty in the mass-killings of the Thakur of Lawa state and his relatives. As a result, he was deposed by the British and exiled to

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

with an yearly pension of . Subsequently, Ibrahim Ali Khan ascended the throne of Tonk on 20 December 1867 at the age of 20. As a punishment, his gun salute was reduced to 17 from 21. As the

was in debts to the British at the time of Ibrahim Ali Khan's coronation, a regency council under the leadership of his grand-uncle Ubaidullah Khan was appointed. The council was removed in 1870 and Ibrahim Ali Khan was invested to rule the state. At the 1877

, he was given a salute of 17 guns in the presence of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. He also attended the other two Delhi Durbars held in 1903 and 1911. He was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in the

1913 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1913 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 3 January 1913. Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross (GCB) ;Mi ...

. In 1901, Ibrahim Ali Khan passed the Shikar Act of 1901. This was the first law enacted in present day

for the conservation of

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

and the environment. Ibrahim Ali Khan died on 23 June 1930 at Tonk. He was succeeded by Saadat Ali Khan, a son of Ladli Begum.

Personal life

Ibrahim Ali Khan married six times. While four of his wives were from the royal family, one wife was from the royal family of

Rampur State Rampur State was a 15 gun-salute princely state of British India. It came into existence on 7 October 1774 as a result of a treaty with Oudh. Following independence in 1947, Rampur State and other princely states of the area, such as ...

. His wives are - Nawab Ladli Begum, Nawab Hajira Begum, Nawab Maimuna Begum, Nawab Mulka Jamil-uz-Zamani Begum, Amir-uz-Zamani Begum and Mubarak-uz-Zamani Begum. He fathered twenty-one sons and fifteen daughters. Ibrahim Ali Khan's full name with titles is "His Highness, Wazir-ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur, Saulat Jung, Nawab of Tonk".

Early life

Reign

Personal life

References

Further reading