Begum Hazrat Mahal
| Begum Hazrat Mahal | |
|---|---|
| Begum of Awadh | |
 Begum Hazrat Mahal | |
| Born | est. 1820[citation needed] Faizabad, Awadh, India |
| Died | April[citation needed] 1879 Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Spouse | Wajid Ali Shah |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Begum Hazrat Mahal (Urdu: بیگم حضرت محل born c. 1820)[citation needed] also known as Begum of Awadh, was the first wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah[citation needed]. She rebelled against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta, she took charge of the affairs of the state of Awadh, seized control of Lucknow and set up her son, Prince Birjis Qadir, as the Wali (ruler) of Awadh, but was soon forced to abandon it. She rejected the promises of allowance and status held out to her by the British. She finally found asylum in Nepal where she died in 1879.
Biography
no bio
Commemoration
Commemorative stamp
Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in the honour of Begum Hazrat Mahal on 10 May 1984.[1]
Quotations about the Begum
Here are few notable quotes on Begum Hazrat Mahal, Queen of Awadh:
[citation needed]Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Oudh, during the national liberation uprising of 1857-59 in India headed the rebels.
... The Begum has excited all Oudh to take up the interest of her son, and the Chiefs have sworn to be faithful...
The Begums of Oudh have left an abiding mark on history of Oudh ...towards the close of the dynasty came ..... Hazrat Mahal, Judith of the Sepoy Mutiny, the ever more heroic consort of the still softer Wajid Ali Shah.
She was a better man than her husband and lord.
— S. N. Sen
That the resolute and capable Begum still maintained, in spite of all these disorders, the whole administration in tact is a sure indication of her grit.
Begum Hazrat Mahal of Oudh was the last of the breed of able queens and generals. The queen led her kingdom's army into battle during the revolt of 1857. Even after she was defeated she defied Queen Victoria's famous Proclamation and issued a counter Proclamation....
She wiped out the blot of cowardice from the face of the ruling family of Avadh.
— Prince Anjum Quder
Begum Hazrat Mahal, Raja Jia Lal ....they were the lodestar of the first war of independence.
— Roshan Taqui, Lucknow 1857:The Two Wars
..who like Joan of Arc of 15th century France had challenged the hegemony of the British, fired hope in the sunken hearts, appeared from the unknown like a meteor and spread the flame of freedom in the length and breadth of Oudh.
— M. Kaukab Qadr
See also
References
- ^ "Begum Hazrat Mahal". Indianpost.com. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
External links
- Begum Hazrat Mahal Biography
- 1857 - India's Struggle for Freedom - Begum Hazrat Mahal
- People took charge in Awadh
- LUCKNOW IN 1857-58: THE EPIC SIEGE
- The 1857 Uprising in the History of Freedom Struggle
- Miserable condition of the grave of a warrior lady