MuoiBraley9009 at 14:10, 19 November 2025

2025-11-19T14:10:04Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian soldier and landowner (1874–1944)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Major General]]
| name = Sir Umar Hayat Khan
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|GBE|KCIE|MVO}}
| image = File:Malik Umar Hayat Khan - Assistant Delhi Herald.jpg
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption = Khan as Assistant Delhi Herald, 1911
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|10|05|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Megha, [[Jhawarian]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] ({{small|now in [[Punjab, Pakistan]]}})
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1944|03|24|1874|10|05|df=yes}}
| death_place = Kalra Estate, [[Jhawarian]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| placeofburial =
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| allegiance = {{flag|British India}}
| branch = {{army|British India}}
| serviceyears =
| serviceyears_label =
| rank = [[Major General]]
| rank_label =
| servicenumber =
| unit = [[18th King George's Own Lancers]] [[19th King George's Own Lancers]]
| commands =
| battles = [[British Somaliland|Somaliland War]] [[British expedition to Tibet]] [[World War I]] [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]
| battles_label =
| awards =
| memorials =
| alma_mater = [[Aitchison College]]
| spouse = 
| children =
| relations =
| laterwork =
| signature =
| signature_size =
| signature_alt =
| website = 
| module =
}}

[[Major General]] [[Nawab]] '''Sir Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|GBE|KCIE|MVO}} (5 October 1874 – 24 March 1944), was a soldier of the [[British Raj|Indian Empire]], one of the largest landholders in the [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], and an elected member of the [[Council of State (India)|Council of State of India]].

==Background and early life==
He was born in a Megha, [[Jhawarian]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]].<ref name="Routledge">{{cite book |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |title=Khizr Tiwana, the Punjab Unionist Party and the Partition of India |date=16 December 2013 |publisher=Routledge |pages=1136790292}}</ref> His father was [[Malik Sahib Khan Tiwana|Sir Malik Sahib Khan]] and his family, from [[Khushab]], were part of the [[Rajput]] [[Tiwana family of Shahpur|Tiwana Family]].<ref name=www>''MALIK MOHAMMED UMAR HAYAT KHAN (TIWANA)'', ''Maj.-Gen. Hon. Sir'' in ''Who Was Who 1941–1950'', (London, A & C Black, 1980 reprint: {{ISBN|0-7136-2131-1}})</ref> Khan was educated at [[Aitchison College|Aitchison Chiefs College]], [[Lahore]] between 1888 and 1893.<ref name="Routledge"/>

[[File:Malik Umar Hayat Khan c. 1901.jpg|thumb|300px|Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan as an Honorary Lieutenant of the 18th King George's Own Lancers, early 20th century (watercolour by Major A.C. Lovett (1862–1919)).]]

==Military service==
Khan served in the [[British Somaliland|Somaliland War]] of 1902–1904, receiving the Jidballi medal and clasp, the [[British expedition to Tibet]] of 1903-1904 (for which he was [[Mentioned in Despatches]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27710|page=5684|date=2 September 1904}}</ref>), the European theatre of the [[Great War]] between 1914 and 1915 (during which he was Mentioned in Despatches<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29422|supp=y|page=75|date=31 December 1915}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29823|supp=y|page=11037|date=14 November 1916}}</ref> a further six times), and then in the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]. He was attached to the [[18th King George's Own Lancers]] and later the [[19th King George's Own Lancers]].<ref name=www/>

He acted as an honorary [[aide-de-camp]] to [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]],<ref name=GazetteADCGV>{{London Gazette|issue=33664|page=7501|date=25 November 1930}}</ref> [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII]],<ref name=GazetteADCEVIII>{{London Gazette|issue=34325|page=6074|date=22 September 1936}}</ref> and [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]].<ref name=www/><ref name=GazetteADCGVI>{{London Gazette|issue=34370|page=996|date=12 February 1937}}</ref>

==Public life==
In 1907, moving beyond his career as a soldier, the management of his family estates in the Punjab, and his role as an hereditary Provincial Darbari, Khan became an Attaché to [[Habibullah Khan|HM the Amir of Afghanistan]].<ref name=www/> He served as a member of the [[Governor-General of India]]'s [[Council of India|Imperial Council]] from 1910 to 1944.<ref name=www/>

In 1910, in the Imperial legislature, Khan called for Europeans to supervise districts as "...disinterested men to safeguard the interests of all".<ref>Shukla, J. D., ''Indianisation of All-India Services and Its Impact on Administration 1834-1947'', New Delhi, Allied Publishers, 1982</ref>

At the [[Delhi Durbar]] of 1911, Khan acted as [[Delhi Herald Extraordinary|Assistant Herald]] to [[William Peyton|Brigadier General William Peyton]], the [[Delhi Herald Extraordinary]].<ref name=www/><ref>Cox, Noel, ''A New Zealand Heraldic Authority?'' in John Campbell-Kease (ed), ''Tribute to an Armorist: Essays for John Brooke-Little to mark the Golden Jubilee of The Coat of Arms'', London, The Heraldry Society, 2000, p. 93 & p. 101: "Two heralds, with ceremonial rather than heraldic responsibilities, were appointed for the Delhi Durbar in 1911... Delhi Herald (Brigadier-General William Eliot Peyton) and Assistant Delhi Herald (Captain the Honourable Malik Mohammed Umar Hayat Khan)."</ref>

In December 1913, he was elected as one of the seventeen officers of the [[All-India Muslim League]], at the League's Seventh Session held at [[Agra]].<ref>Ralhan, O. P., ''Encyclopaedia of Political Parties: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh'' (1996), p. 242: "10. The Hon'ble Captain Malik Umar Hayat Khan, CIE, MVO"</ref> He was instrumental in ensuring ex-servicemen were enfranchised in the [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms]] of 1919.<ref name="Routledge"/>

He was a member of the Council of the [[Secretary of State for India]] from 1924 to 1934, as well as becoming an elected member of the [[Council of State (India)|Council of State]] and a member of the Punjab Legislative Council for two terms.<ref name=www/>

In a deposition for a case in the [[High Court]] in 1924, Khan was described as "Colonel Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana KCIE, CEI, MVO, [[Zamindar]] of forty-eight thousand bighas at [[Shahpur (Punjab)|Shapur]], [[Rawalpindi]], Honorary Magistrate 1st Class".<ref>Collett, Nigel A., ''The Jallianwala Bagh Revisited II'' online at [http://www.usiofindia.org/article_july_sep06_14.htm The Jallianwala Bagh Revisited II] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201035512/http://www.usiofindia.org/article_july_sep06_14.htm |date=1 February 2008 }} at the web site usiofindia.org (accessed 25 January 2008)</ref>

==London==
From 1929 to 1934, he spent most of his time in [[London]], joining the [[Conservative Party (UK)|conservative]] [[Carlton Club]] and becoming President of the British Falconers' Club.<ref name=www/> He can be credited with taking [[Mir Sultan Khan|Sultan Khan]], a talented [[chess]] player whose career he promoted whilst in the [[United Kingdom]] to London.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sultan |first=Atiyab |date=30 April 2020 |title=' Sultan Khan by Daniel King'- A granddaughter's review |url=https://www.chess.com/blog/atiyabsultan/sultan-khan-by-daniel-king-a-granddaughters-review |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Daniel |title=Sultan Khan: The Indian Servant Who Became Chess Champion of the British Empire |date=8 April 2020 |publisher=New in Chess |isbn=978-9056918767}}</ref> While Sultan Khan did not even know chess notation, he was nevertheless a worthy match for the top British and even international chess players.

In London he resided in the 10 Prince Albert Road, Regent's Park, and held an open house every weekend.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aziz |first1=Khursheed Kamal |title=Rahmat Ali: A Biography |year=1987 |publisher=Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden |isbn=3515050515}}</ref> [[Choudhry Rahmat Ali]] was a regular guest of his during this time and his [[Pakistan Declaration|Now or Never pamphlet]] was partly penned at the residence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ali Usman Qasmi, Megan Eaton Robb |title=Muslims against the Muslim League |date=15 September 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1107166639}}</ref>

==''O'Dwyer v. Nair'' libel case==
In 1924, Khan appeared as a significant witness in the ''O'Dwyer v. Nair'' libel case, heard in the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] in [[London]] over five weeks from 30 April 1924.<ref name=collett>Collett, Nigel A., ''The Jallianwala Bagh Revisited'' online at [http://www.usiofindia.org/article_Apr_jun06_10.htm The Jallianwala Bagh Revisited] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201035503/http://www.usiofindia.org/article_Apr_jun06_10.htm |date=1 February 2008 }} at the web site usiofindia.org (accessed 25 January 2008)</ref>

[[Michael O'Dwyer|Sir Michael O'Dwyer]], Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab until 1919, sued [[C. Sankaran Nair|Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair]] in a case concerning matters arising from the [[Amritsar Massacre]] and the Punjab Disturbances of 1919, and in particular recruiting abuses in the Punjab between 1917 and 1918. The case turned into one of the longest civil hearings in English legal history up to that time.<ref name=collett/>

Khan, appearing as a witness for O'Dwyer, stated that there had been a recruiting quota, namely one third of all villagers of military age. He described the killing of Tahsildar Sayyad Nadir Hussain in Lakk by villagers who strongly objected to his approach to recruiting, and an attack by 1,000 rioters on police seeking to enforce recruitment warrants, resulting in the killing of some of the rioters. Under cross examination, he admitted that there had been a "white book" and a "black book", in which village headmen who met recruitment targets and those who did not were listed.<ref name=collett/>

O'Dwyer won his case,<ref name=collett/> with the sole dissenting member of the jury being the [[List of political philosophers|political philosopher]] [[Harold Laski]].<ref>Berg, Maxine, ''A Woman in History'' (1996), p. 148</ref>

==Personal life==
His son [[Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana]] went on to become the last [[Prime Minister of Punjab|Premier]] of the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]].<ref name="Routledge"/>

==Honours==
*[[Africa General Service Medal|Africa General Service Medal with clasp Jidballi]], 1903<ref name=www/>
*[[Delhi Durbar Medal]], 1903<ref name=www/>
*[[Delhi Durbar Medal (1911)|Delhi Durbar Medal]], 1911<ref name=www/>
*Member of the [[Royal Victorian Order]], Fourth class (MVO), 1911<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28559|pages=9363–9364|date=8 December 1911}}</ref>
*Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (KCIE), 1916<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29608|supp=y|page=5570|date=2 June 1916}}</ref> (CIE: 1906 [[King's Birthday Honours]]<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27926|supp=y|page=4462|date=26 June 1906}}</ref>)
*[[Nawab]] (personal title only), 1929<ref name=www/>
*Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (GBE), 1934 King's Birthday Honours<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34056|page=3568|date=1 June 1934}}</ref> (CBE: 1919 King's Birthday Honours<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31379|supp=y|page=7051|date=30 May 1919}}</ref>)
*Honorary [[Magistrate#India|Magistrate]] (first class)<ref name=www/>
*President of the Falconers' Club<ref name=www/>
Malik Muhammad Umar Hayat Khan Towana had strictly forbidden the administration that the administration should not employ anyone from his father's state in government jobs, the reason being that Malik did not want the people of his state to behave like the rulers of the British. The residents of the state had to pay fees, that's why there were very few Hindus in Kalra state and in their place, very few refugees came to Kalra state at the time of partition.

===Military promotions===
*Honorary Lieutenant in the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]], 1901<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27312|page=3202|date=10 May 1901}}</ref>
*Honorary Captain in the Indian Army, 1911<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28506|page=4603|date=20 June 1911}}</ref>
*Honorary Major in the Indian Army, 1917<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30252|supp=y|page=8853|date=27 May 1930}}</ref>
*Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian Army, 1920<ref name=www/>
*Honorary Colonel in the Indian Army, 1930<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33609|page=3327|date=27 May 1930}}</ref>
*Honorary [[Major General]], Indian Army, 1935<ref name=www/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34155|page=2823|date=30 April 1935}}</ref>
*Honorary Colonel of [[18th King George's Own Lancers]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34209|page=6545|date=18 October 1935}}</ref>
*Honorary Extra [[Aide-de-camp]] to [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]], 1930<ref name=www/><ref name=GazetteADCGV />
*Honorary Extra Aide-de-camp to [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII]], 1935<ref name=GazetteADCEVIII />
*Honorary Extra Aide-de-camp to [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]], 1936 to 1944<ref name=www/><ref name=GazetteADCGVI />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{NPG name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Malik Umar Hayat}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of India]]
[[Category:Officers of arms]]
[[Category:Aitchison College alumni]]
[[Category:People of the Third Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:Indian Members of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India]]
[[Category:Tiwana family]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of State (India)]]
[[Category:British Indian Army personnel]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian royalty]]

Malik Umar Hayat Khan - Revision history

MuoiBraley9009 at 14:10, 19 November 2025