Wazir Ali Khan
Encyclopedia
Wazir Ali Khan(b. c. 1780 – d. c. 1817)
was the fourth nawab wazir of Oudh from 21 September 1797 to 21 January 1798, and the son of Muhammad Nasir.
, who although keeping a Harem of 500 women had no legitimate son. He purchased the pregnant daughter of a servant. Enchanted by the boy he adopted and pampered him. At 13 years of age Ali, who was known to have a cruel streak, was married at the cost of £ 300000 in Lucknow
.
After the death of his "father" he ascended to the throne (musnud), with support of the British. Within four month they accused him of being unfaithful. Sir John Shore
(1751–1834) moved in with 12 battalions and replaced him with his uncle Saadat Ali Khan II.
Ali was granted a pension of 20000 Rupies and removed to Benares. Government in Calcutta decided that he should be removed further from his former realm. Mr. Cherry, British resident, relayed this order to him on Feb. 14th during a breakfast invitation to which Ali had appeared with an armed guard. During the ensuing argument he struck Cherry a blow with his sabre, whereupon the guards killed the resident and two more Europeans. They then set out attack the house of Mr.Davis, another colonial officer. He defended himself on the staircase of his house until rescued by British troops.
Subsequently Ali assembled a rebellious army of svereal thousand men. A quickly assembled force commanded by Gen. Erskine moved into Benares and "restored order" by the 21st. Ali fled into Rajputana
and was granted asylum by the Raja of Jeypore
. On request of Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington
, the raja turned Ali over to the British on the condition that he neither be hanged nor be put in fetters.
The colonial government complied with this: Ali spent the rest of life - 17 years - in an iron cage in Ft. Williams of Calcutta. He was buried in the Muslim graveyard of Casia Baguan.
was the fourth nawab wazir of Oudh from 21 September 1797 to 21 January 1798, and the son of Muhammad Nasir.
Life
He was adopted the son of Asaf-Ud-DowlahAsaf-Ud-Dowlah
Asaf-Ud-Daula was the nawab wazir of Oudh from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah, his mother and grandmother being the begums of Oudh, whose spoliation formed one of the chief counts in the charges against Warren Hastings.-Life:A contemporary chronicler describes...
, who although keeping a Harem of 500 women had no legitimate son. He purchased the pregnant daughter of a servant. Enchanted by the boy he adopted and pampered him. At 13 years of age Ali, who was known to have a cruel streak, was married at the cost of £ 300000 in Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
.
After the death of his "father" he ascended to the throne (musnud), with support of the British. Within four month they accused him of being unfaithful. Sir John Shore
John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth
John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth was a British politician who served as Governor-General of India from 1793 to 1797.He married Charlotte Cornish, daughter of James Cornish of Teignmouth, on 14 February 1786...
(1751–1834) moved in with 12 battalions and replaced him with his uncle Saadat Ali Khan II.
Ali was granted a pension of 20000 Rupies and removed to Benares. Government in Calcutta decided that he should be removed further from his former realm. Mr. Cherry, British resident, relayed this order to him on Feb. 14th during a breakfast invitation to which Ali had appeared with an armed guard. During the ensuing argument he struck Cherry a blow with his sabre, whereupon the guards killed the resident and two more Europeans. They then set out attack the house of Mr.Davis, another colonial officer. He defended himself on the staircase of his house until rescued by British troops.
Subsequently Ali assembled a rebellious army of svereal thousand men. A quickly assembled force commanded by Gen. Erskine moved into Benares and "restored order" by the 21st. Ali fled into Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
and was granted asylum by the Raja of Jeypore
Jeypore
Jeypore, is the largest town in the Koraput district of Orissa, India. Along with Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore, Puri and Berhampur, Jeypore is one of the prominent places of Orissa. It is encompassed by hills of the Eastern Ghats and the more famous Araku hills on three...
. On request of Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington
Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington
Lieutenant-General Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington KG, PC , styled Lord Douro between 1812 and 1814 and Marquess of Douro between 1814 and 1852, was a British soldier and politician...
, the raja turned Ali over to the British on the condition that he neither be hanged nor be put in fetters.
The colonial government complied with this: Ali spent the rest of life - 17 years - in an iron cage in Ft. Williams of Calcutta. He was buried in the Muslim graveyard of Casia Baguan.
Timeline
Literature
- Baillie, Laureen (Hrsg.): Indian Biographical Archiv; München, ISBN 3-598-34104-0, Fiche 492
- Davis, John Francis (1795–1890); Vizier Ali Khan; or, The massacre of Benares: a chapter in British Indian history .. (1871) (Orig. 1844)
- Higginbotham, J. J.; Men Whom India has Known; ²1874
- Ray, Aniruddha; Revolt of Vizir Ali of Oudh at Benares in 1799; in: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 49th Session, Karnatak University, Dharwad, 1988: S 331–338