DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i03.023

Pages: 640-652

The present study focus on the Muslim landed elites under the colonial rule. The study deals with studying Muslim aristocracy in a wider context, in relation to their response towards the change in British official standing towards them. An attempt has been made to study the district wise composition, their financial resources, their contribution during political crisis in favor of British rule in the Punjab province. In lieu of their loyalty towards British Rule, they were rewarded in terms of awards of honor, pensions, land grants and honorary positions. It is in this background that these landed aristocrats rose to prominence in the political and economic fields. An attempt has also been made to identify these elites in total during British period. There were total of 113 Muslim aristocratic families recorded in 1947.They were labeled as the natural collaborators of British Raj. Their number kept on fluctuating according to their contribution towards the British raj in the course of time. Those who could not maintain their positions and status went into oblivion and were no longer classified as collaborators of British Raj