Miangul Abdul Wadud (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
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Wāli of Swat The Wāli of Swat ( ur, ) was the official title of the leader (wāli) of the erstwhile princely state of Swat and also the nomenclature of the Miangul dynasty that ruled there from 1926 to 1969. History The earlier titles of the rulers of Sw ...

and grandson of the Akhund of Swat. He was elected Badshah Sahib (king) of

Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

by a

loya jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

held at Kabal in November 1918, and was recognized by the British authorities as ruler and formally installed as Wāli of Swat in

Saidu Sharif Saidū Sharīf (Pashto/Urdu: ) is the capital of Swat District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The city also serves as the capital city of Malakand Division. It was named after Saidu Baba, a prominent leader of the former Yusufza ...

on 3 May 1926. He ruled from 1918 to 1949, when he abdicated in favour of his eldest son,

Miangul Jahan Zeb Miangul Jahan Zeb HPk, HQA, CIE ( ur, ) (5 June 1908 - 14 September 1987), also known as Miangul Abdul-Haq Jahan Zeb, was the Wāli of Swat from 1949 to 1969, a princely state that is now part of Pakistan. He succeeded his father, Wadud of S ...

Early life and struggle for power

Miangul Sir Abdul Wadud was born in

in 1881. He was the elder son of Miangul Abdul Khaliq, and grandson on the maternal side of

Aman ul-Mulk Aman ul-Mulk (; 1 January 1821 – 30 August 1892) was the Mehtar of Chitral, Ghizer, Yasen and Ishkoman and Suzerain of Kafiristan. He ruled the State of Chitral from 1857 to 1892. His rule saw Chitral reach its territorial peak, extending from ...

, Mehtar of

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

. He was educated privately. In 1915, when the tribes of Upper Swat elected Sayed Abdul Jabbar Shah as their king, he opposed the election and went into exile at Dalbar from 1915-1916. Abdul Jabbar could not defend the territory in a counterattack on Nawab of Dir in 1916. Anarchy ensued. Abdul Wadud returned and took up arms against Abdul Jabbar in 1916. As a result, the Jirga of Swat decided to oust Abdul Jabbar king and appointed Abdul Wadud, a grandson of the Akhund of Swat, to replace him in 1917. Abdul Wadud established his rule in Swat and annexed

Buner Buner District ( ps, بونیر ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Before becoming a district in 1991, it was a tehsil within Swat District. History The Buner Valley lies bet ...

and

Chakesar Chakesar (PASHTO: "chakesar") is a town / Tehsil of the Shangla District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is situated about 6 km in the north-west on the right bank of the Indus River. Chakesar was given the status of Tehsil ...

to his dominion. By 1923, he controlled most of the Swat area.

Wāli of Swat

Abdul Wadud was proclaimed the Wāli of Swat in 1926 with an annual allowance of 10,000

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

s from the government of India. He had three wives, eight daughters and four sons. Though he was elected king and was locally known as "Bacha" or "Badshah", meaning "king," the British authorities only granted him the title of Wāli, which refers to a religious ruler. Abdul Wadud wanted the title of king but was denied by the British political authorities on the basis that no ruler in India was a king, and that only the King-Emperor in Britain had the right to be styled in such a manner. Abdul Wadud acceded to Pakistan in late 1947. He abdicated in favour of his eldest son,

, on 12 December 1949. Jahan Zeb ruled Swat until its merger with Pakistan in 1969.

Honours and awards

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

(1935) *

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

(1937) *

Pakistan Medal The Pakistan Medal ( ur, تمغہِ پاکستان, Tamgha-e-Pakistan) was established by King George VI in 1949 as a commemorative medal. The medal commemorates service during the period just before and after the creation of the independent Domini ...

(1948)

Death

Abdul Wadud died at the Royal Palace, Aqba (now Iqra Academy), on 1 October 1971 and was buried there at the Badshah Sahib

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

References

External links

Sultan-i-Rome e - IPCS PDF
*About Swat Royal Family & Photographs - Pakistan ... - Apna Swat