Literally translated, Junagadh means "Old Fort". It is also known as "Sorath", the name of the earlier Princely State of Junagadh.
Old History: Mauryan dynasty:
An impressive fort, Uperkot, located on a plateau in the middle of town, was originally built during the Mauryan dynasty by Chandragupta in 319 BCE The fort remained in use until the 6th century, when it was covered over for 300 years, then rediscovered in 976 CE The fort was besieged 16 times over an 800-year period. One unsuccessful siege lasted twelve years.
The Maitraka dynasty ruled Gujarat in western India from 475 to 767 CE The founder of the dynasty, general Bhatarka, a military governor of Saurashtra peninsula under the Gupta empire, established himself as the independent ruler of Gujarat approximately in the last quarter of the 5th century. However, James Tod states Maitraka rule ended as early as 524 CE.
Solanki dynasty
The Solanki, of the Chalukya dynasty, ruled Gujarat in the 11th and 12th centuries. The two large step wells (vavs) of Uperkot Fort were both commissioned by Rah Navghan I (1025-1044 CE). Muslims conquered Gujarat in 1299 and the Sultanate of Gujarat was formed in 1407. Mahmud Begada (Mahmud Shah I) invaded Junagadh in 1467. The city was annexed to the Gujarat Sultanate; the city foundation was laid for Mahmudabad in 1497. Strong embankments were raised along the river, and the city was adorned with a palace, handsome buildings and extensive gardens. When the Portuguese took over the ports of Diu and Daman in the 16th century, a fifteen-foot cannon, made in Egypt in 1531, was abandoned at Uperkot Fort by a Turkish admiral opposing the Portuguese forces at Diu.
Mughal rule
Mohammad Bahadur Khanji I, who owed allegiance to the Sultan of Ahmedabad, founded the state of Junagadh by expelling the Mughal governor and declaring independence in 1748. Mohammad Bahadur Khanji I, who assumed the name "Zaid Khan" when he came to power in Junagadh, was the founder of the Babi dynasty. His descendants, the Babi Nawabs of Junagadh, conquered large territories in southern Saurashtra and ruled over the state for the next two centuries, first as tributaries of Baroda, and later under the suzerainty of the British. Nawabs of Babi dynasty:
British period
The East India Company took control of the state in 1818, but the Saurashtra area never came under the direct administration of British India. Instead, the British divided the territory into more than one hundred princely states, which remained in existence until 1947. The present old town, developed during the 19th and 20th centuries, is one of the former princely states which were outside but under the suzerainty of British India.
The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Junagadh was constructed on the land presented by Jinabhai (Hemantsingh) Darbar of Panchala, and dedicated on Friday, 1 May 1828 A.D.
Accession of Junagadh to India:
During the period spanning the independence and partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the 562 princely states that had existed outside British India under British suzerainty were given a choice of acceding to either India or Pakistan or remaining outside them. Although the states were theoretically free to choose, Earl Mountbatten stated that "geographic compulsions" meant that most of them would choose India. Mountbatten took the position that only states that shared a common border with Pakistan should choose to accede to it, but he had no power to impose this point of view on the states.
On September 15, 1947, Nawab Mohammad Mahabat Khanji III of Junagadh, a princely state located on the south-western end of Gujarat and having no common border with Pakistan, chose to accede to Pakistan ignoring Mountbatten's views, arguing that Junagadh adjoined Pakistan by sea. The rulers of two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh — Mangrol and Babariawad — reacted by declaring their independence from Junagadh and acceding to India. In response, the nawab of Junagadh militarily occupied the two states. Rulers of the other neighbouring states reacted angrily, sending troops to the Junagadh frontier, and appealed to the Government of India for assistance. A group of Junagadhi people, led by Samaldas Gandhi, formed a government-in-exile, the Aarzi Hukumat ("temporary government").
India believed that if Junagadh was permitted to accede to Pakistan, communal tension already simmering in Gujarat would worsen, and refused to accept the Nawab's choice of accession. The government pointed out that the state was 80% Hindu, and called for a plebiscite to decide the question of accession. India cut off supplies of fuel and coal to Junagadh, severed air and postal links, sent troops to the frontier, and occupied the principalities of Mangrol and Babariawad that had acceded to India.
Pakistan agreed to discuss a plebiscite, subject to the withdrawal of Indian troops, a condition India rejected. On 26 October, the Nawab and his family fled to Pakistan following clashes with Indian troops. Before leaving, the Nawab had emptied the state treasury of its cash and securities.
On 7 November, Junagadh's court, facing collapse, invited the Government of India to take over the State's administration. The Dewan of Junagadh, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the father of the more famous Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, decided to invite the Government of India to intervene and wrote a letter to Mr. Buch, the Regional Commissioner of Saurashtra in the Government of India to this effect.
The Government of Pakistan protested, saying that since the Nawab had chosen to accede to Pakistan, the Dewan had no authority to negotiate a settlement with India. The government of India rejected the protests of Pakistan and accepted the invitation of the Dewan to intervene. A plebiscite was conducted in February 1948, but it was not internationally monitored and Pakistan claims was not based on the plebiscite but on the logic of Kashmir Annexation, which went almost unanimously in favour of accession to India. Junagadh became a part of the Indian state of Saurashtra until 1 November 1956, when Saurashtra became part of Bombay state. In 1960, Bombay state was split into the linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, in which Junagadh was located.
DYNASTY: Babi (Yousufzai Pathan)
PRESENT HEIR : HH Nawab Saheb MUHAMMED JAHANGIR KHANJI DILAWAR KHANJI , 13th Nawab of Junagadh (1989/-) born 6th August 1955, living in Karachi, Pakistan, married and has issue. Nawabzada Ali Murtaza Khanji Jahangirkhanji
SHORT HISTORY: Founded in 1730. The State follows the rule of Primogeniture for succession, also had a Sanad of adoption. Rulers were...
Sherkhanji Babi (qv)
Khan Shri Shahbazkhanji Babi
Nawab Saheb Salabat Muhammadkhan Babi 1725/1730, was given and established Viramgam and Gogha, Deputy Governor of Junagadh; willed his territory to his sons, with the eldest recieving Junagadh and the younger sons sharing in the Bantva district; married and had issue. He died of cholera in 1730 at Ahmedabad.
Nawab Saheb MUHAMMED HAMID KHANJI I (qv)
Nawab Saheb MUHAMMED BAHADUR KHANJI I (qv)
Nawab Saheb MUHAMMED HAMID KHANJI II 1840/1851, born 1828, died 1851.
HH Nawab Saheb MUHAMMED BAHADUR KHANJI II 1882/1892, born 1856, succeeded 29th September 1882 (#1), G.C.I.E., educated at Rajkumar College, Rajkot; died 23rd January 1892
Nawabzada Muhammad Alamgir Khanji M.B.A. (by Shah Begum Sahiba), born June 1957 in Karachi, presently (2011) working as a senior banker in Karachi; married 1989 in Karachi, Fiziyeh Bokhary, daughter of Admiral (Ret'd.) Syed Fasih Bokhary, Pakistan Navy, and has issue, two daughters.
Nawabzada Muhammad Zaheer Khanji B.A. (by Shah Begum Sahiba), born 3rd January 1962, educated at Punjab University, Lahore (B.A.); married 11th September 1999 in Karachi, and has issue, two daughters.
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