Ibrahim Ali Khan


Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan Bahadur was the Nawab of Tonk from 1867 until his death in 1930.
He ascended the throne of Tonk following the deposition of his father by the British, who was charged guilty of mass murder. He attended all the three Delhi Durbars. In 1901, he passed a law for the conservation of wildlife and the environment in his state. This was also the first law enacted in present day Rajasthan for such a purpose.

Early life

Ibrahim Ali Khan was born on 8 November 1849 at Tonk State, British India. His father Muhammad Ali Khan was the third Nawab of Tonk. His mother was a daughter of Ahmad Ali Khan.
In 1864, Ibrahim Ali Khan started a practise of sacrificing camels on Eid al-Adha. The family discontinued the practise in 2014, after Rajasthan declared the camel as a state animal.

Reign

Ibrahim Ali Khan's father Muhammad Ali Khan was found guilty in the mass-killings of the Thakur of Lawa state and his relatives. As a result, he was deposed by the British and exiled to Varanasi with an yearly pension of. Subsequently, Ibrahim Ali Khan ascended the throne of Tonk on 20 December 1867 at the age of 20. As a punishment, his gun salute was reduced to 17 from 21.
As the Tonk State was in debts to the British at the time of Ibrahim Ali Khan's coronation, a regency council under the leadership of his grand-uncle Ubaidullah Khan was appointed. The council was removed in 1870 and Ibrahim Ali Khan was investitured to rule the state. At the 1877 Delhi Durbar, he was given a salute of 17 guns in the presence of Edward VII, the Prince of Wales. He also attended the other two Delhi Durbars held at 1903 and 1911.
In 1901, Ibrahim Ali Khan passed the Shikar Act of 1901. This was the first law enacted in present day Rajasthan for the conservation of natural resources, wildlife and the environment.
Ibrahim Ali Khan died on 23 June 1930 at Tonk. He was succeeded by Saadat Ali Khan, a son of Ladli Begum.

Personal life

Ibrahim Ali Khan married six times. While four of his wives were from the royal family, one wife was from the royal family of Rampur State. His wives are - Nawab Ladli Begum, Nawab Hajira Begum, Nawab Maimuna Begum, Nawab Mulka Jamil-uz-Zamani Begum, Amir-uz-Zamani Begum and Mubarak-uz-Zamani Begum. He fathered twenty-one sons and fifteen daughters.
Ibrahim Ali Khan's full name with titles is "His Highness, Wazir-ul-Mulk, Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan Sahib Bahadur, Saulat Jung, Nawab of Tonk.