Kunjpura Chiefdom
Najabat Khan built a stronghold in the marshes of the Jumna early in the eighteenth century, and then revolted against the imperial government. By the year 1729, Najabat Khan had amassed great fortune by plundering states with his army of loyal men who were all Pushtun and many of whom were kinsmen from Ghourghushti and surrounding areas. The reinforcements from Ghourghusti alongside his Sarkhel (Salarkhel) kinsmen were mainly from associated clans of Matta Khel, Dilawarkhel, Sulemankhel, Inayat Khel, Karakhel, Sadokhel (Asadkhel), and Haiderkhel. Aside from the Sulemankhel clan who were at the time resident in Hund, the rest of the clans had firm roots in Ghourghushti at the time.
He settled near the Jumna (Yamuna) river as it was a strategic geographical point from where he received revenue from merchants travelling to and from Delhi. He built a fort at around 1729 and created a small state in the vicinity. The fort was named Kunjpura ('the heron's nest') which his sons later named "Najabat Naghar" in his honour. Siding with Nadir Shah in 1739, Najabat Khan was recognized by him as chief of Kunjpura and was granted the title "Nawab"
In 1748 he obtained a sanad from the Afghan conqueror Ahmed Shah Abdali (the successor to Nadir Shah who was assasinated in 1747), also called Durani, who was then in the height of his power in Northern India, granting him a "hereditary jagir" of 149 villages. The villages were declared to be inam, or revenue-free, and he was to enjoy thenceforth the revenue payable to the Imperial Government, subject to the obligation of maintaining order in his ilaqa or possessions. These villages were in Karnal district, and it was from this base that he fought more battles against Hill Rajas.
Amidst appeals from Muslim leaders like Shah Waliullah, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India to face the formidable challenge posed by the Maratha Confederacy. Ahmad Shah Abdali asked for help from his fellow Muslim nawabs and jagirdars against the armies of Marathas and Jats, who were killing and occupying Muslim areas following the death of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Nawab Najabat Khan joined the army of Ahmad Shah Abdali but he was killed at the Battle of Kunjpura on 17th October 1760.
According to Ibrahim Khan Bahadur's diary, the Maratha's had "a numerically superior force of forty thousand well-mounted and veteran cavalry, and a powerful train of European artillery, under the superintendence of Ibrahim Khan Gardi. He states that there were several chiefs were in the fort, one of whom was Abd-as-samad Khan Abdali, governor of Sirhind, who had been taken prisoner by Raghunath Rao in 1170 A.H. (1756–7 A.D.), but had ultimately obtained his release, as was related in the narrative of Adina Beg Khan’s proceedings. There were, besides, Kutb Khan Rohilla, Dalil Khan, and Najabat Khan, all landholders of places in Antarbed, who had been guilty of conveying supplies to the Abdali Shah’s camp" After reducing the fort, Bhao made Abd-as-samad Khan and Kutb Khan undergo capital punishment, and kept the rest in confinement; while he allowed Kunjpura itself to be sacked by his predatory hordes".
Nawab Najabat Khan was estimated to be in his late 50's or early 60's when he demised. According to the Cambrdige History of India (vol 4) by Edward James Rapson, he had 10,000 hand picked soldiers under his command at Kunjpura which was at the time well stocked with money and provisions.
According to Jaswant Lal Mehta (Advance History in the study of Modern India 1707-1813), Kujpura was expected to serve as a halting station for Shah Ahmed Abdali midway between Delhi and Sirhind to facilitate his return to Afghanistan.
Rapson states that Bhao laid seige to Kunjpura on the false pretext that Nawab Najabat Khan had been responsible for the death of Dattaji Sindia at Badaun Ghatt. The initial artillery bombardment was undertaken by Ibrahim Gardi's heavy guns. It was stated that the Yamuna was still in full flood and impassible, and Ahmed Shah Abdali was to look on helplessly from the other side of the river as his comrades in the fort were being killed.
According to Jaswant Lal Mehta Nawab Najabat Khan was captured in a wounded condition and succumbed to his wounds soon after. The booty collected at Kujpura by the Marathas included 3000 horses, two lakh maunds of wheat and other food stuffs, hundreds of camels and elephants, and seven lakhs rupees in cash. The Marathas were intoxicated with their victory and celebrated Dussehra two days later.
It was his death and the subsequent looting of the Kunjpura that led to the Maratha's downfall in the Third Battle of Panipat. Ahmed Shah Abdali was with his army across the Yamuna river when he heard that his kinsmen and compatriots were under seige in Kunjpura. The river's current was too strong to cross from that point, so he had to travel a further 12 km downstream to cross over. The Maratha's fled Kunjpura and rested at Panipat.
His son, Diler Khan, avenged his father's death by participating in the Third Battle of Panipat. The treacherous Ibrahim Gardi was given capital punishment by Ahmed Shah Abdali. Diler Khan received large grants of territory from the Durranis, but he and his successor were driven out of their lands west of the Jumna by the Raja of Jind and other Sikh chiefs. In 1787, however, Sindhia expelled the Jind Raja from Karnal, and ten years later General Perron recognized Gulsher Khan as Nawab of Kunjpura. His son, Rahmat Khan, allied himself to Lord Lake in 1801, and in 1811 was recognized as a protected chief by the British Government. In 1846 the Nawab of Kunjpura lost his sovereign powers, and the history of the family has since been one of incessant litigation. According to the Imperial Gazeteer of India (1908), the Nawab of Kunjpur in 1886 held 2, jaglr of 38 villages with a revenue of Rs. 31,000, besides which his estate yielded an income of nearly Rs. 32,000.
His direct descendants had embroiled in very costly legal disputes over inheritance issues - these were ultimately settled by British judiciary who were occupying India at the time. According to the family custom (and contrary to Shariah), the eldest male child of the first wife would inherit all assets, and the other family members would receive maintenance. Many of the Nawab Najabat's direct descendants thus did not receive the full material benefits from his endeavours. However, despite this, many of the descendants achieved success through education by serving high profile judicial posts (Ghulam Ahmed Khan, Aftab Ahmed Khan, Sultan Ahmed Khan). After the partition of India, the last Nawab of Kunjpura, Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan, migrated to Lahore in Pakistan, and died in 1953.
The Sarkhel clan (a sub-clan of Dilawar Khel tribe) claim to be descended from Nawab Najabat Khan through his elder brother Zabita Khan. Nawab Najabat Khan's elder brother Zabita Khan returned to Ghorghushti without claim to any of endowment from the land in Kunjpura. Zabita Khan's descendants now live in the town of Ghourghushti. The ancestral home in Mohalla Ishaq Zai is still owned by the descendants of Nawab Najabat Khan's brother, which has attracted well-wishers from Kunjpura, Lahore, Karachi.