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 on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Although Khanji chose to accede to Pakistan after the partition of India, 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union ...

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

Pakistan Hockey Federation The Pakistan Hockey Federation ( ur, ) is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Management positions The current Patron-in-Chief is Prime Minister Mian Mu ...

Early life

Khanji was born as Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji at Manavadar, Bantva Manavadar (in present-day

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, 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 person, 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 statu ...

and partition of India 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 Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...

. However, on the orders of the

Deputy Prime Minister of India The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: ''Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantri'') is the second highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of the Union Council of Ministers. The off ...

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

, India annexed the state on 22 October. A referendum was held in Manavadar, 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. In 1951, he left for Pakistan following the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.

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 The Western Asiatic Games was a multi-sport event for athletes from Western Asia. The games were established since as a replacement to the Far Eastern Games, which were cancelled due to the political difficulties between China and Japan. The gam ...

. Khanji also played cricket and represented

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

. KhanSaheb 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 Kurwai State was a princely state of British India under the Bhopal Agency and centered around Kurwai town. The town of Kurwai was founded by Mohammed Diler Khan in 1715. The state was 368 km² in area and had a population of 30,631 in 1892. ...

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 Sarwat Gilani ( ur, ; born 22 December 1982) is a Pakistani model, film, television and voice actress. Film career Gilani made her movie debut in '' Jawani Phir Nahi Aani'' where she played a pregnant Pashtun woman opposite Vasay Chaudhary. ...

, 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 (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Sindh province Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces 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 province ...

References

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