Kalb Ali Khan

Who was Kalb Ali Khan?

Hajji Nawab Kalb Ali Khan Bahadur was a Nawab of the princely state of Rampur from 1865 to 1887. Succeeding his father, Sir Yusef Ali Khan Bahadur, he continued his father's good works, expanding the Rampur library, constructing the Jama Masjid for Rs.3 lakhs and encouraging the spread of education, architecture, literature and art in general. A gifted ruler, Sir Kalb Ali Khan was highly literate in Arabic and Persian and patronised scholars from across India and the Islamic world. He was a member of John Lawrence's council from 1878 to his death, attended the Delhi Durbar of Queen Victoria and was granted a personal salute of 17-guns. He was succeeded at his death in 1887, aged 53, by his son, Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan Bahadur.