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1 Stratification and Role of the Elite Muslim Women in the State 2 of , 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 . 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 poetry, prose, 14 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 (BEIC)? This paper 34 negates the idea of Knighten, author of The Eastern 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 ; even the 41 and . 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 , Bahu Begum, 44 Badshah Begum, Kishwar and Hazarat Mahal etc. Besides politics, the

1Muhammad Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh Badshah Begam (History of Badshah Begum) (: K. Mitra, 1938), iii.

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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 , which is heart of the Indo-Gangetic plain. The origin of its name 5 is traced back to , the capital of the ancient kingdom of .2 6 occupied the in the twelfth century and it became part of the 7 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 10 Muhammad Amin, an Iranian Shia. He was appointed as governor of Awadh 11 on 15 September 1722 by the Mughal , where he established an 12 independent dynasty gradually under Mughal sovereignty and adopted the 13 of Sada’at Bahadur. He established capital of his state in , but 14 later capital was shifted to in 1775. He was succeeded by his nephew 15 and son in law 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 (1837- 23 1842), Amjad Ali Shah (1842-1847) and (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- 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 (: 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.

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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 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 , 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 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. All 37 four categories of royal women of Awadh were performing active, even more 38 dynamic role than males, but with different ratio of power and wisdom. In 39 some cases, they were more effective and vigorous than some Nawabs and 40 Kings of the state. Most of the royal women observed purdah but it was their 41 strength, not weakness. 42 43 44

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1 Prominent of Awadh 2 3 The most dominant part was played by powerful begums of the royal 4 family. Nawab Begum Sadar un Nisa- the imperious daughter of one Nawab 5 (Sada’at ), wife of another (Safdar Jang), mother of the third 6 (Nawab Shuja-ad-Daulah) and grandmother of the fourth (Asaf ud Daula) was 7 the first conspicuous lady of the Muslim royal family of Awadh. She was 8 talented, wise, illustrious, chaste and virtuous lady.9 Safdar Jung, the second 9 , married with the only wife, Sadar un Nisa and had great 10 affection with her.10 Begum Sadr un Nisa accompanied her husband to deal 11 with the rebellious faction when horror and disorder spread in Awadh after 12 death of Sada’at Khan,11 the first Nawab of the State. Being daughter of the 13 first Nawab, her company to her husband in dealing with the opponents proved 14 to be fruitful and peace was restored with the great speed. She encouraged 15 Safdar Jung to deal with the issues in that difficult times.12 In September 1750, 16 Safdar Jung faced a defeat against Pathans. The news spread like a wild fire 17 that Safdar Jung had been died while fighting. The conspirators raised Imtiaz 18 ud Daula to Wizarat. Begum Sadr un Nisa kept her senses in control and raised 19 an army of 10000 soldiers, appointed her son as commander of the forces and 20 supervised the force to defend the city of Faizabad. The opposition forces were 21 silenced for the time being and decided to wait for the confirmation of the news 22 of Safdar Jung’s death.13 Safdar Jung returned back safely after few days. 23 Safdar was again in trouble to fight second Afghan War and was facing 24 problem of less finances. At that time, her wife came up with the whole of her 25 property including Rs. 1,10,000 and 4000 gold coins. With that he recollected 26 himself and had gathered his forces.14 Later, he was successful. She remained a 27 source of not only encouragement and wisdom but also had come up with the 28 material help and accompanied her husband physically and practically in 29 restoring order, dealing with the enemies and in successfully catering with the 30 rebellious faction in case of absence of the Nawab from the capital. These traits 31 are enough to prove her as equal partner or key player of state-making and 32 building. 33 Begum Sadar un Nisa remained effective and helpful during Shuja ud 34 Daula’s period also. She helped her son in many difficult times. On the issue of 35 a girl who was kidnapped by the orders of Shuja ud Daula, the third 36 ruler of Awadh and son of Sadr un Nisa; misunderstanding had been created 37 between Hindu and Muslim . Some of the King’s relatives including 38 Muhammad Quli khan and Mughal courtiers wanted to dismiss Shuja ud 39 Daula. At that occasion, Begum Sadar un Nisa called Ram Narain, a closest 40 Rajput associate of Safdar Jang and reminded him of all favours, done by

9Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava, The First Two Nawabs of Oudh (Lucknow: The Upper India Publishing House ltd, 1933), 83. 10Ibid., 253. 11Sa’adat Khan did not have any son so the state was inherited to his eldest son in law. 12Tarikh-i-Farah Bakhsh cited in Srivastva, The First Two Nawabs of Awadh, 93. 13Ibid., 163. 14Ibid., 175.

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1 Nawab Safdar Jang. She asked him to be polite and patient and advised him not 2 to over-react on a minor issue of a common Hindu family and be supportive of 3 Shuja ud Daula. Resultantly, he requested the Queen-mother to call Ismail 4 and (leaders) of Mughals for the same advice. She called, talked to 5 them and convinced them. They deferred their idea of Shuja ud Daula’s 6 dismissal, only then.15 On the death-bed of Shuja ud Doula, his mother came 7 and issued three advises to him on basis of her long experience. She 8 emphasized that he should release Pathans and fix stipends for their livelihood, 9 to release stipend of inhabitants of occupied areas and to give reasonable 10 freedom to the people of Faizabad in their daily movement. However, he did 11 not listen to her advises. 12 Begums of Awadh had decision-making power in their hands with regard 13 to appointment of the next Nawab, after the death of the one. Begum Sadar un 14 Nisa had to take chief wife of Shuja ud Daula in her confidence while 15 appointing the next Nawab, after death of Shuja ud Daula. She advised Bahu 16 Begum at the time of Asif ud Daula’s accession that Asif ud Daula was not a 17 serious administrator and was involved in negative activities so he should be 18 appointed on the throne just as a formality and that actual administration 19 should be given to Sadat Ali khan, another son of Shuja ud Daula. Bahu 20 Begum refused while saying that she had only one son, either good or bad, she 21 would not be in favour of giving power to another son of Shujah. Grandmother 22 was highly disappointed, but agreed.16 23 Finally, grandmother, on second day of appointment of Asif ud Daula gave 24 few advises to him. Begum Sadar un Nisa said while advising the new Nawab 25 to work with seasoned administrators and military generals including Eluch 26 Khan, Soorat Singh and Raja Butar Chund, who had been trusted fellows 27 of his father and grandfather. She asked him to work according to the advices 28 of these ministers but Asif ud Daula was not ready to listen to his grandmother, 29 so sidelined the above ministers.17 Grandmother continued her efforts to keep 30 the state of Awadh on track through her advices to Asif ud Daula in future also. 31 In the period of Asif ud Daula, another woman besides Sadar un Nisa 32 emerged as a powerful lady. She was Bahu Begum (Aliya Begum), mother of 33 Asif ud Daula, sister of Najam ud Daula and daughter of Motam ud Daula 34 (governor of Gujrat) and was foster child of King . She was 35 Chief wife of Shuja ud Daula and was given high respect and esteem by royal 36 family of Awadh due to her respectable lineage.18 Bahu Begum was given with 37 the charge of the whole treasury during life of Shuja ud Daula because she was 38 the wife who had given whole of her wealth to her husband at the time of his 39 treaty with the British in 1764. Besides government treasury, she was owner of 40 a lot of and utilized profit, earned from her agricultural land, for her 41 personal benefits. She wanted to rule the state of Awadh through her son and

15Syed Kamal ud Din Hyder, Swanehayat-Salateen Awadh, Vol. I (Lucknow: Valashkor, 1879), 51-52. 16Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III, 6-7. 17Ibid., 18. 18Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. I, 30-31.

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1 practically, behaved like a ruler but Asif ud Daula resisted.19 Asif ud Daula 2 was extravagant and started teasing his mother only few days after his father’s 3 death for money again and again. He wanted to go for with a big 4 troop. Her mother had to give him money, very reluctantly, in two installments 5 i.e. Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 40,000. That was the start of rift between the mother 6 and the son. She advised him not to be too profligate.20 Shuja ud Daula had left 7 the whole property to his mother and wife, not to the son, before his death.21 8 The conflict between the Begums especially the mother and the son had 9 reached to such a level that he was reluctant to live in the same city with her 10 mother. He, finally, left Faizabad and settled in Lucknow, while upgrading its 11 status as the capital.22 12 Begum had appointed her forces in the territory under her control and 13 replied all moves of the King Asif ud Daula wisely and tactfully. On listening 14 to the rumor that Asif ud Daula wanted to annex her jagirs, she wrote a letter to 15 the British resident and asked him for help but he did not take any action, at 16 that time.23 A small force of Nawab interfered in Begum’s villages but that was 17 dealt tactfully by the forces of the Begum. Unfortunately, the jagirs of Bahu 18 Begum had been annexed by Asif ud Daula in 1196 hijra. He himself came to 19 Faizabad with his forces. Bahu Begum shifted to the of her mother in 20 law, Sadar un Nisa Begum. On second stage, the jagirs of grandmother were 21 also occupied by the state.24 Bahu Begum wrote a letter to his son and another 22 to the British authorities; abashed his son on his very cruel act against his 23 grandmother and her dependents. Finally, the jagirs were restored with the 24 order of the British resident as that act of Asif ud Daula had been rejected by 25 the British authorities in London.25 Later, Bahu Begum ruled in her vast 26 as a powerful ruler, without interference from the Nawab of Awadh. 27 Royal ladies’ role in appointment of the Kings was always significant. 28 After the death of Asif ud Daula, his disputed son, Wazir Ali Khan, ascended 29 the throne with the kind approval of Bahu Begum and the Company but 30 controversy started and a wide-spread opposition was generated due to his 31 behavior, aggressive policies and low birth.26 There was a strong feeling 32 among the British also against Wazir Ali Kian because he was highly anti- 33 British in his behavior and policies. Begum supported him just to have hand in 34 the administration of the country. Later, when she observed large scale

19Karen Chancey, “Rethinking the Reign of Asaf ud Daula, Nawab of Awadh, 1775-1797,” Journal of Asian History, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2007): 15. 20Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III, 29-30. 21Julie Stone Peters, “Theatricality, Legalism and the Scenography of Sufferings: The Trial of Warren Hastings and Richard Brinsley Sheridan Pizarro,” Law and Literature Vol. 18, No. 1 (Spring 2006): 21. 22Abdul Haleem Sharar, The Lucknow: The Last Phase of an Oriental Culture, translators and Editors, E.S. Harcourt and Fakhir Hussain (New Delhi: OUP, 2001), The Omnibus Addition, 45. 23Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III, 170-71. 24Ibid., 228. 25Farah Bakhsh, in Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III, 226. 26Michal H. Fisher, “Political Marriage Alliances at the Shi’i Courte of Awadh,” Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol. 25, No. 4 (October 1983): 603.

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1 opposition, she backed away her support.27 The dismissal of Wazir Ali Khan in 2 1797 was the unanimous decision of the Begums as well as the nobility.28 The 3 Resident as well as Bahu Begum wanted to replace him with another son of 4 Nawab Shuja ud Daula, and step son of Bahu Begum, Sadat Ali Khan. He was 5 living in Banaras at that time. He was brought back from Banaras and ascended 6 on the throne with the help of the British resident, who held darbar for 7 congregation ceremony.29 Bahu Begum was instrumental in the whole process 8 of this unnatural shift of power. Without strong support from within the royal 9 house, that kind of change was difficult to implement. 10 Bahu Begum was on good terms with the British resident. She was such a 11 forceful character that at the appointment of Sa’adat Ali Khan, the British 12 resident wrote a letter to her and asked about her opinion related to Sa’adat. 13 She requested to restore her remaining property which was occupied by her 14 son, Asif ud Daula. She further requested to make the process of paying 15 monthly salaries to all royal ladies smooth, without any delay and hindrances.30 16 The ownership of the big jagirs was left with Bahu Begum and Sadr un Nisa 17 till the end of their lives. The ladies preferred to live in Faizabad.31 During 18 Sa’adat’s regime, Bahu Begum ruled in Faizabad and other areas of her jagir as 19 a powerful and independent ruler.32 She also appointed her forces and servants, 20 who interfered in the administrative and judicial matters of the state of Awadh. 21 Nawab met with the governor and informed him about the situation. Governor 22 General ordered that Begum should not interfere in the matters of the state and 23 that administration and justice should be ensured by Sa’adat’s authority with 24 the help of the British resident.33 Bahu Begum had to agree but she did not 25 appreciate occasional interference of the government and still most of the 26 matters were handled by her employees. 27 Bahu Begum died at the age of eighty six on 18th December 1815.34 She 28 appointed the Company as trustee of her property and through it, Ghaz iud Din, 29 King of Awadh, would look after the affairs of her jagir. After her death, the 30 administration of a lot of her factories, lands and other kinds of property was 31 run by Bakhtawar Singh , assistant of the resident and Munshi

27Purnendu Basu, Oudh and the East India Company, 1785-1801 (Lucknow: Maxwell Company, 1943), 163. 28Nawab Husayn Ali Khan, Tarikh-i-Husayniyya cited in Sajida Sultana Alvi, Perspectives on Mughal India: Rulers, Historians, Ulema and Sufis (Karachi: OUP, 2012), 77. 29Sharar, Lucknow: the Last Phase, 49. For further details on this episode, see details in Sleeman, Chapter. 4, Vol.II. 30Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. IV, 5. 31Vil. III., 125. 32Chancey, “Rethinking the Reign of Asaf ud Daula…,” 15. 33Hyder, Swanehayat-Salateen, Vol. I, 159. 34S. N. Singh, The Kingdom of Awadh: Its History, Polity and Administration (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2003), 68.

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1 Hyder.35 Later, the profit of Bahu Begum’s property had been paid directly to 2 the Company’s treasury.36 3 With the death of Bahu Begum, another royal woman Badshah Begum, the 4 chief consort/wife of King Ghazi ud Din Hyder and mother of Nasir ud din 5 Hyder, emerged as a strong character in the list of powerful royal ladies. She 6 was daughter of Munajjamul Mulk, a Rizvi Syed.37 She, an educated and 7 learned lady, had a very good training in theory and practice of the science of 8 astronomy. Ghazi ud Din Hyder, with the accession on the throne, entitled 9 Badshah Begum as Bilkis us Sitwat. She was entrusted with the full powers 10 inside the palace and to administer her newly granted jagir, of Salan. 11 She presented nazar (gift) of Rs. 25000 to Ghazi ud Din in coronation 12 ceremony.38 She was owner of a big jagir and recruited a number of free- 13 booters from the capital city and appointed them on her jagir and other areas 14 under her authority.39 She had been described as an ‘illustrious lady” and “the 15 most wonderful woman in the world”40 by Capt. White, the author of The 16 Murdered King of Oudh. Gazi ud Din Haider usually followed her advices.41 17 Later, conflicts had been developed between Ghazi ud Din and Badshah 18 Begum by some ministers who disliked high level of influence and dictation of 19 a woman. In Tarikh-i-Husayniyyah, it is mentioned that Aqa Meer, one of the 20 ministers was responsible for unpleasant relationship between Ghazi ud Din 21 and Badshah Begum.42 According to another tradition, Mutama ud daula, the 22 deputy to the king created misunderstandings between the king and his chief 23 wife. She wanted to make her nephew, Fazal Ali, as deputy or Prime Minister, 24 in the best interest of the state. Misunderstandings were settled, later, with the 25 involvement of the British resident. The King revived relations with his wife.43 26 Badshah Begum remained equally powerful during her son, Naseer ud 27 Din Hyder’s ruling period. However, conflicting relationship developed 28 between both son and mother. Naseer ud Din was addicted to alcoholic drinks a 29 lot and could not develop interest in administrative affairs,44 so the gap was 30 filled by Badshsash Begum on many occasions. She was there to direct the 31 Ministers. On behalf of Naseer ud Din, the queen mother Badshah Begum, 32 issued an order during the first year of her son’s regime that mourning period 33 would continue uptil 20th Saffar and that no celebration or marriage would be 34 held in this period. Otherwise, the culprits would face wrath of the king. The

35Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. IV, 129-30. 36Robert Wilberforce, Dacoity in Excelsis or the Spoliation of Oude by the East India Company: Faithfully Recounted with Notes and Documentary Illustrations (London: J. R. Taylor, 1954), 63. 37Taqi, Tarikh-i-Padshah Begam, 3-4. 38Michael H. Fisher, “The Imperial Coronation of 1829: Awadh, the British and the Mughal,” Modern Asian Studies Vol. 19, No. 2 (1985): 264. 39Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh-i-Padshah Begam, 20. 40Ibid., vii. 41Ibid., 6. 42Nawab Hussain Ali Khan, Tarikh-i-Husayniyyah cited in Sajida Sultana Alvi, Perspectives on Mughal India, 80. 43Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh-i-Padshah Begam, 20 44Hyder, Sawanehayat-Salateen, Vol. I, 265.

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1 decision was taken back with the interference of the Resident only.45 The other 2 reason of conflict between both of them was Qudsiya Mahal, one of the wives 3 of Naseer-ud-Din. Badshash Begum disliked her a lot and did not consider her 4 a trustworthy and faithful lady. Qudsiya, finally, committed suicide and the 5 king blamed Badshash Begum for it. He remained under grief for many days to 6 come.46 The conflicting relations between the mother and the son were 7 transformed into rivalry due to evil character of some ministers who did not 8 want to work under the orders of the Begum. It reached to its lowest ebb in 9 April 1835 when royal forces attacked on palace of Badshash Begum. Begum 10 and her forces resisted well and tens of her male and female servants were died 11 while fighting. Begum and her remaining servants took refuge in imam bara 12 constructed by her within the palace. Nawab Roshan-ud-Daula intervened and 13 requested the King to let the Begum go to Almas Bagh. Permission was 14 granted and Begum, along with her servants spent one night there without food 15 and other necessities. Later, arrangements were done for her permanent stay 16 and her remaining things were departed there with the orders of the King..47 17 The sad episode had taken place due to malicious designs of selfish ministers 18 who did not want to see power in hands of a respectable woman. Meanwhile, in 19 1837, Nasir ud Din Hyder was poisoned and died. 20 Badshah Begum wanted to make her grandson Munna Jan, as the new 21 king. The name of Muna Jan’s mother was Afzal Mahal.48 She brought Munna 22 Jan in Barah Dari, the throne room where congregation ceremony was taking 23 place. The British resident brought Nasir u Doula Muhammad Ali Khan, son of 24 Nawab Sa’adat Ali Khan for the said ceremony. The British Resident tried to 25 stop Badshah Begum but she did not accept and forcefully placed Munna Jan 26 on the throne. The resident and his assistant hurried to the court and showed a 27 written order from the Governor General that Munna Jan could not be the king 28 and that Begum would not be successful in her efforts. Begum continued with 29 her orders. Some of her soldiers attacked on Assistant resident, also. In result, 30 the British called its troops to attack on the congregation function. Many 31 people died of gun-shots. Munna Jan tried to escape but he and the Begum 32 were arrested. At the same time, Nasir ud Daula was installed on the throne 33 with the title of Mohammad Ali Shah. Both Badshah Begum and Munna Jan 34 were kept in Chunnar gargh with the monthly allowance of twenty four 35 hundred from Lucknow royal treasury.49 36 A controversy had been created on the royal lineage of Munna Jan. The 37 resident did not want the appointment of Munna Jan so the British forces 38 supported the other, whereas Col. Sleeman, after twelve-year coop, supported 39 Munna Jan’s claim to be member of the royal family. He mentioned that Afzal 40 Mahal was mother of Munna Jan. She was of humble birth but had a fair 41 reputation among those who knew her. Badshah Begum, during the last days of

45Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh-i-Padshah Begam, 14. 46Hyder, Sawanehayat- Salateen, Vol. I, 329. 47Ibid., 327. 48Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh-i-Padshah Begam, 89. 49Ibid., 80-89

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1 her life in the prison always declared that she had seen the birth of the boy i.e. 2 Munna Jan. Later, she developed extra-ordinary affection with him. His deeds 3 were remarkably like Nasir ud din and facial features were also like him.50 4 Badshah Begum was such a dynamic politician that she resisted and performed 5 well while having conflicting relations with her husband Ghazi ud din Hyder 6 and son when both of them were in power. Her role was significant in 7 appointment of the Kings. She was the best example of resistance also, unlike 8 many other royal figures, as she took a stand against BEIC and forcefully 9 fought for that stand. She was stronger than many males of the time. 10 The next influential and active royal lady was Queen mother of Wajid Ali 11 Shah, Janab Aliah Queen Kishwar. She was daughter of Nawab Hussain ud 12 Din Khan or Imam ud Din. Her real name was Taj Ara and she was chief wife 13 of Amjad Ali Shah (ruling period 1842-1847) and mother of Wajid Ali Shah, 14 the last ruler of the state of Awadh. It was she who finalized the terms of the 15 last treaty between the State of Awadh and the Company. The Resident 16 General Ottram had a meeting with Queen Kishwar at the zard palace before 17 getting signature on the new treaty from the king. She was astonished and 18 requested the Resident to intercede for her son and avert the impending 19 calamity.51 The Resident regretfully said that he did not have that kind of right. 20 Queen mother’s request of grace period of improvement of administration was 21 also rejected by the Resident. The meeting with the mother was followed by 22 the meeting with the King on 4 February 1856. The King was informed 23 formally who was reluctant to sign the treaty and was in high grief. The 24 Resident utilized the services of Queen mother again to get signatures on the 25 treaty of annexation. He promised to arrange annual stipend of one lakh rupees 26 to the royal family in the name of Wajid Ali Shah, if she could manage to get 27 signatures on the said treaty, which would be paid by the Company.52 She 28 played instrumental role and no doubt, there was no other practical option to be 29 followed. 30 It was again Queen mother who led the royal group to England to file a 31 petition against the ‘shameful occupation’53 of their kingdom by the BEIC in 32 place of Wajid Ali Shah. Maseeh-ud-Din Alvi was lawyer and ambassador of 33 the ex-King.54 Queen mother led the case in the British parliament and the 34 court with the argument that Awadh was unresisting ally and it was annexed 35 without reasonable cause.55 They were hopeful of the decision in their favour 36 but selfish associates of Wajid Ali Shah convinced him to accept the offer of 37 high annual stipend from the Company in place of the state. He announced the

50Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official, Revised by Vincent A. Smith (Karachi: OUP, 1973 reprint), Vol II, 199. 51G.D. Bhatnagar, Awadh Under Wajid Ali Shah (: Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, 1965), 146. 52Ibid., 150-151. 53Robert Wilberforce, Dacoity in Excelsis or the Spoliation of Oude by the East India Company: Faithfully Recounted with Notes and Documentary Illustrations (London: J. R. Taylor, 1954), iii. 54Maseeh-ud-Din Alvi, Safeer-e-Awadh (Lucknow: Dar un Nazir Press, nd), 93. 55Wilberforce, Dacoity in Excelsis, iv.

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1 withdrawal of the case from the court.56 Queen Kishwar was so upset with the 2 decision that she was died in Paris, on her way back to India. 3 The last but not the least mighty character in the list of such royal ladies 4 was Hazarat Mahal, mother of Birjis Qadar, one of the wives of Wajid Ali 5 Shah.57 She led the revolt in Lucknow. Birjis ascended the throne under 6 supervision of her mother Hazarat Mahal. She was a brave leader and had 7 practically good sense of leading the force. She extended respect to the soldiers 8 but was helpless to lead the forces directly due to prevailing purdah. She could 9 rule for seven months in the period of confusion and utter lawlessness. Her 10 army was divided into many factions and all factions were fighting for their 11 personal gains. A parallel court was also established under Ahmadullah, 12 scholar-saint in Lucknow besides Hazarat Mahal.58 It further divided Lucknow 13 society and forces into Shia and Sunni factions. This new kingdom was 14 disintegrated within only two or three days, once the bombardment was started 15 by the British forces.59 Hazarat Mahal fled to with thousands of other 16 fugitives. Only Hazarat Mahal and Birjis Qadar were given refuge by the state 17 with small amount of stipend.60 Awadh was re-occupied by the British 18 completely in January 1858.61 Hazarat Mahal was another symbol of resistance 19 among the list of royal women, who fought the game of ‘do or die.’ She led the 20 resisting forces at the time when majority of the members of royal family 21 including last King of Awadh were not in favour of fighting against the British. 22 She did not make compromise with the prevailing circumstances and decided 23 to rise in rebellion against the usurper. 24 This group of powerful royal women of Awadh had proved themselves as 25 parallel partner of the state-machinery. If on one side, Begum Sadar un Nisa, 26 Bahu Begum and Queen Kishwar were fulfilling their duties of faithful 27 associate of the game of politics and were successful in many cases. Then on 28 the other side, Badshash Begum and Hazarat Mahal had tried to resist against 29 the government and the BIEC. They were more courageous than many other 30 male members of the royal family and had shown resistance in the difficult 31 times. 32 33 34 Institution of Courtesan/Tawaif 35 36 The second cadre of influential women in Awadh can be named as 37 courtesans, the most neglected section of women in the writings of history. 38 This institution describes the life-style of Awadh. They were influential female 39 elite section of the society not only in Awadh but also in all Hindu and Muslim

56Ibid., 99. 57Munshi Ram Sahai, Ahsan ut Tawareekh, (Lucknow: Tamanai Borum Chad, nd), 19 and Hyder, Sawanehayat, Vol.II, 8. 58Farqui Anjum Taban, “The Coming of the Revolt in Awadh: the Evidence of Urdu Newspaper,” Social Scientist Vol. 26, No. ¼ (Jan-April): 18. 59Sharar, The Last Days, 67. 60Ibid., 76. 61Sahai, Ahsan-ut-Tawareekh, 99.

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1 courts of pre-colonial India.62 They, like many other courts of medieval India 2 were consorted with the Royal court and courtiers. They had influence and 3 association with the royal family, nobility, merchants, courtiers etc. They were 4 highly active in urban areas. They manipulated men and means for their own 5 social and political ends.63 They had deep influence on the male identity which 6 was then distant away from the ideal of warrior of Mughal times.64 7 There was inner stratification of tawaifs also. Elite section was associated 8 with the court or upper hierarchy. The other categories were thakahi and randi. 9 They were ranked lower in stratification.65 The courtesans, the leading section 10 of tawaif, were the highest tax-payers with the heaviest income-earners and 11 property-holders.66 The influence of this section of women was observed for 12 the first time in Awadh since the time of Nawab Shuja ud Daulah, who was 13 slave to his sexual needs. Such girls were kept ready for the Nawab even 14 during military campaigns and the usual travel. 15 Nawab Shuja ud Daula was extremely inclined towards such women. He 16 always kept a group of tawaif with the royal caravan in case of travelling or 17 even during military campaigns or sometimes, such women were locally 18 arranged. His death had happened due to knife-wound on his upper-leg, which 19 was given by a noble girl, mistakenly had been kidnapped, for sexual pleasure 20 of the king. The knife was poisoned and Nawab Shujja got sick after that 21 event.67 The poison spread in his whole body and he died within few days. 22 Nevertheless, the rise of courtesans had been started in the state of Awadh. 23 Nawab Asif ud Daula was kind towards dancing girls and gave heavy 24 prizes to even common dancers.68 Mukhtar ud Daula, Prime Minister of Asif- 25 ud Daula, was involved extremely in love of a tawaif, perhaps Jalalu. She was 26 clever and highly cultured lady. Mukhtar did what that lady wanted. She 27 actually ruled in place of Mukhtar ud Daula. Mukhtar, on instigation of Jalalu 28 had created misunderstandings between the son and the mother and later, 29 convinced Asif ud Daula to take heavy amount of money from Bahu Begum. 30 Mukhtar, after getting accent led the campaign to Faizabad for exploring 31 money. There were only eunuchs in the palace. Begum was reluctant but she 32 had to give Rs. 60 lac through the British resident. Later, the Begum developed 33 hatred for her son and started favouring other sons of Shuja ud Daula.69 34 Nasir ud Din Hyder lived so excessively in the company of such women 35 that most of his styles had been transformed into womanish. He spoke like

62Lata Singh, “Visibility the ‘Other’ in History: Courtesans and the Revolt,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 19 (May 12-18, 2007): 1678. 63Veena Talwar Oldenburg, “Lifestyle as Resistance: The Case of the Courtesans of Lucknow,” Feminist Studies 16, 2 (Summer 1990): 2. 64Simonetta Casci, “Lucknow Nawabs: Architecture and Identity,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 36 (Sep 7-13, 2002): 3711. 65S. N. Singh, The Kingdom of Awadh: Its History, Polity and Administration (New Delhi: A Mital Publication, 2003., 30-31. 66Oldenburg, “Lifestyle as Resistance…,” 1. 67Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol.II., 145. 68Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III., 26. 69Ibid., 54-56.

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1 women, sang like women, behaved like women and even dressed like women. 2 This combined with his religious ardour, “made him influenced to perform 3 practically, while celebrating birth ceremony of Imam to play role of a 4 pregnant women.”70 King would take a bath and went to the city in palanquin 5 in rich female costume. In December 1849, the King divorced one of his 6 courtesan wife, Surfraz Muhal and sent her to Mecca for pilgrimage. She had 7 been cohabiting with the Chief singer, Gholam Reza and with some other royal 8 men, even with the ministers. The king was highly dejected on finding it true.71 9 Moral degeneration was also part of the life of such wives. 10 The courtesans had become cause of sever conflicts among courtiers and 11 respectable persons also. Two sons of Aga Meer, Minister of Ghazi ud Din 12 Hyder, were kidnapped by Eesa , a kind of a fake saint. He developed 13 liaison with a dancing girl, Beeba Jan. The girl was not happy on furious 14 attitude of Eesa Mian and took refuge with Khasmahal or Chief consort of Aga 15 Meer. He wanted the release of the girl. The issue was settled peacefully only 16 with the involvement of the British Resident. Beeba Jan was released and in 17 response to it, the two sons of the ministers were handed over to their parents.72 18 Overall, the courtesans were politically conscious and knew where to 19 accept the commandments and where to reject and react. They were well 20 connected with the local elites and had plenty of revenue since 1780s73. They 21 whole heartedly supported the war of independence 185774, even some of them 22 became part and parcel of the activities of the freedom-fighters. They were 23 fearful of the shift of their position from high cadre courtesan to common 24 prostitutes,75 so decided in favour of the revolt. Although, they were not 25 respectable class in moral terminology, yet their resistance had value. This 26 group gained much power in the later period of the dynasty and at most of the 27 occasions, this group of women interfered indirectly, through the royal men 28 with whom they had illicit relationship. 29 30 31 Less Influential Royal Women 32 33 There was a large group of royal women who were less influential due to 34 their position in the court, but this group was comparatively more active than 35 the first two groups. This group included sisters, daughters, wives other than 36 the chief wife and other relatives. Shuja ud Doula had twenty-five daughters, 37 only one was married, Izzat un Nisa Begum. All others did not want to marry 38 due to their inability to obey their husbands. They spent lives like liberal men. 39 Initially they were paid Rs. 70 per month. Later, Nawab Sada’at Ali Khan 40 raised the stipend to Rs. 250 as monthly salary. All of them were fed up of less

70Sharar, Lucknow: the Last Phase, 57. 71 Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections Vol. I, 46-47. 72Sleeman, Vol. I, 10-18. 73Lata Singh, “The Visibilty of the ‘Other’, 1680. 74Oldenburg, “Lifestyle as Resistance…”, 3. 75Kokila Dang, “Prostitution, Patron and the State: Nineteenth Century Awadh,” Social Scientist, Vol. 21, No. 9/11 (Sep-Oct): 175.

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1 salary. They got reactionary, attacked on a government’s bungalow in Pitch 2 Muhallah (street), while closing Shaikhan door and doors of Hasan Bhaagh 3 (garden). They looted everything from the house while claiming that it was 4 their father’s property. Nawab increased their salary as Rs. 500 per head. They 5 were still dissatisfied and reminded Nawab Saadat that they were like him. 6 Nawab’s attitude was polite towards them. During Ghazi ud Din Hyder’s 7 period, three sisters, Anjumannisa, Zaibunnisa and Jeena Begum went to Lord 8 Myre, in Benaras, with the petition of less salary. He extended respect to them 9 and said that he will settle the matter on his visit to Lucknow. Ghaziuddin 10 increased their salary as Rs.700 per person.76 11 Shams un Nisa Begum, wife of Asif ud Daula, daughter of Nawab Intizam 12 ud Daula and granddaughter of Nawab Qamar ud Din, Prime Minister of Delhi, 13 was one of the less active royal ladies. She did not have any child and could 14 not develop cordial relations with her husband. Asif ud Daula left her in 15 Faizabad while leaving the capital and settled a new capital in Lucknow.77 She 16 lived in Machli Bhawan and was given with the jagir of Partab Ganj and 17 Nawab Ganj with Rs. 60000 annual income. In addition to it, daily Rs. 60 were 18 fixed for her kitchen. A small part of her jagir was taken over by the Nawab on 19 which she got infuriated and went to her jagir. She could not revive 20 relationship with her husband later and died there after few years.78 21 The royal ladies of this cadre were found to be involved in palace skirmishes. 22 Queen mother Dowager, with the help of the King Amjad Ali Shah used power 23 against some wives of the king. The King was informed by the Queen mother, 24 Dowager that having mark of ‘Sampun” on the neck of any wife of the King 25 could be harmful for his children. The King checked the mark with the help of 26 chief eunuch and discovered that eight of his wives had that mark. He, 27 immediately ordered them to leave the palace with their all belongings and the 28 ladies had to follow the orders.79 Chief wife of Wajid Ali Shah, Azam Bahu, 29 daughter of Nawab Ali Khan Bahadur was another less powerful lady. She was 30 fed up of many love-affairs of her husband. She tried to successfully cater with 31 those girls but later, she had to make compromises.80 32 This third category of royal women had some very active ladies besides less 33 active. Some of them did not make any compromise but others had to. 34 35 36 The Employees of the Royal Household 37 38 Some associated ladies like head cook, governess etc. also got influence 39 and power with some kings. During Nasir ud Din’s period, Barati Khanum 40 (king called her duda) was incharge of the kitchen. King trusted her a lot. Even 41 some ministers also conveyed their wishes or requests to the King through her.

76Qaisar ut Tawarikh cited in Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. II, 309-10. 77Michael H. Fisher, “Political Marriage Alliances…,” 603. 78Hyder, Sawanehayat-Salateen, 81. 79Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections Vol, I 107-108. 80Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh Vol. V., 55.

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1 Two other ladies, Jugna Khanum and Naurozi Begum worked under Barati 2 Khanum and were also very influential. This group of women was very rich 3 and celebrated taziya and other Shia rituals with great pomp and show.81 Their 4 influence reached to such level that Resident scolded Nasir ud Din as state 5 affairs had reached to the king through Naurozi Khanum. King thought that she 6 had leaked out the news of the bad state of affairs so she was dismissed and 7 sent out of the palace.82 Another example in this regard was Fyz un Nisa 8 Begum, who was very close to Badshah Begum and was adoptive mother of 9 her son/, Naseer ud Din. She convinced Badshah Begum and then 10 approached Naseer ud Din to appoint he nephew, Fuzl Allee on higher 11 position. The King appointed him as the prime minister.83 12 It was unusual in the history of Indo- subcontinent that female royal 13 employees could enjoy this level of power and esteem, which they had earned 14 in Awadh. 15 16 17 Literary, Architecture, and Cultural Activities 18 19 History of Awadh is unique in the sense of its cultural, literary and creative 20 development also. A lot of such works had been produced there which were 21 exemplary.84 Persian and Urdu both flourished there and the contribution of 22 women was equally visible in this regard also. Bahu Begum patronized the 23 men of literature and historians also. Faiz Bakhsh , author of Tarikh-i- 24 Farah Bakhsh was employee in jagir of Bahu Begu. His book covers period of 25 Shuja ud aula, Asif ud Daula and Sada’at Ali Khan. Many of his account are 26 eye-witness. His book Shahma-i-Faiz was autobiographical work besides 27 historical. He had access to such facts and files, where common historian could 28 not reach because he was trustworthy employee of Bahu Begum. His third 29 work was social history of Awadh. In another work, he had written about land 30 lords, friends, relatives etc. who lived in Lucknow, Faizabad and other area.85 31 Aqleel Mahal, one of the wives of Wajid Ali Shah and was named as Mumtaz 32 Mahal by the last king of Awadh also had literary taste. She was granddaughter 33 of Shuja ud Daula and had a son Qira Hussain Mirza. She did not accompany 34 Wajid Ali Shah to Calcutta and was left behind in Lucknow. Wajid Ali Shah 35 wrote a series of letters to her and wished that all his letters be compiled in 36 form of a book. Being a faithful wife, she collected all letters and got it 37 published in form of a book with the title of Tarikh-i-Mumtaz.86 The letters are 38 of high literary taste and show passionate relationship of husband and wife.

81Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. IV., 337. 82Ibid., 338. 83Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections Vol.I, 272. 84Dr. Moeen ud Din Aqeel, Janubi Ki Tarikh Naweesi, Noeeyat, Rawaiyat and Mayar (Historiogrphy of : Style, Tradition and Standard) (Lahore: Nashriyat, 2015), 83. 85Ibid., 85. 86Mohammad Baqir, Tarikh-i-Mumtaz: Letters of Wajid Ali Shah to Aqleel Mahal (Lahore: Danish Gah-i-, 1952), 11.

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1 Women became directly the theme of poetry. Wajid Ali Shah had written 2 such poetry in abundance in which he had mentioned his love affairs clearly 3 with the indication of one or the other women including courtesans, maids, 4 passer-bys or others.87 Nawab Mirza Shauq, “in his poems became the lover of 5 beautiful veiled women and made his poetry the scourge of conventional 6 morality.”88 The language of his masnavis was so beautiful, frank, pure and 7 clean that even honorable and decent people could not abstain from reading 8 and enjoying it. Wajid ali Shah, on contrary, had showed shamefully low taste 9 and used obscene language. 10 The institution of courtesan meant to preserve high culture of Lucknow. 11 They were the real protector of the cultural norms of Lucknow and practically 12 shaped the development of modern music, dancing and singing. Lucknow court 13 was celebrated ‘center of musical entertainment.’89 Women especially 14 courtesans had great aesthetic sense. The other centers of India followed the 15 styles, introduced by the courtesans of Awadh.90 Some of them like Zohra and 16 Mushtari were not only poetesses but also were singers and dancers. Jaddan 17 was another singer and dancer.91 They introduced music and dancing as a 18 profession. Court of Wajid Ali Shah was immune to such performances on 19 daily basis. Drama also flourished during Wajid Ali Shah’s period with the 20 skillful courtesans.92 One group of men and women were employed and trained 21 especially for the drama, ‘Daryaye Ta’shque’ (Ocean of love) in art of dancing 22 and singing. They were taught a number of couplets to be recited on 23 appropriate places. With the start of war of independence, development of 24 music was stopped to a large extent.93 25 Begums of Awadh were also fond of constructing buildings, especially 26 from religious point of view and for welfare of their dependents. Begum Sadar 27 un Nisa constructed an imam bara and a mosque behind Moti Baagh. Her 28 dependents were very happy on her attitude.94 Bahu Begum laid the foundation 29 of Nagariya and Ali Ganj, on the other side of the river. These were new 30 colonies for her associated people.95 In the palace of Awadh, Badshah Begum 31 had built twelve tombs for each of the twelve imams, besides a mosque, 32 adjacent to every tomb. One building similar to the tomb of Hazrat Abbas was 33 also constructed.96 The buildings constructed by the Begums were symbol of 34 their power and inclination besides high taste.

87Sharar, Lucknow: the Last Phase, 63. 88Ibid., 63. 89Jon Barlow and Lakshmi Subramanian, “Music and Society in : From the Mughals to the Mutiny,” Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 42, No. 19 (May 12-18, 2007): 1784. 90Lata Singh, “Visibility the ‘Other’…” 1678. 91Sharar, Lucknow: the Last Phase, 145. 92Syed Masood Hasan Rizvi, Adeeb and Ayesha Irfan, “The Royal Stage of Lucknow,” Indian Literature Vol. 54, No. 5 (259) (Sep/Oct): 112. 93Subramanian, “Music and Society in North India…,” 1784. 94Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III, 337. 95Sharar, Lucknow: The Last Phase, 48. 96Taqi Ahmad, Tarikh Badshah Begam, 9.

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1 Rulers of Awadh were practicing Shia faith with scrupulous care and 2 regularity and adopted pure Shia rituals on state level. The most prominent 3 rituals were holding of Majlis (mourning assembly), Soz Khawani and taking 4 out tazia processions.97 Sleeman had also mentioned the hectic schedules 5 during Islamic month of Moharram.98 Mourning of Moharram and taziyya was 6 the most important aspect of royal women’s lives in Awadh. Some innovations 7 had also been introduced specifically by the females of the royal family 8 especially Badshah Begum, including celebration of chhati ceremony of Imam 9 Mehdi, celebrated every year in the month of Shaban and secondly, eleven 10 beautiful Syed girls were declared as wives of eleven imams and were kept in 11 the royal palace with high respect and status.99 Begum spent days and nights in 12 prayer and worship. As Nirza Naseer –ud Din Hyder was brought up by 13 Badshah Begum, so he was highly careful of these practices in his life.100 14 Most of these rituals gradually were adopted by Shias of the other parts of 15 India. Courtesan also compelled themselves to sing ‘religious songs of 16 mourning’101 during the days of Muharram. All other activities were banned 17 and the days were spent in complete sorrow in that period. 18 The cultural norms and innovations of the royal women had a deep impact 19 on common women also. Common women were fond of soz khuwani a special 20 form of music. Especially during days of Muharram matchless sounds of dirges 21 could be heard from every street and muhalla.102 Common women had a lot of 22 occasions in their lives to celebrate. Most of the Muslim families had sufficient 23 financial resources and the women could spend money on such occasions. 24 Celebration of Chhati, cutting of the hair of baby, aqiqa, bismillah (at the age 25 of four), start of the commencement of their education, circumcision, roza 26 kushai, aqdi-i-Nikhah were common festivities among the women.103 27 The tradition of majlis with inclusion of marsiya and soz khawani had great 28 impact on noble and common women of Awadh. Due to regular assemblies, 29 taste for poetry and music had become part of noble women’s life, which was 30 specific to only this part of Indian Muslim society.104 Soz khawani had given 31 vitality to music especially to Urdu music. 32 33 34

97Sharar, The Lucknow: The Last Phase, 215. 98Major General Sir W. H. Sleeman, Journey Through the Kingdom of Oudh in 1849-1850 Vol. 1 (Lucknow: Helicon Publications1989, reprint), 1. 99Taqi Ahmed, Tarikh Badshah Begam, 9. 100Ibid., 6 and 9. 101Mushirul Hassan, “Traditional Rites and Contested Meanings: Sectarian Strife in Colonial Lucknow,” Economic and Political Weekly Vol.31, No.9 (March 2 1996): 543. 102Sharar, Lucknow: the Last Phase, 149. 103Ibid., 203-205. 104Ibid., 217.

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1 Financial Resources 2 3 Begums of Awadh had plenty of wealth. Every Chief Wife was granted 4 with very big jagirs or estates. They were all in all to manage the affairs of 5 their big jagirs and to utilize the resources. Begum Sadar un Nisa, Bahu 6 Begum, Badshah Begum etc were even more financially sound than the 7 Nawabs or Kings. They came up with their money on many occasions to help 8 the Nawab. Begum Sadar un Nisa controlled a big jagir and money, which was 9 spent for the state on the basis of need.105 Bahu Begum was owner of the jagirs 10 of Gonda and Faizabad during life of Shuja and later other jagirs were also 11 given to her. Besides it, she was Incharge of the royal treasury. Chief wife of 12 Asif ud Daula was owner of the jagirs of Partab Ganj and Nawab Ganj with Rs. 13 60000 annual income. Nawab Saadat Ali Khan gave Nawab Ganj as jaagir to 14 his favorite wife, Tat Mahal. Its annual income was one lac twenty thousand. 15 She had ownership of jewelry of one crore.106 16 The finances of the Chief wives or the other wives were always given 17 priority. Article Six of the Treaty between Nawab Shuja ud Daula and the 18 Company said that 2 lac out of 76 lacs revenue would be fixed for the stipend 19 of the Begums and princesses of the royal family.107 Financial recourses of 20 some of the wives of the kings was part of the loan agreements between the 21 Company and the state. While taking third loan from Awadh, the Company 22 agreed to pay back the loan with 5 percent interest. Besides it, the Company 23 pledged to monthly allowances of Rs. 10,000 and 2500 respectively to Nawab 24 Mubarak Mahal and Mariyam Begum, both wives of Ghazi ud 25 Din Hyder.108 Such large estates of lands and jewelry were later extracted by 26 governor general, Warren Hastings.109 27 These Begums were mostly very kind and gave a large part of their wealth 28 in alms to the poor. Begum Sadar un Nisa was very kind and spent most of her 29 time in praying. A lot of poor were paid with the monthly stipend from her 30 jagir’s income.110 Bahu Begum had fixed stipend of a lot of her relatives and 31 poor on monthly basis. Her nephew, Nawab Qasim Ali Khan, Asghar Ali Khan 32 and Ali Khan were paid with Rs.1000 each.111 She was so much careful 33 about the livelihood of all her dependents that made arrangements with the help 34 of the Resident to pay them monthly allowances after her death even. 35 All other categories of royal women were paid with the monthly salaries. 36 Wives, khurd mahals, sisters, daughters, all were paid with the monthly

105Details are given on the above pages. 106Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. IV., 105. 107Knowsley Pamphlet Collection, Oudh or How to Make and Unbreak a Treaty (Calcutta: J. F. Bella my Englishman Press, 1856), 12, 108Mir Litvak, “A Failed Manipulation: The British, the Oudh and the Shi’I Ulma of Najuf and ,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 27, No. 1 (May 2000): 70. 109Veena Talwar Oldenburg, The Making of Colonial Lucknow, 1856 -1877, VI. 110Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. III, 226. 111Hyder, Sawanehayat, Vol. I, 145.

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1 income. 112 Each Sahib-i-Mahal was given with Rs. 5000 since the time of 2 Nasir-ud-Din Hyder.113 3 4 5 Conclusion 6 7 Awadh, a Shia state was comparatively more liberal than many Sunni 8 states of India in the period of resistance against foreign powers. Royal women 9 had enjoyed high status since beginning, which gradually increased. One of the 10 reasons could be that state was inherited to son in law of its founding father 11 and as Sadr un Nisa Begum was daughter of an ex-Nawab and the wife of the 12 second Nawab, her power and esteem was countless even during period of 13 Shujja ud Daula, when she directly interfered to settle some issues related to 14 Hindu Rajput family. The ministers of the state listen to her and obeyed her. 15 Bahu Begum was equally powerful in a long period to come because she was 16 given high esteem by her husband, Shuja ud Daulah. She had complete 17 authority on the royal treasury and was owner of an enormous estate. She, was 18 one step away than Begum Sadr un Nisa as she was on very cordial terms with 19 the BEIC through its resident. The Company’s officials had also accepted her 20 power. Badshah Begum was comparatively a different case. She led a coup 21 against the sitting King and the Company which took her to the height of 22 resistance. Another royal woman who proved to be more courageous and 23 dynamic was Hazarat Mahal. She can be quoted as the best example or symbol 24 of resistance against a colonial power. She fought a war of do or die. Many 25 courtesans also were supporting that difficult war for their personal interests or 26 regaining their past glory of ruling indirectly while having closer links with the 27 royal family and other courtiers. Besides politics, the Awadhian women were 28 not behind men in bringing revolution in multiple fields of literature and art 29 including poetry, music, singing, dancing etc. Besides it, they were also fond of 30 constructing buildings like their men and some master pieces especially 31 religious buildings were constructed by them. In the later period, space for 32 women had been left by royal men also who were involved in marry making, 33 wine, women and other unproductive works. This all proves that royal ladies of 34 Awadh were equal to men in all fields of life and in some cases they were 35 better, wiser and more powerful than their men. 36 37

112Najmul Ghani, Tarikh-i-Oudh, Vol. IV, 5. 113Sahai, Ahsan-ut-Tawareekh, 124.

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