Who was the original founder of Bhopal State?
- (a)Dost Mohammad Khan
- (b)Nawab Hamidullah Khan
- (c)Nar Mohammad Khan
- (d)Yasin Mohammad Khan
Correct — A, Dost Mohammad Khan. He was an Afghan (Pashtun) soldier of the Mirazi Khel clan who came to India and served in the Mughal army; in the early 18th century (after Aurangzeb's death in 1707) he carved out an independent principality in the Malwa region and founded the state of Bhopal, fortifying the settlement around present-day Bhopal. His dynasty later ruled Bhopal as Nawabs, including its famous line of women rulers (Begums).
- (b)Nawab Hamidullah Khan — He was the LAST ruling Nawab of Bhopal (reigned 1926-1949) who signed Bhopal's accession/merger with the Indian Union — a much later ruler, not the founder.
- (c)Nar Mohammad Khan — Not the founder of Bhopal State; the principality was established by the Afghan soldier Dost Mohammad Khan.
- (d)Yasin Mohammad Khan — Not associated with the founding of Bhopal; the founder was Dost Mohammad Khan in the early 18th century.
Bhopal began as a Nawabi principality founded by Dost Mohammad Khan, a mercenary soldier who exploited the collapse of central Mughal authority after 1707 to set up his own state in Malwa. Over the 19th-20th centuries Bhopal was notable for a succession of ruling Begums (women rulers) and remained a princely state until it merged into India (1949).
The trap is that all four names sound like Bhopal Nawabs. Separate 'founder' (the man who first established the state) from 'last ruler' (who acceded it to India): founder = Dost Mohammad Khan; last Nawab = Hamidullah Khan.
- Dost Mohammad Khan, an Afghan (Pashtun) soldier, founded Bhopal State in the early 18th century.
- He rose amid the decline of Mughal power after Aurangzeb's death (1707).
- Bhopal was later famed for its ruling Begums (women rulers).
- Nawab Hamidullah Khan was Bhopal's last ruler; Bhopal merged with India in 1949.
- Choosing Hamidullah Khan (the last Nawab) when asked for the founder.
- Assuming Bhopal was always part of a larger state — it was an independent princely state until 1949.
MPPSC asks it as 'founder of Bhopal State' or 'last Nawab / merger of Bhopal'; anchor founder = Dost Mohammad Khan, last ruler = Hamidullah Khan.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Bhopal was well known in the 19th-20th centuries for being ruled by a succession of:
- (a)Maratha Peshwas
- (b)women rulers (Begums)
- (c)British Residents
- (d)Rajput Ranas
Answer(b) Women rulers (Begums) — an unusual line of ruling Begums.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The princely state of Bhopal formally acceded to / merged with the Indian Union in:
- (a)1947
- (b)1948
- (c)1949
- (d)1956
Answer(c) 1949 — under its last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan.