Treaty between Amir Khan and the English East India Company
Summary
This substantial article reconstructs the negotiations and consequences of the 1817 treaty between Nawab Amir Khan of Tonk and the English East India Company. Amir Khan, a former Maratha general and leader of a Pindari band, had carved out a principality in Rajasthan. By 1817 the Pindari raids threatened British interests, and Company agents, led by David Ochterlony and John Malcolm, sought to neutralise him. Drawing on British correspondence, Persian chronicles and Rajputana records, the author narrates the diplomatic manoeuvres. He notes that Amir Khan first approached the British to secure his jagirs and to obtain recognition in perpetuity for lands granted by the Holkar ruler. The Company demanded he disband his army, break ties with the Pindaris and surrender artillery; in return they offered him a hereditary pension, guarantees over his possessions and the rank of a British ally. The treaty, ratified on 9 November 1817, required Amir Khan to send his son as a hostage to Delhi and to accept British resident oversight. The article details subsequent correspondence in which Amir Khan negotiated for additional territories near Ajmer and sought relief from debts. The author analyses how British policy weighed the strategic value of securing Tonk as a buffer against Maratha and Pindari forces. After the treaty, Amir Khan enforced order in his domains, expelled former allies and assisted British troops in campaigns against Holkar and Pindari leaders. The article concludes by assessing the treaty’s significance: it marked the end of large‑scale Pindari raiding, integrated Tonk into the colonial state and exemplified the Company’s use of subsidiary alliances to control semi‑independent rulers without direct annexation.
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Conclusion
The paper concludes that the 1817 treaty with Amir Khan was a calculated compromise that extended British influence while preserving the nawab’s authority within a defined territory. By disbanding his army and accepting British suzerainty, Amir Khan secured hereditary rule for his family and averted destruction. The treaty exemplified the Company’s broader strategy of employing diplomacy and pensions to pacify former adversaries and stabilise the Rajputana frontier.