Pataudi

Pataudi is a town in Gurgaon district in the Indian state of Haryana. Pataudi was the seat of the non-salute Princely state of the same name. The princely state of Pataudi was founded in 1806 by the Pashtun adventurer Fa'iz Talab Khan, and covered an area 137 km². It acceded to the Union of India on April 7 1948.

Geography

Pataudi is located at . It has an average elevation of 240 metres (787 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Pataudi had a population of 16,064. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Pataudi has an average literacy rate of 57%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 48%. In Pataudi, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Famous personalities

Small while the state may have been, its ruling family enjoyed celebrity as cricketers, film stars and socialites. Indeed, two successive nawabs of Pataudi served as captains of the Indian cricket team. Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan's younger brother Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, an officer in the British Indian Army migrated to Pakistan where he served as an Ambassador and Cabinet Minister after retiring from the Pakistan army after serving as Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army. Prominent members of the family include:

Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi (cricketer)
Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal
Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi (Major-General, Pakistan Army)
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (successful cricketer)
Sharmila Tagore (celebrated actress)
Saif Ali Khan (famous actor)
Soha Ali Khan (actress)

Trivia

The last ruling Nawab of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan, married Begum Sajida Sultan, heiress of Bhopal. The princely state of Bhopal was one of few where the succession of females was acceptable; indeed, that state had been ruled by three generations of Begums of Bhopal for a century beginning 1829. Upon the demise of Sajida sultan in 1995, her only son Mansoor Ali Khan, the titular nawab of Pataudi, is regarded by many as being the head of the royal family of Bhopal as well as Pataudi.

To the larger public, the question of succession to an erstwhile princely state is of but academic interest, since not only the states themselves but also the titles and privileges associated with their rulership stands abolished in India.