Saiyed Muhammed Khan, better known by his title as Jan-Fishan Khan, was a 19th-century Afghan noble chieftain (
nawab
Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...
)
[Obituary of Idries Shah, The Independent (London) of 26 November 1996.][, pp. 19–26] He participated in the
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) and the
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
, and on both occasions, he supported the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
. For his services to the British, Khan was granted the estate of
Sardhana
Sardhana is a city and a municipal board in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is northeast of New Delhi and 13 mi from Meerut. It is 5 km from Meerut Karnal National Highway and 12 km from National Highway 5 ...
and is the forefather of the
Nawabs of Sardhana.
Background
Jan-Fishan Khan was the son of an Afghan noble,
Saiyed Qutubuddin Hashmi, of
Paghman, the family's ancestral home in Afghanistan.
His family has historically claimed descent from
Ali ar-Ridha, the eighth
Imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
,
through
Najmuddin Kubra and the Arab Sufi Saiyed Bahaudin Shah.
Life
In the
First Anglo-Afghan War, Saiyed Muhammed Khan, also known to the British as the "Laird of Pughman",
[Sale, Florentia Wynch (1844). ''A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, 1841-2''. London: John Murray, pp. 45, 142, 373] supported
Shah Shuja and the British Army against other Afghan forces,
[, p. 13; reprint by Elibron Classics (2001): ] apparently in order to honour a family allegiance to Shah Shuja.
In 1840, he was awarded the title "Jan-Fishan Khan" by Shah Shuja for his support.
[Text accompanying lithograph depicting Jan-Fishan Khan, Leicester Galleries](_blank)
Retrieved on 14 November 2008.
Lady Florentia Sale established the military action for which Saiyed Muhammad Khan received his title of Jan-Fishan Khan. She wrote the following in her eyewitness account of the First Afghan War titled "A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, 1841-42":
"I observe I have mentioned the Laird of Pughman,--a sobriquet applied to a good man, and a true one to the Shah and us. His proper name was the Syud Mahommed Khan; and for the good service he did in the Kohistan with Sale's force he obtained the honorary title of Jan Fishan Khan,..."
Professor Wheeler M. Thackston, a renowned linguist of Persian, Arabic, Syriac and Chaghatai has stated the following interpretation of the title Jan-Fishan: "The Persian compound ''jān-fishān'' (جانفشان) means self-sacrificing. Literally it means 'soul-strewing' in the sense that one is willing to 'strew,' or offer, one's life in loyal service. It is a synonym of ''jān-nisār'' (جاننثار) and ''jān-sipār'' (جانسپار), which were awarded as titles to Jan-Nisar Khan and Jan-Sipar Khan by Jahangir and Shahjahan."
According to writer
James Moore, the title means "The Zealot" (however this is a misunderstanding of the meaning of the Persian idiom which can mean "zealous" in the sense of "ready to sacrifice one's life", as it is defined in
Steingass).
[ First published 1892. New edition 2007.][See Steingass dictionar]
on-line search
/ref> One of Jan-Fishan Khan's descendants Saira Shah has correctly explained that this ''nom de guerre
A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war.
In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' translates literally as "scatterer of souls".[, p. 19. Also see similar interpretations of the title i]
Sale (1844)
Retrieved on 14 November 2008. Shah recounts that the appellation has a double meaning: first, that of a noble chieftain scattering the souls of his enemies, and second, one based on a Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
couplet describing the supplicant's devotion to God:
Having accompanied Sir Robert Sale's force on its march from Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
to Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...
, Jan-Fishan Khan was honourably mentioned in dispatches for his assistance. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
, Jan-Fishan Khan again helped the British to quell the mutiny.[Letter from Col. R.J.H. Birch, Secretary to the Government of India in ''Indian Mutiny 1857 - 58 -- Vol.1'' briefly mentions Khan's help for the British.] Lethbridge (1893) gives the following summary in ''The Golden Book of India'', a genealogical and biographical source:
Exiled from Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
ever since the British retreat from Afghanistan, Jan-Fishan Khan eventually came to settle in Sardhana
Sardhana is a city and a municipal board in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is northeast of New Delhi and 13 mi from Meerut. It is 5 km from Meerut Karnal National Highway and 12 km from National Highway 5 ...
, a town near Meerut
Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...
in the North-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, and was given the hereditary title of Nawab of Sardhana The Nawab of Sardhana is an honorary Muslim title bestowed upon the descendants of the Afghan noble chieftain (nawab) and statesman Jan-Fishan Khan for services to the British Raj – both in the failed British Anglo-Afghan War, Afghan campaigns, as ...
in recognition of his services. He had lost several of his sons in the fighting.
The Sardhana estate
According to the ''Imperial Gazetteer of India
''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...
'' (1908): On account of services rendered to Sir Alexander Burnes in his Kabul mission, and subsequently to the British in the retreat from Kabul, a pension of Rs. 1,000 a month was given to the family, which settled at Sardhana. As a reward for subsequent help to the British in putting down the Indian mutiny, the title of Nawab Bahadur, and confiscated estates assessed at Rs. 10,000 per annum, were conferred on Jan Fishan Khan, with concessions as to the revenue assessed. The pension was also made permanent. During the lifetime of the first Nawab, and for some time after, the family added largely to the estate, but speculations in indigo
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
and personal extravagance caused losses. The estate was taken under the Court of Wards in 1895, and in 1901 the debts, amounting to 1 million (100,000 = 100,000 Rupees), were paid off by a loan from Government.[''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', v. 22, p. 105, Oxford, 1908. Retrieved fro]
here
on 2008-11-14.
Tradition has it that the town of Sardhana (population 12,059 in 1891, growing to 12,467 in 1901 and 47,970 by 2001) was founded by a Raja Sarkat, whose family ruled there until their expulsion by the Muslims. Sardhana was once famous as the residence of the Catholic ruler Begum Samru.
Sufi connection
According to his descendant Idries Shah
Idries Shah (; , , ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, Indries Shah, né Sayyid, Sayed Idries el-Hashemite, Hashimi (Arabic: ) and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghans, Afghan author, thinker and teacher in ...
's obituary, as well as being an Afghan noble chieftain, Jan-Fishan Khan was also a Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
sage.
Statements attributed to Jan-Fishan Khan by Idries Shah in his books on Sufism include: "The candle is not there to illuminate itself", "You may follow one stream. Realize that it leads to the Ocean. Do not mistake the stream for the Ocean" and "The visible places of Sufi study are like lamps in the dark. The inner places are like the Sun in the sky. The lamp illuminates an area for a time. The sun abolishes the dark". Khan also features in several teaching stories A teaching story is a narrative that has been deliberately created as a vehicle for the transmission of wisdom. The practice has been used in a number of religious and other traditions, though writer Idries Shah's use of it was in the context of Suf ...
and some didactic passages in these books.[Idries Shah, '' The Way of the Sufi'', pp 152, 186, 269-270, Octagon Press, 1980. It also contains a passage in the section 'Letters and Lectures' entitled 'Which do you seek -- appearance or reality', attributed to Jan-Fishan Khan.]
Descendants
After Jan-Fishan Khan's death in 1864, his three sons succeeded him as Nawab, the last being Saiyid Ahmad Shah, who succeeded in 1882.
Jan-Fishan Khan has a number of notable descendants, including his great-grandson, the author and diplomat the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah who married the author and traveller Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah; great-great-grandchildren: the authors and Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
teachers Idries Shah
Idries Shah (; , , ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, Indries Shah, né Sayyid, Sayed Idries el-Hashemite, Hashimi (Arabic: ) and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghans, Afghan author, thinker and teacher in ...
, and Omar Ali-Shah
Omar Ali-Shah (, ; 19227 September 2005) was a prominent exponent of modern Naqshbandi Sufism. He wrote a number of books on the subject, and was head of a large number of Sufi groups, particularly in Latin America, Europe and Canada.
Early lif ...
, the storyteller Amina Shah
Amina Maxwell-Hudson (born Amina Shah; 31 October 1918 – 19 January 2014) was a British anthologiser of Sufi stories and folk tales, and was for many years the Chairperson of the College of Storytellers. She was the sister of the Sufi writer ...
, retired Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Zameer Uddin Shah and actor Naseeruddin Shah; and great-great-great-grandchildren: the author and filmmaker Tahir Shah, his twin sister Safia Nafisa Shah, who edited the book ''Afghan Caravan'',[Review of ''Afghan Caravan'' by Safia Shah](_blank)
Retrieved on 14 November 2008. author, reporter and documentary filmmaker Saira Shah, filmmaker Arif Ali-Shah, who has led Sufi study groups, and Indian actors Mohommed Ali Shah
Major (rank), Major Mohommed Ali Shah (born 23 September 1979) is an Indian actor, motivational speaker and former Officer (armed forces), military officer. He is a member of the board of the List of festivals in Australia, International Film an ...
, Imaad Shah
Imaaduddin Shah (also credited as Imaad Shah; born 20 September 1986) is an Indian actor and musician. He is the son of actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah.
Early life
Imaad was born to actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak on 20 S ...
and Vivaan Shah.
References
Further reading
* Sale, Florentia Wynch (1844)
''A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, 1841-2''
London: John Murray.
External links
Lithograph with accompanying text from Leicester Galleries, depicting Jan-Fishan Khan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Jan-Fishan
1864 deaths
Jan-Fishan Khan
Afghan warlords
Indian Muslims
Indian people of Afghan descent
Year of birth unknown