Sajida Sultan
Nawab Begum of Bhopal
Begum Consort of Pataudi
Nawab Begum of Bhopal
Titular1960–1971
PredecessorHamidullah Khan
SuccessorMansoor Ali Khan
Begum Consort of Pataudi
Tenure
Titular		1939–1947
1947–1952
Born(1915-08-04)4 August 1915
Ahmedabad, Bhopal State, Central India Agency, British India
(present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
Died5 September 1995(1995-09-05) (aged 80)
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Burial
Saifia Masjid, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1938; died 1952)​
Issue4 (incl. Mansoor Ali Khan)
House
FatherHamidullah Khan
MotherMaimoona Sultan

Nawab Begum Sajida Sultan Ali Khan Pataudi (4 August 1915 – 5 September 1995) was the daughter of the Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, and the wife and Begum Consort of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the 8th Nawab of Pataudi, and in her own right, the 12th Nawab Begum of Bhopal.[1]

Biography

Bhopal royal family. From left to right: Nawab Hamidullah Khan, his wife Begum Maimoona Sultan, their daughters—Rabia Sultan, Abida Sultan, Sajida Sultan in London, 1932

Sajida Sultan was born on 4 August 1915 in the Qasr-e-Sultani Palace, Bhopal, to Nawab Hamidullah Khan, last ruling Nawab of Bhopal and his wife, Begum Maimoona Sultan.[1] She was the second of three children; she had an older sister, Abida Sultan, and a younger sister, Rabia Sultan.[2] Sultan Jahan, the Begum of Bhopal, was her grandmother, and her predecessor Shah Jahan Begum was her great-grandmother. The Pakistani diplomat Shahryar Khan, is her nephew through her sister Abida.

On 23 April 1939, Sajida married Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, 8th Nawab of Pataudi.[3] Together they had three daughters – Saleha, Sabiha, and Qudsia – and a son, the cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.[4] Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, the major general in the Pakistan Army was her brother-in-law by marriage. The actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan, the jewelry designer Saba Ali Khan and the cricketer Saad Bin Jung are her grandsons and granddaughters. Sara Ali Khan, an actress in the Hindi film industry is her great-granddaughter.

On 5 January 1952, Iftikhar Ali Khan died and Mansoor succeeded his father as the 9th titular Nawab of Pataudi.[5]

In 1960, upon the death of her father, she became the titular ruler of Bhopal.[6] Her older sister, Abida, was the heiress apparent to the title but had emigrated to Pakistan in 1950 and declined to return to Bhopal permanently; her son declined also.[6] Sajida was formally recognised as the Nawab Begum of Bhopal in 1962, with recognition being effective from 1960.[6][7]

She died on 5 September 1995 at the age of 80. Mansoor Ali Khan subsequently became the mutawalli of the Auqaf-e-Shahi of Bhopal, a title which is currently held by her granddaughter Saba Ali Khan.[8]

Issue

Name Birth Death Spouse Their children
Princess Saleha Sultan 14 January 1939 19 January 2020 Bashir Yar Jung Aamer Bin Jung
Saad Bin Jung[1]
Omer Bin Jung
Faiz Bin Jung
Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan 5 January 1941 22 September 2011 Sharmila Tagore Saif Ali Khan
Saba Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan[9]
Princess Sabiha Sultan 30 March 1943 Arjuman Ali Khan[1] Zia Sultan
Samia Sultan[10]
Princess Qudsia Sultan 15 March 1945 5 November 1989[11] Ghulam Fariduddin Riaz Iftikharuddin Riaz
Sara Sultan[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bin Jung, Saad (20 November 2012). Subhan and I: My Adventures with Angling Legend of India. New Delhi: Roli Books. ISBN 9789351940326.
  2. ^ Mirza, Priya (4 June 2019). "The remarkable Begums who defied patriarchal norms to rule Bhopal for more than a century". Dawn. Dawn Media Group. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. ^ Pataudi, Sher Ali Khan (1989). The Elite Minority: Princes of India. Lahore: S.M. Mahmud & Co. p. 162.
  4. ^ Sultaan, Abida (2004). "Manjkul". Memoirs of a Rebel Princess. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195799583.
  5. ^ Ali, Ashfaq (1969). Bhopal: Past and Present: A Brief History of Bhopal from the Hoary Past upto the Present Time. Jai Bharat Publishing House. p. 140.
  6. ^ a b c Khan, Shahryar M. (20 October 2000). The Begums of Bhopal: A History of the Princely State of Bhopal. I.B.Tauris. p. 233. ISBN 9781860645280.
  7. ^ Noronha, Rahul (19 March 2015). "Tussle over property of Bhopal's last Nawab far from over". Hindustan Times. HT Media. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Saif Ali Khan anointed Nawab of Pataudi". The Hindu. The Hindu Group. PTI. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  9. ^ Gupta, Ameeta (28 August 2007). "To Saif with love: Soha & Saba". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  10. ^ Ayub, Jamal (14 April 2014). "Sharmila helps bury Pataudi family feud". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. TNN. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  11. ^ Riaz, Ghulam Fariduddin (1991). Shade in Passing: And Other Poems. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 3.


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