s part of
the Rajputana desert. There are three _nizamats_, Minchinabad in the
north, Bahawalpur in the middle, and Khanpur in the south. The capital,
Bahawalpur, is close to the bridge at Adamwahan by which the N.W.
Railway crosses the Sutlej. The ruling family belongs to the Abbasi
Daudpotra clan, and came originally from Sindh. Sadik Muhammad Khan, who
received the title of Nawab from Nadir Shah, when he invaded the Derajat
in 1739, may be considered the real founder of the State. The Nawab
Muhummad Bahawal Khan III, threatened with invasion by Maharaja Ranjit
Singh, made a treaty with the British Government in 1833. He was our
faithful ally in the first Afghan War, and gave valuable help against
Diwan Mulraj in 1848. The next three reigns extending from 1852 to 1866
were brief and troubled. Nawab Sadik Muhummad Khan IV, who succeeded in
1866, was a young child, and for the next thirteen years the State was
managed by Captain Minchin and Captain L. H. Grey as Superintendents.
The young Nawab was installed in 1879, and henceforth ruled with the
help of a Council. In the Afghan War of 1879-1880 Bahawalpur did very
useful service. The Nawab died in 1899. A short minority followed during
which Colonel L. H. Grey again became Superintendent. The young Nawab,
Muhammad Bahawal Khan V, had but a brief reign. He was succeeded by the
present Chief, Nawab Sadik Muhummad Khan V, a child of eight or nine
years. The State is managed by a Council aided by the advice of the
political Agent. From 1903 to 1913, the Agent for the Phulkian States
was in charge, but a separate Agent has recently been appointed for
Bahawalpur and Faridkot. An efficient camel corps is maintained for
imperial service.

[Illustration: Fig. 121. Nawab Sadik Muhammad Khan.]

[Sidenote: Area, 167 sq. m.
Pop. 71,144.
Rev.
Rs. 900,000
= L60,000.]

~Malerkotla~ consists of a strip of territory to the south of the
Ludhiana district. The capital is connected with Ludhiana by railway.
The Nawab keeps up a company of Sappers and Miners for imperial service.
He is an Afghan, and his ancestor held a position of trust under the
Moghal Empire, and became independent on its decline. The independence
of his successor was menaced by Maharaja Ranjit Singh when Malerkotla
came under British protection in 1809.

~Pataudi, Dujana, and Loharu.~--The three little Muhammadan States of
Loharu, Dujana, and Pataudi are relics of the policy which in the
opening years of the nin