Amb

This article is part of the series Former subdivisions of Pakistan

Original provinces Baluchistan East Bengal Federal Capital Territory NWFP Sind West Punjab Princely states Baluchistan States Union Amb Bahawalpur Chitral Dir Hunza Kalat Khairpur Kharan Las Bela Makran Nagar Phulra Swat Minor states Jhalawan Phulra Sarawan One-unit provinces East Pakistan West Pakistan Other subdivisions Gilgit Agency    Trans-Karakoram Tract Marri-Bugti Country Divisions of Pakistan

Amb

Capital Darband(Submerged under Tarbela Dam) Shergarh (summer residence) Area 585 km² Languages Hindko, Pashto Established  19th century Abolished 28 July 1969

Amb was a princely state of the former Indian Empire, with internal autonomy but under the "suzerainty" of the British crown. In 1947, by the Indian Independence Act 1947, the British abandoned their supremacy, and following the Partition of India Amb's Nawab decided to give up the independence the state had previously enjoyed by acceding to the new country of Pakistan. However, Amb continued as a distinct state within Pakistan until 1969, when it was incorporated into the North-West Frontier Province. In 1971, the royal status of the Nawab was abolished by the Government of Pakistan.

History

Amb and surrounding areas have a long history which can be traced to Alexander the Great's invasion of India. Arrian, Alexander's historian, did not indicate the exact location of Embolina, but since it is known that Aoronos was on the right bank of the River Indus, the town chosen to serve as Alexander's base of supplies may with good reason be also looked for there. The mention in Ptolemy's Geography of Embolima as a town of Indo-Scythia situated on the Indus supports this theory.

In 1854 General Abbott, the British frontier officer from whom Abbottabad, administrative centre of Hazara, takes its name, discussed his location of Aornos on the Mahaban range south of Buner. He proposed, as M. Court, one of Ranjit Singh's French generals had done before him in 1839, to recognize Embolima in the present village of Amb situated on the right bank of the Indus. It lies about eight miles to the east of Mahaban and is the place from which the Nawabs of Amb take their title.^[1]

Amb State was once known as Mulk e Tanawal (Country of Tanawal), with Amb as its capital, and was the tribal homeland of the Tanoli people. The history of the state goes back to the centuries before the Mughal Empire, when in the early fourteenth century the Tanoli tribe under its chieftains conquered and settled on the banks of the river Indus and a wide area around it, which thus came to be known as Tanawal. A picturesque place on the river banks, named Amb was chosen as a capital.

Left:Field Marshal William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, Right: Nawab Sir Muhammad Khan Zaman Khan of Amb. At Darband, Amb State,1925

The bond of kinship between the people and the rulers proved to be a major source of strength and unity during the turbulent times following the liquidation of the Mughal empire. Prior to the British period, the whole of the territory ruled by the chief of Amb was known as Mulk-e-Tanawal.^[2] The voluminous Urdu copy of the settlement report of Hazara compiled by Major Wace in 1872 contains many passages in its historical resume of the area. In a number of maps drawn at the time and enclosed in the report, showing Hazara under the Mughals and under the Durranis, the Amb state has been shown as Mulk-i-Tanawal. The original existence of that Mulk is as old as the middle period of the great Afghan invasions of India. The principality of Tanawal, which was accepted by the British Government as a state came to be known as Amb state. The Nawabs of the Tanolis were best known for fighting against the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh.

Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah the Prime Minister Amb (princely State) and former Ruler of Swat(seated third from left), Governor of Mecca (Saudi Arabia)(seated fourth from left) and Governor of Madinah (Saudi Arabia) (seated second from left), place Darband, 1923.

In 1947 the Nawab of Amb, Mohammad Farid Khan, acceded to Pakistan. In 1969, the state was incorporated into the North-West Frontier Province and in 1971 the royal status of the Nawab was abolished by the Government of Pakistan. The construction of the Tarbela Dam(largest earth filled dam in the world) across the Indus River in the early 1970s resulted in much of Amb state (Including the capital Amb, Darband) being submerged by the reservoir.

The principality ruled by the Nawabs of Amb was spread over 30 miles in tne Indus valley and 200 miles in the upper Tanawal area comprising more than 500 villages.

The Amb State from its creation was able to manage its own affairs without any interference from the Mughals, Sikhs and British. No invader has ever succeeded in imposing his administrative measures on Amb state, nor have its lands ever been measured or assessed for any rates of land revenue, either by the Sikhs or the British, nor has the British government ever enforced any enactment, criminal or civil, in any part of the Amb state. It was run so wisely that no one in the periods of Mughals, Sikhs or British rulers meddled with its affairs. Rather, the rulers of Amb were appreciated in every period for smoothly running the affairs of the state. Maintaining cordial relations based on mutual respect with the tribes of Kala Dhaka has always been a priority of the rulers of Amb and the then Nawab was invited to " Darbar e Dehli" on special invitation from viceroy of India upon arrival of Queen of England where it was utter surprise for the Queen that the Nawab communicated extremely well in English and as per the records the Nawab was illetrate and communicate only in Persian.

In 1947 when the Subcontinent was being partitioned Nawab Sir Mohmmad Farid Khan the then ruler of Amb acceded to Pakistan by signing an Instrument of Accession, accepted by the Quaid-e-Azam.

The State was finally merged with the province of West Pakistan and the royal status of the Nawab abolished in 1969.

Shergarh Fort

Famous Rulers of Amb

They are descendants of Barlas tribe of the Mughals and this has been mentioned in many historical books, for instance; The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia (1841), in the following words; "There is one chief who, though not a Eusofzye, yet from his position in the midst of, and intimate connection with, the Eusofzyes, and his singular history and character, must not be omitted in a description of the Eusofzye country. Paieendah Khan, of Tanawul, is a Mogul of the Birlas tribe, the same from which the Ameer Timoor was descended. All record of the first settlement in Tanawul of his family is lost, and it has long ago broken off all connection with the other branches of the Birlas, which are still to be found in Turkestan."^[3]

In this picture seated (left to right): Sahibzada Mohammad Khurshid (first Pakistani Governor of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan), Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan (Liāqat Alī Khān) (Urdu: لیاقت علی خان) listen (help·info) (2 October 1896 – 16 October 1951) the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawab Sir Muhammad Farid Khan (Nawab of Amb) and Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan (wife of Liaquat Ali Khan. Darband, Amb State, 1949.

The Imperial Gazetteer of India also confirms this line of descent; it states, "Its (Tanawul's) real rulers, however, were the Tanawalis, a tribe of Mughal descent divided into two septs, the Pul-al and Hando-al or Hind-wal."^[4]

This picture is from 1917 Darband. In this photo: Nawab Muhammad Khan Zaman Khan (seated second from left), Sir George Roos-Keppel (seated third from left), Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum (seated first from right).

The Sikh records of the region also confirm this line of decent of the Tanolis. They state, "The family of Paeendah Khan is a branch of the Birlas, a Mogul House, well known in history. All record of its first settlement in Tanawul is lost. It may perhaps have been left there by the Emperor Baber. Among the list of whose nobles, the name Birlas is found."^[5]

Nawab Muhammad Saeed Khan

Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, Commmander in Chief of India reviewing Amb State Guard, escorted by Ali Asghar Khan and Subedar Major Shah Zaman of Amb State Guard, Darband, 1941.

Mir Painda Khan: Mir Painda Khan is famed for his staunch rebellion against Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Governors of Hazara. He was the son of Mir Nawab Khan, who defeated the Durranis and freed his kingdom from their influence. [Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Sikh ruler of the Punjab. The Hazara region is located in NWFP, Pakistan.]

From about 1813, he spent a life long rebellion against the Sikhs, who, realising the potential of his rebellion, set up forts at strategic locations to keep him in check. Hari Singh Nalwa took this initiative during his governorship. [A Sikh man wearing a turban The adherents of Sikhism are called Sikhs. ... Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. Hari Singh Nalwa (1791-1837?), an Uppal Khatri born at Gujranwala, was the Commander-in-chief of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.]File:1923 Darband, PM Amb state with governor of Mecca and gov. of Madinah.jpg

Painda Khan's relentless rebellion against the Sikh empire, cost him a major portion of his Kingdom, leaving only his twin capitals Amb and Darband. However, this deterred him less and appeared to increase his resistance against the Sikh government. [Amb was a princely state in what is today the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.]

The District Gazetteer of the North-West Frontier Province (p138) confirms, "Painda Khan, played a considerable part in the history of his time and vigorously opposed the Sikhs."

Mir Painda Khan set the tone for the regional resistance against Sikh rule. In 1828 Mir Painda Khan gifted the State of Phulra to his brother Mir Madad Khan.

Painda Khan was the Nawab of Amb who took over the valley of Agror in 1834. The Swatis appealed to Sardar Hari Singh, who was unable to help them but in 1841^[6], Hari Singh's successor restored Agror to Ata Muhammad, a descendant of Sad-ud-din.^[7]

Eventually, realising that the Heroic Tanoli Khan would not be subdued by force, General Dhaurikal Singh, commanding officer of the Sikh troops in Hazara, had Painda Khan poisoned to death in September 1844. He is still revered in Hazara today as a Heroic Warrior King of the People.

Mir Jehandad Khan: This Tanoli chief deserves special mention as the son of a famous Tanoli hero of Amb Darband Hazara, Mir Painda Khan. It is mentioned in 'Men who made the North-West Frontier' (Charles Allen, Abacus 2001, p139) that "Of all the tribal chiefs of Hazara, the most powerful said to be Jehandad Khan of the Tanoli, whose land straddled both banks of the Indus and whose fellow-tribesmen were 'brave and hardy and accounted for the best swordsmen in Hazara'. There was a long history of conflict between Jehandad Khan's family and the Sikhs, and the name of his father Painda Khan, was said to be 'magic to the ears of the people of Hazara' because of the struggles he fought on behalf of his 'poor circumscribed and rugged principality' against the Sikhs. Abbot was aware that before his death Painda Khan had made his son (Jehandad Khan) swear never to trust his safety to any ruler." This was a strong testament to the physical, political power and heroic background of the House of Tanoli which continued throughout the history of the tribes ancestry.

Mir Jehandad Khan is further mentioned in the same source as, "Jehandad Khan - a good looking young man of 26 years, tall and slender, with remarkably large and fine eyes - rode into Abbott's encampment surrounded by an escort of horsemen clad in shirts of mail and steel skull caps, handsomely mounted and equipped, who made a most picturesque display....the bystanders, who regarded the Chief with great awe, were thunderstruck.."

In 1852, Jehandad Khan was summoned by the President of the Board of Administration (who travelled to Hazara to see the Khan) in relation to a murder enquiry of two British officers (in his lands. It is mentioned in the above source (p203,p204) that "Jehan Dad Khan, the head of the Clan, and his minister Boostan Khan...knowing himself charged for his life, with the air of a prince sat down....answered all questions in an easy off hand way that looked very much like innocence. I was glad when the examination was over and the men let go, for they had a following of five or six hundred men, all stalwart fellows who had accompanied their Chief..." The President ended the talk by threatening him that, "If you refuse to give up the murderers...I will come with an army to burn your villages and give your country to another." It is said that the Khan replied, folding hands and with some fun replied with his elders, "We should consider your presence (in our kingdom) an honor, but our country is a 'rather difficult one' for your army." This famed statement was the talk of the day and remembered by many locals of Hazara even to this day as a heroic answer to a staunch threat from a powerful official.

Jahandad Khan's position in British India is summed in the following lines in a letter by R. Temple, Esq., Secretary to the Chief Commissioner Punjab, the letter is addressed to The Financial Commissioner Punjab.(dated 8 January 1859) "'5. The term "Jagir" has never appeared to me applicable in any sense to this (Jehandad Khan's) hereditory domain (Upper Tannowul), for it was never granted as such by the Sikhs or by our Government; we upheld the Khan as we found him in his position as a feudal lord and large proprietor.'

Jehandad's position is, and probably always must be, an anomalous one....the Chief Commissioner considers that Upper Tannowul is a chiefship held under the British Government, but in which, as a rule, we possess no internal jurisdiction. The Chief manages his own people in his own way without regard to our laws, rules or system. This tenure resembles that on which the Chiefs of Patiala, Jhind, Nabha, Kapurthala and others hold their lands."^[8]

His son, Nawab Bahadur Sir Muhammed Akram Khan was conferred the title Nawab Bahadur by the British Raj.

Nawab Sir Muhammad Akram Khan: The next chief of the Tanolis and son of Mir Jahandad Khan was Nawab Sir Akram Khan (K.C.S.I)(1868 - 1907). He was a popular chief and it was during his tenure that the fort at Shergarh was constructed, along with Dogah and Shahkot Forts. His rule was a peaceful time for Tanawal with no major conflicts.

Nawab Sir Muhammad Khan Zaman Khan: Nawab Khanizaman Khan (K.C.I.E) succeeded his father in taking over the reins of power in Tanawal in Amb. He helped the British in carrying out the Black Mountain (Kala Dhaka/Tur Ghar)expeditions.

Nawab Sir Muhammad Farid Khan: Nawab Sir Muhammad Farid Khan (K.B.E) had very good relations with The Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan. His contributions to the Pakistan movement have been acknowledged by letters from The Quaid e Azam.^[9][10] In 1947 the Nawab of Amb, Mohammad Farid Khan, acceded to Pakistan by signing the Instrument of Accession of his State, in favour of Pakistan. In 1969, the State was incorporated into the North-West Frontier Province and in 1971 the royal status of the Nawab was abolished by the Government of Pakistan.

Amb State Postal Service

British India had hundreds of Princely States, some 565^[13] in all, but most of them did not issue postage stamps. Only around 40 such States issued their own postage stamps and Amb State was one of them, having its own Postal Service. The rest used All India Postal Service postage stamps.

See also

• North-West Frontier Province
• Politics of Pakistan
• History of Pakistan
• Historical regions of Pakistan
• List of Indian princely states
• Princely state
• Partition of India
• British Raj
• Tanoli
• Hazara, Pakistan

References

• A Collection of Papers Relating To The HISTORY, STATUS AND POWERS Of THE CHIEF OF AMB, 97 Pages, Published 1874, Punjab Secretariat

• Gazetteer of the Hazara District, 1883-4 (p38).

• Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province H.A. Rose, p255 & p256

• Chiefs and Families of Note in Punjab by Lepel H. Griffin (1910, ii, p254)

• Gazetteer of the North-Western Frontier Province p138.

• Gazeteer of Hazara District (1883/4). (p. 61)

• History of the Sikhs by J.D. Cunningham, (1849).

• Accession List of Quaid-i-Azam Papers By Pakistan Education Division. Quaid-i-Azam Papers Cell, Quaid-i-Azam Papers Cell, Education Division, Pakistan, Published 1971, pg 1.

• A British Tale of Indian and Foreign Service: The Memoirs of Sir Ian Scott By Ian Scott, Denis Judd pg68-69.

• Sir George Cunningham: A Memoir By Norval Mitchell Published 1968 Blackwood pg 32, 88, 111.

• The Statesman's year-book By Frederick Martin, John Scott Keltie, Brian Hunter, Isaac Parker Anderson Renwick, Mortimer Epstein, Sigfrid Henry Steinberg, John Paxton (1935-1936), pg 211.

• Panjab Castes by Denzil Ibbetson, Delhi, p93.

• The Pathan Borderland By James William Spain, Published 1963 Mouton, pg 154, 222.

• General Hari Singh Nalwa: Builder of the Sikh Empire By Autar Singh Sandhu, p14, p34-36.

• Studies in Islam: Quarterly Journal of the Indian Institute of Islamic Studies By Indian Institute of Islamic Studies, 1982 the Institute, pg215.

• Journal of Central Asia Vol XII, (July 1990), Prof. Ahmed Hasan Dani, July, 1990 p79.

• Soldier Sahibs: The Men who made the North-Western Frontier by Charles Allen, Abacus 2001.

• The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire, with an appendix for Ceylon by Sir Roper Lethbridge, Elibron Classics, p328.

• A Handbook of Fighting Races of India by P D Bonarjee, p37.

• Afghan and Pathan: A Sketch by George Batley Scott (1928), p71.

• Sir Jadunath Sarkar Commemoration: Volume S By Jadunath Sarkar, p150.

• The Illustrated Who's Who in Reigning Royalty: A History of Contemporary Monarchical Systems by William G. Valko, Philadelphia, Community Press, 1969. p253.

• Encyclopaedic Asiatic, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia by Edward Balfour (1976 Cosmo Publications)(First Published in 1858)

• Across the Border: Or Pathan and Biloch by Edward Emmerson Oliver, London: Chapman and Hall, 1890. p313.

• Yearbook By North-west Frontier Province (Pakistan). Information Dept. p247.

• The Jaduns by Sultan Khan Jadun (2001).

• Tarikh-ul-Afghan ka Tehqiqi Jahiza by Sultan Khan Jadun (1979).

• History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 By George Bruce Malleson, p46.

• Tairikh-e-Hazara by Dr Sher Bahadur Khan Panni.

Further reading

• Sack, John (2000). Report from Practically Nowhere. ISBN 0-595-08918-6. 
• Muhammad Aslam, Masters thesis, titled 'The Rulers of Amb State', University of Peshawar, Session 1992-94. .... [A/No.295]

External links

• Government of NWFP
• Government of Pakistan
• Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Amb