Begum Hazrat Mahal: Difference between revisions

| title = [[Begum]] of [[Nawab of Awadh]]

| death_place = [[Kathmandu]], [[Kingdom of Nepal]]

'''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> By way of [[Hallaur]], she finally found asylum in [[Nepal]], where she died in 1879. Her role in the rebellion has given her a heroine status. (Young's inspired, called her "The Tigress"){{cn|date=November 2022}}

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|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 Mahek Pari.{{citation needed|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]].  Begum Hazrat Mahal remained in Lucknow with her son<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><ref>{{cite web |title=Begum Hazrat Mahal: The Revolutionary Queen of Awadh |website=Indian Culture Portal |publisher=Ministry of Culture, Government of India; Indian Institute of Technology Bombay; Indira Gandhi National Open University |url=https://indianculture.gov.in/stories/begum-hazrat-mahal-revolutionary-queen-awadh |access-date=1 August 2022}}</ref> and soon took charge of the affairs of the rebel state of [[Awadh]] as it entered armed struggle with the British East India Company.<ref>{{cite book |title=Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers |volume=37 |publisher=Government of Uttar Pradesh |date=March 1959 |last=Sharma |first=Vinod Chandra |pages=56–57 |url=https://indianculture.gov.in/gazettes/uttar-pradesh-district-gazetteers-lucknow-vol-xxxvii |access-date=1 August 2022}}</ref>

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 [[English 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"/>

{{blockquote|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.

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>

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 &#124; My India |publisher=Mapsofindia.com |date= 2013-08-27|access-date=2016-09-14}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=a scholarly or news source for recent history would be better|date=May 2015}}

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[[Category:19th-century Indian Muslims]]

[[Category:Burials in Nepal]]