| Saba Ali Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Saba Ali Khan Pataudi (1976-05-01)1 May 1976 (age 48) New Delhi, India |
| House | House of Pataudi-Bhopal |
| Father | Mansoor Ali Khan |
| Mother | Sharmila Tagore |
| Occupation | Jewelry designer |
Saba Ali Khan Pataudi (born 1 May 1976) is anIndianjewelry designer and mutawalli (Chief Trustee) of the Auqaf-e-Shahi (Royal Trust), established by the-then ‘Princely State’ of theKingdom of Bhopal as a royal charitable endowment. She is the elder daughter of actressSharmila Tagore and former India cricket captainMansoor Ali Khan, Crown Prince of Bhopal, and the sister of actorsSaif Ali Khan andSoha Ali Khan.[1][2]
Khan, a member of thePataudi family ofPashtun (Afghan) ancestry, is the daughter of cricketerMansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and actressSharmila Tagore.[3] Khan is the sister of actors,Saif Ali Khan andSoha Ali Khan. ActorsSara Ali Khan andIbrahim Ali Khan are her niece and nephew, respectively, while actressKareena Kapoor Khan is her sister-in-law.[4][5]
Khan is the granddaughter ofSajida Begum, theNawab Begum of Bhopal, andIftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, theNawab of Pataudi.[6] Her great-grandfather,Hamidullah Khan, succeeded the throne ofBhopal, after a long reign of royal queens. The titular Begum of Bhopal, Saleha Sultan, was her aunt, and through her she is the first cousin of cricketer,Saad Bin Jung. Major General of PakistanSher Ali Khan Pataudi is her great-granduncle, and the diplomatShahryar Khan is her uncle, through her grandauntAbida Sultan.[7][8]
The Auqaf-e-Shahi is a charitable trust that was endowed by the royal family of the Kingdom of the State of Bhopal. The trust manages a portfolio worth Rs 1200 crore, consisting mainly of real estate (both, religious and otherwise) in Bhopal, apart from properties inMecca as well asMedina inSaudi Arabia.[9] As a convention, a family member of the ruler of the state of Bhopal, or the ruler himself, was the mutawalli, the chief trustee who managed the assets of the trust for philanthropic purposes. Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan, who was the titular Nawab ofBhopal andPataudi was the mutawalli till his death in 2011. Saba served under her father as naib mutawalli (Deputy Trustee) before taking over the reigns after his demise, while her brother Saif Ali Khan inherited the titular titles of the Nawab of Bhopal and Pataudi, and the respective estates.[1]
Mansoor Ali Khan reportedly did not think of his son as a possible mutawalli, conscious that a film actor's appointment as head of islamic religious bodies may not go down well with certain sections.[9]
In her tenure as the mutawalli, Auqaf-e-Shahi has acquired certain additional properties in Mecca. In 2016, she announced that the Waqf tribunal has declared that 34 acres of land around the Shahi Qabristan in Bhopal belonged to Auqaf-e-Shahi, and the same would be monetised with the proceeds going to improve the educational and health institutions ofBhopal.[10]