Muhammad Mahabat Khan III

Muhammad Mahabat Khan III Khanji
Nawab of Junagarh
In office
22 January 1911 – 25 February 1948
Succeeded byMuhammad Dilawar Khanji
(claimed)
Personal details
Born
Muhammad Mahabat Khan

(1898-08-02)2 August 1898
Junagadh, Junagadh State, British India
Died17 November 1959(1959-11-17) (aged 61)
Karachi, Federal Capital Territory, Pakistan
Cause of deathCardiac arrest
NationalityBritish Indian (1900–1947)
Indian (briefly, 1947)
Pakistani (1947–1959)
ChildrenMuhammad Dilawar Khanji (son)
Residence(s)Junagadh State (present-day Gujarat, India) (ancestral)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan (adoptive)
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Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Rasul Khanji, GCIE, KCSI (2 August 1898 – 17 November 1959), was the last ruling Nawab of Junagadh of the princely state of Junagadh in India from 1911 to 1948. He was the father of Muhammad Dilawar Khanji – former Governor of Sindh and his claimed successor. Famed for his extravagant lifestyle and his love of dogs, his decision to accede Junagadh to the Dominion of Pakistan following India's Independence led to the Indian Army taking military action. He is credited with pioneering a conservation effort in what is now the Gir National Park that saved India's last few lions from almost certain extinction.[1]

  1. ^ Kinnear, N. B. (1920). "The past and present distribution of the lion in south eastern Asia". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 27: 34–39.