Tiwanas are a very old and aristocratic family of the district Shahpur (now Sargodha and Khushab). They are settled in many towns of Sargodha and Khushab on both sides of the river Jhelum. In the past, they held large jagirs at various places and played a very important role in the history of this part of Punjab. A detailed history of this family is given in the famous book Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab, first written by Sir Lepel H. Griffin and revised, perhaps for the last time in 1939, by G.L. Chopra.
According to this book, the Tiwanas settled in this region in the 15th century, at a place called Jahangir near the Indus River, which I, however, could not locate. Later, Mir Ali Khan moved his tribe eastward and founded a village named Okhli Mohla. His son, Mir Ahmad Khan, around the year 1680, founded a new town, Mitha Tiwana, at a place where he found sweet water, and made it the capital of his estate. The town flourished over the next generations. Hostilities with Awans and other neighbouring tribes continued constantly, and gradually they expanded the areas under their control.
Around the year 1745, the Tiwana chief Sher Khan founded Nurpur Tiwana, probably the present-day Nurpur Thal. Sher Khan died in 1767, and his son Khan Muhammad Khan became the chief of the tribe. During his rule, he suppressed rebellions at Botala, Hadali, and Hamoka, which indicates that by this time the Tiwanas were commanding a considerable area.
During all this period, constant feuds continued with neighbouring tribes and states, including Khushab, Sahiwal, Mankera, Dera Ismail Khan, and Jhang. Punjab in the 18th century, after the fall of Mughal power in the province, was in a state of total anarchy. The power of the Sikh confederacies was rising rapidly. Maharaja Ranjit Singh took full advantage of the situation and emerged as the most powerful ruler in Punjab. This is how he emerged on the scene and made his inroads:
Khan Muhammad was engaged in constant hostilities with his neighbours. Nurpur was attacked by the Nawab of Mankera, and only relieved after a siege of more than a month. With Lal Khan, the chief of Khushab, some fifteen miles from Mitha Tiwana, on the Jhelum, Khan Muhammad had always been friends, till Jafar Khan, the son and heir of Lal Khan, suspecting the Tiwana chief;s intentions were not quite honest, plotted against him while visiting Khushab. Khan Muhammad escaped to his own town and prepared for fight. Lal Khan, with his younger son, Hakim Khan, and his wife Nurbhari, came to assure Khan Muhammad of their innocence, but he arrested them and marching to Khushab, opened fire upon the town, tying his hapless prisoners to the guns to divert the fire of the enemy. Jafar Khan called Mahan Singh Sukarchakia, an old friend of Muhammad Khan, to his aid. The Sikh came with a considerable force and compelled the Tiwana chief to retire. Khan Muahammad, however, had his revenge, and killed in cold blood his wretched prisoners, who had never done nor wished him evil. Towards the end of his rule, his brother, Khan Beg Khan, again took up arms against him, being aided by Rajab Khan, a Sial Chief of Garh Maharaja, Fateh Khan of Sahiwal, and Jafar Khan of Khushab. For some time Muhammad Khan defended himself; but his enemies were too powerful, and in 1803 he applied to Ranjit Singh for succour. That Sardar was by no means secure himself; but on the promise of subsidy of one lakh of rupees he consented to trap Khan Beg Khan. It was arranged between the confederates that when Ranjit Singh marched into the country Khan Muhammad should take to flight, seeing which Khan Beg Khan would probably come to pay his respects, believing the Lahore chief his friend. All happened suspiciously; Khan Beg was caught by Ranjit Singh and made over to his brother, by whom he was put to death. Ranjit Singh took his blood-money, and with small tribute from the Muslim maliks of the neighbourhood, returned to Lahore in 1804. Khan Muhammad Khan had outwitted his brother; but his second son, Ahmad Yar Khan, now rebelled against him, and having won over most of the tribe to his side, induced his father to make a virtue of necessity and yield the chiefship to him. He had no easy life, and was always fighting with the chiefs of Mankera, Khushab and Sahiwal with varying success.
In 1871 Mahraja Ranjit Singh sent a force under Misar Diwan Chand against the Tiwana chief at Nurpur. After a short resistance the fort was taken and Ahmad Yar Khan fled to Jhandawala or Jandiala in the Mankera territory. When the Sikh army had retired, leaving a garrison under Jaswant Singh Mokal in Nurpur, Ahmad Yar Khan returned and regained possession of the country; but he was a second time compelled to fly to Jandiala from which he was driven by the Mankera Nawab, who threw his sons into prison. He now submitted to the Maharaja, who granted him the ilaqa of Jhawrian, worth Rs 10,000 in jagir, subject to the service of sixty horesemen. In 1821 Ranjit Singh marched against Hafiz Ahmad Khan, Nawab of Mankera, and the Tiwana Malik gladly joined the expedition, as he had an old score to wipe out with the Nawab. Muhammad Khan, the predecessor of Hafiz Ahmad, had surrounded Mankera with a cordon of twelve forts, Haiderabad, Maujgarh, Fatehpur, Pipal, Daria Khan, Khanpur, Jahandawala, Kalor, Dulerwala, Bhakar, Dingana, and Chaubara; while to make the central fortress inaccessible he had permitted no wells to be sunk within the cordon. But for all this, the besieging army, with the invincible Ranjit Singh commanding in person, moved on, digging wells, as it advanced, invested the fort, and after the siege of twenty-five days the Nawab capitulated, being allowed to retain the government of Dera Ismail Khan.
The assistance rendered by the Tiwanas during this campaign was very great; and the Maharaja was so much struck with their handsome and manly appearance, their bold riding and gallant fighting, that he insisted upon a troop of Tiwana horse returning with him to Lahore. Of this troop of fifty horsemen Qadir Bakhsh was the commander. He served at Multan for some years, and in many campaigns, with distinction.
Thus, the Tiwana tribe became associated with the Lahore Darbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. For the next three decades, Tiwana sardars served the Khalsa government in various capacities, such as administering different areas and assisting in military campaigns across the Indus, including the Tank and Marwat regions.
During the final years of Khalsa rule, Tiwana Sardar Fateh Khan played a role in the internal conflicts among Sikh sardars and was involved in the murder of Peshawara Singh, a son of the late Ranjit Singh, at Attock. The last years of Sikh rule were marked by chaos. After their defeat in early 1846 in the First Anglo-Sikh War, the state had lost much of its autonomy and had fallen under the influence of the East India Company. Anarchy was spreading in the remote areas of the state, while various factions competed fiercely for power and influence at the Lahore Darbar. The Sikh state had already lost the Jalandhar Doab to the East India Company and Jammu to the Dogra sardars, while the Kashmir Valley was sold to the rulers of Jammu. Maharaja Duleep Singh, the reigning monarch, was just an infant at the time. Discontent against both the ruling sardars and growing British influence was increasing, and soon the situation spiraled out of control.
In 1848, Fateh Khan was stationed at Bannu. The Sikh forces and their Muslim allies rose in rebellion against the Lahore government, and Fateh Khan died while attempting to suppress this uprising. The rebellion quickly spread to other parts of Punjab. The British responded with force, and after defeating the Sikh rebel forces at Multan, Ramnagar, Chillianwala, and Gujrat, they annexed Punjab on April 2, 1849. During these turbulent times, the Tiwanas sided with the British. The transition of the family from Sikh to British rule is described in the aforementioned book as follows:
On the annexation of the Punjab it was not easy to discover the real position of the family with regard to estates and allowances. At the death of Khudayar Khan in 1837 the estate was divided between his sons, Fateh Khan and his nephew, Qadir Bakhsh. The former commanded twenty-two sowars, and the later thirty-three; the allowance of Fateh Khan was Rs. 1,000, the same as his father had held as chabuk-sowar; that of Qadir Baksh was Rs 720; and, besides this, there were Rs 10,440 for the pay of the troopers. When Qadir Bakhsh died the jagir was continued to his son, Sher Muhammad Khan. In Jawahir Singh's time Fateh Khan was allowed one-quarter of the revenue collections of Mitha Tiwana and Khushab in consideration of the former position of his family in the district. This chaharam, or fourth, amounted to Rs 8,345 a year, but the Malik only held it one year. Under Lal Singh it was resumed, as were his other allowances, and his sowars were discharged. Fateh Khan seems also to have received from Raja Gulab Singh, the farm of the salt revenue, some percentage in the collections at Fatehpur, where in 1842 he had assisted to re-open and work a long disused mine. When sent by Jawahir Singh as governor of Dera Ismail Khan, his pay was fixed at Rs. 10,000; but this was nominal; and at so great a distance from Lahore a governor could make his pay what he liked. Fateh Sher Khan, son of Fateh Khan, served as Major Edwardes' chief officers, and fought with the greatest gallantry throughout the war of 1848-49. At its close the Government was anxious adequately to reward the services of the Tiwanas and allowed them one-fourth of the revenues of the country from which they had been driven by Ranjit Singh. The whole mounted to Rs. 50,105, including Sher Muhammad jagir of Rs. 6,945, and this being resumed a jagir of Rs. 6,000, in perpetuity was granted to Sher Muhammad Khan, and one of the same amount to Fateh Khan and his four brothers; Fateh Sher Khan taking Rs. 2,000 and his brothers Rs. 1,000 each. In addition to these perpetual grants, Sher Muhammad Khan's personal jagir or Rs. 3,240 was continued to him as a pension for life, while Fateh Sher Khan received a cash pension of Rs. 5,000 and Sahib Khan of Rs. 480 a year. These Maliks and their relatives again proved loyal in the Mutiny.
As noted above, the Tiwanas sided with the British during the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848-49, and again rendered valuable services during the War of 1857. Tiwana chiefs—Malik Fateh Sher Khan, Malik Sher Muhammad Khan, and Malik Sahib Khan, raised irregular cavalry units comprising hundreds of troops and participated in several battles during the conflict, in various regions including Punjab, Delhi, and Oudh, to suppress the rebellion. In return, they were rewarded with additional jagirs, pensions, and titles.We shall now follow the history of Malik Sahib Khan in detail, the branch of the family to which Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana belonged.
Malik Sahib Khan, Khan Bahadur, C.S.I. (Companion of the Star of India), uncle of Malik Sher Muhammad Khan, did excellent service in 1848 on the occasion of the pursuit of Bhai Maharaj Singh and in the capture of his followers. He and Langar Khan of Sahiwal were the first to arrive at Jhang after a long chase, and were thus present in the attack upon the Bhai, in which Sahib Khan personally engaged and killed several of his adherents. The Malik then took his men down to Multan, and was present during the early portion of the siege. Thence, sent north on detachment duty, he attacked a body of the enemy near Chachran, defeated them with great slaughter, capturing four of their zamburas. In May, 1857, on the outbreak of the Mutiny, he raised a body of three hundred horse, with whom he was present at the affair at Jhelum against the mutineers of the 14th Infantry, and afterwards, under Mr. Cooper, against the mutineers of the 26th Regiment at Ajnala. Here Sahib Khan's advice and tact were most conspicuous in bringing about the capture of nearly two hundred mutineers without a single shot being fired, his party consisting of but forty dismounted sowars. Sahib Khan's contingent was then employed in preserving order around Cawnpore, where the people were still practically in rebellion. The duty of guarding the passage of the Jumna was successfully undertaken. At Kalpi, again, they were highly commended for their gallantry in covering the working parties engaged in erecting batteries. They then accompanied General Napier in his Central India campaign, and were on all occasions forward when fighting was anticipated.
For his mutiny services Malik Sahib Khan was given the title of Khan Bahadur and a life jagir of Rs 1,200 in addition to his previous life pension of Rs. 480; and on his return to the Punjab he obtained a large grant of land, and excavated a canal from Jhelum for irrigation purposes, devoting himself with great success to its development. He took a great interest in horse-breeding, and, by his care and intelligence, did much to improve indigenous breeds. Best of all he kept himself aloof from the family quarrels in which his relatives had been only too apt to engage, and he earned a high reputation for straightforward, truthfulness and integrity. It was for this as well as for his gallant and loyal behaviour in the field, that the Companionship of the Star of India was conferred on him. He died in 1879, and his jagir and pension expired with him.
His only son, Umar Hayat Khan, was educated at Aitchison College and in 1885 succeeded to the administration of his estate, which, during his minority, had been most profitably managed for him by the Court of Wards. As his father's Order of the Star of India had been resumed by Government, the then Deputy Commissioner told Malik Umar Hayat Khan that if he followed in the foot steps of his father, he might one day obtain the same distinction. This remark Malik took to the heart and vowed that he would so act in the future as to turn that remark into a prophecy. Indeed, he already had received a fine training at the college and also for the management of of his estate from the late Sir James Wilson. This proved very useful in cultivating good relationship with his tenantry, developing a philanthropic attitude of mind and in performing magisterial work with which he was entrusted by Government. He actively influenced the suppression of crime in his district, and the revival of many indigenous games and sports among his villagers. He established many free and charitable institutions, introduced registration of marriages among the Muslims of his district and started the practice of branding of cattle in his ilaqa. The Malik also began to maintain a stud for the breeding of horses, which, in course of time, grew to be among the largest and the finest in the Punjab, which was highly appreciated by the Royal Horse Breeding Commission which inspected it. He was among the first in the Jhelum Canal Colony to accept the grant of land on horse breeding conditions. Out of his stud he supplied remount to the 18th Tiwana Lancers (now the 19th K.G.O. Lancers) in which he was given commission in 1901. For his keenness in horse breeding he was eventually elected President of the National Horse Breeding and Show Society of India. For this zeal in public service the Malik was taken on the Punjab Council in which he stoutly opposed the famous Colonisation Bill, which, although passed by the Council, was vetoed by the Viceroy and reference to the Malik's views in this connection was made in speech by the then Secretary of State. Similarly the Malik took an active part in the Punjab Alienation Act. He also took part in the various public organisations of the time and was actively associated with the Punjab Exhibition, the Punjab Chief's Association, the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam and many other similar institutions. He was among the six Muslim delegates to represent his community at the Diamond Jubilee of Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria. During the visit of the Amir of Afghanistan he acted as senior Attache and was presented with a watch and a revolver by him. Equally remarkable was his participation in almost all the deputations and commissions which functioned in the first quarter of the 20th century in India, e.g. the Horse Breeding Commission, the Irrigation Commission, the De-Centralisation Commission, the Irrigation Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Skeen Committee and the Reforms Committee, etc., etc. In 1920 he was appointed a member of Lord Esher's Army-in-India Committee.
Although Malik Umar Hayat Khan's work in civil sphere proved to be peculiarly noteworthy, the most congenial field of his activities, both by temperament and hereditary tradition, lay in the army. Beginning with the Tirah and Chitral campaigns in which he provided animal transport, recruits and remounts to the 18th Tiwana Lancers, which had been raised by his own father, he started on a career of military service which stands unique among his countrymen. He was gazetted as Lieutenant in 1904 and attached to the above mentioned Lancers. In 1903 he saw active service for the first time in the Somaliland campaign where he was sent, as an Assistant Commandant of the 54th Camel Corps. This Camel Corps which was largely raised by himself established a record for Indian camels by remaining without water for nine days. The Malik was next appointed as Aide-de-Camp Sir Charles Egerton, the General Officer Commanding the Expeditionary Force, and remained with him throughout the Nogal valley advance. He was present during the various engagements, including the battle of Jidbali. Later he was sent to join the staff of Colonel Brooke who was in charge of the Indian Mounted Infantry. Still later, he accompanied Colonel Kena, V.C., A.C.S., who long afterwards was killed at Gallipoli. The Malik was awarded for this service, the East African General Service Medal and a clasp and was also mentioned in Despatches. On returning from the Somaliland campaign he set out with the Tiber Expedition in which he supervised the transport arrangements. He was stationed at Gyantse and put in charge of the running of mails between Lhasa and Gyantse during the peace negotiations. His experience as a magistrate was utilised by the military authorities who appointed him as a prosecutor in the trial of Court Martial cases up there. For the valuable services which he rendered in this region, he was presented to Lord Kitchener and was awarded the title of C.I.E. in 1906. Soon after this campaign the Malik directed his energies to the service of the people during the disastrous Kangra earthquake and won official admiration for his zeal. On the occasion of the Coronation Darbar of His Late Majesty King George V Malik Umar Hayat Khan was chosen as his Majesty's Indian Herald. This was a unique distinction conferred upon an Indian for the first time since the advent of the British Rule in this country. Again, he appeared at the head of the community at Jharokha Ceremony to pay homage to His Majesty. For his work as Herald he was awarded the M.V.O., among several other distinctions. In 1909 the Malik was appointed member of the Imperial Legislative Council and continued to work in that capacity until 1920 when he was elected to the Council of State. In the latter capacity he continued to work till 1929 when he was sent to England as a Member of the Secretary of State's Council. He worked on that Council until 1934. Thus he has had the rare distinction of having served for thirty years in the Indian Legislatures and the India Council, which is perhaps the largest period put in by any Indian. For this loyal work he was awarded the title of Nawab, at first as a personal and later as a hereditary distinction.
Malik Umar Hayat Khan felt the call of the Great War in a special manner; for he was the first member of the Council to volunteer and proceed almost immediately to France with the very first batch of the Indian troops. He joined the staff of the Ferozepore Brigade which acted as a vanguard and was the first to enter the firing lines during the retreat of Mons in October, 1914. H performed very useful intelligence and propaganda work in Mesopotamia. He was several times mentioned in Despatches during this protracted campaign. For such invaluable and delicate duties in France and Mesopotamia the Malik was awarded the Knighthood of the Order of the Indian Empire, was promoted to the rank of Major, and was mentioned in Despatches. Later, he was invalided back to India. Here he worked as a recruiting officer with great vigour and perseverance. His own estate provided a large number of men. It is worthy of note in this connection that the Malik bore entirely his own expenses and that of his retinue throughout the period of the War. He was awarded the C.B.E., some remission of land revenue and a recruiting badge.
It is not possible in a work like this to mention adequately the various kinds of services rendered by the Malik Sahib to the administration. A mention may, however, be made of his assistance in the Punjab disturbances of 1919 and the Afghan War of the same year. The latter won him the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel. At the time of the Babar Akali menace also, he raised 150 sowars for the aid of the civil administration. A portion of this force was employed to drive away the notorious Salt Range dacoits who had committed several murders and depredations. While a Member of the India Council, the Nawab Sahib was promoted to full Colonelcy and appointed Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty the King. At the end of his term in 1934 he was exalted to the Knighthood of the Order of British Empire and invested with its insignia by His Late Majesty himself during the Jubilee celebrations of 1935. From among the whole of the British Indian population the Nawab Sahib was the only personage invited to attend those Jubilee celebrations, the other Aide-de-Camps being the Indian Ruling Chiefs. It was on this occasion that he was gazetted as Major General.
During his stay in England he was a member of Master of several lodges of Freemasonry and he rapidly rose to be the Post Grand Deacon of he United Grand Lodge of England, and is also founder of one of the Provincial lodges. His versatility is further shown by the fact that he is a keen sportsman, one of the best riders of his time and an expert in tent-pegging and pig-sticking. He is an authority on falconry and is President of the British Falconer Club. He is a most discriminating chess player. He is interested in the study of history and religion and recently made a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.
Major- Geneal Malik Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana has only one son, Khizar Hayat Khan. He was born in 1900 and had a brilliant career at the Aitchison College where he stood first in the Diploma examination and secured all the four medals of the year. While yet at this college he had the honour of being invited to the Delhi Darbar, of which he possesses a medal. In 1916 he joined the Government College, Lahore, and while in the second year of his studies, he volunteered his services for the War. In 1918 he was granted commission in the army and attached to the 17th Cavalry (now the 15th Lancers). During the Punjab disturbances of 1919 his energetic work won him the appreciation of his officers and he was selected for special duty at the Government House, Lahore. He also served in the Afghan War of that year as Aide-de-Camp to General Benyon, General Officer Commanding of the Lahore Division. For his work in the relief of Thal he was mentioned in Despatches, besides being awarded the Afghanistan Medal. He then took up the management of the Kalra estate and proved a pioneering in introducing several modern methods of agriculture. For this he was presented to His Excellency the Viceroy at the Lyallpur Agricultural College Darbar. He began, long before the official birth of the Village Welfare Movement, some of the items of that movement into his village. He is as keen a horse breeder as his father and maintains a large private stud of his own. At the time of the Satyagrah movement of 1921 he assisted the administration in upholding law and order. After 1926 he worked as Honourary Recruiting officer in the Jhang and Shahpur districts. He provided 175 mounted policemen against Babar Akalis. For a time he exercised first class magisterial powers and a rank of Extra Assistant Commissioner. His attitude was equally loyal and helpful to Government during the Congress movement of 1931, when he recruited 400 ex-servicemen for the additional police of his province. Both during the Non-co-operation and the Red-shirts movements he busied himself in visiting cantonments in the Northern Command Area to keep in touch with the Punjabi Muslims serving in the army. All this work he did at his own expense, and was thanked by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief and awarded the O.B.E.(Military). It also earned him the N.W.F. 1930-31 Clasp. In the Indo-Japanese Trade Negotiations he was nominated by to represent the Punjab cotton growers.
Major Malik Khizar Hayat Khan has many other activities to his credit. He has been President and member of the National Horse Breeding and Show Society of India; Vice-Chairman and member of the Shahpur District Board; a member of the Selection Board of the Ministry of Education, Punjab; a member of the committee of selection of candidates for the Royal Indian Military College, Dehra Dun; the representative of the Punjab Government on the North-Western Railway Local Advisory Committee; and a very active member of the Committee and Council of Management of the Aitchison College, Lahore. On the occasion of the Jubilee celebration of His Majesty King George V he was present in London and was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal. His only son Nazar Hayat Khan, is studying at Aitchison College, Lahore.
On the inauguration of provincial autonomy on 1st April, 1937, in accordance with the Government of India Act, 1935, Nawabzada Major Malik Khiza Hayat Khan became a Minister of the Punjab Government. He was put in charge of the Public Works Department. This position he continues to occupy until the present day.
This book was last updated in 1939. We shall follow other sources to continue this story. As noted above, he served in the government of Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan as a minister and worked to promote the interests of the agricultural community, improve civil works in the province, and foster harmony between communities. He also contributed to reforming the panchayat system. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he assisted the government in recruiting troops for the war.
In 1942, he reached the zenith of his political career. The Premier of Punjab, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan (no relation), died in December 1942, and the post became vacant. At this point, India was passing through a very critical stage in its history, World War II was raging in Europe and Asia, and the Japanese were planning to invade India. The All India Congress had launched the Quit India Movement with full force, and its elected provincial governments had already resigned. At this time, only three elected governments remained in the provinces of India: Bengal, Sindh, and Punjab.
Punjab was particularly important as it was the backbone of British India's war effort and the breadbasket of the subcontinent. Khizar Hayat was leading the government of the Unionist Party, a strictly secular party that represented all three major communities of Punjab: Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. The Unionists opposed the idea of partitioning India along religious lines and strongly supported a united Punjab. However, the tide of history was turning against these ideals, and public opinion, under the growing influence of the Muslim League, was rapidly embracing the idea of an independent state for Muslims. Alongside this political shift, war conditions led to food shortages, rising prices, and the government’s support for conscription, all of which made the administration increasingly unpopular.
In the 1946 elections, the Muslim League won 75 out of 86 Muslim seats. However, Khizar Hayat managed to cobble together a weak coalition government with the Congress and Akali Dal. This fragile alliance could not withstand the agitation launched by the Muslim League, and Khizar Hayat resigned on 2nd March 1947, just six months before independence.
In the pictures below, you will see various parts of the residential complex of the Kalra estate, spread over an area of almost 10 acres. The first set of pictures shows the personal residence. In this section, we can observe a complex of several buildings with different architectural designs, likely constructed at different times. The location is at: 32°19'47.46"N, 72°38'7.34"E.
Residential buildings of the Kalra Estate. (11.07.2019)
The main gate of the inner compound. (11.07.2019)
Another view of the gate. (11.07.2019)
After the creation of Pakistan, Malik Khizar Hayat Khan withdrew from active politics. Perhaps, for the first time in two centuries, the Tiwanas failed to grasp the direction in which the political winds were blowing and did not support the idea of Pakistan. It may also be that he chose not to compromise on his principles—unlike many others who jumped onto the Muslim League bandwagon at the very last moment.
In any case, we are not a nation tolerant of differing opinions, especially when it comes to "patriotism" or the "national interest." After independence, he lost most of his lands due to land reforms—and perhaps also because he was not in the good books of the new establishment. That is likely why the family's resources today are insufficient to maintain such a large estate at Kalra, and most of the buildings are now decaying.
This was my second visit to Kalra; I had first visited the place in 2009. And yet, I feel that someday I may return for a third visit. Below are the pictures of the main guest house, which I took during my first visit in 2009.
I could not find much about his later life, except that he died in Butte City, a small village in California, in 1975. He had four sons, who have probably all passed away. However, one daughter, Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwana, is still active in politics and remained a Member of the National Assembly until 2018. She lives in Lahore and occasionally visits Kalra.
What kind of person was he? From the bit of information, I came across, he was a soft-spoken man and, like his talented father, took great care of the people of his estate. Both were known for their sense of justice and charity, and they always remained impartial toward all religious communities. They especially looked after widows and orphans. It is no small matter that, despite being very large landlords, people still remember them with respect and affection.
However, I invite my readers to share any additional information they may have about this family.
January 7, 2020.
Doha - Qatar.
