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Nizam ul-Mulk (1 January 1861 – 1 January 1895) was the Mehtar of the princely state of Chitral and ruled it from 1892 until his assassination in 1895.

Biography

He was born as third son of Aman ul-Mulk. Upon his father's death on 30 August 1892, Nizam-ul-Mulk was away from Chitral, serving as the Governor of Yasin. During his absence, his younger brother Afzal ul-Mulk usurped his rightful position and assumed the Mehtarship, which was acknowledged by the Government of India. Nizam-ul-Mulk sought refuge in Gilgit, where he took shelter with the British Agent stationed in the region. The succession passed from Afzal ul-Mulk to his uncle Sher Afzal, whom he drove out of Chitral in 1893, assuming the Mehtarship.

Upon his departure, Colonel Algernon Durand dispatched 2 Kashmir mountain battery guns, 250 rifles of a Kashmir regiment, and 100 Hunza levies (commanded by Humayun Beg) armed with Snider carbines to Gupis, at the mouth of the Yasin Valley, with which he occupied Mastuj. A skirmish near Drasan took place, which ended up in favor of Nizam ul-Mulk, causing Sher Afzal to flee and seek refuge with the Afghan Ispahsalar in Asmar, Kunar province, Afghanistan. Nizam ul-Mulk's first act after assuming power was to send a request to Gilgit that a British mission might visit him without delay. This request was complied with, and in January 1893, a party of four officers, headed by George Robertson and Francis Younghusband, and escorted by fifty rifles of the 15th Sikhs, arrived at Chitral.

He was murdered on 1 January 1895 at Broze while hawking by his younger brother Amir ul-Mulk. Legend has it that during the incident, Nizam ul-Mulk's turban fell off, and as he stopped to pick it up, Amir ul-Mulk attempted to shoot him. Although his shot missed, at a signal from his master, one of his retainers shot Nizam ul-Mulk in the back, causing his immediate death.

References

1. The Parliamentary Debates, Great Britain Parliament. London: Reuters Telegram Company. 1895. p. 802.
2. McClenaghan, Tony (1996). Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the Indian Princely States. Lancer Publishers. p. 171. ISBN 9781897829196.
3. ^ Younghusband, George John; Younghusband, Sir Francis Edward (1895). The Relief of Chitral. Macmillan and Company. pp. 10 and 11. mehtar nizam ul mullk shot.
4. ^ Singh Chohan, Amar (1997). The Gilgit Agency 1877-1935. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. pp. 66–133. ISBN 81-7156-146-2.
5. ^ Simner, Mark (18 August 2017). Chitral 1895: An Episode of the Great Game. Fonthill Media.
6. ^ Thomson, H. C. (19 November 2012). The Chitral Campaign. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 978-1-78151-349-1.
7. The Cambridge History of India. CUP Archive. 1928.
8. Robson, Brian (2004). Crisis on the Frontier: The Third Afghan War and the Campaign in Waziristan 1919-1920. Spellmount. p. 33. ISBN 9781872272115.
9. "A. DURAND, The Making of a Frontier (1899)". www.tertullian.org. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
10. ^ Gurdon in HJ v5 (1933). Chitral Memories--Events leading up to the Siege. pp. 5–10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. ^ Blackwood's Magazine 1895-09: Vol. CLVIIII. Blackwood Pillans and Wilson. 1895.
12. Low, Sidney; Pulling, Frederick Sanders (1910). The dictionary of English history. Robarts - University of Toronto. London : Cassell.
13. Grant, James (1899). 1874-1897. Cassell.

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