Sardhana Estate, town
Sardhana Estate, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
An important estate in Meerut District, United Provinces. The area of the estate is about 28 square miles. The total demand for rent and other dues in 1904 was 1-3 the Government land revenue and cesses amounted to Rs. 53,000, The head-quarters of the estate are at SARDHANA TOWN. It belongs to a family of MuswT Saiyids, who claim descent from All Musa Raza, the eighth Imam. These Saiyids resided at Paghman near Kabul, but were expelled on account of services rendered to Sir Alexander Burnes in his Kabul mission, and subsequently to the British in the retreat from Kabul. A pension of Rs. 1,000 a month was given to the family, which settled at Sardhana. During the Mutiny Saiyid Muhammad Jan Fishan Khan, the head of the family, raised a body of horse and did good service both in Meerut District and before Delhi.
As a reward the title of Nawab Bahadur, and confiscated estates assessed at Rs. 10,000 per annum, were conferred on Jan Fishan Khan, with concessions as to the revenue assessed. The pension was also made permanent. During the lifetime of the first Nawab, and for some time after, the family added largely to the estate, but speculations in indigo and personal extravagance caused losses. The estate was taken under the Court of Wards in 1895, and in 1901 the debts, amounting to 10 lakhs, were paid off by a loan from Government. The present Nawab, Saiyid Ahmad Shah, and his two predecessors were sons of Jan Fishan Khan, who died in 1864.
