Wali-e-Mewat Raja Nahar Khan, Bahadur, birth name Raja Sonpar Pal, the ruler of Mewat, was the progenitor of Khanzada Rajput tribe. He was converted to Islam by Firuz Shah Tughlaq in 1355.

Background

He was the son of

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

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 f ...

Lakhan Pal of Kotla Fort and great-grandson of Raja Adhan Pal (who was 4th in descent from Raja Tahan Pal). Tahan Pal, who founded

Timangarh Timan Garh is a historical fort situated near Masalpur in Karauli District on old Agra-Karauli highway Indian state of Rajasthan. The ASI, State Government and Central Government of India have taken no steps to preserve this fort and as a resul ...

, was the eldest son of Maharaja Bijai Pal (founder of Bijai Garh and Maharaja of

Karauli Karauli (also formerly spelled Karoli or Kerowlee) is a city located in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The city is the administrative center of Karauli District, and was formerly the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Karauli. Karau ...

), who was 88th in descent from

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Conversion to Islam

Kunwar Sonpar Pal (later Raja Nahar Khan) and his brother Kunwar Samar Pal (later Chaju Khan), the sons of Raja Lakhan Pal, were in service of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi Sultanate. They were accompanying the Sultan in one of his hunting expedition, where the Sultan was attacked by a tiger. Kunwar Sonpar Pal, with his brilliant archery skills, saved the Sultan by killing the tiger. Sultan Firuz then converted the brothers to Islam. After converting to Islam, Sultan Firuz gave them the title of Khan. Kunwar Samar Pal's name was changed to Chaju Khan, while Kunwar Sonpar Pal was given the name of Nahar Khan.

Founder of Khanzada Rajput tribe

Nahar Khan had nine sons, his descendants are known as Khanzada Rajput.

Wali of Mewat

Raja Nahar Khan of Kotla was a high ranking

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

in the royal court of Delhi Sultanate. In 1372, Firuz Shah Tughlaq granted him the Lordship of Mewat. He established a hereditary polity in Mewat and proclaimed the title of Wali-e-Mewat. After his ascension to the throne in 1372, the people of Mewat began to gradually convert to Islam. Later his descendants affirmed their own sovereignty in Mewat. They ruled Mewat till 1527. The last Khanzada Rajput ruler of Mewat was Hasan Khan Mewati, who died in the

Battle of Khanwa The Battle of Khanwa was fought at Khanwa on March 16, 1527. It was fought between the invading Timurid forces of Babur and the Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga for suprermacy of Northern India. The battle was a major event in Medieval ...

against the invading Mughal forces of Babur.

Delhi Power Struggle

In 1388, Raja Nahar Khan aided

Abu Bakr Shah Sultan Abu Bakr Shah (reigned 1389–1390), was a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty. He was the son of Zafar Khan and the grandson of Sultan Feroze Shah Tughluq. Life After Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq II (who had succeeded Sultan Feroze Shah Tu ...

, grandson of the late Emperor Firuz Shah Tughlaq, in expelling from

Dehli Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Abu Bakr's uncle

Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq ( fa, ) (reign: 1394 – February 1413 CE), also known as Nasiruddin Mohammad Shah, was the last sultan of the Tughlaq dynasty to rule the Islamic Delhi Sultanate. History War of succession with Nusrat Shah ...

and in establishing the former on the throne. In a few months, however, Abu Bakr had to give away before Nasiruddin, and he then fled to Raja Nahar's stronghold in

Mewat State The Khanzadas of Mewat were a dynasty of chiefs from Rajputana who had their capital at Alwar. The Khanzadas were Muslim Rajputs who descended from Raja Sonpar Pal who was a Yaduvanshi Rajput who converted to Islam during the period of the De ...

, where he was pursued by Nasiruddin. After a struggle Abu Bakr and Raja Nahar surrendered, and Abu Bakr was placed in confinement for life in the fort of

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

, but Raja Nahar received a robe and was allowed to depart.

Timur's Invasion of India

In 1398 during

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

's Invasion of Delhi, Nahar Khan withdrew to his Kotla Tijara and watched the development of events from there.

during this time was flooded with fugitives fleeing from Delhi and

Khizr Khan Khizr Khan (reigned 28 May 1414 – 20 May 1421) was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Delhi sultanate, in northern India soon after the invasion of Timur and the fall of the Tughlaq dynasty. Khan was Governor of Mult ...

, (the future Sultan of Delhi), was one of those who took shelter in Mewat. After defeating Nasiruddin, Timur sent two envoys to

who invited the Wali of Mewat for a meeting with him. Nahar accepted this invitation and both met in 1398. As a gesture of goodwill and symbol of friendship Raja Nahar Khan gifted Timur two white parrots, which Timur praised highly.

himself, made prominent mention of the conduct of Nahar Khan during the Invasion of India in 1398 AD. Timur states that he sent an embassy to Nahar Khan at Kotila, to which a humble reply was received. Raja Nahar sent as a present two white parrots that belonged to the late Emperor. Timur remarks that these parrots were much prized by him.

Death

In 1402, Nahar Khan was killed in an ambush by his in-laws of

Kishangarh Bas Kishangarh Bas is a census town in Alwar district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The Fort was built by Surajmal. Kishan Singh who was an officer of Maharaja Surajmal of Bharatpur built the Kisheneshwar Temple inside the Fort. Geography Ki ...

. After his death, his son Raja Bahadur Khan succeeded him as Wali-e-Mewat.

Legacy

He had nine sons namely Wali-e-Mewat Raja Bahadur Khan, Malik Alaudin Khan, Shah Mehmood Khan, Pir Shahab Khan, Malik Haroon Khan, Siraj Khan, Fateh Khan, Noor Khan and Nizam Khan. He was the progenitor of Khanzada Rajput community. Hasan Khan Mewati,

Nawab Feroz Khan Khanzada Nawab Feroz Khan was the first Nawab of Shahabad, Alwar and a Commandant in Mughal Army. He was a close confidant and trusted aide of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I. He belonged to a Khanzada Muslim Rajput family. He was a descendant o ...

, Khan Bahadur

Fateh Naseeb Khan Khan Bahadur Maj.Gen. Fateh Naseeb Khan, OBE KB (1888–1933), was the Commander-in-chief of Alwar State Forces. He was a close confidant and trusted aide of Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar Bahadur, who was the Maharaja of Alwar State. He ...

, Abdul Kadir Khanzada ,Tufail Ahmad khan and

Shahzeb Khanzada Shahzeb Khanzada ( ur, شاہ زیب خانزادہ; Born 20 September 1986) is a Pakistani journalist, columnist and news anchor, currently hosting a Telivison program '' Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath'' on Geo News. Personal life Shahzeb wa ...

are his direct descendants. Haveli Naharwali, in Kucha Sadullah Khan of Chandani Chowk in

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. T ...

, is said to be originally owned by him,Heritage , The Old Delhi dictionary
Livemint, 2 March 2013. which later came in the ownership of family of former president of Pakistan,

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

, where he was born and his grandfather sold it to Prem Chand Gola after whom this area is now called Gola Market.Haveli Naharvali
the-south-asian.com, June 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Nahar, Mewati Mewat Indian Muslims History of Haryana Year of birth unknown Converts to Islam Converts to Islam from Hinduism Islam in India