Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan,

Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of khan ('leader') and bahadur ('brave') – was a formal title of respect and honor, which was conferred exclusively on Muslim and other non-Hindu natives of British India. It was one degree higher than the title of ...

, KCSI, KCIE (4 June 1878 – 23 March 1931) was the Raja of Mahmudabad from 28 June 1903 to 23 March 1931 and a noted politician,

zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

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 ...

Raja of Mahmudabad

He was son of Raja Sir Mohammad Amir Hasan Khan (1849–1903), the Jagirdar of

Taluq 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 ...

of Mahmudabad. He was born at Mahmudabad in

Sitapur district Sitapur district is one of the districts which is situated in Uttar Pradesh state of India, with Sitapur town as the district headquarters. Sitapur district is a part of Lucknow division. History Sitapur was first constituted as a distri ...

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

, British India. After the death of his father in 1903, he became the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested ...

of Mahmudabad. The estate of Mahmudabad was among the largest estates in

United Province United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two ...

.Mahmudabad
/ref> He was succeeded by his son Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan (1914-1973). The latter was succeeded by Raja Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan former Member of the Legislative Assembly, (M.L.A.) of Uttar Pradesh.

Educationist and philanthropist

Raja_Mahmudabad_(center)_with_leaders_of_Aligarh_Movement*

He played a key role to make Lucknow as the capital of United Province and foundation of

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...

and was the founder-member of University in 1920. The idea of starting a University at Lucknow was first mooted by him, who contributed an article to the columns of "The Pioneer" urging the foundation of a University at Lucknow. He and the Raja of Jahangirabad both donated one

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For e ...

rupees for the purpose of founding university in 1919 conference held by Sir Harcourt Butler, Governor of United Province, thus leading to foundation of University. He was also appointed a trustee of

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammed ...

in 1906 and had donated fifty thousand rupees for scientific educational development at

of Aligarh. He was also actively involved in the campaign for a Muslim University. On 17 December, when

became

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

. The Governor General of India,

Lord Chelmsford Viscount Chelmsford, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford, the former Viceroy of India. The title of Baron Chelmsford, of Chelms ...

appointed him as its first Vice- Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University with Begum of Bhopal and Sir Agha Khan, who were respectively appointed as Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University. He immediately gave a generous donation of One Lakh rupees to College fund. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University from 17 December 1920 to 28 February 1923.- Aligarh Movement - Raja of Mahmudabad
/ref> He fully financed the 1904 session of

All India Muhammadan Educational Conference The All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was an organisation promoting modern, liberal education for the Muslim community in India. It was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, also the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University. All India ...

held in Lucknow under the chairmanship of Nawab Mohsinul Mulk. Further, he presided over the Muslim Educational Conference of 1909 held at

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. He also founded the Madrasatul Waizeen, a centre of Shia Islamic education in the city of Lucknow, in memory of his younger brother, Mohammad Ali Ahmad Khan in year 1919.

Politician and leader

Further, he served in various capacities as a Member of United Province Legislative Council from 1904–09; Member of Governor-General's Council 1907–20 and was elected a member of the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

in 1908 and was a member for the years 1908–1912. In year 1927 he was elected unopposed as Member of

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. Further, he served as the Home Minister for the years 1920–26 and was the first Indian Member of The Administrative Council of Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, Governor of United Province.The Indian Year-book and Annual, 1912 India's Partition: The Story of Imperialism in Retreat - Page 349 Devendra Panigrahi - 2004 He was the President of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

conferences held in the years 1917, 1918 and 1928 and as the President of British Indian Association (Oudh Taluqdars) for the years 1917–21 and 1930–31. When the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

leaders, including

Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Neh ...

were jailed in Lucknow during Non Co-operation Movement, the Raja sahib helped in their release.

Honors and styles

He held the title of Khan Bhahadur and Maharaja Bahadur title was awarded to him as personal distinction. Further, he was created a K.C.I.E. in 1919 a C.S.I. in 1921The London Gazette - Page 1190 and was promoted to style of K.C.S.I. in 1922The India Office and Burma Office List, 1947

Poet

He was a poet and extensively wrote "Marsia" with pen name of "Mohib".

Death

He died in 1931 and was succeeded by his son, Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan

References

{{Reflist 1878 births 1931 deaths All India Muslim League members 19th-century Indian royalty Indian Shia Muslims Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian knights Indian philanthropists 19th-century Indian educational theorists Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Urdu-language poets from India Vice-Chancellors of the Aligarh Muslim University People from Sitapur district Founders of Indian schools and colleges 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian royalty Members of the Council of State (India)