Our Freedom Fighters : Begum Hazrat Mahal and the revolt in Oudh

Two-hundred years long anti-colonial struggle produced many brave noble souls. They stood against the foreign occupiers at the peril of losing their wealth, comfort and even life. It is our obligation to recall the sacrifices and tribulations of those who willingly suffered in this long endeavour for freedom. They include names of some very noble ladies too. One of these honourable freedom fighters is Begum Hazrat Mahal of Oudh, who stood up against the British during the 1st War of Independence in1857-58, commanded her troops in battles, refused to surrender and, spurring offers of clemency, eluded capture by the pursuing British forces to escape to Nepal, and lived a life of hardship in exile in Kathmandu. She now lies buried there in a non-descript grave . Hazrat Mahal was the one of major leaders who didn't surrender to the British, and she maintained her opposition through twenty years of exile in Nepal until her death in 1879. Before narrating the story of Hazrat Mahal, a brief background of Oudh needs to be recorded. Oudh, with its capital at Faizabad, was a large populous state in the northern part of India. It is currently included in Utter Pradesh, the most populous province of India. The independent state was established by the Mughal Governor of the Province Nawab Saadat Ali Khan in 1732, who was then its Mughal governor. The State included rich agricultural lands that were watered by many snow-fed rivers including the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gomati, the Rapti and several other smaller streams. The affluence of the State caught the greedy eyes of the British East India Company (BEIC). The historian Peter Reeves has noted that Awadh was important to the British, not for what it could do but for what it had to offer. No wonder that British administrators often saw Awadh as something that could be eaten. Around 1800, Lord Wellesley had promised London, ‘a supper of Oudh’; and before annexing it, Lord Dalhousie had described Awadh as ‘a cherry which will drop into our mouths some day. It has long been ripening.’ BEIC forced the King to accept a permanent resident in 1773. A large Residency building was constructed in Lucknow at the expense of the State; the building that shall forever live in the annals of the British and Indian histories for the 87 and 61 day long 1st and 2nd sieges during the War of Independence of 1857. The State consisted of a number of minor and major feudal land holders called Taluqdars. In Feb 1856, BEIC formerly abolished and annexed the State, pensioning and exiling her last King Syed Wajid Ali Shah to Calcutta. The Taluqdars, however, remained loyal to the ruling family and supported Begum Hazrat Mahal when she raised the flag of rebellion. The populace rallied to the call to revolt against the British and despite continuous reversals did not betray the national cause till cessation of hostilities and announcement of a general clemency by Queen Victoria in November 1858. Hazrat Mahal's origins are unclear. She was born into a poor family in the city of Faizabad, located in the state of Oudh. The names of her parents are now obscure but her original name has been quoted as Iftikarun-nisa by some traditions and as Muhammadi Begum by others. She may have been of Iranian descent and was educated as a dancing-girl. She was sold by her parents to the royal agents and inducted into the royal harem as a 'khawasin', which roughly translates as 'a lady's maid' . During one of her dance performances, she attracted the attention of the King of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah, who gave her the title of Mahak Pari meaning 'Fragrance Fairy'. She was subsequently taken into harem by the King as one of his scores of 'mutah' concubines and given the title of 'Begum'. In Aug 1845, on the birth of a son named Birjis Qadr, she was elevated to the rank of a wife and called 'Hazrat Mahal'. She was divorced by the King at an unknown time later when he married again to stay within the limit of four wives as prescribed under the Islamic law. On exile of Wajid Ali Shah in Feb 1856, Hazrat Mahal and her son were left behind in Lucknow. In May 1857, the Company sepoys mutinied signalling the beginning of the first War of Independence. Simultaneously, the Taluqdars declared Oudh free of the Company rule. Its officials were hunted and the surviving British retreated to the Residency building. Begum Hazrat Mahal had been living a quiet life till then. She rose to the occasion, declaring her twelve year old son as the King and assuming power of administration on his behalf as the regent. Her pleasure seeking husband -or ex- was taken aback but Bahadur Shah Zafar in Delhi sanctified her move. She then contacted the Taluqdars who swore allegiance to his son. She had the cooperation of a zealous band of supporters, like Sarafad-daulah, Maharaj Bal Krishna, Raja Jai Lal, Moulvie Ahmadullah and Mammon Khan, who worked incessantly to revive the fortunes of Oudh. She had an inborn genius for organization and command. Her presence and determined loathing of the BEIC provided a rallying point for the freedom fighters. Thousands of self armed peasants flocked to her call. Oudh was cleared of the British occupiers and the remainder -about 1800 troops besides some women and children- were trapped inside the residency building. Sir W.H. Russel, the correspondent for The Times of London writes in his eye witness account "My diary in India in the year 1858-59" that, "She was a woman of great energy and ability. She has excited all Oude 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; ……." Writing about the events, even Karl Marx couldn't help saying that, “Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Oudh, during the national liberation uprising of 1857-59 in India headed the rebels.” The War of Independence was a secular nationalistic affair that transcended religious lines. The command of the troops was in the hands of the valiant duo of Raja Jai Lal and Maulvi Ahmadullah. Hazrat Mahal organized the siege and encouraged her troops to break through but they lacked tactics and were not used to fighting in a disciplined manner. Hazrat Mahal was a tough leader and hanged traitors when they were exposed. The Chief Commissioner Sir Henry Lawrence was killed by a bullet in the Residency, as were over two and a half thousand Company troops. The Queen Regent herself appeared on the battle field to encourage her troops. She never lost heart and moved among her men with a spirit that deserved better success. The siege was however broken, first by the relief force of Maj. Gens Havelock and Outram, and then finally by the C-in-C Gen Campbell himself. By 21st March 1858 all the strong points in the city were in British hands. The fighting was so severe that the British awarded 24 Victoria Crosses in a single day on16 November during the second siege. According to Encyclopaedia of World Biography, Hazrat Mahal was very unhappy with her commanders' performance. Part of the reason that the Indian troops were unable to capture the Residency during the siege was because of the arguments between her generals, who were not used to fighting under one unified command. In addition, the British were offering pardons and favourable terms for Indians who could prove they were not responsible for the deaths of British citizens. Some of the talukdars, the important landowners of Oudh, were beginning to take advantage of the British terms. When Campbell finally relieved the siege, her patience snapped. She summoned a durbar, or high council, and addressed her army in terms of reproach. "The whole army is in Lucknow, but it is without courage, " P.J.O. Taylor in his "A Companion to Indian Mutiny of 1857' quotes her as saying. "Why does it not attack the Alambagh? Is it waiting for the English to be reinforced and Lucknow to be surrounded? How much longer am I to pay the sepoys for doing nothing? Answer now, and if fight you won't, I shall negotiate with the English to spare my life." Hazrat Mahal's commanders made six separate assaults on Outram's forces between Christmas day, 1857, and late February 1858 but failed to dislodge the British. On March 16, 1858, the British recaptured Lucknow and forced the Begum out of the city. She kept an army in the field throughout the year but was not able to re-establish herself in Lucknow. Despite her desperate situation, she remained defiant. Being pursued by them, she along with her son and supporters kept hoping from one place to another, finding refuge with loyalists in the restive countryside. As per Russel, she crossed River Rapti above Gorakhpur into the jungles of Terai in the Nepali territory. She sought refuge and was granted asylum in Khatmandu. Unable to quell the uprising completely, Queen Victoria offered amnesty to the people of Oudh in her proclamation of 1st November 1858. When the begum learnt about it, she issued a counter proclamation in which she exposed the designs of the colonial power. This proclamation, available at http://oudh.tripod.com/bhm/bhmproc.htm, is a document that continues to make the people of the region proud. In the meantime, her loyalist Raja Jai Lal was taken prisoner in Lucknow, sentenced to death and hanged in the mock trials that were held after the termination of the War. His majestic statue now stands in the city that he struggled to wrest from the colonial troops. Maulvi Ahmadullah was betrayed and beheaded by a turncoat raja to win the Rs. 50,000 bounty on his head. Begam Hazrat Mahal of Oudh preferred to stay with her son and a small retinue in Nepal, where Marhatta freedom fighter Nana Sahib had also taken refuge. The British offered her a suitable pension and assured of all honours befitting her rank but she could not be induced to come back to India. Having lost the war, the Begum declined to tacitly renounce the rights of her son by accepting a British pension. She died in Khatmandu in 1879 and was buried in the Imambargah that she had helped build. She also built a Mosque named Hindustani Mosque and a palace for her use. The Imambargah was subsequently encroached upon and a market constructed there. The grave was unmarked and nearly lost to the vagaries of time. However, it has now been preserved and on her death anniversary, a simple ceremony is held there by the Indian High Commission. Her palace has been occupied by a Nepalese government office. The mosque has, however, been renovated and enlarged, and serves as the central Jami'a Mosque for the city. She has been honoured in post independence India. On 15 August 1962, she was honoured at a simple yet serious ceremony in the old Victoria Park that is now renamed as Hazrat Mahal Park. A marble plaque has been placed there in her honour. Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in 1984 adorned with her image. 1.5 million of these stamps were printed and sold. Another stamp includes her name as a freedom fighter. A 26-minute documentary film titled 'Begum Hazrat Mahal: The Last Queen of Avadh' celebrates her life and struggle. Several books have been published in her honour. 'Begum Hazrat Mahal' is a 2015 Hindi book by Prof. Ashok Kumar Sharma'. Her 2014 French biography by Kenize Murad titled "In The City of Gold and Silver: The Story of Begum Hazrat Mahal" sold 70,000 in hard cover and more in the abridged version. It has now been translated in to English. "Shan-i Avadh, Begam Hazrat Mahal" is 2006 biography in Urdu by Vasim Ahmad Said. These are some of the many published works on this noble soul. Unfortunately, all these remembrances have been in India and her memory has mostly been neglected in Pakistan. I think we need to create a memorial hall or a museum to celebrate the sacrifices of those who stood up to the British colonialism, starting from Siraj ud-Daulah to the victims of the partition. This commemoration should be inclusive of persons of all faiths to reflect the combined struggle of the people of the sub-continent for freedom. An additional hall at the Pakistan Monument in Islamabad is an appropriate site for this effort. This article appeared in the weekly The Friday Times on 28th July 2017 Parvez Mahmood retired as a Group Captain from PAF and is now a software engineer. He lives in Islamabad and can be reached at parvezmahmood53@gmail.com.