Sardar Hasan Raza Khan Qizilbash of Ludhiana (Lepel H. Griffin, G. L. Chopra, Ch. F. Massy, W. L. Conran, 1940)

Sardar Hasan Raza Khan Qizilbash of Ludhiana

Sher Muhammad Khan, a Qizilbash, was the brother-in-law and Wazir of Shah Zaman and accompanied his younger brother, Shah Shuja, to India. His son, Ala Wardi Khan, obtained a command of sowars which were locally raised during the First Afghan War, and was afterwards made Risaldar in the 17^th Irregular Cavalry. His regiment behaved well during the Mutiny. He led a brilliant charge against the mutineers of the 9^th Cavalry, and slew their leader Wazir Khan with his own hand. His services were also conspicuous in the Mahsud expedition of 1860. He was given a jagir of Rs. 2,400 in 1862, of which one fourth was in perpetuity in lieu of cash allowances, without prejudice to his military pension of Rs. 970 per annum.

Sardar Ala Wardi Khan acquired about one hundred and seventy acres by purchase in mauzas Hazara and Bahal in the Bhakkar Tahsil, and received a grant of three thousand five hundred acres at Pak Patan. He exercised magisterial powers within the limits of his jagir. He was a member of the District Board, and had lambardari rights in two villages, besides being Zaildar of the Bahal ılaqa. The Sardar was decorated with three War Medals and honoured with the Orders of Merit and of British India.

His eldest son, Hasan Ali Khan, joined the 17^th Irregular Cavalry as a non-commissioned officer in 1850 and the 4^th Sikh Cavalry as senior Risaldar in 1858. He saw active service in the Umbeyla Campaign of 1864, the 3^rd Burmese War, the Kabul Wars of 1878-80 and the Egyptian campaign of 1882. For conspicuous gallantry in the last campaign he was awarded the Bronze Star by the Khedive and was also admitted to the Majidie Order, 5^th class, of the Turkish Empire. For altogether seven years he was Aide-de-camp to two Commanders in-Chief in India, General Stewart and Earl Roberts, and was also made a Sardar Bahadur. He was made a member of the Indian Order of Merit and of the Order of British India, both first class, receiving the latter decoration from the hands of Her Majesty the Queen-Empress. On retirement after 39 years’ distinguished military service he was granted the title of Honorary Aide-de-Champ to the Commander-in-Chief, Honorary rank of Captain in the Indian Army, and a landed grant of 500 acres, in fee simple, in the Lahore district. After retirement and till his death in 1902 he continued to act as Honorary Magistrate, Ludhiana, and a nominated member of its Municipality.

Risaldar Major Ghulam Raza Khan, eldest son of Captain Hasan Ali Khan, joined the 13^th Lancers (Duke of Cannaught’s Own Watson Horse) in 1882 as a non-commissioned officer and saw active service in the Egyptian campaign of 1882 and in the Chitral campaign of 1897. He stood first in the All-India tent-pegging competition held in 1890 in honour of the visit paid to India by the Czar of Russia who was pleased to present him with a jewelled cigarette case on the spot. He served as an orderly officer to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cannaught during the Imperial Darbar of 1903, received the Membership of the Victorian Order and a grant of about 90 acres in the Multan district. He succeeded to the family jagir of Rs. 660 per annum, which, since his death in 1932, has been continued to his eldest son, Hasan Raza.

Risaldar-Major Akbar Khan, second son of Sardar Ala Wardi Khan, served with the 13^th Bengal Lancers in the Afghan Wars of 1878-80 and in the Egyptian campaign of 1882. He retired after 36 years’ service, receiving the Order of British India, first class, and the title of Sardar Bahadur. For a long time until his death in 1925 he worked as an Honorary Magistrate at Bhalkar in the Mianwali district.

Agha Rahat Ali Khan, a son of Captain Hasan Ali Khan, retired in 1930 after thirty-five years’ service as Deputy Superintendent of Police and is now an Honorary Magistrate in Ludhiana. He was awarded a gold watch for services rendered during the Great War and a silver watch in connection with the Indo-Afghan Conference of 1919. His son, Imdad Ali Khan, is an Assistant Sub-Inspector in the Punjab Police and another, Ala Wardi Khan, an accepted candidate for the post of Deputy Superintendent in the same department. Risaldar Ali Muhammad Khan, 7^th son of Captain Hasan Ali Khan, joined the 6^th Lancers and saw active service during the Great War and in the Waziristan campaign of 1919 and 1929. The youngest, Haji Hasan Khan, is an Inspector in the Railway Police.

Hyder Ali Khan, eldest brother of Sardar Ala Wardi Khan and a Native Commandant of Ferris’s Corps of Juzailchis, fell dead on horseback on September 13, 1842, while attempting in the most heroic manner to capture one of the enemy’s standards in the battle of Tazeen during the First Afghan War. His son, Muhammad Hussain Khan, was a Risaldar-Major in the 7^th Bengal Cavalry and was promoted to the rank of Honorary Captain in the Indian army on retirement. For distinguished military and political services he was granted a village in the Moradabad district of the United Provinces in jagir and 2,700 acres of land in Upper Burma. He was also awarded the Order of British India, first class. His two sons, Aghas Zainul-Abidin and Ahmad reside on their Burman estate. Risaldar-Major Ala Yar Khan, another brother of Sardar Ala Wardi Khan, joined the 12^th Bengal Cavalry as Jamadar in 1857 and saw active service during the Mutiny, the Abyssinian and the Kabul campaigns. He captured a standard belonging to the mutineers which is still preserved in the Probyn’s Horse Mess. He received the Orders of Merit and of British India, both first class, a large landed estate in the Jalaun district of the United Provinces and a military pension of Rs. 200 per annum in perpetuity. His only son, the late Risaldar Shirin Khan of the 12^th Lancers, saw active service in France throughout the Great War. Saadat Ali Khan, the youngest brother of Sardar Ala Wardi Khan, retired as Risaldar from the 13^th Lancers after a long and distinguished career during which he saw active service in several campaigns. He received a grant of 50 acres of land in the Sargodha district and was appointed Sub-Registrar at Aligarh. He volunteered his services again during the Afghan War of 1919 when he was seventy-three years of age. This offer was accepted and while serving as Risaldar of the 15^th Labour Corps at Camp Khajuri, N.-W. F. P., he was killed in action. His son, Abbas Raza, who saw active service in France throughout the War as Daffadar of the 12^th Lancers, is now a Sub-Inspector of Police in the United Provinces.

Lepel H. Griffin, G. L. Chopra, Ch. F. Massy, W. L. Conran, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Volume 1. — Lahore: Government Printing, 1940, pp. 223—226.