The Bhikampur and Datawali principality is in

Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

. For nearly four centuries, before the advent of

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, it was ruled by the descendants of a

Sherwani Sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, ...

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

from

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The Sherwani clan were practically independent rulers in the period between the collapse of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and the rise of the

History

The clan had two main branches, the lineage of Bhikampur and that of Datawali, and practiced

cousin marriage A cousin marriage is a marriage where the spouses are cousins (i.e. people with common grandparents or people who share other fairly recent ancestors). The practice was common in earlier times, and continues to be common in some societies toda ...

to an almost exclusive degree. The family tree presents a bewildering array of interlocking relationships. Their marriage patterns kept the family properties intact, while taking a toll on the health of their increasingly inbred offspring. The Sherwanis were a family that displayed an intriguing combination of the progressive and the conservative: They were supporters of education, whether Islamic or western, and promoters of education for women, although the women of the family maintained strict purdah and were educated at home. Their loyalist politics were manifested in civic service and membership in reform associations, along with resistance to the growing forces of anti-British activism before and after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. File:Muzammilullah Sherwani 1.jpg, Sir

Muhammad Muzammilullah Khan Nawab Sir Muhammad Muzammilullah Khan Sherwani, Khan Bahadur (1865–1935) was a noted zamindar and politician from the United Province of British India.''The Indian Year Book'' - Volume 23; Volumes 25–28 - 1941– Page 902 He was former Vi ...

File:Rehmatullah Sherwani.jpg, Nawab Rehmat Ullah Khan Sherwani

Notable Members

The Sherwani clan of Aligarh district produced a number of notable people: *

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

Shujat Khan: the commander-in-chief of

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

. * Nawab Sir Muhammad Muzzammilullah Khan Sherwani,

Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of khan ('leader') and bahadur ('brave') – was a formal title of respect and honor, which was conferred exclusively on Muslim and other non-Hindu natives of British India. It was one degree higher than the title of K ...

(1865-1935): ( Bhikampur ) a noted zamindar and politician *

Haroon Khan Sherwani Prof Haroon Khan Sherwani (1891–1980) was an Indian historian, scholar, and author. Maulana Azad National Urdu University had created Centre for Deccan Studies in his honor. Education Haroon Khan Sherwani was educated in Aligarh Muslim Uni ...

(1891-1980): ( Datawali ) an Indian historian, scholar, and author. *

Zahida Khatun Sherwani Ze Khe Sheen (born Zahida Khatun Sherwani; 18 December 1894 – 2 February 1922; sometimes spelled Zay Khay Sheen) was an Indian poet and writer who wrote in the Urdu language and was also an activist for women's rights. She published her poetry ...

(1894-1922):( Bhikampur ) : Daughter of Nawab Sir Muzammil Ullah Khan Sherwani, An Indian poet and writer who wrote under pen name Zay Khay Sheen in the

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ur, , link=no, ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, In ...

and was also an activist for women's rights. *

Rahil Begum Sherwani Rahil Begum Sherwani (1894 - 1982) was the founder of the All India Women's Muslim League. The AIWML was the women's wing of the All India Muslim League. It was inaugurated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Aligarh in 1938. She was the younger sister of ...

(1894-1982): ( Datawali ) Daughter of Musa Khan Sherwani: Founder of All India Women's Muslim League. *

Masud Husain Khan Masud Husain Khan (28 January 1919 – 16 October 2010) was an Indian linguist, the first Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University and the fifth Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, a Central University in New Del ...

(1919-2010): the Father of Urdu-Linguistics, and the fifth

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

.''Prof Masud Husain turns 90''
/ref> He was married to Nawab Faiz Ahmed Khan's great-granddaughter.

References

{{reflist Former principalities History of Uttar Pradesh Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh Muslim princely states of India Nawabs of India Pashtun diaspora in India Pashtun dynasties Quasi-princely estates of India Zamindari estates