Tonk lies on the right bank of the Banas River, 95 km (60 mi) by road south from Jaipur. The town was once the capital of a princely state of British India from 1817 to 1947. The region was founded by Nawab Muhammad Amir Khan (1769-1834), a military leader from Afghanistan. A poetry and literature hub, Tonk is often referred to as the Lucknow of Rajasthan. It houses the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Arabic Persian Research Institute (MAAPRI),