Qutubuddin Koka

Qutb-ud-Din Khan Kokah (13 August 1569 – 20 May 1607) was the first Mughal subahdar (provincial governor) of Bengal Subah (Mughal province of Bengal) during the reign of emperor Jahangir. He was appointed governor of Bengal on 2 September 1606 and died in office on 20 May 1607.[1]

Early life

Qutb-ud-Din Khan Kokah's original name was Shaikh Khubu. His father was a Mughal courtier in the court of emperor Akbar and his mother was daughter of Shaikh Salim Chishti. He was the Kokah (foster brother) of emperor Jahangir. The title of Qutb-ud-Din Khan was conferred upon him by Prince Salim (Jahangir) during his rebellion against his father Akbar. He was also appointed subahdar of Bihar by prince Salim during his rebellion.[2]

Subahdar of Bengal

Qutb-ud-Din Khan Kokah was appointed the governor of Bengal in 1606. Eight months later, he led the Mughal forces in a battle against Sher Afghan Quli Khan, the Faujdar of Bardhaman.[3] Qutb-ud-Din Khan Kokah was defeated and killed in that battle.

Progeny

Qutbuddin Khan Kokah had two sons. His first son, Saaduddin Khan received the title Saaduddin Siddiky and was granted by emperor Jahangir three jagirs called Amenabad, Talebabad and Chandrapratap in Gazipur district of Bangladesh, formerly East Bengal.[3] This became the Bangladesh branch of his family. His descendants in Bangladesh include Chowdhury Kazemuddin Ahmed Siddiky, the co-founder of the Assam Bengal Muslim League and co-founder of the University of Dhaka, Justice Badruddin Ahmed Siddiky,[4] Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky, the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh (1979–81) and Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky, a candidate for the mayor of Dhaka in 2015.

His second son Shaikh Ibrahim received the title of Kishwar Khan - aka Mohtashim Khan was appointed Qiladar (Commandant) of Rohtas fort[2] (in present-day Bihar). Shaikh Ibrahim was married to Parwar Khanam daughter of Asaf Khan (the Grand Vizier of Mughal Empire 1628-41[2]) and sister of Mumtaz Mahal (Empress consort of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and niece of empress Nur Jahan, Jahangir's favorite wife). Shaikh Ibrahim aka Mohtashim Khan was given a jagir of 22 villages in Sheikhupur, Badaun and it is here he built a fort for his family, where his descendants still live to this day. This is the Indian branch of Koka's family, and their descendants include Nawab Abdul-Ghaffar Khan Bahadur, jageerdar of Sheikhupur,[5] Begum Parveen Azad - a senior Indian Congress party politician [the 11th Lok Sabha (1996) Congress-party candidate from Baduan],[6] other relatives include Mohammad Sultan Hyder 'Josh'- a prominent poet and short story writer of Urdu[7] and Begum Abida Ahmed wife of the 5th President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

Emperor Jahangir's foster mother

Qutub uddin Khan Koka's mother, the daughter of Sheikh Salim Chishti, was the foster mother of Emperor Jahangir. The emperor was deeply attached to his foster mother, as reflected by the following paragraph in the Jahangir's memoirs:

In the month Ẕi-l-qa‘da the mother of Qutbu-d-dīn Khān Koka, who had given me her milk and was as a mother to me or even kinder than my own kind mother ... was committed to the mercy of God. I placed the feet of her corpse on my shoulders and carried her a part of the way (to her grave). Through extreme grief and sorrow I had no inclination for some days to eat, and I did not change my clothes.

— Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri[8]
Preceded by
Mansingh		 Subahdar of Bengal
1606–1607		 Succeeded by
Jahangir Quli Beg

See also

References
  1. Sarkar, Jadunath (1984). A History of Jaipur, c. 1503-1938, New Delhi: Orient Longman, ISBN 81-250-0333-9, p.88
  2. Blochmann, H. (1927) [1873] The Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl-i-Allami, Vol.I, (ed.) D. C. Phillot, Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp. 556-7.
  3. Khan, Muazzam Hussain (2012). "Qutbuddin Khan Kokah". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. Siddiky, Leila Rashida (2012). "Siddiky, Justice Badruddin Ahmad". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  5. Sheikhupur, Badaun
  6. Women and Politics in Asia: A Springboard for Democracy? Pg: 52
  7. http://fp.brecorder.com/2013/05/201305181187105/
  8. Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan (1909). Beveridge, Henry (ed.). The Tuzuk-i-Janhangīrī or Memoirs of Jahāngīr. Translated by Rogers, Alexander. London: Royal Asiatic Society. pp. 84–85.
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