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Stratification and Role of the Elite Muslim Women in the State of 5 Awadh During Second-Half of Eighteenth and First-Half of Nineteenth Century India

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Stratification and Role of the Elite Muslim Women in the State of 5 Awadh During Second-Half of Eighteenth and First-Half of Nineteenth Century India 2020-3663-AJHIS 1 Stratification and Role of the Elite Muslim Women in the State 2 of Awadh, 1742-1857 3 4 This paper focuses on stratification and role of the elite Muslim Women in the State of 5 Awadh during second-half of eighteenth and first-half of nineteenth century India. It 6 evaluates the categorization of women, associated with the court and division of 7 political and domestic power among them. It also seeks their economic resources and 8 their contribution in fields of art and architecture. The study finds that first category of 9 royal women of Awadh, including queen mother and chief wives, enjoyed a powerful 10 position in the state-matters unlike many other states of the time in India. Besides high 11 cadre of royal ladies, three more cadres of royal women existed in Awadh’s court with 12 multiple ratio of power and economic resources. Elite women’s input and backing to 13 various genres of art, language and culture resulted in growth of Urdu poetry, prose, 14 drama and music in addition to religious architecture. The paper has been produced on 15 the basis of primary and secondary sources. It includes the historical accounts, written 16 by contemporary historians as well as cultural writings, produced by poets and literary 17 figures of the time besides letters and other writings of the rulers of Awadh. It gives 18 another dimension in form of the writings produced by the British travelers and others. 19 20 21 Introduction 22 23 The study of Muslim women of Awadh, like women of all other areas of 24 India during 18th and 19th century is a marginalized theme of study in 25 historiography of India. It never meant that women were inactive or not 26 performing well on national, state or other levels. They had been doing an 27 excellent job on many echelons and now this is time to explore their services, 28 their role in politics and other fields of life. This paper is an attempt to find out 29 stratification of Awadh’s Muslim women, associated with the court 30 specifically. It seeks what role they were playing in politics of the state of 31 Awadh directly or indirectly, what was their contribution in fields of art, 32 architecture and literature and what role had they played in War of 33 Independence against the British East India Company (BEIC)? This paper 34 negates the idea of Knighten, author of The Eastern King that the royal ladies 35 regard men as a superior order of being, listen to their views as the child listen 36 to those of its parents, adopt their views and embrace their opinions with 37 unhesitating confidence that bespeaks child-like simplicity and implicit faith.1 38 This paper finds that all Royal women of Awadh were not dependent on the 39 males and many of them were not only independent in their decisions but also 40 were there to guide the male counterparts of the royal family; even the Kings 41 and Nawabs. In some cases, they were more sensible and wise than the Nawabs 42 and Kings. There were many high-spirited royal ladies, who were exceedingly 43 ambitious and self-willed including Sadr un Nisa Begum, Bahu Begum, 44 Badshah Begum, Kishwar Sultana and Hazarat Mahal etc. Besides politics, the 1Muhammad Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh Badshah Begam (History of Badshah Begum) (Allahabad: K. Mitra, 1938), iii. 1 2020-3663-AJHIS 1 elite section of Awadh’s women was equally literate and had interest in cultural 2 activities. 3 Awadh known as Avadh, Oude or Oudh is located in north-eastern part of 4 Uttar Pradesh, which is heart of the Indo-Gangetic plain. The origin of its name 5 is traced back to Ayodhya, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala.2 6 Muslims occupied the region in the twelfth century and it became part of the 7 Mughal Empire in the 16th century A.D. The majority of the population of the 8 region was Hindu and Muslims always remained in minority3 even till the 9 annexation of the state by BEIC. The state of Awadh was established by Mir 10 Muhammad Amin, an Iranian Shia. He was appointed as governor of Awadh 11 on 15 September 1722 by the Mughal emperor, where he established an 12 independent dynasty gradually under Mughal sovereignty and adopted the title 13 of Sada’at Khan Bahadur. He established capital of his state in Faizabad, but 14 later capital was shifted to Lucknow in 1775. He was succeeded by his nephew 15 and son in law Mirza Muhammad Muqeem entitled as Safdar Jang in 1740. 16 Shuja-ad-Daulah succeeded Safdar Jang in 1754. Asaf ud Daula took over in 17 January 1775 and ruled till September 1797.4 Wazir Ali could rule for a year 18 only and was replaced by Sa’adat Ali Khan and was recognized by the BEIC 19 also.5 20 Early Nawabs of the state were capable rulers and resisted against BEIC. 21 However, last five rulers of the Dynasty including Ghazi al-Din Hydar (r. 22 1814-1827), Nasir al-Din Hydar (r. 1827-1837), Mohammad Ali Shah (1837- 23 1842), Amjad Ali Shah (1842-1847) and Wajid Ali Shah (r. 1847-1856) were 24 benevolent and humane, though were powerless due to ‘increasing economic 25 and political encroachment’6 of the Company’s officials. Finally, the Company 26 annexed the State in 1856 whereas Wajid Ali Shah was retired with stipend. He 27 lived in Calcutta and spent last many years of his life there.7 During War of 28 Independence 1857, freedom fighters appointed one of the sons of Wajid Ali 29 Shah, only 10 years old, under supervision of Hazrat Mahal, as king of Awadh 30 and started rebellion. This situation continued for almost seven months. The 31 British forces diverted back to Awadh in 1858 and defeated the disorganized, 32 disunited force of Awadh within two or three days.8 33 2Maulana Mohammad Najam ul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh Vol. 1 (History of Oudh), (Udipur: np, 1910), 33-34 and Munshi Ram Sahai, Ahsan-ut Tawareekh: Tarikh-i- Subah Oudh (The Best of the Histories: History of the Province of Oudh), (np: Munshi Puran Chand,nd), 7. 3Veena Talwar Oldenburg, The Making of Colonial Lucknow (Delhi: OUP, 1989), 263 and Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava, The First Two Nawabs of Oudh (Lucknow: The Upper India Publishing House Ltd, 1933), 263. 4Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol.II, 494. 5Sir W. H. Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official, Revised by Vincent A. Smith (Karachi: OUP, 1973 reprint), 473-74. 6Nawab Husayn Ali Khan, Tarikh-i-Husayniyyah cited in Sajida Sultana Alvi, Perspectives on Mughal India: Rulers, Historians, Ulama and Sufis (Karachi: OUP, 2012), 78. 7Dr. Mohammad Baqir ed., Tarikh-i-Mumtaz (History of Mumtaz) (Lahore: Urdu Markaz, nd), 3-4. He wrote many letters to his wife from there in which he had written about his hardships. 8Abdul Haleem Sharar, Hindustan Mein Mashriqi Tamadun Ka Akhri Namoona (The Last Phase of an Oriental Culture in India) (Lahore: Merkantil Press, nd), 58-60. 2 2020-3663-AJHIS 1 Stratification of Women, Affiliated with the Court 2 3 The influential women, affiliated with the Court and the royal family can be 4 categorized into four sections. The most dynamic and vibrant section consisted 5 of the Queen-mother, grand-mother or the Chief Wives of the Kings. This 6 group was in a position of directly interfering with the state-affairs and ruled 7 both directly and indirectly. Sadr un Nisa Begum, Bahu Begum, Badshah 8 Begum, Kishwar Sultana and Hazarat Mahal are few examples in this regard. 9 The second category of such women consisted of the most favourite 10 courtesans of not only Kings but also of the prime Minister or Ministers, in 11 some cases. This group’s emergence in the state of Awadh was observed since 12 the days of Shuja ud Daula and in most of the cases, they had influenced the 13 affairs of the state indirectly. Jalalu, Surfraz Mahal and Beeba Jan are few 14 representatives of this section of women. 15 There was another less powerful but active or radical segment of royal 16 woman; the sisters of the king or some daughters of the Nawabs who altogether 17 negated the institution of marriage and preferred to spend lives alone. They 18 were prone to be dependent on males and wanted to live as they liked. They 19 adopted different methods to convince the Kings to increase their monthly 20 stipend. Daughters of Nawab Shuja ud Daula are major representatives of this 21 section of royal women. They initiated women activism in the society of 22 Awadh for the rights of women. This section of royal women includes less 23 influential or common wives of the Nawab or King also. The fourth category of 24 women whose rise was observed only during the last years of the state was of 25 employees of the royal house-hold especially kitchen and the affiliated 26 departments. Some of them were Barati Khanum, Jugna Khanum and Naurozi 27 Begum. 28 29 30 Politics and the Muslim Women 31 32 Generally, the perception had been developed by orientalists that Muslim 33 women of Indo-Pak sub-continent were confined to four boundaries and 34 restricted to purdah which was hindrance in the way of their political and social 35 activism. But the royal women of Awadh in 18th and 19th centuries, 36 representing multiple groups had proved this kind of assessment wrong.
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