Waris Ali was born on 14 November 1901 at Murshidabad as the eldest son of Wasif Ali Mirza by his first wife Sultan Dulhan Faghfur Jahan Begum Sahiba. Waris Ali's maternal grandfather was Wala Kadir Sayyid Husain Ali Mirza Bahadur. Waris Ali ruled for ten years, from 1959 until his death on 20 November 1969 at Calcutta. Although he left three sons and three daughters, there was a long interregnum following his death because of succession dispute caused by his children's disinheritance for a variety of reasons. In August 2014 the Indian Supreme Court ruled that Mohammed Abbas Ali Mirza, a nephew of Waris Ali Mirza, was the fourth Nawab of Murshidabad in August 2014.
Honours
The following are some of the honours received by Waris Ali Mirza:
The following are the wives of Waris Ali Mirza, whom he married:
'Zeenat un-Nisa Begum' Sahiba. She was Waris Ali's wife from August 1921 to 29 March 1932. She was of Jewish origin, born in 1908 to Reuben Meyer and Flora. Zeenat un-Nisa Begum died at Harrow, Middlesex in 1968.
'Wahid un-Nisa Begum Sahiba'. She was born on 23 November 1905 at London.
Descendants
Waris Ali had three sons and three daughters as follows: Sayyid Wakif Ali Mirza Bahadur was born on 16 February 1923 at Calcutta. He was the son of Zeenat-un-nisa Begum. He was excluded from the succession by his father on 9 July 1963, for contracting a non-Muslim marriage and for not professing the Muslim religion. He took no steps during his lifetime to establish his succession but, being a foreign national, they were unlikely to be recognised by the Government of India. Wakif Ali married 'Zeb-un-nisa Begum Sahiba' and 'Miriam Begum Sahiba'. Wakif Ali died at Melbourne, Australia on 14 May 2008. He had one son and two daughters: Sayyid Waqir Ali Mirza . Ranjit Kumar Ghosh was the step son of Waris Ali and his second wife, Wahid-un-nisa Begum. Sahibzadi Nigar Ara Begum Sahibzadi Shajar Ara Begum. She was the daughter of Zeenat-un-nisa Begum. Shajar Ara Begum was educated in India, but she moved to London in 1961. She kept herself involved in several charities: fundraising for Marie Curie Cancer Care, UNICEF and Anti Slavery International. Shajar Ara Begum was the vice president of the English Speaking Unions for South East Asia and a member of the Royal Society of St. George and also of the European Atlantic. She was a patron of the ASHA Foundation, the Russian Orphans Organization and the Voice. Sahibzadi Zeb-un-nisa Begum . She divorced her first husband and married a man named Muhammad Azam Khanzada. Zeb-un-nisa, too, died at Westminster, London, on 22 March 2004 and was buried at Carpenders Park Cemetery. She had a daughter by her first husband and a son by her second husband.
