Loharu State was one of the princely states of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during the period of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. It was part of the

Punjab States Agency The Punjab States Agency was an agency of the British Raj. The agency was created in 1921, on the model of the Central India Agency and Rajputana Agency, and dealt with forty princely states in northwest India formerly dealt with by the Prov ...

and was a nine-gun

salute state A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Scouting ...

. Loharu State encompassed an area of , and was situated in the south-east corner of the undivided

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

province, between the district of Hissar and the

Rajputana Agency The Rajputana Agency was a political office of the British Raj, British Indian Empire dealing with a collection of native states in Rajputana (now in Rajasthan, northwestern India), under the political charge of an Agent reporting directly to ...

. In 1901, the state had a population of 15,229 people, of whom 2,175 resided in the town of

Loharu Loharu is a city, municipal committee and assembly constituency, near Bhiwani City in the Bhiwani district of the Indian state of Haryana. It is the administrative headquarters of one of the four administrative sub-divisions of the district a ...

. From 1803 to 1835, the territory of Loharu State also included an

Ferozepur Jhirka Ferozepur Jhirka, ocassionaly called Jhirka, is a town and historical settlement in the Ferozepur Jhirka, a sub-division of the Nuh district in the Indian state of Haryana. Sh Rajkumar Gupta won the presidential election of Bar Association F ...

enclave within the area directly administered by the

British raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, Outer limits of the state were defined by the peripheral towns of Loharu, Bahal, Isharwal,

Kairu Kairu is a block located in district Bhiwani, Haryana. Positioned in rural area of Bhiwani district of Haryana. The people are from different castes and communities. Agriculture is the main profession of residents of Kairu block. Kairu block is ...

, Jui Khurd and

Badhra Badhra is a tehsil, sub-division and assembly constituency in the Charkhi Dadri district of the Indian state of Haryana. It is located west of district headquarters Charkhi Dadri, south west of city of Bhiwani Bhiwani is a city and a ...

. The ''

haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, or manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', me ...

'' of 'Nawab of Loharu', known as ''Mahal Sara'', lies in Gali Qasim Jan in Ballimaran, where his son-in-law, noted poet

Mirza Ghalib Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (27 December 179715 February 1869), commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, he also produced a significant body of work in Persian. Ghali ...

stayed for a few years, whose own

Ghalib ki Haveli Ghalib ki Haveli (ALA-LC: , ) is a haveli in Gali Qasim Jan (), Ballimaran, in the Chandni Chowk neighbourhood of Old Delhi. It was the residence of the 19th-century Indian poet Ghalib and is now a heritage site. Its Mughal architecture ref ...

lies a few yard away. Now the ''

gali Gali may refer to: * Francisco Gali, a 16th-century Spanish sailor and cartographer * Gali (town), a town in Abkhazia, Georgia * Gali District, Abkhazia * Gali Municipality, Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia * Gali, Kermanshah31, a village in Ker ...

'', which houses the Mahal Sara, is known as ''Kothi Nawab Loharu'' lane in Ballimaran mohalla of

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk (meaning Moonlight Square) is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. There is another location in Pune with the name Chandani Chowk. Located close to the Old Delhi railway station, the Mughal-era Red Fort ...

area in

Old Delhi Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...

History

town, the seat of the state's administration town got its name from the ''Lohars'' (local

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s) who were employed in the minting of coins for the erstwhile

Jaipur State The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur or the Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachwaha Rajput dynasty. The kingdom was established by Dulha Rai, possibly t ...

. The princely state of Loharu was founded by Ahmad Baksh Khan in 1803 when he received the town of Loharu, (along with the ''

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

'' of 'Firozepur Jirka' (now in

Nuh district Nuh district, formerly known as the Mewat district, is one of the 22 districts of the northern Indian state of Haryana. The district is known for having the largest Muslim population in Haryana. It lies within the National Capital Region as wel ...

), from the

Lord Lake Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India. Background He was ...

of British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

as a reward for his services against the

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

rulers of Bharatpur.Loharu State
''

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.< ...

'', 1909, v. 16, p. 169. Ahmad Baksh Khan was succeeded by his eldest son, Sams-ud-din Khan amsudin Ahmad Khan in 1827; his reign did not last long: in 1835 he was executed by the

for being involved in the conspiracy to kill the

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...

to Delhi, Sir William Frazer,Loharu family’s get-together in capital – Islamabad
''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

'', 26 May 2005. Noted Urdu poet

Daagh Dehlvi Nawab Mirza Khan (, 25 May 1831 – 17 March 1905), popularly known by his '' takhallus'' Dagh Dehlvi was an Indian poet known for his Urdu ''ghazals''. He belonged to the old Delhi school of Urdu poetry. Subsequently, the pargana of Firozepur was taken away by the British and the state of Loharu was given to his brothers, Amin-ud-din and Zia-ud-din Khan. Both were themselves kept under surveillance after 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 ...

for some time, before being released and their positions restored. Alauddin Ahmed Khan succeeded his father Amin-ud-din Khan in 1869 and received the title of Nawab. Alauddin's son, Amir-ud-din Ahmad Khan (1859–1937), after managing the state on his father's behalf, succeeded him in 1884, though from 1893 to 1903, he remained administrator and adviser of the state of

Maler Kotla The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state of Afghan origin in the Punjab region established in the medieval era and lasting to the era of British India. It has been described as being a princely enclave. Its rulers belonged ...

during this time, the state was being handled by his younger brother, Bashiruddin Ahmed Khan. In 1903, Amir- ud-din Ahmad Khan also received the K.C.S.I honour from the British Government and after the

1903 Durbar Honours The 1903 New Year Honours, announced at the time as the Durbar Honours, were appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was announced on the day of the 1903 Delhi Durbar held to celebrate the suc ...

from 1 January 1903 was allowed a 9 gun personal salute. He later became a member of the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

legislative council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. The Nawab of Loharu State dealt with the dissenting kisans (farmers) and his troops opened fire on a Kisan Meeting on 8 August 1935, killing dozens of kisans. In 1920, he abdicated to his second son, Aizzuddin Ahmad Khan, though he died early in 1926, leaving the state to his son,

Amin ud-din Ahmad Khan Amin ud-din Ahmad Khan (23 March 1911 – 12 June 1983) was the last ruling Nawab of princely state of Loharu State, Loharu, reigning from 1926 to 1947. Born on 23 March 1911 in Delhi, he studied at Aitchison College, Lahore, later, Member ...

(1911–1983) - the last Nawab.Genealogy of the Nawabs of Loharu
''

Queensland University The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an i ...

''. However, since the new Nawab was still young, Amirud-din Ahmad Khan stepped in and took care of the state till 1931. After the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1947, the state acceded to the

Union of India Union of India or Indian Union may refer to: * The country of India * Dominion of India (1947–1950), which was also known as the Union of India * The Government of India, which "may sue or be sued by the name" of ''Union of India'', as per Articl ...

and many of the ruling family and the city's Muslim inhabitants re-settled in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, though the Nawab and his direct descendants (except for the eldest daughter of Nawab Aminuddin Ahmed, Mahbano Begum who lives in Islamabad), stayed on, in India.

Nawabs of Loharu

Notable members of the Loharu dynasty

The ruling family of Loharu was linked by blood or marriage to several important Muslim personalities of the 19th century, including: *

(1796 — 1869), renowned

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

poet, married Umrao Begum, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh Khan (younger brother of the first Nawab, Ahmad Baksh Khan). *

Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898), also spelled Sayyid Ahmad Khan, was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu–Muslim unity, he ...

(1817 – 1898), educationist KCSI *

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the Inner ...

(1905–1977),

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

(1974–1977) * Ibrahim Ali Khan Pataudi (r. 1913–1917),

Nawab of Pataudi Pataudi State was a small princely state in India, established in 1804 by the East India Company rule in India. The state formed a part of the Delhi Territory in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. It was under the suzerainty of the Commiss ...

, married Shahar Bano Begum, daughter of Nawab Amiruddin Ahmad Khan.

Courtiers

Jaglan Zail of Bidhwan was adjacent to the Loharu State. Mir Muhammad Khan, was a fine vocalist in the court of Maharaja Loharu, a descendant of Mir Allahbux who a famous vocalists and the court-musician of

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

Nahar Singh Raja Nahar Singh (died 1858) was the Raja of the princely state of Ballabhgarh in Faridabad District of Haryana, India. He fought against The East India Company in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The small kingdom of Ballabhgarh is only 20 mi ...

of Ballabhgarh State.Amala Dāśaśarmā, 1993
Musicians of India: Past and Present : Gharanas of Hindustani Music and Genealogies
/ref>

Post-Independence

Loharu descendants in India

, the last ruling Nawab: Served in the

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 ...

, seeing action during the liberation of

Portuguese India The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

in 1961. He was later elected to the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan state, and ended his chequered career as the

governor of Himachal Pradesh The governor of Himachal Pradesh (ISO: Himachal Pradēśa kē Rājyapāla) is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Shiv Pratap Shukla is the 22nd governor (31st if governors with additional charge also counted) of H ...

(1977–1981) and governor of Punjab (1981–1982). * Ala-uddin Ahmad Khan II (Born 1938): After staying in Kolkata for many year, he now lives in Loharu town; where the Loharu fort, now in ruins, stands in its center,"Eighth Nawab" of Loharu Alauddin Ahmed Khan
''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) * ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' *''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune' ...

'', 23 August 2007. and a major tourist attraction ''www.haryana-online.com''. * Aimaduddin Ahmad Khan, or 'Durru Mian' (Born 1944) married to Fauzia Ahmad Khan:

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

politician, member Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan, Health Minister Of Rajasthan state, settled in

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

* Noor Bano (Born 1939): Married to Syed Zulfikar Ali Khan of Rampur (Titular Nawab of Rampur), and a member

11th Lok Sabha The 11th Lok Sabha was constituted after April–May 1996 general elections. The result of the election was a hung parliament, which would see three Prime Ministers in two years and force the country back to the polls in 1998. Atal Bihari Vajpa ...

and

13th Lok Sabha The 13th Lok Sabha (20 October 1999 – 6 February 2004) is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha (House of the People, or lower house in the Parliament of India). It was convened after 1999 Indian general election held during September–Oct ...

Loharu descendants in Pakistan

Jamiluddin Aali Nawabzada Mirza Jamiluddin Ahmed Khan PP, HI (20 January 1925 – 23 November 2015; ), also known as Jamiluddin Aali or Aaliji, was a Pakistani poet, critic, playwright, essayist, columnist, and scholar. Early life and career Nawabzada ...

, (20 January 1925 – 23 November 2015), Urdu poet, playwright.Jamiluddin Aali - ''Pakistani Poet''
''

'', 5 June 2008. * Mahbano Begum, (born 1934, Loharu), eldest daughter of Nawab Aminuddin Ahmad Khan, married to H. E. Dr. S. M. Koreshi, Ambassador of Pakistan. *

Junaid Jamshed Junaid Jamshed Khan (3 September 1964 – 7 December 2016) was a Pakistani Islamic preacher, singer-songwriter and television personality. Jamshed first gained nationwide and international recognition as the vocalist of Vital Signs. Their ...

, (died 2016, Havelian) son of granddaughter of last Nawab of Loharu, Pakistani Artist and Personality

Adjacent states and jagirs

Jind State Jind State (also spelled Jhind State) was a princely state located in the Punjab and Haryana regions of north-western India. The state was in area and its annual income was Rs.3,000,000 in the 1940s. This state was founded and ruled by the Sidh ...

, bordering south east *

Patiala State Patiala State was a kingdom and princely state in Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India, and one of the Phulkian States, that Instrument of Accession, acceded to the Dominion of India, Union of India upon Indian independence ...

, bordering south * Jaglan Zail of Bidhwan, bordering north was directly administered by the British raj.

Demographics

Notes

References

External links

*
Genealogy of the Nawabs of Loharu
''

'' {{coord, 28.45, N, 75.82, E, source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Princely states of Punjab Bhiwani district 1806 establishments in India 1947 disestablishments in India Gun salute princely states