Hamidullah Khan I of Bhopal

Nawab Hamidullah Khan (9 September 1894 – 4 February 1960) was the last ruling Nawab of the princely salute state of Bhopal. He ruled from 1926 when his mother, Begum Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum, abdicated in his favour, until 1949 and held the honorific title until his death in 1960. A delegate to the Round Table Conference in London, he served as Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes from 1944 to 1947, when India became independent as the Dominion of India.

During the Second World War, Nawab Hamidullah was present at the Battle of Keren and the Battle of El Alamein. He was very close to Muhammad Ali Jinnah and on very good terms with Louis Mountbatten, Viceroy and Governor General of India. Despite pressure from Jinnah, he reluctantly agreed to have Bhopal join the Union of India. He was succeeded by his second daughter, Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal.

Personal life

Nawab Hamidullah Khan attended the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College), now the Aligarh Muslim University, graduating in 1905 and Allahabad University, graduating with a BA in law in 1915.

On 5 September 1925 at Peshawar, Nawab Hamidullah Khan married Maimoona Sultan Shah Banu Begum Sahiba (1900–1982), the great-great-granddaughter of Padshah Shuja Shah Durrani of Afghanistan. The couple had three daughters: Suraya Jah, Nawab Gowhar-i-Taj, Abida Sultan Begum Sahiba HH Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Nawab Mehr-i-Taj Sajida Sultan Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal Nawabzadi Qamar-i-Taj Dulhan Rabia Sultan Begum Sahiba (1916–2001). Married twice and had one son and one daughter.

In 1947, he married Aftab Jahan Begum Sahiba (1919–2002), the daughter of a local Bhopali Muslim family. The couple had one daughter: Farzana Begum Sahiba (1948)

He remained the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University from September 1930 to April 1935.

Titles

1894–1903: Nawabzada Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur 1903–1907: Hajji Nawabzada Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur 1907–1921: Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur 1921–1922: Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, CSI 1922–1923: Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, CSI, CVO 1923–1926: Lieutenant Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, CSI, CVO 1926–1927: Lieutenant His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, CSI, CVO 1927–1929: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCIE, CSI, CVO, KStJ 1929–1932: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCIE, CSI, CVO, KStJ 1932–1939: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ 1939–1943: Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ 1943–1945: Air Commodore His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ 1945–1946: Air Vice-Marshal His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ 1946–1960: Major-General & Air Vice-Marshal His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ

Honours

(ribbon bar, as it would look today; incomplete)

Delhi Durbar Gold Medal, 1903 Delhi Durbar Gold Medal, 1911 Prince of Wales Visit Medal, 1922 Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO), 1922 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE), 1929 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI), 1932 (CSI - 1921) Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ) King George V Silver Jubilee Medal, 1935 King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937 1939-1945 Star, 1945 Africa Star, 1945 Burma Star, 1945 Defence Medal, 1945 India Service Medal, 1945 Indian Independence Medal, 1947 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, 1953

Gallery