A short note on Begum Hazrat Mahal

Begum Hazrat Mahal, commonly known as Awadh’s Begum, was the second wife of Nawabs of Awadh Swazidarisha and Awadh’s regent from 1857 to 1858. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, she played a decisive role in the rebellion against the British East India Company. She declared her son, Prince Birjis Qadr, as Awadh’s Warri (ruler) after her husband was deported to Calcutta and the Indian Rebellion broke out. However, only a few months after her ascend , she was forced to resign. She eventually found a shelter in Nepal, and she died in 1879. Her involvement in the uprising gave her the title of heroine.

About Begum Hazrat Mahal

• During the 1857 rebellion, Begum Hazrat Mahal was counted as an exceptional woman who opposed Britain. Muhammadi Khanum was her maiden name. Born in Faizabad, Awadh, she was later married to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah at the Mutoa ritual. After the dissolution of Awadh, a protest broke out in Meerut, a flag of rebellion was held up in Lucknow, and it soon spread to other Awadh towns. The British did not go away from the building of Residency Lucknow and confronted the protestors until they could reclaim their lost control. In 1856, the British East India Company seized Awadh, and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawabs of Awadh, was exiled to Calcutta. Hazrat Mahal and her son Birjis Qadir decided to return to Lucknow.

Her role as a freedom fighter

• Out of the protagonists of the rebellion, one was Hazrat Mahal. “She fascinated the entire city of Audh,” Russell claimed. Havelock and Outram appeared in Lucknow’s residence to rescue the British Garrison Army from Kanpur. Mawlawi Ahmad Ula Shah and Nana Saheb were her closest allies. 
• Begum bravely fought the invaders, but their position weakened. Despite Begum’s resistance, British commanders were able to lead the surrounded garrison from their dwellings to Alum Bug, resulting in the death and injury of some British officers.
• Under the command of Sir Colin Campbell, the British launched an offensive on Lucknow in March. For the conquest of Lucknow, Jung Bahadur, Maharaja of Nepal, dispatched 3000 Gorkhas.

• The English victory  in Kanpur was another blow to her objectives. In November, Sir Colin Campbell, Commander in Chief of the British Forces, arrived at Lucknow with a little reinforcement.
• The Alum Bug was sometimes attacked by a unit led by Mawlawi Ahmad Ura Shah and sometimes by Begum himself, but the British were able to defeat the rebels. Begum Hazrat Mahal frequently convened meetings to encourage soldiers to take the courage to fight for the cause. She allegedly arrived on the elephant  to the battlefield on 25 February 1858 and wrote instructions for her move.
• The British had taken Moosa Bagh, Char Bagh, and Kesar Bagh by 19 March 1858.
• Begum, her supporters, her son Birjis Qadir, and Nana Saheb fled to Nepal in difficult conditions. But Nepalese authorities were hesitant to grant the rebels asylum, and General Budri warned them.
• According to their lieutenant in Noakote, Nepal, Begum intended to leave Nepal. According to a letter from Colonel Ramsey, there were five ways rebels could cross the mountains. Nepalese authorities later overturned her judgement and gave her a sanctuary, provided she did not communicate with rebel leaders and Indians. Following Begum’s escape, the British stated that the rebels and their commanders must surrender for plotting against the Government. It was also said that those who did not murder British officials would have their deaths spared, and this applied to everyone, from Begum to the lowest rank among them. Despite the British officials’ assurances that “the Begum Hazrat Mahal will get all the considerations due to her as a lady and a member of a Royal family,” Begum Hazrat Mahal refused to surrender. 
• Begum refused to comply, and instead of surrendering, she requested Nepalese officials’ aid in carrying out violent vengeance.
• The Government of India has created a condition that if they enter British territory, they will not receive support or scholarships from the British Government and will be supervised by a justice of the peace in the area where they settle. In 1877, Begum tried to return to India but was ordered to ban Birgeis Kadir or his mother from applying for entry into the British Empire.
• A proclamation was issued by the Queen of England issued to appease the people of British India after the insurrection was put down. Begum Hazrat Mahal responded by issuing a contradicting proclamation, warning the people not to trust these assurances since “it is the unchanging tradition of the Englishmen never to pardon a wrong, large or small.”

Begum Hazrat Mahal’s death

Begum Hazrat Mahal had to settle permanently in Nepal because he could not travel to India. In 1879 she died in a distant country for a good reason. In Kathmandu, the tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal is present. A stamp was printed on 10 May 1984 in honour of her. In the first struggle for independence, the stubborn Begum fought against the Englishmen.

Conclusion:

During the First Indian War of Independence, Begum Hazrat Mahal, often known as the ‘Begum of Awadh,’ was the first female independence warrior. She was a key figure in the first Indian independence struggle, fighting alongside other revolutionaries against British soldiers. However, British soldiers invaded Awadh again and were able to retake it after a protracted siege, forcing her to flee. She refused to accept any of the British authorities’ favours or privileges. She eventually found refuge in Nepal, where she died after some time. She was the only important leader who never surrendered to the British, and she fought the British for the next twenty years of her life in exile in Nepal.