Peer Ibrahim Khan

Peer Ibraheem Khan

India

1851–2

Peer Ibrahim Khan (sometimes spelt Ibraheem in contemporary sources) was a Muslim military officer from an elite holy Sufi family in Punjab and identified himself as descending from Afghan lineage. He held the honorific title Bahadur, ‘Native Agent at the Court of the Nawab of Bhawalpur’ (now Bahawalpur). Bahawalpur was a princely state, which became part of Pakistan after partition in 1947. Khan’s service to the British East India Company (EIC) was highly praised. For example, Sir Claude Wade, agent to the Governor General, gave Khan the high responsibility of administering Ferozepore (now Firozpur) in the 1830s. Khan also allied with the British in their campaign to extend control over Multan when the Diwan (meaning governor) was resisting EIC interference. Khan assisted the British side in the siege of Multan (1848–9) alongside Sir Herbert Edwardes, a revered leader in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.

Khan had apparently harboured a lifelong wish to visit England and sought permission from the EIC for furlough to do so. Leave of two years was granted by the Governor General and he left for England in 1851, accompanied by Syed Abdoollah, who was translator to the board for the administration of the affairs of Punjab. Newspapers and periodicals publicized his appearance at key locations like St James’s in London and at social gatherings such as the Great Exhibition. The press described his striking appearance, noting that he looked elderly but was tall and imposing, clad in brightly coloured dress and turban. He aspired to advance his station by socializing in aristocratic circles, and he even met Queen Victoria, but the EIC were eager for him to leave London, which he did only a year after his arrival, in 1852. He wrote a memoir which is now available to view at the British Library.