Radhika Anand

B.A. Philosophy (Hons.) 1st Year

Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Begum Hazrat Mahal: A Revolutionary Warrior of Awadh

By the first half of the 19th century, the East India Company had brought major portions of
India under its control. One hundred years after the Battle of Plassey, anger against the unjust
and oppressive British Government took the form of a revolt that shook the very foundations
of British rule in India.

While British historians called it the Sepoy Mutiny, Indian historians named it the Revolt of
1857 or the First War of Indian Independence. The Revolt of 1857 had been preceded by a
series of disturbances in different parts of the country from the late eighteenth century
onwards.

On March 6, 1858, led by the British Commander-in-Chief, Colin Campbell, thousands of

The surviving rebels and defenders, remnants of revolting sepoy units from across North
India, ordinary residents of the city and the soldiers and mercenaries from surrounding areas,
fought that day as desperately as they had ever done, since the heady days of June 30, 1857,
when they had taken the city and besieged the British garrison in their Residency.

Sadly, it would all end in tragedy.

Delhi and Kanpur had already fallen to the British. Armies were marching towards Jhansi and
Gwalior. And wild and chaotic Lucknow could not hold out for long. By March 21, it was all
over. Yes, the British had won a great many things that summer. Great lands and cities,
unimaginable looted wealth and an empire. But of the many jewels of India they despoiled in
those fiery months, there would be one they would never claim, tame or diminish.
She was called Begum Hazrat Mahal. And this is her heroic, tragic and awe-inspiring story.

As stories go, this one feels like a bestselling novel or a blockbuster film – the poor girl who
became a courtesan, the besotted Nawab who made a courtesan his mistress, the Begum who
refused to give up even after everyone had, the undefeated spirit. But as the adage goes – the
truth is stranger than fiction. This, and so much more, was all true.

History has lost the exact circumstances of Hazrat Mahal’s birth and early life. But what is
apparent is that it was painful and tragic. As far as the most commonly accepted version goes,
she was born on an unknown date and named Muhammadi Khanum. She was made into a
dancing girl by her parents, who then sold her to the royal harem of the ruler of Awadh.

She began life there as a ‘Khawasin’ (maid), before being “elevated” to ‘Pari’ (fairy) and
finally into a ‘Begum’ after she became the mistress of the Nawab, Wajid Ali Shah. When
she gave birth to a son, Birjis Qadar, the Tajdaar-e-Awadh was so pleased that he first
married her, to make the son a legitimate heir, and then named her Hazrat Mahal, the name
with which she would become known to history.

Up to this point, Hazrat Mahal’s life was a little different from the scores of such begums.
Indeed the Nawab himself later divorced her, as other wives entered his life. But the turning
point for Awadh and the Begum came in 1856 when the East India Company annexed the
state of Awadh. At the time, to whitewash their theft and naked greed, the British invented
several reasons. But the reality was simple enough – Lord Dalhousie had a big army and
wanted to conquer as much land as he could.

Awadh had been annexed in February of 1856, along with many other such states. The
annexation by itself was simple. By that time, Awadh’s army was supine, and the Nawab
agreed to be pensioned off to Calcutta. He soon left for the city, arriving there in May 1856
with a large entourage, many animals and cooks. He would spend the rest of his days in
Calcutta, building a ‘mini Lucknow’ in exile. But Hazrat Mahal and her son were not part of
that entourage. A bold, and charismatic politician, she still believed in fighting for the rights
of her son, and Awadh. And she had the support of influential courtiers and leaders, and the
people.
But passions alone do not change the fates of nations. For that, one needs a revolution, and
that was precisely what was brewing across North India at the time.

Resentment was building among millions of ordinary citizens, and more seriously, among the
tens of thousands of ‘sepoys’ or ‘sipahis’ – Indians who had joined the British army to fight
for them. Primed by the brazen behavior of the British, the bonfire was waiting for a spark.

As we all know, the spark came from Meerut, where the sepoy Mangal Pandey refused to use
the new cartridges issued for his rifle. Though few rallied to his cause on March 29, 1857,
and he was hanged, the revolt quickly spread – from Meerut to Kanpur to Delhi. It arrived in
the form of thousands of rebel sepoys to Awadh by June.

Hazrat Mahal and her supporters, including the local nobility of Awadh, had been relatively
quiet till then. But seizing the opportunity, they quickly organized themselves and overthrew
British authority in the state. This was done with the support of the local landowners, the
nobility and even ordinary peasants, who flocked to the begum’s banner – a move that
perhaps surprised those who had thought that the fighting spirit of Awadh was at an end.

On June 5, Hazrat Mahal crowned her son, Birjis Qadar, then either 12 or 14, as the rightful
ruler of Awadh and Raja Jai Lal was appointed as a military commander.

The battle of Chinhat, fought amidst a mango grove on June 30, 1857, in what was then a
small village outside Lucknow, set matters in stone. The British were roundly beaten and
forced to retreat to their fortified Residency inside Lucknow. Awadh was officially free of
British rule from that day. William Howard Russell’s much-quoted line from My Indian
Mutiny Diary sums up his feelings at the time – “This Begam exhibits great energy and
ability. She has excited all Oudh to take up the interests of her son, and the chiefs have sworn
to be faithful to him. The Begum declares undying war against us.”

For ten months from then, Hazrat Mahal took control of affairs as her son’s regent. Not only
was she backed by her supporters, but the ordinary Awadhi and even the last Mughal –
Bahadur Shah Jafar – recognized her rule from Delhi. She would prove to be a popular
administrator and a host of eyewitness accounts, both Indian and British, testify that the
Begum was not shy of battle, either
Many accounts recall her going from camp to camp, to raise morale through her fiery
speeches and her presence in various battles. An 1858 edition of The Times in London stated,
“The Begum of Awadh shows greater strategic sense and courage than all her generals put
together.” High praise indeed. To take yet another example, many British accounts of the
battle of Musa Bagh in Lucknow noted that the Begum was personally present, fighting and
rallying the 9,000 or so rebels who fought there. She was sometimes seen riding an elephant
in battle as well.

Over 150 years later, it is hard, to sum up, her leadership and inspiration.

But to give modern readers some idea – at the time, the Begum ruled the largest area of rebel
land, commanded the most significant rebel force of the war and held out the longest against
the British, who would eventually bring to bear formidable imperial forces to crush Lucknow.

Many things worked against her – the disunity among the rebels being the chief cause. The
British had one commander, with one goal – defeat each rebel force before turning to the
next. They had unbroken supply lines, modern technology, and vastly more money and
material. They also had the help of many Indian kingdoms and even Nepal.

The Begum had her own will, minimal supplies, disjointed allies and ultimately, not enough
firepower. By March 18, 1858, the fall of Lucknow was inevitable. The British had made
earlier offers to the begum – a pension, rule under the British and mercy. But the Begum had
rejected them all. It was all or nothing for her. And that would be the case until the end. She
slipped out of Lucknow before the end, making her way to the Himalayan forests in the
North, fighting bitterly at every step against pursuing the British, before finally seeking
refuge in Nepal.

The British protested, but the Nepali ruler refused to hand her over. They offered her a
pension to return to Lucknow as their regent – she spurned the offer. For 16 years, Hazrat
Mahal would live in Kathmandu, slowly losing all her wealth. But she refused to come back
in surrender. When she died, on April 7, 1879, there was no money even for a grave.
She rests in a small grave in an encroached corner of the Jama Masjid in Kathmandu to this
day – undefeated to the end. In some small relief, her son, Birjis Qadar, was allowed to return
with a pardon after she died.

“Begum Hazrat Mahal is remembered by us as the bravest and strongest woman warrior of
the royal family. We remember her on her death anniversary by offering prayers as her
birthday is not known to us. I have often heard from Amma that she was a very kind-hearted
lady with a soft corner for poor people, as mentioned in a couplet by Wajid Ali Shah
himself,” Manzilat Fatima, the great, great-granddaughter of Begum Hazrat Mahal, tells The
Better India.

She adds, “I have heard my mother, Mamlikat Badr, narrating the story of how she used to
help the poor even though she was going through tough times; she would part with her
valuables to help the needy.”

Warm memories, which are in stark contrast to the rest of the nation, which seems
determined to ignore the brave begum, even as others like Rani Lakshmi Bai and Mangal
Pandey continue to be celebrated in song and film. A postage stamp was issued, and an
offering made at her grave by the government, which also made a documentary on her.

It hardly seems sufficient tribute to someone who could have lived a life of luxury but chose
an incredibly difficult, but free life instead. A lesson from the past, still relevant to this day.
We can end with a couplet from Nawab Wajid Ali Shah himself –

Gharo’n par tabahi padi saher mein, khude mere bazaar, Hazrat Mahal (Calamity fell on the
houses in the morn; my bazaars were looted, Hazrat Mahal)
Tu hi baais e aisho araam hai garibo’n ki gamkhwaar, Hazrat Mahal (You alone are a
source of comfort, O comforter of the poor, Hazrat Mahal)