Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a

Subah A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''subed ...

(province) during the

Khalji dynasty of Bengal The Khalji dynasty ( bn, খলজী খান্দান, fa, ) was the first Muslim dynasty to rule Bengal. The dynasty, which hailed from the Garmsir region of present-day Afghanistan, was founded in 1204 by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, a ...

, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi),

Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto: ; Persian: ) dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decades between 1290 and 1320.Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...

Mughal era 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 ...

( of

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 ...

who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, ''Subahdar'' is of

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 ...

origin. According to sources, Subahdar Awlia Khan was a famous and trusted Subahdar of the

(1204-1231) whose title was Saheb-i-Subah could not be ascertained.He belonged to the

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...

Kayı (tribe) The Kayı or Kayi tribe ( Middle Turkic: قَيِغْ ''qayïγ'' or simply ''qayig''; tr, Kayı boyu, tk, Gaýy taýpasy) were an Oghuz Turkic people and a sub-branch of the Bozok tribal federation. In his ''Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk,'' the 1 ...

and his ancestors came to the region during the expansion of The Great

Seljuk Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turko-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total are ...

to establish good governance and justice in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Subahdar Awlia Khan was a friend of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji Later, during the conquest of Bengal, Awlia Khan was his fellow warrior. Today the descendants of the great Subahdar Awlia Khan have been living in Fuldi village of

Gazipur Gazipur ( bn, গাজীপুর) is a city in central Bangladesh. It is located in the Gazipur District. It is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh. Its other name is Joydebpur. Demogra ...

district of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

for almost 900 years and Mesbahuddin Ahmed Khan Abdu Mia, a descendant of Subahdar Awlia Khan was also the only great

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

Bhawal Estate Bhawal Estate was the second largest zamindari in Bengal (in modern-day Bangladesh) until it was abolished according to ''East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950''. History In the late 17th century, Daulat Ghazi was the zamind ...

. The Subahdar was the head of the Mughal provincial administration. He was assisted by the provincial ''Diwan'', ''Bakshi'', ''Faujdar'', ''Kotwal'', ''Qazi'', ''Sadr'', ''Waqa-i-Navis'', ''Qanungo'' and ''Patwari''. The Subahdars were normally appointed from the Mughal princes or the officers holding the highest ''mansabs'' (ranks).

Nazim

A ''nazim'' (, ur, ; from the Arabic word for "organizer" or "convenor"), similar to a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, was the coordinator of cities and towns in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Nazim is the title in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

local government in Pakistan Pakistan is a federal republic with three tiers of government: national, provincial and local. Local government is protected by the constitution in Articles 32 and 140-A, and each province also has its own local-government-enabling legislation an ...

, such as a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, union council, or village council. Likewise, a deputy mayor is known as a ''Naib nazim'' (). The word naib in Urdu literally means "assistant" or "deputy" hence Naib nazim was similar in function to a deputy mayor. He was also custodian of the house. Pakistan originally had a system inherited from the time of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule, in which a

was the head of a

. Under the

Local Government Act Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government. The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...

, however, the role of the nazim became distinct from that of a

, with more power. The nazim system was introduced after the commissionerate system, imposed during British rule, was lifted by the government of Pakistan. This

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

act was imposed in the country in 2001. One exception, however, is

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

, the federal capital, where the commissionerate system remained in effect. In 2009, the new government restored the commissionerate system. All the provinces introduced their own new local government systems. A ''Nazim'' was also empowered to decide criminal cases. The ''Nazim'' was the lowliest of elected officials in Pakistan. The district nazim, is elected by the nazims of Union Councils, Union Councillors, and Tehsil Nazims, who themselves are elected directly by the votes of the local public. The name which is used for the president of

Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba ( ur, ) IJT is the largest student organisation in the world. It was founded by 25 students on 23 December 1947 at Lahore, Pakistan. Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba is working in Pakistan to eliminate the non-Islamic elements an ...

, the Islamic Union of Students in Pakistan, is Nazim-e-ala (). The nazim-e-ala is elected for one year, and after completing that tenure, all the members of IJT who are called (Arkaan) elect a new one.

References

{{Reflist Government of the Mughal Empire Medieval India History of Pakistan History of India Local government in Pakistan Titles in India