Ghulam Shah Kalhoro was born in 1724, in
Khudabad (then in the
Mughal Empire and now
Sindh, Pakistan). He was the second son of
Noor Mohammad (r. 1737–1755). His mother,
Mai Gulan, was a dancing girl from the
Dahri tribe who was betrothed to Kalhoro in 1720 in an attempt to strengthen ties with the local tribes. She once attended the royal assembly of her husband, where the renowned court poet and religious scholar
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was so deeply moved by her performance that he asked her if she desired any blessing from him. She requested a son, and her wish was fulfilled with the birth of Ghulam Khan. The child was named in devotion and humility toward the great scholar (
Ghulam, meaning "servant" or "slave"), and Shah Abdul Latif was proclaimed his godfather. He also prophesied the child's future greatness by saying: Thus, after the birth of his beloved son, Noor Mohammad elevated her to the rank of consort and even had a palace built for her in Tando Ghulam Hussain. Noor Mohammad Kalhoro was the ninth
Mian of the
Mianwal order and was proclaimed Nawab of the entirety of Sindh in 1737 by Emperor
Muhammad Shah Rangila. Ghulam Shah was the second of his seven sons. His elder brother,
Muradyab Khan (r. 1755–1757), succeeded their father as the second Nawab of
Sindh. His younger brothers included Athar Khan (r. 1757–1758), Ghulam Nabi (r. 1775–1776), Abdul Nabi (r. 1776–1781; 1782–1783),
Sadik Ali (r. 1781–1782), and Ahmad Yar Khan. Ghulam Shah had only one full sibling, his sister Mai Sherbano. He spent the early years of his life in the capital of Khudabad and trained to manage the political and religious affairs of the
Kalhora dynasty. He studied
Persian and
Sindhi as part of his formal education under the spiritual guardianship of Bhittai. Persian was used for government business and diplomacy, while Sindhi was his mother tongue, used to communicate with the public. As a member of the
Mianwal order, his upbringing combined religious studies with military training. He worked alongside his father, Mian Noor Muhammad, to learn how to manage the irrigation systems and the economy of Sindh. By his late teens, he was given command of military units and led campaigns to secure the borders of the kingdom. ==Career as prince==