Last heir of Malerkotla’s Nawab Begum Nisa passes away at 103
Punjab vidhan sabha speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan expressed grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Begum. Besides, Amargarh MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra and Malerkotla MLA Dr Jamil Ur Rehman also condoled the death of Begum
Begum Munawwar-ul-Nisa, last heir of Malerkotla’s Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan, who is remembered in Sikh history for his courageous action of opposing the execution of the younger Sahibzadas of 10th Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh in 1705, died at the age of 103 years here at a private hospital in Malerkotla.
She was admitted to a private hospital on Monday and was suffering from some viral infection and facing breathing problems. She breathed her last at the hospital on Friday morning. She was laid to rest around 3.30 pm at Shahi Maqbare with her ancestors, said Mohammad Mehmood, her caretaker.
Punjab vidhan sabha speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan expressed grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Begum. Besides, Amargarh MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra and Malerkotla MLA Dr Jamil Ur Rehman also condoled the death of Begum.
Begum Munawwar-ul-Nisa was one of the four wives of Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, the last Nawab of Malerkotla and 18th generation descendent of Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan. Apart from Nisa, other wives of late Nawab Iftikhar were Sajida Begum, Yousuf-Jama and Sakur Nisa. Nawab Iftikhar died in 1982 and did not have any child with all his wives.
Two years ago, Begum Nisa handed over the 150-year-old Mubarak Manzil Palace, a monument of Sikhs and Punjab’s history, to the state government for its restoration, renovation and protection as a monument.
According to a historian, in 1705, the court of Subedar of Sirhind, Wazir Khan, had ordered the execution of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, and Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan had raised the voice against it.
Guru Gobind Singh had also honoured Nawab by presenting him with a sword and for raising his voice in the support of his sons.
Dr Mohammad Idris, a professor of history department of Punjabi University, said, “Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan has a significant contribution in Sikh and Punjab history as he had written ‘Murasala’, a communiqué to then Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. This was considered a courageous and rebellious step as Malerkotla was a small princely state in the Mughal Empire. Malerkotla was the state of just 32 villages.
“He had written in the letter that execution of ‘Chhote Sahibzadas’ was against the principles of Islam. While citing the Quran, he had stated that Islam did not permit execution of innocent children,” said Dr Idris.