Spouse See below Religion Islam Predecessor Wasif Ali Mirza Issue See below Name Waris Mirza Grandparents Hassan Ali Mirza | Dynasty Najafi Parents Wasif Ali Mirza Father Wasif Ali Mirza Successor Abbas Ali Meerza | |
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Mother Sultan Dulhan Faghfur Jahan Begum Sahiba Died November 20, 1969, Kolkata | ||
Great-grandparents Mansur Ali Khan | ||
Sayyid Waris Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (14 November 1901 – 20 November 1969), was the last Nawab of Murshidabad before a prolonged interregnum caused by a succession dispute within the family which was only resolved in 2014 by the Indian Supreme Court. He succeeded his father, Wasif Ali Mirza. Waris Ali was born on 14 November 1901 at Murshidabad as the eldest son of Wasif Ali Mirza by his first wife Sultan Dulhan Faghfur Jahan Begum Sahiba. Waris Ali's maternal grandfather was Wala Kadir Sayyid Husain Ali Mirza Bahadur. Waris Ali ruled for ten years, from 1959, until his death on 20 November 1969 at Calcutta. Although he left three sons and three daughters, there was a long interregnum following his death because of succession dispute caused by his children's disinheritance for a variety of different reasons. In August 2014 the Indian Supreme Court ruled that Mohammed Abbas Ali Mirza, a nephew of Waris Ali Mirza, was the fourth Nawab of Murshidabad in August 2014.
Contents
Honours
The following are some of the honours received by Waris Ali Mirza:
Wives
The following are the wives of Waris Ali Mirza, whom he married:
Descendants
Waris Ali had three sons and three daughters as follows:
• Sayyid Wakif Ali Mirza Bahadur (Sunni Sahib) was born on 16 February 1923 at Calcutta. He was the son of Zeenat-un-nisa Begum. He was excluded from the succession by his father on 9 July 1963, for contracting a non-Muslim marriage and for not professing the Muslim religion (validity in law doubted by the Calcutta High Court on 6 November 1990) He took no steps during his lifetime to establish his succession but, being a foreign national, they were unlikely to be recognised by the Government of India. Wakif Ali married Zeb-un-nisa Begum Sahiba (née Dina Lawyer) and Miriam Begum Sahiba (née Margaret Evelyn Van Dort; younger daughter of Donald Stanley Van Dort by his wife, Sheila Pauline Constance, and also the granddaughter of Walter William Charles Goddard). Wakif Ali died at Melbourne, Australia on 14 May 2008. He had 1 son and two daughters:
• Sayyid Waqir Ali Mirza (Chippu Sahib) (b. 1930) (s/o Zeenat-un-nisa Begum).
• Ranjit Kumar Ghosh (b. 1930) was the step son of Waris Ali and his second wife, Wahid-un-nisa Begum.
• Sahibzadi Nigar Ara Begum (b. 1924) (d/o Zeenat-un-nisa Begum)
• Sahibzadi Shajar Ara Begum (15 August 1926 – 27 December 2000). She was the daughter of Zeenat-un-nisa Begum. Shajar Ara Begum was educated in India but she moved to London in 1961. She kept herself involved in several charities, fundraising for Marie Curie Cancer Care, UNICEF and Anti Slavery International. Shajar Ara Begum was also the Vice President of the English Speaking Unions for South East Asia and a member of the Royal Society of St. George and also of the European Atlantic. She was also a patron of the ASHA Foundation, the Russian Orphans Organization and the Voice.
• Sahibzadi Zeb-un-nisa Begum (1928 - 22 March 2004) (d/o Zeenat-un-nisa Begum). She divorced her first husband and again married a man named, Muhammad Azam Khanzada (d. at Westminster, London in 2002). Zeb-un-nisa too died at Westminster, London but on 22 March 2004 and was buried at Carpenders Park Cemetery. She had a daughter by her first husband and a son by her second husband.
(Note: " • " Denotes Waris Ali's children, "a, b, c..." Denotes Waris Ali's grandchildren and "i, ii, iii...." Denotes Waris Ali's great grandchildren.)