Begum Hazrat Mahal - Revision history

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Early life

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	'''Begum Hazrat Mahal''' (c. 1820{{snd}}7 April 1879), also known as the [[Begum]] of [[Awadh]], was the second wife of [[Nawab of Awadh ]] [[Wajid Ali Shah]], and the regent of Awadh in ~~1857-1858~~. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].		'''Begum Hazrat Mahal''' (c. 1820{{snd}}7 April 1879), also known as the [[Begum]] of [[Awadh]], was the second wife of [[Nawab of Awadh ]] [[Wajid Ali Shah]], and the regent of Awadh in 1857–1858. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].

	After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta and the Indian Rebellion broke out, she made her son, Prince [[Birjis Qadr]], the ''Wali'' (ruler) of Awadh, with herself as regent during his minority. However, she was forced to abandon this role after a short reign.<ref name=":0">{{cite news \|date=8 April 2014 \|title=A link to Indian freedom movement in Nepal \|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/a-link-to-indian-freedom-movement-in-nepal/article5884467.ece \|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> She finally found asylum in Nepal onto [[Hallaur]], she died in 1879 [[Nepal]]. Her role in the rebellion has given her a heroine status.		After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta and the Indian Rebellion broke out, she made her son, Prince [[Birjis Qadr]], the ''Wali'' (ruler) of Awadh, with herself as regent during his minority. However, she was forced to abandon this role after a short reign.<ref name=":0">{{cite news \|date=8 April 2014 \|title=A link to Indian freedom movement in Nepal \|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/a-link-to-indian-freedom-movement-in-nepal/article5884467.ece \|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> She finally found asylum in Nepal onto [[Hallaur]], she died in 1879 [[Nepal]]. Her role in the rebellion has given her a heroine status.

	==Biography==		==Biography==
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	===Early life===		===Early life===

	Begum Hazrat Mahal's name was Muhammedi Khanum, and she was born in Faizabad, Awadh, India. She was sold by her parents, and became a courtesan by profession.		Begum Hazrat Mahal's name was Muhammedi Khanum, and she was born in Faizabad, Awadh, India. She was sold by her parents and became a courtesan by profession.

	She entered the royal harem as a ''khawasin'' after having been sold to Royal agents, ~~were~~ she was promoted to a ''pari'',<ref name=" Michael Edwardes 1975 p. 104">Michael Edwardes (1975) ''Red Year''. London: Sphere Books; p. 104</ref> and was known as Mahak Pari.{{cn\|date=June 2020}}		She entered the royal harem as a ''khawasin'' after having been sold to Royal agents, where she was promoted to a ''pari'',<ref name=" Michael Edwardes 1975 p. 104">Michael Edwardes (1975) ''Red Year''. London: Sphere Books; p. 104</ref> and was known as Mahak Pari.{{cn\|date=June 2020}}
	She became a ''Begum'' after being accepted as a royal concubine of the King of Awadh,<ref>[[Christopher Hibbert]] (1980) ''The Great Mutiny'', Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 371</ref> the last Tajdaar-e-Awadh, [[Wajid Ali Shah]]; became his junior wife<ref>Saul David (2002) ''The Indian Mutiny'', Viking; p. 185</ref> and the title 'Hazrat Mahal' was bestowed on her after the birth of their son, [[Birjis Qadr]].		She became a ''Begum'' after being accepted as a royal concubine of the King of Awadh,<ref>[[Christopher Hibbert]] (1980) ''The Great Mutiny'', Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 371</ref> the last Tajdaar-e-Awadh, [[Wajid Ali Shah]]; became his junior wife<ref>Saul David (2002) ''The Indian Mutiny'', Viking; p. 185</ref> and the title 'Hazrat Mahal' was bestowed on her after the birth of their son, [[Birjis Qadr]].

	In 1856, the British annexed Awadh, and Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to [[Calcutta]]. She was eventually to take charge of the affairs of the state of [[Awadh]] despite her divorce from the Nawab,<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/history/begum-hazrat-mahal.html \|title=Begum Hazrat Mahal \|publisher=Mapsofindia.com \|access-date=18 October 2012}}</ref>{{Better source\|reason=a scholarly source for history would be better\|date=May 2015}}		In 1856, the British annexed Awadh, and Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to [[Calcutta]]. She was eventually to take charge of the affairs of the state of [[Awadh]] despite her divorce from the Nawab,<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/history/begum-hazrat-mahal.html \|title=Begum Hazrat Mahal \|publisher=Mapsofindia.com \|access-date=18 October 2012}}</ref>{{Better source\|reason=a scholarly source for history would be better\|date=May 2015}}

	===Indian Rebellion of 1857===		===Indian Rebellion of 1857===
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	She died there in 1879 and was buried in a nameless grave in the grounds of Kathmandu's Jama Masjid.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Krishna\|first=Sharmila\|title=Far from the madding crowd she lies, forlorn & forgotten\|url=http://oudh.tripod.com/bhm/bhmfar.htm\|access-date=3 September 2013\|newspaper=[[The Indian Express\|The Indian Express - LUCKNOW]]\|date=11 June 2002}}</ref>		She died there in 1879 and was buried in a nameless grave in the grounds of Kathmandu's Jama Masjid.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Krishna\|first=Sharmila\|title=Far from the madding crowd she lies, forlorn & forgotten\|url=http://oudh.tripod.com/bhm/bhmfar.htm\|access-date=3 September 2013\|newspaper=[[The Indian Express\|The Indian Express - LUCKNOW]]\|date=11 June 2002}}</ref>

	After her death, on the occasion of the jubilee of Queen Victoria (1887), the British Government pardoned Birjis Qadr and he was allowed to return home.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Harcourt\|first1=E.S\|title=Lucknow the Last Phase of an Oriental Culture\|date=2012\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=Delhi\|isbn=978-0-19-563375-7\|page=76\|edition=seventh}}</ref>		After her death, on the occasion of the jubilee of Queen Victoria (1887), the British Government pardoned [[Birjis Qadr]] and he was allowed to return home.<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Harcourt\|first1=E.S\|title=Lucknow the Last Phase of an Oriental Culture\|date=2012\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=Delhi\|isbn=978-0-19-563375-7\|page=76\|edition=seventh}}</ref>

	==Memorials==		==Memorials==
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	<gallery widths=180px heights=130px>		<gallery widths=180px heights=130px>

	File: Hazrat Mahal's Tomb in Kathmandu.jpg\|~~Photograph of~~ tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal near Jama Masjid in Kathmandu]]		File: Hazrat Mahal's Tomb in Kathmandu.jpg\|The tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal near Jama Masjid in Kathmandu
	File: Begum Hazrat Mahal Park Lucknow.jpg\|Memorial of Begum Hazrat Mahal in Begum Hazrat Mahal Park, [[Lucknow]]		File: Begum Hazrat Mahal Park Lucknow.jpg\|Memorial of Begum Hazrat Mahal in Begum Hazrat Mahal Park, [[Lucknow]].
	</gallery>		</gallery>

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	[[Category: Burials in Nepal]]		[[Category: Burials in Nepal]]
	[[Category:Indian slaves]]		[[Category:Indian slaves]]
			[[Category:Slave concubines]]

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{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Infobox royalty
|
| title = [[Begum]] of [[Nawab of Awadh ]]
|birth_name = Muhammadi Khanum
| image = Begum hazrat mahal.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| alt =
| caption = Begum Hazrat Mahal
| spouse = [[Nawab Wajid Ali Shah]]
| spouse-type = Husband
| consort = 
| birth_date = 1820{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| birth_place = [[Faizabad]], [[Oudh State|Awadh]]
| death_date = 7 April 1879 (aged 59)
| death_place = [[Kathmandu]], Nepal
| religion = [[Shia Islam]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/history/begum-hazrat-mahal.html | title=Begum Hazrat Mahal Biography, History and Facts| date=2018-02-03}}</ref>
}}

'''Begum Hazrat Mahal''' (c. 1820{{snd}}7 April 1879), also known as the [[Begum]] of [[Awadh]], was the second wife of [[Nawab of Awadh ]] [[Wajid Ali Shah]], and the regent of Awadh in 1857-1858. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].

After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta and the Indian Rebellion broke out, she made her son, Prince [[Birjis Qadr]], the ''Wali'' (ruler) of Awadh, with herself as regent during his minority. However, she was forced to abandon this role after a short reign.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=8 April 2014 |title=A link to Indian freedom movement in Nepal |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/a-link-to-indian-freedom-movement-in-nepal/article5884467.ece |newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> She finally found asylum in Nepal onto [[Hallaur]], she died in 1879 [[Nepal]]. Her role in the rebellion has given her a heroine status.

==Biography==

===Early life===

Begum Hazrat Mahal's name was Muhammedi Khanum, and she was born in Faizabad, Awadh, India. She was sold by her parents, and became a courtesan by profession.

She entered the royal harem as a ''khawasin'' after having been sold to Royal agents, were she was promoted to a ''pari'',<ref name=" Michael Edwardes 1975 p. 104">Michael Edwardes (1975) ''Red Year''. London: Sphere Books; p. 104</ref> and was known as Mahak Pari.{{cn|date=June 2020}}
She became a ''Begum'' after being accepted as a royal concubine of the King of Awadh,<ref>[[Christopher Hibbert]] (1980) ''The Great Mutiny'', Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 371</ref> the last Tajdaar-e-Awadh, [[Wajid Ali Shah]]; became his junior wife<ref>Saul David (2002) ''The Indian Mutiny'', Viking; p. 185</ref> and the title 'Hazrat Mahal' was bestowed on her after the birth of their son, [[Birjis Qadr]].

In 1856, the British annexed Awadh, and Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to [[Calcutta]]. She was eventually to take charge of the affairs of the state of [[Awadh]] despite her divorce from the Nawab,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/history/begum-hazrat-mahal.html |title=Begum Hazrat Mahal |publisher=Mapsofindia.com |access-date=18 October 2012}}</ref>{{Better source|reason=a scholarly source for history would be better|date=May 2015}}

===Indian Rebellion of 1857===

During the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], Begum Hazrat Mahal's band of supporters rebelled against the forces of the British under the leadership of Raja Jalal Singh; they seized control of [[Lucknow]], and she took power as the guardian of her minor son, Prince Birjis Qadr, whom she had declared as the ruler (''Wali'') of Awadh.<ref name="Michael Edwardes 1975 p. 104" /> As regent, she automatically came to have a leadership role in the rebellion against the British.

One of the principal complaints of Begum Hazrat Mahal was that the [[East India Company]] had casually demolished [[Temple]]s and mosques just to make way for roads.<ref name="Dalrymple">William Dalrymple ''The Last Mughal; the fall of a dynasty: Delhi, 1857'', Viking Penguin, 2006, p. 69</ref> In a proclamation issued during the final days of the revolt, she mocked the British claim to allow freedom of worship:<ref name="Dalrymple"/>
{{quote|text=To eat pigs and drink wine, to bite greased cartridges and to mix pig's fat with sweetmeats, to destroy Hindu and Mussalman temples on the pretense of making roads, to build churches, to send clergymen into the streets to preach the Christian religion, to institute English schools, and pay people a monthly stipend for learning the English sciences, while the places of worship of Hindus and Mussalmans are to this day entirely neglected; with all this, how can people believe that religion will not be interfered with?<ref name="Dalrymple"/>|sign=|source=}}

Hazrat Mahal worked in association with [[Nana Sahib|Nana Saheb]], but later joined the Maulavi of [[Faizabad]] in the attack on [[Shahjahanpur]].

When the forces under the command of the British [[Capture of Lucknow|re-captured Lucknow]] and most of Oudh, she was forced to retreat.

===Later life===

Ultimately, she had to retreat to [[Nepal]], where she was initially refused asylum by the Rana prime minister [[Jang Bahadur]],<ref>Hibbert (1980); pp. 374–375</ref> but was later allowed to stay.<ref>Hibbert (1980); pp. 386–387</ref>

She died there in 1879 and was buried in a nameless grave in the grounds of Kathmandu's Jama Masjid.<ref>{{cite news|last=Krishna|first=Sharmila|title=Far from the madding crowd she lies, forlorn & forgotten|url=http://oudh.tripod.com/bhm/bhmfar.htm|access-date=3 September 2013|newspaper=[[The Indian Express|The Indian Express - LUCKNOW]]|date=11 June 2002}}</ref>

After her death, on the occasion of the jubilee of Queen Victoria (1887), the British Government pardoned Birjis Qadr and he was allowed to return home.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harcourt|first1=E.S|title=Lucknow the Last Phase of an Oriental Culture|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Delhi|isbn=978-0-19-563375-7|page=76|edition=seventh}}</ref>

==Memorials==

Begum Hazrat Mahal's tomb is located in the central part of Kathmandu near Jama Masjid, Ghantaghar, not far away from the famous Darbar Marg. It is looked after by the Jama Masjid Central Committee.<ref name=":0" />

On 15 August 1962, Mahal was honoured at the Old Victoria Park in [[Hazratganj]], Lucknow for her role in the Great Revolt.<ref name="milligazette1">{{cite news|title=Little known, little remembered: Begum Hazrat Mahal|url=http://www.milligazette.com/news/14143-little-known-little-remembered-begum-hazrat-mahal|access-date=14 September 2016|work=milligazette.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruggles |first1=D. Fairchild |author-link=D. Fairchild Ruggles |title=Woman's Eye, Woman's Hand: Making Art and Architecture in Modern India|publisher=Zubaan|isbn=9789383074785|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUqoDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT94|year=2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yecurī|first1=Sītārāma|title=The great revolt, a left appraisal|publisher=People's Democracy|isbn=9788190621809|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k30MAQAAMAAJ|year=2008}}</ref> Along with the renaming of the park, a marble memorial was constructed, which includes a marble tablet with four round brass plaques bearing the Coat of Arms of the Awadh royal family. The park has been used for [[Ramlila]]s and bonfires during [[Vijayadashami|Dusshera]], as well as Lucknow Mahotsava (Lucknow Exposition).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/travel/the-famous-memorial-of-begum-hazrat-mahal-in-lucknow |title=Begum Hazrat Mahal in Lucknow | My India |publisher=Mapsofindia.com |date= 2013-08-27|access-date=2016-09-14}}</ref>{{Better source|reason=a scholarly or news source for recent history would be better|date=May 2015}}

On 10 May 1984, the [[Government of India]] issued a commemorative stamp in honour of Mahal. The first day cover was designed by C.R. Pakrashi, and the cancellation was done by Alka Sharma. 15,00,000 stamps were issued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Currency/Paisa/Alpha/B/BEGUM%20HAZRAT%20MAHAL |title=Begum Hazrat Mahal |publisher=Indianpost.com |access-date=18 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="milligazette1"/>

The [[Ministry of Minority Affairs]], [[Government of India]] has started the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for Meritorious Girls belonging to minority communities in [[India]]. This scholarship is implemented through the [[Maulana Azad]] Education Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jobs-careers/begum-hazrat-mahal-national-scholarship/483656.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601144816/http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jobs-careers/begum-hazrat-mahal-national-scholarship/483656.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2018-06-01 | title=Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship| date=18 October 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=158165 | title=Schemes for Minority Women}}</ref>{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=180px heights=130px>

File: Hazrat Mahal's Tomb in Kathmandu.jpg|Photograph of tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal near Jama Masjid in Kathmandu]]
File: Begum Hazrat Mahal Park Lucknow.jpg|Memorial of Begum Hazrat Mahal in Begum Hazrat Mahal Park, [[Lucknow]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/begum-hazrat-mahal.html Begum Hazrat Mahal Biography]
* [http://oudh.tripod.com/1857/begum.htm 1857 – India's Struggle for Freedom – Begum Hazrat Mahal]
* [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070510/1857/main4.htm People took charge in Awadh]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120808112814/http://pd.cpim.org/2007/1014/10142007_1857.htm LUCKNOW IN 1857–58: THE EPIC SIEGE]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725025549/http://www.nehru-centre.org/newsletters/2007/newsletternovember2007.pdf The 1857 Uprising in the History of Freedom Struggle]
* [http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15062001/25.htm Miserable condition of the grave of a warrior lady]
* [https://books.google.ae/books?isbn=8182054729 Freedom fighters of India]

{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Lucknow}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahal, Begum Hazrat}}
[[Category:1879 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]
[[Category:Women in 19th-century warfare]]
[[Category:Revolutionaries of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian rebels]]
[[Category:Indian courtesans]]
[[Category:1820 births]]
[[Category:Indian queen consorts]]
[[Category:History of Awadh]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Women Indian independence activists]]
[[Category:Women from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category: Burials in Nepal]]
[[Category:Indian slaves]]