Bahawalpur (State)

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BAHAWALPUR (STATE)

Official blazon

Sable, three palm branches palewise in fess, or, in chief four double quatrefoils argent seeded or.
Crest: A fivepointed star resting on a crescent argent.
Supporters: Pelicans rousant argent billed and membered or.

Origin/meaning

The Nawab of Bhawalpore claims descent from the Abbaside khalifs, and the Abbaside adopted black as the royal colour, hence the black shield.

Legend makes the date palms of Scind spring from the chief commissariat store. The four flowers in chief represent the four Imams of the Prophet venerated by the Sunnis. They are a conventional form of chrysanthemum known in the Peshawar valley as the Prophet's flower.

The supporters, pelicans, are the birds which swarm in the Indus valley, the backbone of the Province. The Mediaeval notion that the pelican fed its young on its own blood, appealed greatly to the Nawab's people.

The motto, "A faithful friend", confirms the attitude of the State to the British for 150 years.