| Ghaseti Begum | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait of Ghaseti Begum, from the book Banglar Begum. | |||||
| Spouse | Nawazish Muhammad Khan | ||||
| |||||
| Father | Alivardi Khan | ||||
Mehar un-Nisa Begum (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.), better known as Ghaseti Begum (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.), was the eldest daughter of Alivardi Khan, Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during 1740–1756.[1]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Ghaseti Begum was the eldest daughter of Nawab Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal, and Princess Sharfunnisa, the paternal aunt of Mir Jafar. Her paternal grandfather was Mirza Muhammad Madani, who was of either Arab or Turkic descent, the son of a foster-brother of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.[2][3] Her paternal grandmother belonged to the Turkic Afshar tribe of Khorasan. Through her, she was a relative of Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan, the two having shared a common ancestor in Nawab Aqil Khan.[2][4]
Ghaseti Begum married her paternal cousin, Nawazish Muhammad Khan, who was the Naib Nazim of Dhaka.[1] Being childless, the couple adopted Ikram ud-Daulah, the son of her younger sister Amina Begum. But Ikram ud-Daulah died of smallpox at a young age.[1] Soon after Nawazish Muhammad also died from grief.[1] Ghaseti Begum inherited vast wealth from her husband.[citation needed]
Conspiracy against Siraj ud-Daulah[edit | edit source]
After the death of Nawab Alivardi Khan, Ghaseti Begum tried to enthrone Shaukat Jang, the son of her second sister Maimuna Begum.[1] But court officials did not agree with her as there was a rumour that Shaukat Jang was the illegitimate son of Maimuna and Rajballabh Sen.[5] Due to this, Siraj ud-Daulah managed to ascend to the power of Bengal. Eventually she secretly conspired against Siraj with the help of Mir Jafar, the chief of Alivardi Khan's army, along with Rajballabh Sen, and the merchants Omichund and Jagat Seth.[6]
Death[edit | edit source]
After the fall of Siraj ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, Ghaseti was imprisoned in the Jinjira Palace by Mir Jafar. But sensing danger, Miran, son of Mir Jafar, moved Ghaseti to Murshidabad in 1760.[7] She was believed to have been drowned in the Buriganga River on the way by order of Miran.[8]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Iqbal, Shahriyar ZR (2012). "Ghaseti Begum". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sarkar, Jadunath (1948). The History of Bengal. Vol. II. Dhaka: University of Dhaka. p. 436. ISBN 978-81-7646-239-6.
- ↑ P. Sensarma (1977). The Military History of Bengal. Kolkata: Darbari Udjog. p. 172.
- ↑ Subhan, Abdus (1970). "Early Career of Nawab Ali Vardi Khan of Bengal". Journal of Indian History. XLVIII (III). Trivandrum: University of Kerala: 536.
- ↑ Lawford, James Philip (1978). Britain's Army in India: From Its Origins to the Conquest of Bengal. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780049540200.
- ↑ HT, Team (12 January 2018). "Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah: The Last Independent Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa". Heritage Times. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ "Murshidabad History". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ↑ Rabbani, Golam (1997). Dhaka, from Mughal outpost to metropolis. University Press Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 978-984-05-1374-1. Retrieved 5 November 2012.