Fateh Khan : Commander-in-chief of the Jaintia Kingdom
By Muhammad Talha Amin Baruah
Fateh Khan stands as a prominent figure in the history of the Jaintia Kingdom, serving as its commander-in-chief during a period of significant political and cultural transformation in the Indian subcontinent. The Jaintia Kingdom was one of the most
influential tribal kingdoms in the Northeast, with its dominion stretching across parts of present-day Meghalaya, Assam, and Bangladesh. The Jaintia Kingdom was originally a Kingdom of Meghalayan origin. Let us discuss Fateh Khan, the commander-in-chief of this Kingdom during the 18th century.
Fateh Khan was the son of Alivardi Khan. In 1740, Alivardi Khan became the new Nawab of Bengal after the death of Sarfaraz Khan.¹ The same year, after his accession, Alivardi Khan married a Hindu princess named Bhairavi, the sister of the Jaintia King, Bar Gossain II. Alivardi and Bhairavi had a son, who was named Fateh Khan.² Bhairavi sent their son to the Jaintia Kingdom. Fateh Khan came to his maternal uncle, Bar Gossain, and asked Gossain to make him the Heir apparent of the Jaintia throne. But the Royal family refused this, and Bar Gossain offered the prestigious rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Jaintia army to Khan. Fateh Khan readily accepted this offer and became the Commander-in-Chief serving his paternal uncle. Fateh Khan’s holding of the post was followed by many Muslim men being appointed to prestigious posts of the Jaintia kingdom. ³This showcases the influence that Fateh Khan held over the Jaintia kingdom’s administration.
Fateh Khan’s contribution includes mostly architecture, instead of battles. Fateh Khan was the first to introduce masonry-style buildings in Jaintiapur. He also introduced musketry to the Jaintias. He also dug many wells and tanks in & around Jaintiapur.
Fateh Khan was the one who built the masonry Jaintia palace at Jaintiapur. ⁴ There was an old palace nearby which served as the residence of Fateh Khan. South of this Palace was a temple known as the Jayanteswari temple. ⁵ Beside this temple,
Fateh Khan erected a mosque. Thus, the people were not happy with it and fired up a sense of hatred towards Khan. ² They made a conspiracy against Fateh Khan. The people went to Bar Gossain and told him that whenever the Azan (Islamic prayer call) is called out, the deity of Kali used to shiver. Gossain took it as suspicious, and he was completely enraged. He ordered the demolition of the mosque. Subsequently, Fateh Khan was assassinated. ⁶
We unfortunately do not know of any war that Fateh Khan fought. It seems that the reign of Bar Gossain II was without any wars. Regarding Fateh Khan, we estimate his birth year as 1741. We know that his father, Alivardi Khan, sent him to the Jainti Kingdom when Fateh became mature ⁴, so we estimate that he served as the commander-in-chief of the Jaintia army during the 1750s. We do not have any credible source regarding Fateh Khan’s religious beliefs, but we believe that he was indeed a Shia Muslim. This speculation comes from the part that his father – Alivardi Khan is estimated to have been a Shia, as stated In Tababatai’s account of Alivardi’s death.⁷ Alivardi’s rule was filled with propagation of Shia Islam in Bengal. Many Safavid scholars came to Bengal for preaching their faith and expanding their influence. Furthermore, most Historians such as Jadunath Sarkar and Andreas Rieck are of the opinion that all of the Nawabs of Bengal starting from Nawab Murshid Quli Khan were Shia Muslims by faith. These factors serve as evidence (though not solid) that Alivardi Khan was indeed a Shia. If the theories are true, then it’s certain that Fateh Khan, being Alivardi’s son, was also a Shia Muslim by faith.
Regarding the assassination of Fateh Khan, we do not find any hostilities to have been caused between the Jaintias and the Nawabs of Bengal because of that event. So it is obvious that the Nawabs were not interested in providing justice to Fateh, hence it is clear that the assassination of Fateh Khan occurred in or after 1757. Since we already know that Fateh Khan’s father, Alivardi Khan, died on 10 April 1756, and was succeeded by his grandson – Siraj-Ud-Daula. Siraj was killed by the Britishers in the famous battle of Plassey, and Mir Jafar took over the throne of Bengal.¹ Mir Jafar was obviously not interested in any matter of Alivardi’s family. Hence comes our conclusion regarding Fateh Khan’s death. If Fateh’s father or nephew had been alive, they would definitely have provided justice to their family member.
References :
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- Life and Culture of Matrilineal Tribe of Meghalaya (1984) by Pranab Kumar Das
Gupta. Inter-India Publications. Pg. 10 - The history and culture of the Khasi people (1964) by Hamlet Bareh. Pg. 80
- The Mughals and The North-East (2024) edited by Sajal Nag. Routledge. Pg. 227
- Hill cities of Eastern Himayalas : Ethnicity, Land relations and Urbanisation (1993)
Edited by Sinha, Chacko and Aier. Indus publishing company. Pg. 45 - Bangladesh District Gazetteers : Sylhet (1975). Bangladesh Government Press. Pg.
51 - A Socio-Intellectual History of the Isna ‘Ashari Shi’is in India : 16 th to 19 th century AD.
Vol II (1986) by Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi. Munshi Manoharlal Publishers. Pg. 47
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