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{{Short description|Indian courtesan (died 1878)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}

'''Mubarak Begum ('''Mahruttun Mubarak ul-Nissa Begum),<ref>[https://www.cityspidey.com/news/17965/tawaifs-of-delhi-a-tale-told-and-untold Tawaifs of Delhi: a tale told and untold] City Spidey 9 June 2022</ref> was an Indian ''[[tawaif]]'' (courtesan) and thirteenth wife of [[David Ochterlony]], the first [[Resident (title)#Residents in Asia|British Resident]] to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] court at [[Delhi]].

==Early life==
Born into a poor family, Mubarak Begum initially pursued a career as a dancing girl in [[Pune]], before converting to [[Islam]]. Begum became a ''[[tawaif]]'', and had several poetry soirees. Guests included renowned poet [[Mirza Ghalib]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://feminisminindia.com/2019/09/30/courtesan-contribution-hindustani-classical-music-histories/|title=Courtesan Contribution To Hindustani Classical Music—Lesser Told Histories|first=Saonli|last=Hazra|date=29 September 2019|website=Feminism in India|accessdate=7 December 2023}}</ref> Sir David initially purchased her as a concubine and married her a few years later. Mubarak Begum is said to have held influence in her husband's court.<ref name="fridaytimes">{{Cite news |last=Adnan |first=Ally |date=2014-08-22 |title=Where else could I live like a king? |work=Friday Times |url=https://thefridaytimes.com/22-Aug-2014/where-else-could-i-live-like-a-king |access-date=2023-12-09}}</ref>

Reportedly Ochterlony's favourite wife, she was the mother of his two youngest children, both daughters. She was known as "Generallee Begum". As such, she took precedence over the rest of the household.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2001540.ece |title= Ochterlony and his bibis|author=R. V. Smith |date= 8 May 2011 |location=Chennai, India |work=The Hindu}}</ref>

Begum was a devout Muslim, once applying for leave to make the ''[[hajj]]''.<ref name="Dalrymple1" /> She organized musical soirees at their home, maintaining the dignity and decorum of Indian [[mehfil]]s of music. She also made perfume, and could make ''[[attar]]''.

Because of her love for [[Urdu]] and [[Persian poetry]], she was a regular participant in the [[mushaira]]s held in the courtyard of [[Zakir Husain Delhi College|Delhi College]].<ref name="fridaytimes"/> Mughal prince [[Mirza Farhatullah Baig]] held a poetry symposium at her home.<ref>[https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/vivacity/the-dome---s-doom.html The dome’s doom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216072128/https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/vivacity/the-dome---s-doom.html |date=16 December 2023 }}, Thursday, 23 July 2020</ref>

Although much younger than Ochterlony, Begum was seen as the dominant personality in the marriage. This led one observer to remark that "making Sir David the Commissioner of Delhi was the same as making Generallee Begum". Another observer remarked, "Ochterlony's mistress is the mistress now of everyone within the walls". As a result of her influence, Ochterlony considered raising his children as Muslims, and when Begum's daughters had grown up, he adopted a child from the family of the Nawabs of [[Loharu State|Loharu]], one of the leading Muslim families of Delhi. Raised by Mubarak, the girl married her cousin, a nephew of the famous [[Urdu]] poet [[Mirza Ghalib]].<ref name="Dalrymple1">William Dalrymple, ''The Last Mughal'', p. 66</ref>

Begum to have set herself up as a power in her own right, and pursued an independent foreign policy. At one point, it was reported that "Mubarak Begum, alias Generalee Begum, fills the [Delhi] papers with accounts of the ''Nizars'' and ''Khiluts'' [gifts and dresses of honor] given and taken by her in her transactions with the ''Vacquils'' [ambassadors of the different Indian powers] - an extraordinary liberty, if true."<ref>Gardner papers, National Army Museum, Letter 87, p. 226, 10 August 1821</ref>

However, despite her power and status, Begum was widely unpopular among the British and the Mughals alike. She offended the British by calling herself "Lady Ochterlony" while also offending the Mughals by awarding herself the title ''"[[Qudsia Begum]]"'', a title previously reserved for the Emperor's mother. After Ochterlony's death, she inherited ''Mubarak Bagh'', an Anglo-Mughal garden tomb Ochterlony had built in the north of [[Old Delhi]]. Her unpopularity combined with her background as a dancing girl ensured that no Mughal gentleman would use her structure. To this date, the tomb is still referred to by the local inhabitants of the old city as the ''"Randi ki Masjid"''.<ref name="Dalrymple2">William Dalrymple, ''[[White Mughals]]'', pp. 183-184</ref>

==Masjid==
David Ochterlony built a mosque in her honour, informally known as [[Randi ki Masjid]].<ref>[https://www.cntraveller.in/story/old-delhi-randi-ki-masjid-got-name/ How Old Delhi’s Randi ki Masjid got its name],29 November 2019</ref> After her death in 1878, the mosque was taken over by the British government. The mosque is one of the three mosques to be commissioned by women in medieval India.<ref>[https://theprint.in/india/masjid-dome-that-collapsed-in-old-delhi-part-of-200-yr-old-mosque-commissioned-by-a-woman/464714/ Masjid dome that collapsed in Old Delhi part of 200-yr-old mosque commissioned by a woman] The Print 20 July 2020</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mubarak Begum}}
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian courtesans]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:People from Pune]]
[[Category:People from Delhi]]
[[Category:Perfumers]]
[[Category:Indian female dancers]]
[[Category:Performers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Indian women poets]]
[[Category:17th-century dancers]]

Mubarak Begum (tawaif) - Revision history

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