The founder of the state was Nawab Muhammad Amir Khan (1769–1834), an adventurer and military leader of Pashtun descent from Salarzai Sub-Clan of
Yusufzai Tribe of District
Buner. He rose to be a military commander in the service of
Yashwantrao Holkar of the
Maratha Empire in 1798. In 1806, Khan received the state of Tonk from Yashwantrao Holkar. In 1817, after the
Third Anglo-Maratha War, Amir Khan submitted to the British
British East India Company. As a result, he kept his territory of Tonk and received the title of
Nawab. While retaining internal autonomy and remaining outside
British India, the state came under the supervision of the
Rajputana Agency and consisted of six isolated districts. Three of these were under the
Rajputana Agency, namely,
Tonk, Aligarh (formerly
Rampura) and
Nimbahera. The other three,
Chhabra,
Pirawa and
Sironj, were in the
Central India Agency. The Haraoti-Tonk Agency, with headquarters at
Deoli, dealt with the states of Tonk and
Bundi, as well as with the state of
Shahpura. A former minister of Tonk state, Sahibzada Obeidullah Khan, was deputed on political duty to
Peshawar during the
Tirah campaign of 1897. In 1899–1900, the state suffered much distress due to
drought. The princely state enjoyed an estimated revenue of
£128,546 in 1883–84; but no tribute was payable to the government of British India. Grain, cotton, opium and hides were the chief products and exports of the state. Two of the outlying tracts of the state were served by two different railways. Nawab
Sir Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan
GCIE (ruled 1867–1930) was one of few chiefs to attend both
Lord Lytton's Durbar in 1877 and the
Delhi Durbar of 1903 as ruler. In 1947, on the
Partition of India whereby
India and
Pakistan gained independence, the Nawab of Tonk decided to join India. Subsequently, most of the area of the state of Tonk was integrated into
Rajasthan state, while some of its eastern enclaves became part of
Madhya Pradesh. The foundation of the principality of Tonk led to the creation of a large Rajasthani Pathan community. ==Rulers==