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 ''sub ...

(province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty,

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 ...

( of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, ''Subahdar'' is of Persian origin. According to sources, Subahdar Awlia Khan was a famous and trusted Subahdar of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal (1204-1231) whose title was Saheb-i-Subah could not be ascertained.He belonged to the Oghuz Turks Kayı (tribe) and his ancestors came to the region during the expansion of The Great Seljuk Empire to establish good governance and justice in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. 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 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 mo ...

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 dis ...

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 of Bhawal Estate. 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, 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, subdivision ...

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 adminis ...

, 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 rule, in which a mayor was the head of a

. Under the Local Government Act, however, the role of the nazim became distinct from that of a mayor, 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-loc ...

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