Page:The Imperial Durbar Album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars.djvu/224

190 THE IMPERIAL DURBAR ALBUM. revolted against him, and having deposed h.m placed the present Nawab. who was then a minor, on the throne. They urged that they had a right to depose the chief and place any one else on the gadi. The Governor of Bombay deputed Mr. Havelock to enquire into these pretensions of the Sidi Sirdars, and it was decided that they were utterly groundless. The Nawab was accordingly re-instated on the throne on certain terms. The Collector of Kolaba was made Political Agent for the State and the Resident Officer was made his assistant, in 1873 A.D. the Sidi Sirdars submitted to the Nawab. They apologised for their conduct, and begged that their lands and allowances might be continued to them at the Nawab's pleasure. Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Khan died in 1879 A.D. after a reign of twenty-eight years. He left three sons -Sidi Ahmad Khan by his lawful wife Fatma Bibi, and two others, Sidi Mahamad Baksh and Sidi Abdur-Rahaman, by a nika wife named Saidabai.

On the death of Sidi Ibrahim Khan a dispute arose about the succession. The people in the fort of Janjira elected Sidi Mahamad Baksh and having placed him on the throne interred the body of the deceased Nawab. The then Assistant Pol. Agent, Mr. Fitzerald, strongly protested against this election, and Mr. Bosanquet, the Political Agent was specially deputed to Janjira by the Bombay Government, to make enquiries. He called together all the Sidi Sirdars and informed them that the rightful Nawab would be installed with the sanction from the Government of India, and till then the administration of the State would be in the hands of Mr. Fitzerald. The Government of India recognised Sidi Ahmad Khan as the rightful successor, and he was installed on the masnad. The young Nawab was sent for his education to the Rajkumar College at Rajkote where he remained till 1881 A.D. and completed his course. He spent some time in Poona studying civil and criminal laws. After his return to his Stale, the Nawab worked for some time in conjunction with the Assistant Pol. Agent, as joint administrator, and, when it was found that he had acquired an insight into the affairs of his State, he was invested with full powers of administration in 1883 A.D. He has been managing the State in a manner which has endeared him both to his Mahomedan as well as Hindu subjects.

The area of the State is 324 square miles, (excluding Jaffrabad in Kathiawar which is also subject to the Chief of Janjira) and contains 284 villages with 85,420 inhabitants. The average annual revenue of the State is 5 lacs of Rupees.

The present ruling Chief is His Highness Nawab Sidi Sir Ahmad Khan Sidi Ibrahim Khan, G.C.I.E., who is entitled to a salute of 11 guns.