Sikar सीकर
Sikar
—  city  —
Sikar सीकर Location of Sikar सीकर in Rajasthan and India
Coordinates	27°37′N 75°09′E / 27.62°N 75.15°E / 27.62; 75.15Coordinates: 27°37′N 75°09′E / 27.62°N 75.15°E / 27.62; 75.15
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Sikar
Population • Density	237,579 (2011[update]) • 10,526 /km2 (27,262 /sq mi)
Literacy	77.25%
Official languages	Hindi, English
Regional languages	Rajasthani
Language(s)	Rajasthani, Hindi, English
Ethnic groups	Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	22.57 square kilometres (8.71 sq mi) • 427 metres (1,401 ft)
Climate Temperature • Summer • Winter	Köppen climate classification (Köppen) •      16 – -20 °C (61–-4 °F) •      45 – -46 °C (113–-51 °F) •      0 – -1 °C (32–30 °F)
Distance(s) • From Delhi • 280 kilometres (170 mi) (land) • From Jaipur • 114 kilometres (71 mi) (land)
Codes • Pincode • 332001 • Telephone • +91-1572 • UN/LOCODE • IN SKR • Vehicle • RJ-23
Footnotes 1
Website	www.sikar.nic.in

Sikar (Hindi: सीकर) is a City located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis (big houses with Mughal-era architecture) which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur or Delhi. It is 114 km away from Jaipur, 320 km from Jodhpur 215 km from Bikaner and 280 km from Delhi.

History[link]

Sikar is as much part of Shekhawati as Jhunjhunu. It was the biggest Thikana (Estate) of the Jaipur State ruled by Shekhawats. Sikar was the capital town of the Thikana Sikar. It is surrounded by the high walls consisting of seven “Pols”(gates). The primitive name of Sikar was ‘Beer Bhan Ka Bass’. Raja Bahadur Singh Shekhawat, the Raja of Khandela gifted the village Beao Nahar Singh & Rao Chand Singh, Rao Devi Singh ascended the throne of Sikar after Chand Singh. He was a great warrior and ruled over Sikar very efficiently.

Laxmangarh Fort, Rajasthan, built in 1862 AD.

Devi Singh’s son Rao Raja Laxman Singh was also a great warrior. He built the Laxmangarh Fort on the hill in 1862 and a town which sprang up at the foot hills in called Laxmangarh after his name in 1864 AD ^[1]. Maharaja Sawai Jagat Singh Saheb Bahadur (II), the king of Jaipur was much pleased with him, as a result the title of ‘Rao Raja’ was conferred upon him by the king. His period is known for the love of art, learning, religion and culture. He was very philanthropic, the Sikar state was very prosperous in his period. The seth’s & the rich people got the magnificent buildings built & the painting on them are worth seeing.

Rao Raja Ram Pratap Singh who ascended the throne after Laxman Singh got the marble palace made .The golden painting on its walls is very attractive. The successive rulers of Sikar such as Rao Raja Bhairon Singh, Rao Raja Sir Madhav Singh Bahadur (1866/1922), he was granted the title of Bahadur in 1886 and Madhav Singh enjoys the credit of making huge Victoria Diamonds Jublee Hall & Madhav Niwas Kothi which are the excellent examples of his love for architecture and paintings. He was always anxious for the welfare of the public. During the terrible famine in 1899 (Samvat 1956), he started many famine relief works for the poor and hungry people. It is evident from ‘Madhav Sagar Pond’ which was built in the year 1899. This pond was made at the cost of Rs.56000/- it clearly speaks the fame of his ruler. It was in the times of Madhav Singh that Sikar saw the first light of electricity. The roads were also constructed in his time. The old monuments, forts, palaces, boundary walls and temples were repaired in his time. He was very strong and courageous. He had very cordial relations with the British Government. The survey of Railway from Jaipur to Sikar was accomplished in his period. After Madhav Singh the throne of Sikar was ascended by Kalyan Singh.

Rao Raja Kalyan Singh was the last ruler of Sikar (1922/1967). Kalyan Singh had been famous for their love of magnanimous building, palaces, temples and ponds He had ruled over Sikar for 32 years. He built clock tower, which adds beauty to the town. For the welfare of public he got the Kalyan Hospital & Kalyan College built. He died in the year 1967. To commemorate the sweet memory of his late son Kunwar Hardayal Singh.

Sikar is a very fascinating and charming place for the tourist. The fresco Painting on the ancient havelies, temples and forts captivate the tourist from abroad.

Sikar was the kingdom of royal Shekhawat rajas. Today also many royal Shekhawat family reside in Sikar. One of the great shekhawat is Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, former Vice President of India also belongs to (Khachriyawas) Sikar. Three most prominent business homes of the country viz. the Bajajs, the Birlas and the Goenkas also belong to the district. Most of the Marwari businessmen community residing in Assam, W.Bengal, Surat, Bengaluru and Hyderabad also belong to Sikar.

Geography and Climate[link]

Geography[link]

Sikar is the district headquarter of Rajasthan's Sikar district which is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan. It is located at27°37′N 75°09′E / 27.62°N 75.15°E / 27.62; 75.15^[2]. It has an average elevation of 427 metres (1401 feet).

Climate[link]

Sikar has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) climate, rains occur in the monsoon months between June and September. Temperatures remain relatively high throughout the year, with the summer months of April to early July having average daily temperatures of around 30 °C (86 °F). During the monsoon there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not common. The winter months of November to February are mild and pleasant, with average temperatures ranging from 15–18 °C (59–64 °F) and with little or no humidity. There are however occasional cold waves that lead to temperatures near freezing.

Demographics[link]

Sikar city has a population of about 237,579^[3] people according to the census of 2011. As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Sikar in 2011 is 237579; of which male and female are 123156 and 114423 respectively. The sex ratio of Sikar city is 929 per 1000 males. In education section, total literates in Sikar city are 158413 of which 91403 are males while 67010 are females. Average literacy rate of Sikar city is 77.13 percent of which male and female literacy was 86.29 and 67.37 percent respectively. Total children age group (0-6) in Sikar city are 32189 as per figure from Census India report on 2011. There were 17236 boys while 14953 are girls. Child sex ratio of girls is 868 per 1000 boys.

Place of Interest[link]

• Sikar Fort
• Sai Dham (Mundwara)
• Madho Niwas Kothi
• Radha Damodar Mandir
• Bolta Balaji mandir
• Rani Mahal
• Devi Pura Balaji
• Santoshi Mata Mandir
• Maroo Park
• Nehru Park
• Ganesh Mandir, Fatehpuri Gate
• Temple of Gopinathji, Subhash Chowk
• Diwan Ji Ki Nashiya, Jatiya Bazar
• Diwan Ji ki Haveli
• Shobhagyavati mandir
• Shri Ram Hanuman mandir (Radha kishan pura Sikar)

Administration[link]

Sikar city is governed by Municipal Corporation which comes under Sikar Urban Agglomeration. Sikar city divided in to 45 wards. Although Sikar city has population of 237579; its urban/metropolitan population is 244563 of which 126964 are males and 117599 are females. Sikar metropolitan areas includes Chandrapura (Rural), Radhakrishnpura (Rural), Samrathpura (Rural), Shivsinghpura and Sikar city.

Transport[link]

Kilometre sign „Sikar 16 km“

Kilometre sign „Ranoli 3 km"

Rail[link]

Sikar comes under the territory of Norther Western Railway. Recently Norther Western Railway started gauge conversion of the Sikar-Loharu line section in to the broad gauge section. It is expected that it will be completed in next 1-2 years. As of now Sikar city is connected through meter gauge railway line section to Delhi, Jaipur, Loharu, Rewari, Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Churu, Jhunjhunu.

Road[link]

Sikar is well connected by roads from all the major cities of Rajasthan. One National highway NH-11 passes through center of city. NH-11 connects Sikar to Jaipur and Bikaner. This highway is going to be four-laned very soon. The western freight corridor will also pass from sikar. which the main project of central government.

Air[link]

The nearest airport to Sikar city is Jaipur International Airport, which operate daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Udaipur, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat. A new airport is proposed at Shahpura (a town in Jaipur district) that is very near to Sikar. Beside that, a small Air strip at Tarpura village is also available for Small Private Planes Landing (against payment).

Education[link]

Sikar has become a major education hub of Rajasthan these days. Along with numerous government colleges providing arts, sciences, and commerce education, a number of private educational institutes have also opened up. St. Mary's Sr. Sec. School (affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi) is one of the most reputed school in Sikar. In the last few years many coaching institutes grown in the city like mushroom for the preparation of JEE, PMT, CPMT and other competitive exams. Those student who follow coaching institutes has stopped migrating to other major cities like Kota and Jaipur.

See also[link]

• Sikar district
• Sikar (Lok Sabha constituency)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official webpage of Sikar District
• Photogallery of Sikar
• Sikar Yellow Pages
• Official webpage of Sikar Zila Parishad
• Genealogy of Sikar Rulers

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Imran Khan Niazi عمران خان نیازی
Personal details
Born	(1952-11-25) 25 November 1952 (age 59) Lahore, West Punjab, Dominion of Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Spouse(s)	Jemima Khan (1995–2004)
Children	Sulaiman Qasim Khan
Residence	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford
Occupation	Politician Philanthropist Cricketer
Religion	Islam
Website	PTI

Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی; born 25 November 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a philanthropist, cricket commentator, Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Founder and Chairman Board of Governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.

Arguably Pakistan's most successful cricket captain, Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982–1992.^[1] After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.^[2] On 14 July 2010, Khan was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.^[3]

In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of a political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).^[4] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.^[5] Foreign Policy magazine has described him as "Pakistan's Ron Paul".^[6]

Through worldwide fundraising, he has also helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.

Family, education, and personal life[link]

Imran Khan was born in Lahore, the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife Shaukat Khanum.^[7] Although long settled in Mianwali in Punjab, the family were of Pashtun ethnicity and belonged to the Niazi Shermankhel tribe.^[8] A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up with his four sisters in relatively affluent (upper middle-class) circumstances^[9] and received a privileged education. He was educated the Cathedral School in Lahore, the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket, and at Aitchison College, Lahore. In 1972, he enrolled to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a second-class degree in Politics and a third in Economics.^[10] Khan's mother hailed from the Burki family which had produced several successful hockey players,^[7] as also cricketers such as Javed Burki and Majid Khan.^[8] Early in life, Khan developed an interest in cricket, which is an extremely popular sport in Pakistan.

Marriage to Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith[link]

On 16 May 1995, Khan married Jemima Goldsmith, in an Islamic ceremony in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office in England, followed by a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.^[11] . The marriage, described as "tough" by Khan,^[8] produced two sons, Sulaiman Isa (born 18 November 1996) and Kasim (born 10 April 1999).^[12] As an agreement of his marriage, Khan spent four months a year in England. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the Khans had divorced because it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan".^[13] The marriage ended amicably. Imran has regular access to his children and his relationship with his ex-wife is friendly. Khan now resides in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse with the money he gained from selling his London flat. He grows fruit trees, wheat, and keeps cows, while also maintaining a cricket ground for his two sons, who visit during their holidays.^[8]

Cricket career[link]

Pride of Performance Award Recipient
Imran Khan was recipient of the Pride of Performance Award 1983
Presented by	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Date	1983
Country	Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71).^[14] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973–75 seasons.^[10] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975–76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–76 to 1980–81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.^[2]

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976–77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.^[14] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.^[2] His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.^[2]

As a fast bowler, Khan reached the peak of his powers in 1982. In 9 Tests, he got 62 wickets at 13.29 each, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year.^[15] In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (ICC player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.^[16]

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.^[17] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.^[18] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.^[2] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.

Captaincy[link]

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to them, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."^[19] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.^[2]

In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.^[20] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981–82.^[2] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982–83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.^[14]

Imran Khan's test career bowling statistics

This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984–85 season.^[2]

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first ever Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.^[20] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.^[2] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".^[8] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.^[2]

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting line-up, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.^[14]

Post-retirement[link]

In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."^[21] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.^[22] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labelled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10–2 majority decision by the jury.^[22]

Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,^[23] the Guardian,^[24] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu^[25] and the Star TV network.^[26] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,^[27] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.^[28] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.^[28]

In November 2009 Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine.^[29]

Social work[link]

For more than four years after retiring from cricket in 1992, Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organisation bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavour, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.^[4] Inspired by the memory of his mother, who died of cancer, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care, opened in Lahore on 29 December 1994.^[8] Khan currently serves as the chairman of the hospital and continues to raise funds through charity and public donations.^[30]

During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports^[31] and promoted health and immunisation programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.^[32]

On 27 April 2008, Khan's brainchild, a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College, was inaugurated. Namal College was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), as chaired by Khan, and was made an associate college of the University of Bradford (of which Khan is Chancellor) in December 2005.^[33] Currently, Khan is building another cancer hospital in Karachi, using his successful Lahore institution as a model. While in London, he also works with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket charity.^[4]

Political work[link]

Imran Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in World Economic Forum

In 1996, Khan founded a political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which emphasized on anti-corruption policies.^[8][34] The newly formed party was unable to win a seat during the 1997 Pakistani general election.^[35] Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999,^[36] believing Musharraf would "end corruption, clear out the political mafias".^[37] According to Khan, he was Musharraf's choice of prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer.^[38] The 2002 Pakistani general election were held in October across 272 constituencies. Khan anticipated doing well in the elections and was prepared to form a coalition if his party did not get a majority of the vote.^[39] He was elected from the NA-71 constituency of Mianwali and being the only party member to have secured a seat, PTI won only 0.8% of the popular vote. Khan, who was sworn in as an MP on 16 November,^[40] remained part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts, and expressed legislative interest in Foreign Affairs, Education and Justice.^[41]

On 6 May 2005, Khan became one of the first Muslim figures to criticise a 300-word Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Khan held a press conference to denounce the article and demanded that Gen. Pervez Musharraf secure an apology from the American president George W. Bush for the incident.^[42]. In June 2007, the federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afghan Khan Niazi and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party filed separate ineligibility references against Khan, asking for his disqualification as member of the National Assembly on grounds of immorality. Both references, filed on the basis of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, were rejected on 5 September.^[43]

On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the Presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which General Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief.^[5] On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest at his father's home hours after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Khan had demanded the death penalty for Musharraf after the imposition of emergency rule, which he equated to "committing treason". The next day, on 4 November, Khan escaped and went into peripatetic hiding.^[44] He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab.^[45] At the rally, Khan was captured by students from the Jamaat-i-Islami political party, who claimed that Khan was an uninvited nuisance at the rally, and they handed him over to the police, who charged him under the Anti-terrorism act for allegedly inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience, and for spreading hatred.^[46].

On 30 October, 2011, Imran Khan changed the political picture of the country by addressing more than 100,000 supporters, challenging the policies of the current government, calling this new change a "tsunami" against the ruling parties,^[47] followed by another successful public gathering in Karachi on 25 December, 2011.^[48] Since then Imran Khan has become a real threat for the current ruling parties and future political prospect in Pakistan. According to International Republican Institute (IRI)'s survey, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tops the list of popular parties in Pakistan both at the national as well as provincial level, leaving Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peopleís Party (PPP) behind.^[49]

Ideology[link]

Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include: Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; liberal economics, with the promise of deregulating the economy and creating a welfare state; decreased bureaucracy and the implementation of anti-corruption laws, to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan.^[18][26][50]

Khan told Britain's Daily Telegraph, "I want Pakistan to be a welfare state and a genuine democracy with a rule of law and an independent judiciary."^[18] Other ideas he has presented include a requirement of all students to spend a year after graduation teaching in the countryside and cutting down the over-staffed bureaucracy in order to send them to teach too.^[51] "We need decentralisation, empowering people at the grass roots," he has said.^[52]

Criticism[link]

Khan had a child out of wedlock with Ana-Luisa White (Sita White).^[53] This was confirmed by a judgement of paternity rendered by a Superior Court of the State of California for the county of Los Angeles in favour of White^[54] wherein it was held that Khan was the father of a female child born on June 15, 1992.^{[55][56][not in citation given]} Khan did not challenge that judgement and in 2004 accepted the child as his daughter. He and his wife Jemima became the girls guardians.^{[57][58] [59] [60] [61]}

During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan became known as a socialite due to his "non-stop partying" at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp, though he claims to have hated English pubs and to never drink alcohol.^{[4][8][26][42]} He gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young debutantes such as Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant.^[8]

Khan is often dismissed as a political lightweight^[45] and a celebrity outsider in Pakistan,^[19] where national newspapers also refer to him as a "spoiler politician".^[62] The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, has asserted that Khan is "a sick person who has been a total failure in politics and is alive just because of the media coverage".^[63] Political observers say the crowds he draws are attracted by his cricketing celebrity, and the public has been reported to view him as a figure of entertainment rather than a serious political authority.^[51]

Declan Walsh in The Guardian newspaper in England in 2005 described Khan as a "miserable politician," observing that, "Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower... He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next."^[64] The charge constantly raised against Khan is that of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's "playboy to puritan U-turn."^[19] Political commentator Najam Sethi, stated that, "A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn’t inspire people."^[19]. He is also criticized for being a puppet of Pakistan's 'establishment'.^[65]

Awards and honours[link]

Khan in Germany

• Khan is featured in the University of Oxford's Hall of Fame and has been an honorary fellow of Oxford's Keble College.^[31]
• In 1976 as well as 1980, Khan was awarded The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket.
• In 1983, he was also named Wisden Cricketer of the Year
• In 1983, he had received the President’s Pride of Performance Award
• In 1985, Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year
• In 1990, Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year^[14]
• In 1992, Khan was given Pakistan's civil award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz
• On 8 July 2004, Khan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Asian Jewel Awards in London, for "acting as a figurehead for many international charities and working passionately and extensively in fund-raising activities.^[66]
• On 7 December 2005, Khan was appointed the fifth Chancellor of the University of Bradford, where he is also a patron of the Born in Bradford research project.
• On 13 December 2007, Khan received the Humanitarian Award at the Asian Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur for his efforts in setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan.^[67]
• On 5 July 2008, he was one of several veteran Asian cricketers presented special silver jubilee awards at the inaugural Asian cricket Council (ACC) award ceremony in Karachi.^[68]
• In 2009, at International Cricket Council's centennial year celebration, Khan was one of fifty-five cricketers inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.^[69]
• In 2011 he was given Jinnah award.

Writings by Khan[link]

Khan has published six works of non-fiction, including an autobiography co-written with Patrick Murphy. He periodically writes editorials on cricket and Pakistani politics in several leading Pakistani and British newspapers. It was revealed in 2008 that Khan's second book, Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan, had required heavy editing from the publisher. The publisher Jeremy Lewis revealed in a memoir that when he asked Khan to show his writing for publication, "he handed me a leatherbound notebook or diary containing a few jottings and autobiographical snippets. It took me, at most, five minutes to read them; and that, it soon became apparent, was all we had to go on."^[70]

Books

• Khan, Imran (1989). Imran Khan's cricket skills. London : Golden Press in association with Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-56349-9. 
• Khan, Imran & Murphy, Patrick (1983). Imran: The autobiography of Imran Khan. Pelham Books. ISBN 0-7207-1489-3. 
• Khan, Imran (1991). Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0-7011-3527-1. 
• Khan, Imran (1992). All Round View. Mandarin. ISBN 0-7493-1499-0. 
• Khan, Imran (1993). Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans. Chatto Windus. ISBN 0-7011-3890-4. 
• Khan, Imran (2011). Pakistan: A Personal History. Bantam Press. ISBN 0-593-06774-6. 

Articles

• Guardian comments, political and cricket commentary by Khan
• Telegraph columns, sports articles penned by Khan from 2000 to present
• We must address the root causes of this terror, Khan's editorial in the Independent following the 11 September attacks
• Benazir Bhutto has only herself to blame, Khan's 2007 editorial on Bhutto's return to Pakistan

In popular culture[link]

After the permission from him, Kaptaan is a biographical film about him.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Tennant, Evo (1996). Imran Khan. Trafalgar Square. ISBN 0-575-05936-2. 

External links[link]

• Player profile: Imran Khan from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Imran Khan from CricketArchive
• Player Profile: Imran Khan from Yahoo! Cricket
• Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Khan's political party
• Chancellor: Imran Khan at the University of Bradford
• Column archive at The Guardian
• Imran Khan on Charlie Rose
• Imran Khan at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Imran Khan in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Imran Khan collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• PTI to move SC against speaker's decision today, says Imran Khan, The News International, May 28, 2012]
• PTI will form next government, says Imran Khan, Geo News Pakistan]

Articles

• The NS Interview: Imran Khan Mehdi Hasan, New Statesman, 20 August 2010
• Imran Khan's revolution, Murtaza Razvi, Dawn, 27 April 2011
• Imran Khan: Pakistan's next leader?, Frost Over the World, Aljazeera English, 10 December 2011
• Thousands rally for Pakistan's Imran Khan, Aljazeera English, 25 December 2011
• Hundreds of thousands gather at PTI rally in Karachi, Dawn, 25 December 2011

• Imran stands out, Adiah AfrazThe News International, 27 May 2012

• The Imran that we know Shafqat Mahmood, The News International, 27 May 2012

v t e Pakistan squad – 1975 Cricket World Cup 1 Asif Iqbal (c) 2 Asif Masood 3 Imran Khan 4 Javed Miandad 5 Majid Khan 6 Mushtaq Mohammad 7 Naseer Malik 8 Pervez Mir 9 Sadiq Mohammad 10 Sarfraz Nawaz 11 Wasim Bari (wk) 12 Wasim Raja 13 Zaheer Abbas

v t e Pakistan squad – 1979 Cricket World Cup Semi-Finalists 1 Asif Iqbal (c) 2 Haroon Rashid 3 Imran Khan 4 Javed Miandad 5 Majid Khan 6 Mudassar Nazar 7 Sadiq Mohammad 8 Sarfraz Nawaz 9 Sikander Bakht 10 Wasim Bari (wk) 11 Wasim Raja 12 Zaheer Abbas