Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji (22 December 1911 – 13 February 2003) was the ruler of

Manavadar State Bantva-Manavadar or Manavadar State was a princely state during the era of the British Raj in India. It was located on the Kathiawar peninsula in Gujarat. See also *Political integration of India *Bantva Memons *Bantva References External l ...

, one of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

s 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 Accession refers to the general idea of joining or adding to. It may also refer to: *Accession (property law) * Accession, the act of joining a treaty by a party that did not take part in its negotiations; see Vienna Convention on the Law of Treat ...

to Pakistan after the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, 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 officiall ...

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 te ...

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 M ...

Early life

Khanji was born as Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji at

Manavadar Manavadar is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district of India. History Bantva Manavadar was a princely state of British India. Founded in 1733, it became a British protectorate in 1818. On 25 September 1947, it acceded to the newly for ...

Bantva Manavadar Bantva-Manavadar or Manavadar State was a princely state during the era of the British Raj in India. It was located on the Kathiawar peninsula in Gujarat. See also *Political integration of India *Bantva Memons *Bantva References External l ...

(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 The Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 26-acre (105,000 m²) campus in Rajkot. History The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designe ...

.''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

in 1947, the

s 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 I ...

. However, on the orders of the Deputy Prime Minister of India

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

, 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 Songadh is a taluka in Tapi district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Geography Fort Songadh is located at . It has an average elevation of 112 metres (367 feet). The town is located at the foot of a solitary hill, the surrounding ar ...

and later arrested at

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

. In 1951, he left for Pakistan following the

Liaquat–Nehru Pact __NOTOC__ The Liaquat–Nehru Pact (or the Delhi Pact) was a bilateral treaty between India and Pakistan in which refugees were allowed to return to dispose of their property, abducted women and looted property were to be returned, forced co ...

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 games ...

. Khanji also played cricket and represented

in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

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 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 cap ...

, Sindh 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