Hayat-I-Qudsi - Forgotten Books I= QUDSI CHAPTER THE FIRST. QU D SI A BEGUM ’S BIRTH, EDUCATION,...

HAYAT- I - Q U D S I

LI FE OF THE NAWAB GAUHAR BEGUMAL I AS

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSI A,‘wfilhn ” -hA .

EJH O PAL

HER H IGHNESS JAHAN BEGUMC. I .

R U L E R O F B H O P A L

T R AN S L AT E DPoli ticalAgmt m Bhopal.

LONDON

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH , TRUBNER CO. LTD.

N EW Y OR K : E . P. D U TTON CO.

19 1 8

INTRODUCTI ON

HE R H I GH NE S S the Nawab Quds ia Begum ,

whose life and charact er I have attempted toI rt ray in thi s volume , was one of the most Godf ring

,pious and vi rtuous ladies of her time .

The interesting accounts of her vi rtues , char i ties ,kindness to her subj ects , bei

fvolence to he poor

,

piety and sanctity , can hard y be rivall in thelife of the great saints .As stories of her gracious character and pious

life are remembered with reverence throughoutthe Bhopal State , it i s only fitting that herbiography should be recorded , and i t seems tohe a sacred duty for me to do thi s , not onlybecause she was my ancestor , but because shewas the firs t ruler of the new dynasty to whichI belong .

A considerable portion of the contents of thisbook is from the vivid recollection which I haveof my great grandmother . It would no doubthave been more suitable if the li fe of the BegumQudsia had appeared before the publicat ion of

Hya t- i—Shahj ahani ( the li fe of my mother) , but

owi ng to the disappearance of many valuablemanuscri

pt s

,the difficulty in tracing many

which ex i s t,and the time taken lnchecking and

s ifting oral accounts , I deemed it better not todelay the publication of the life of my mother .

FOREWORD

THE li fe of her great grandmother given in thisvolume by Her Highness , the p resent Begumof Bhopal

,takes the reader back to a most

stirring and stormy period of Indian history .

Qudsia Begum’s childhood followed closely

onthe last irruption into India of the Afghansfrom the North and the march of the Maharattaarmies from the Deccan into Upper India . Heryouth witnessed the advance of the power of theEast India Company

,the defeat of the Maharat

tas and the stamping out of the predatory bandsof Findaras .The pacificat ionof India followed in the early

years of the lgthCentury, and the distinguishedPolitical Officer who negotiated most of thetreaties and arrangements

,which gave a new

lease of li fe to the smaller S tates of Central India,

was Sir John Malcolm,the historian and fasci

nating writer .Her Highness has quoted his writings several

times, and there is not a state in Central I ndia ’

which is not indebted to his wise and sympatheticpolicy under which they have remained up tothe present day separate States

,devoted to

the King Emperor and Brit ish Empire .

Bhopal was one of the first States to perceive

6 FOREWORD

that the Maharatta confederacy would collapsebefore the British , and from 1 8 1 1 onwards hadendeavoured to obtain treaties with the EastIndia Company guaranteeing it s safety .

Being a Mahommedan State , surrounded onall sides by the powerful Maharatta States of

Indore and Gwalior and by small Raj poot orMaharatta States that were in their grasp

,Bhopal

had always had the greatest difficulty to preserve i t s existence .

Onseveral occasions , notably in 1 8 1 2- 1 3 ,when the City of Bhopal withstood a siege of

four months by the armies of Scindia and NagpurRaj a , and was reduced to the greatest straits , itlooked as i f the end had come . So few of itsdefenders remained that the women of Bhopaltook charge of and successfully defended oneof the gates .Shortly afterwards

,a strong Maharatta army ,

under Jean Baptiste Filoze , one of Scindia’s

generals , had go t as far as Sehore , twenty-th1 eemiles from Bhopal , and would undoubtedlyhave captured the place

,as it was much reduced

at the time , but fortunately for Bhopal and itsgallant defenders the pressure of Scindia in thenorth became so acute that i t led to the

,w'ith

drawal of Filoze’s army . A story is told that

when Filoze found that he would not have toattack Bhopal

,he threw himself into the arms

of the Bhopal general,who was a Bourbon , and

said We are both sons of France , Why should

FOREWORD 7

We fight Filoze’s geography was at fault , no

doubt,his father having been a Neapolitan ;

but he had been born and brought up amongScindia’

s French battalions , and probably hissympathies were French .

One of the British generals used to refer tohim as “ that confounded fellow, J ohn theBaptist .During the 1 8thand first few years of the

lgthCentury India was the home of manyEuropean soldiers of fortune . The differentStates all over the country kept up large armies,and were constantly at war and were alwaysready to employ these reckless European ad

venturers t o train and lead their forces .Many of these men , especially the Frenchmen ,

had most remarkable careers,and among other

things showed the East India Company whatexcellent bodies of troops could be formed fromthe fighting cast es of India . Many of the ad

venturers were killed, a few returned to theirhomes with fortunes , one or two, such as GeorgeThomas , who had begun life as a steward onanEast Indiaman , actually conquered and heldsmall States , and the remainder settled in Indiawhen the times grew quieter , and in most casesmarri ed Indi an wives

,and their descendants

are st ill to be found in the country .

The Bourbon family in Bhopal,with its

romant ic and interesting history, touched on inthis book is an instance .

The first clause of the treaty with Bhopal runsas followsThere shall be perpetual friendship , allianceand unity of interests between the HonourableEast India Company and the Nawab of Bhopal

,hi s heirs and successors ; and the friends andenemies of one party shall b e the friends andenemies of both .

These words were written j ust a hundred yearsago , and have been faithfully adhered to eventhrough the stormy days of the Mutiny, andBhopal under its Nawabs and four successiveBegums has the proud boast that it has neverdrawn its sword against the British

,and please

God it never will .( Signed) W . S . DAV I S

,

( Political Agent in Bhopal) .

PART I .

I N THE NAME or GOD THE MO ST COMPASS I ONATE AND MERC IFUL .

HAYAT= I =QUDS I

CHAPTER THE FIRST.

QU D S IA BEGUM’S B I RTH , EDUCAT I ON , MARRIAGE

CH I LDRE N AND W I DOWH OOD .

NAWAB QU D S I A BEGUM was born on the 9thofRaj ab

,1 2 16

,A .H . ( corresponding

She was a daughter of Nawab Ghaus Mahommed

Khan who was fifth ruler of Bhopal .The Nawab had two wives

,named Amrr Begum

and Chandn i Begum . The former bore him oneson

, Hat im Mahommed Khan , and the latterwho was the daughter of an Afghan merchanthad two sons and one daughter

,named as follows

,

Moiz Mahommed Khan , Miyan Faujdar Mahommed Khan and Gauhar Begum

,the last being

also known as Qudsia Begum and *Mihar—1

Mihr-Tamsal was a (Tarzkhi -N am) of N awab Qud siaB egum , and not a name in the ordinary sense . ,

I t is a chronoogram, and in Persian history andht erature , dat es of importantevent' s are oft en signified in thi s manner . Every lett er of thealphabet has (according to the Abj ad ) a cert ain numerical value ,and the value of the lett ers of Mihr-Tamsal

,

” added together ,gives the dat e of N awab Qud sia B egam

’s birt h . Kaikhusrau

Jahan is my Tarikhi -nam, and it s letters gi ve the dat e of myb irth .

1 2 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

Tamsel . The Nawab was also credi ted withsome 56 other children .

As far as can be ascertained the education of

Qudsia Begum was mostly of a religious character . During her youth Bhopal was fightingsingle handed against Bhonsla , the NagpurRaj a and Gwalior

,and she must have heard

many accounts of the bravery inwar of the lastfour rulers and have been anxious to followthe example of Mamola Bi , alias Maj i Saheba ,

mother of Nawab Faiz Mahommed Khan , whofor some years controlled the State and wasde facto ruler .At the age of fifteen she was married to NawabNazir-ud-DaulahNazar Mahommed Khan onFriday the 22nd of Rabi-ul-Ekhir , 1 232

This marriage had been arranged by NawabWazir Mahommed Khan to weld the two branchesof the family and to end the friction whi ch hadexisted between them . He however died beforethe completion o f the ceremonies .Nawab Nazar Mahommed Khan was the

youngest sonof Nawab Wazir Mahommed Khan,

who was great grandson of Sirdar Dost Mabom—

f

med Khan,the founder of Bhopal . Both father

and sonwere celebrated for their bravery andforce of character and were noted Generals andCommanders . Wazir Mahommed Khan is spec

N AWAB GHAU S MAH OMMED KHAN,

FATH ER OF QUDS I A BEGUM[Facepag e 1 2

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

I 4 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

to the enmity of Chotey Khan , the Diwan , andit was his return to Bhopal after Chotey Khan’sdeath and patriotic and energet ic action duringNawab Ghaus Mahommed

’s reign which saved

Bhopal from being absorbed by the Mahrattas .Ghaus Mahommed was indolent and incompetent

,

and the whole power remained in the hands ofWazir Mahommed Khan who eventually suc

ceeded him as Nawab when he retired and livedonhis Jagir .Sir John Malcolm in his Memoir of Central

India writes as follows of Wazir Mahommed

Khan .

“Vazier Mahommed died in February 1 8 16 ,

A.D .,aged fifty- one

,after having governed

Bhopal little more than nine years ; but of thisshort per iod he had not passed one day in repose .

This principality , from the hour he assumedthe Government until that o fhis death, wasthreatened with destruction . Such a man couldalone have saved it . Though as remarkable forprowess and valour as the most desperate of theAfghan race

,he was

,in his manners

,mild and

pleasing ; but his look and stature were alikecommanding

,and there was in his disposition

a sternness that inspired awe . He latterly gaveway to habits of dissipation

,which were believed

to have short enedhi s existence . All acquainted

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSIA 15

w ith the vic issitudes of his life , deeply regrettedhis deat h at the moment it occurred . He shouldhave lived to behold his patriotic efforts t e

warded ; to see the people of the land he lovedrescued from destruction , and raised to happinessand prosperity by the Government which he hadthrough life courted

,and onwhich his hopes

till the last hour of his life rested . This destinywas reserved for a son whom he selected andeducated as his successor

,and who provedhim

self every way worthy of his father .”

After Wazir Mahommed’s death the cho1ce

of a ruler for the State lay between GhausMahommed Khan the ex—Nawab and the twosons of Wazir

,Amir Mahommed Khan and Nazar

Mahommed Khan . The firs t had proved hisunfitness for the position and Amir Mahommed

Khan was also considered incompetent,so the

leading Nobles exercis ing their right of selectionof the Chief unanimously chose Nazar Mahommed Khan his younger brother

,and he was

placed on the Gadi and invested with full powersbefore his marr1age with Qudsia Begum .

[ Nazar Mahommed Khan and Qudsia Begumhad only one child

,a daughter

,who was born

in the upper storey of the Gauhar Mahal ( Palace)in Bhopal on the 28thof Shauwal 1 2 1 3 A .H . ,

and named Sikandar Begum .

16 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

Qudsia Begum’s married life was dest ined to

last only two years and nine months and endedin a tragedy when her daughter was but oneyear and three months old .

There are two versions of Nazar Mahommed’s

lamentable death . One is that the Nawab whenpassing over a bridge over the Patr’a river ad

j oining the Fort of I slamnagar where he lived,

noticed that the channel was choked wi th' mud

and set to work to have it cleared ; being exhansted he layed down to sleep and in doing so

his head struck a loaded pistol which explodedand the bullet passed through his head , killinghim instantly .

The other version which is more widely creditedis that the Nawab was playing with his littledaughter Sikandar in a mosque ofhi s palacewhere his brother—in- law Fauj dar Mahommed

Khan,a chi ld of eight years

,discharged a pistol ,

probably accidentally,with the result that the

bullet passed through Nazar Mahommed’s head

and embedded itself in the wall o f the mosque .

Whi chever version is true the catastrophe leftQudsia Begum a widow at the age of eight eenand a half years and Nazar Mahommed Khanhad only reigned three years and nine months .Nazar Mahommed Khan left the following

will The well wishers and dignitaries of the


State should carry out their dutie s in the s ameexcellent manner as they have performed themduring my administration . They should lookupon my wife Nawab Qudsia Begum as theirruler and obeyher orders , and when my daughterSikandar Begum attains to years Of disc retionshe should be married to one of my relat ives ofequal posit ion .

Her husband shall be called the Nawab of

Bhopal .Sir J ohn Malcolm in his memoir already quoted

wr ites as follows of Nazar Mahommed Khan,and

his Opinion may be taken as fully worthy of trustas he was Resident of Central India at the time ,and besides being deeply interested in Bhopalaffai rs had Special facilities for forming an Opinionof Nazar Mahommed

’s character . Nuzzer Mahommed Khan has been already mentioned as

fighting and bleeding, while yet a youth, by hisfather’s side , at the memorable siege Of Bhopal .Hopeless of his eldest son. who was a slave tohabits of indolence and excess

,which enervated

bothhi s mind and body,Viz ier Mahommed had

ea'

i'ly) determined upon his successor

,whose

education was an Obj ect Of his earnest solicitudeand , in addition to his other requirements ,Nuzzer Mahommed had learnt so well the dutiesof a soldier that onhis father’s death he stood

J

I 8 HAYAT—I -QUDS1

the first in fame among the chiefs of the country.

The respect for the memory of his father,com

b ined with his ownhigh qualit ies , made all theNobles press the Government of Bhopal uponhisacceptance .

Ghaus Mahommed,who

,though sunk into

Obscurity,was still called Nabob , made no

Obj ect ion to his elevation and his eldest brotherAmir Mahommed Khan

,Stupefied with his

excesses,was among the first to avow publicly his

owndisqualificat ions , and to urge his youngerbrother to take upon himself the administrat ionof the affairs of the State . To this Nuzzer Mahommed Khan consented ; and his first effortswere directed to the favourite Obj ect of hisfather’s life

,a treaty Of peace with the English

Government . The policy of this measure hadbeen long under discuss ion

,and a fear Of the

embarrasment s in England led to the desire thatno such treaty should be concluded

,but the

outrages committed by the Pindaries forced theGovernment to a course of measures which madeobedience to such restrictive orders impossible .

The first step Of the campaign Of 1 8 17was theengagement with the State of Bhopal , concludedat Hussingabad , which guaranteed that territoryto its actual ruler

,and stipulated forhi s aiding

the Br itish army with a contingent,and co


operat ing to the utmost of his means in theensu ing war . NO Obligat ion were ever morefa ithfully fulfilled . Nuzzer Mahommed re ceived ,as the reward ofhis zeal and efforts , t he fineprovince named Punj Mahal

,or the five districts

which were taken from a Jagheerdar of thePaishwah, and which not only j oined the territories of Bhopal , but had formerly been anintegral portion of that principality . The restora t ionof the fort of I slamnuggur, subsequentlyObta ined from Sindia

,though of little value

,was

esteemed beyond all other favours by the rulingfamily of Bhopal . I t contained the tomb ofYar Mahommed and its posit ion

,almost at the

gates of the capital,had made its separat ion

from the State a source of the greatest annoyance . The condition of this principality atVizier Mahommed

’s death was so low,

that itsactual revenue couldno t have amounted to onelac of rupees . I twas now,

however,raised to a

high rank among the secondary class of NativeStates . I ts rescued territor ies included almostall

’the provinces its princes formerly possessed

,

and it s revenues yielded from nine to ten lacsof rupees , with the expectation of soon exceedingthirty .

Never were prospects more flattering than thoseof Nuzzer Mahommed,when anunhappy acc ident

20 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

terminatedhis l ife , and lefthi s family andcountry to mourn the untimely and irreparableloss of a prince who seemed born for the timesin which he lived

,and who promised to be as

active and successful in restoring his countryto prosperity ashis father had been in saving itfrom destruction . His death was occasioned bythe discharge of a pistol he carried about hisperson

,which he laid down when playing in his

inner apartments with his infant daughter andit is supposed to have been fired by his brotherin- law

,Fauj dar Khan , a child Of eight years Of

age,who was the only one present on this mel

ancholy occasion . The sensation caused by hisdeath was great

,and men gave way for the

moment to the worst suspicions . These,however

were dispelled by the minute invest igation whichtook place

,and by the conduct of all to whom

such a design could have been attributed , or whocould have in any way expected benefif from it .But the general feelings and conduct Of all

persons , from Ghaus Mahommed to the lowestPatan , banished every suspic ion of NuzzerMahommed Khan’s death being premeditated .

There was but one sentiment , that of deepes tregret , and no person sought to take advantageof the accident to promote his owninterests .At a consultation of the principal chiefs

,i t was

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSIA 2 1

resolved to cont inue to attend to the widow andminister s of the deceased prince , till the pleasureof the British Government was known as tohissuccessor ; and it is remarkable , that not theslightes t effort was made by any party to influencethe j udgment Of the British Government— a

sufficient proof of itself, of the absence of alldesign or guilt onthis unhappy occasion .

Nuzzer Mahommed Khan , when he died , wasonly twenty- eight years Of age he had governedBhopal three years and five months , but hehas left a name that has been attained by fewduring the longest life . Schooled in advers ity,he early attained a remarkable matur i ty of

j udgment . His appearance was noble,and his

manners those of a prince who knew the valueof possessing the hearts of his subj ects . Hismind was so superior

,and his courage so elevated

him above suspicion , that the whole family '

Oi

the rulers of Bhopal whom he had supplanted,

as well ' as his elder brother who had resigned hisbirthright to him

,l ived not only without re

s trict ion , but on the most intimate footing of

familiarity with him,coming and going through '

every apartment of his palace at their pleasure .

Nuzzer Mahommed held in j ust detestation thegeneral vices and indulgences of his tribe . Hisharem contained but one princess , and no slaves.

22 HAYAT-I -QUDS I

He was a good Mahommedan , but so far removedfrom b igotry, that his favourite companionand minister was a Christian . His whole soulwas absorbed during the last two years in plansfor improving his country . He invest igatedevery account himself, heard every complaint ;and , while all speak ofhis k indness , benevolenceand j ustice , his memory is unstained by thereproach of a s ingle act Of tyranny.

A greater loss could not have occurred to acommunity in the condition o f Bhopal than thedeath of NuzzerMahommed and that event wasalso a serious m is fortune to the British Government

,to which the virtuous prince was firmly

attached . He was exactly fitted to be thepopular instrument which was required to restoreorder and prosperity . His mind went far beyondthe usual range Of those of his class . He cult ivat ed knowledge of every description withextraordinary ardour , and had made no slightprogress in the arts foreign to the occupations ofhis life and the habits Of his s tation . The fameof Nuzzer Mahommed will be long commemoratedas an Obj ect of emulation to his successors butwe must despair of seeing his equal . “Hewas,as most other such characters have been

,formed

by the ea rly scenes of his life : no instructionscould have conveyed the lessons he had learnt .


When encouraged by the example and rewardedby the love of a noble father he struggled withhim to preserve a country, rendered dearer fromthe extreme misery to which it was reduced andhis mind was too well formed before the hourOf success came , ever to lose that tone which ithad received amid scenes of difficulty and danger .Nuzzer Mahommed left no issue by his princess ,

the daughter Of Ghaus Mahommed , e xcept onef emale child . He had not assumed the titleOf Nabob , though he was always addressed assuch by the British

,for Ghaus Mahommed who had

sunk into complete Obscurity,was never in any

way brought forward in the connection which wasforced between that Government and the actualruler of Bhopal . In the engagement which wasentered into at Hussingabad, and the treatymade after the war , by which the cess ion to thisState and the numbers of the cont ingent to bemaintainedwerefinally settled

,NuzzerMahommed

Khan and his decendant s were alone mentioned,

and to them the Government of the countrywas

guaranteed . Mooner Mahommed Khan the son

of Amir Mahommed Khan,the elder brother of

Nuzzer Mahommed , has succeeded his uncle , towhose daughter he is to be married , that theinterests Of the familym ay as much as possiblebe united in his person .

”

24 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

Investigation into the circumstance s Of thedeath of Nawab Nazar Mahommed Khan .

Sir John Malcolm in a foot note to hishi story(page 340) Observes The same cause (hisbeing the sonOf Ghaus Mahommed) which led tothese suspicions

,attached tohis s ister , the

Nabob’s only wife ; but her ever having hadsuch an intent is treated by Maj or Henley asquite impossible . She is described as very young

,

being only seventeen she is , besides , Stated to beo f a mild disposition , and to have been stronglyattached to the Nabob , who treated her withunusual consideration . He not only resisted allthe entreaties that were used to induce him tocontract a second marriage

,but str ictly prohib it ed the introduction of any young females

,

either as slaves,servant , or Otherwise , within

the Mahal . In further disproof of this it isstated , that her grief since the accident has beenso great , as to produce her miscarriage— anevent ,that

,had she cherished any ambitious views

,

she inust have earnestly deprecated .

”

The untimely death of Nawab Nazar Mahommed Khan coming as it did at a t ime when Bhopalwas beset with troubles and difficulties fromevery quarter was a severe blow to his friends andsupporters , and to the Qudsia Begum his losswas irreparable .

CHAPTER THE SECOND.

THE REGENCY . THE BOURB ON S OF BHOPAL.

S IKANDAR BEGUM .

OW I N G to the Qudsia Begum’s youth and to her

being in Purdah, she at first took no part in theadministration Of the State , but her whole attention was g iven to her daughter who was thej oy of her li fe . With the exception of four menshe was surrounded by untrustworthy and selfseeking Officials . These four were Hakim Shahi ad Maseh

,Raj a Khushwakht Rai , M ian Karam

Mahommed Khan and Bakshi Bahadur Mahommed Khan .

As these men took a very p rominent part inBhopal affairs some deta ils of their history willbe of interest .Hakim Shahzad Maseh was descended from aFrenchman named Jean Philipe Bourbon

,one

of the interesting adventurers and believed to

have been a member of the_ Royal Family of

France who came to India in ' the re ign of theEmperor Akbar . He served in Akbar’s army

,

and his sonbecame an officer of art illery. He

26 HAYAT-I -QUDS I

had much influence and had a position of honourat court . He married a Georgian slave girl

,

and had two sons The eldest,Alexander

Bourbon,rose to be superintendent Of the Royal

Seraglio in the reign of Jehangir and was grantedShergarh

,a place in Malwa , in Jagir, as a reward

for his serv ices . This post remained in thehands of his descendants till the invas ion of Indiaby Nadir Shah, the las t Governor Of the Seragliobeing Francis Bourbon . He and his familyescaped to the fort of Shergarh and remainedthere till 1778 A.D .

, when they were attacked bythe Raj a of Narwar , and Francis and all exceptfour were massacred . These four which includedSalvador Bourbon

,a son of Franc is

,took refuge

with some christian families at Gwalior,and on

the capture of that place by Colonel Popham,

Salvador explained to what stra its the familyhad been reduced and received an allowancefrom the State . Salvador also called InayatMaseh came to Bhopal in AD . 1785 with thefamily , and took service with Wazir Mahommed

Khan and was appointed Killedar (Commanderof the Fort ) and subsequently after distinguishedand faithful service to the State was granted alarge j agir . H is sonBalthazar Bourbon

,also

called Shahzad Maseh,became one Of Nawab

Nazar Mahommed Khan’s chief Ministers and

28 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

Khan all members of the reigning family gatheredat the palace and the question of the successionto the throne was discussed . Mahommed DinKhan , grandson Of Karam Mahommed Khan ,proposed that Asaf Mahommed Khan , his sonin— law

,and a nephew of Nawab Wazir Mahom

med Khan should be elected , but this was opposed by Karam Mahommed Khan and the meeting broke upwithout any definite decis ion havingbeen arrived at .Three days later when a large number of the

army,members of the ruling family and pro

minent subj ects of the State had assembled toceleb rate the ceremony of the Fat eha

,

’KaramMahommed Khan addressed them and said :

The will of Godhas been fulfilled , and it isincumbent onus to frame a scheme for theadministration Of the State .

’

Hakim Shahz ad Maseh whose loyal servicesboth to Wazir Mahommed and Nazar Mabommed have been referred to was much affectedby the death Of Nazar Mahommed and statedI have no desire to have anything whatever t odo with State affairs

,but I will be responsible

for three things,

first,the management of the

garden of the deceased,second

,the palace

which was his res idence,and whoever interferes

with it will have to reckon with me,and lastly .

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSI A 29

the pay Of the army,and if any arrears are due

I will be.

respons ible for them and in fact amready to pay them off now .

’

All replied Whoever interferes with theHarem of the late Nawab is a man of no faith ,but it is nevertheless necessary to arrange forthe government of the State , so that the honourof the deceased ruler may be upheld and cont inue . Shahzad Masih replied : This can bedone if you accept Qudsia Begum as your rulerand obey her .’

This proposal was accepted,and a document

was drafted and signed by all important personspresent . I t ran as follows : The followingagreement is executed by the relatives Of theruler and the Chiefs of the Bhopal State

,date

25thMoharram 1 235 A .H . , attested by QaziMahommed Yaqub , Mahommed Qad ir Baksh

,

Amir Mahommed Khan,Jalal Mahommed Khan

,

Mo iz Mahommed Khan son of Nawab Ghaus‘Mahommed Khan

,Shaikh Abdul Quddus

,Karam

Mahommed Khan and Mahommed Din Khan .

These few lines are wr itten to say That NawabNaziruddaulahNazar Mahommed Khan B ahadurwas a ruler of Bhopal by right Of

'

descent andbirth . Now as the Nawab has departed to abetter world by the will of God , leaving his wifeand daughter , therefore as the right of succession

30 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

goes to the child of the deceased and the BegumSaheba is the consort of the Nawab , ithas beensettled that in all cases affect ing revenue andadministration her orders will be obeyed throughout this State . Now we all

,relatives

,brothers

and kinsmen , are willing and ready to act according to the orders of the Begum of the deceased

,

and do not think it well for us to deviate in theleast degree from her will. Any person amongthe brothers

,relatives or servants Of the deceased

whomsoever the Begum may give the right to doany work for her

,will do every act of administra

t ion according to her commands . These fewlines have been wr itten as an authority for theabove and to serve as a bond . Dated 25thMoharrum ,

1 235 A .H . , corresponding to 14thNovember

,1 8 19 A.D . , and 1 227 F .

’

When this document was completed and thebondwas duly signed

,a copy o f it was sent to the

British Agency.

I t was further settled that whoever was betrothed to Nawab Nazar Mahommed

’s daughter

( Sikandar Begum) should be ruler of Bhopal .As however the daughter was a child it wasdecided that the Qudsia Begum should act asRuler and to whomsoever she delegated herauthority he should be obeyed by all . Thelittle girl who was subsequently to become the


most far sighted and capable Lady Of her timewas present at the gathering and Nawab GhausMahommed Khan placed her in the arms of

Hakim Shadzad Maseh and said carry out theduties of State and serve her as faithfully as

you did the late / Nawab .

’

He replied This is impossible for me as all myambition was centred in the Nawab and hasdied with him

,Mian Karam Mahommed Khan

must be her guardian .

’

This suggestion was hotly contested,and in the

end it was decided that Karam Mahommed shouldsupervise the administration

,while Shahzad

Maseh promised to assist him . Both the Stateand its ruler deserve a thousand congratulations athaving secured two such loyal

,faithful and

self sacrificing men at this j uncture .

This arrangement was approved by all thesub j ects and Offi c ials , and it was decided to communicat e the proposals to Maj or Henley theBritish Agent forhis attestation onhis arr ival inBhopal .

CHAPTER THE THIRD .

SELECT I ON OF A FUTURE HUSBAND FOR

S IKANDAR BEGUM . LETTER FROM THE MARQUI S OF HA ST I N GS . D I S SEN S I O N S .

THE Political Agent arr ived a few days laterand after being informed , pressed Hakim ShahzadMaseh to accept the Diwanship , but he refused,saying that although he intended to lead a privatelife and absta in from being present at the Courthe would obey and assist Karam Mahommed

Khan .

Maj or Henley then advised the Qudsia Begumto select a boy t o be the future husband of

Sikandar Begum and the Ruler of the State,

as it was l ikely to prove inj urious to the Stateto leave it without a ruler for a long per iod insuch troublous times ; i t seems probable thatthe desire o f Maj or Henley and the leadingmembers of the State for a male Ruler insteadof a femalewas due to consideration of theweakness of the female nature .

As Amir Mahommed Khan was the nearestrelative

,his eldest sonMunir Mahommed Khan

was selected,though the consent Of Qudsia

Begum was not Obtained wi thout difficulty .

S EKANDAR BEG UM[F ace f ag : 3 2

34 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

assured that your State will be safe and protectedby the grace of God and by the good-will of

the Company’s Government . Let your mindbe at rest under every condition and lateronin the letter he said I praise your wisdomand sagacity in select ing MunirMahommed Khanas future ruler Of the State , and appointingKaram Mahommed Khan as manager . I f Godwills it there will be no dissension among themembers of the State , and Maj or Henley willgivehi s full attention to its affairs .The Marquis of Hastings , Governor Generalof India sent a letter Of condolence in whichheexp ressed his satisfact ion at the arrangementmade and promisedhis help in the future . Theletter was to the following effect

My dear Begum Saheba ,Your kind letter informing me of the

sorrowful incident,that is the lamentable

death Of your husband Nawab Nazir-uddaulahNazar Mahommed Khan Bahaduronthe 22nd Mohurrum 1 235, A .H . in I slamnager fort by the accidental discharge Of apistol has reached me .

The same letter informs me that yourrelatives and the Nobles of the State whengathered together onthe occasion of thedeceased’s Fateha to condole wi th you

,unani


mously ,

agreed to obey you and your daughter ,and that you , think ing that the admin istrat ioncannot be carried onwithout an intelligentruler of suitable position , have adopted andplaced on the gadi Nawab Munir Mahommed

Khan,nephew of the late Nawab ; and have

appointed during his minority, Karam Mahommed Khan uncle of the deceased

,an exper

I enced administrator,to assist him . You

have also written that you have made nochanges in the Old officers of the State andlook forward to receiving the kindness andfavour of the Government in the same manneras heretofore

,and you have expressed your

loyalty and fidelity to the Government“ As

I have very highly esteemed the deceasedNawab for his faithfulness and loy alty to ourGovernment , this news has caused me acutesorrow and my griefhas been doubled bycons ideration of yours

,but as this unavoidable

calamity has been willed by God and eve ryone has to tread the same path

,I am con

strained to submit with patience . I adviseyou to be patient

'and clear the burden ofthis grief from your heart and to consoleOthers whom it affects .You have done well in adopting Nawab

Mun ir Mahommed Khan and seatinghim on

36 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

the gadi and in appointing the deceased’s uncle

to assist him . I know that the above arrangement is the result Of your wisdom and sagacity

,

and may God bless you and all your friendsand wellwishers .You may rest assured that the officers of

Government will not hesitate to protect andhelp the State, and will work for its prosper ityand welfare in conj unction with you .

There is nothing more to write . Hoping tobe favoured with a letter regarding yourwelfare .

I remain,

Your sincere friend and wellwisherSDf HAST I N GS .

B eginning Of D i ssensi on.

Only a few years passed after the adoption of

Munir Khan and commencement of the newregime when Amir Khan began to show his handand instigated Nawab Munir Khan to act inOpposition to the advice of his councillors . Hisfirs t act was to lendhis support to one JamalMahommed Khan who revolted and seized someterr itory. After this an attempt was made to murder Hakim Shahzad Maseh . The circumstanceswere as follows — Hakim Shahzad Maseh wasaccustomed to accompany the Tazia of one MirGhulam Shah who was of the Shi a Sect onthe


lothday of Mohurrum . This Tazia was coristructed in Nawab Nazar Mahommed Khan’smausoleum and was escorted by Sikandar Begum’s body-guard . regiment of Cavalry . Theintention of the mischief makers was to causea religious riot and with the assistance of a number of Afghans of the army, whom they hadgained over

,to murder Shahzad Maseh, and

afterhis removal to seize the reins of Government from the Begum .

Both the Qudsia Begum and Shahzad Masehreceived information of the plot

,and the former

senther daughter , Sikandar Begum ,to Nawab

Moiz Mahommed Khan’s palace for Safety .

Shahzad Maseh who was a brave and courageousman decided to make no difference inhis plans

,

but he directed his adopted sonImdad Masehto kill all the females of his family to save theirhonour in the event of his death . He thenmounted his famous horse Mahboob and rodetowards Munir Khan’s party and leaving hiscompanions behind , advanced with a fewmounted attendants

,and ordered them to beat

Munir Khan’s followers with the butts of theirlances as they were too contemptible to use armson .

OnShahzad Maseh g1v1ng this order , Mun irKhan’s party were so confounded by his courage

,

38 HAYAT—I -QUDS I

that they ' dispersed, and even Munir Khan tookshelter in Karam Mahommed Khan’s house .

The Tazia was then conducted to the place Ofimmers ion as usual and the incident ended .

Munir Khan although only fourteen or fifteenyears old then proceeded to interfere act ively in theconduct o f affairs . and greatly to the annoyance Of

Qudsia Begum surroundedhimself with a partyOf unscrupulous and rebellious adventurers °

this coupled withhis extravagant habits resultedin Mian Karam Mahommed Khan and Shahzad,

Maseh resigning their pos ts , although urged bythe Begum not to do so .

When. matters had reached a cris is , the PoliticalAgent wrote to Shahzad Maseh and pointe d ou t

that the Nawab was qu ite Ignorant Of the workOf proper administration of the State , and thatas i t was impossible to carry on the duties Of aruler without their help , i f they left him to hisowndevices matters would go from bad to worseand blame would attach to them . This hadthe required effect and both resumed their work ,but were unable to restrain Munir Khan’sextravagant conduct . Although Qudsia Begumhad insisted onMunir Khan living near herpalace in order to supervise and control him , shewas unable to do so ,

as he defied her authorityand caused her every possible trouble and anxiety,


both on account of the proposed union with herdaughter and the fear that he would ruin theState . Maj or Henley who had been a staunchfriend to the ruling family and of the State haddied

,and Qudsia Begum after mature cons idera

tion decided to dissolve the betrothal betweenher daughter and Munir Khan . She thereforeaddressed a depressed and dej ected letter to Mr .Maddock

,at that time Political Agent

,which

ran as follows The la te Nawab Nazar Mabommed Khan did his utmost to maintain this State .

I t was he who saved the country from thedepredations of the Mahrattas and through hisefforts a treaty was concluded between him andthe Marqu is of Hastings

,and from the date of

that treaty he left no stone unturned to provehis loyal adherence to it . When he died theruling family and nobles of the State acknowledgedthe rights of myself and my daughter and agreedto Obey us , and an agreement to that effect wassigned and bears their signatures and is attestedby the Kazis and Muftis . Hakim Shahzad Masehand Karam Mahommed Khan who were re

sp onsible for the agreement, considered that' it

would be advisable to select a future husband formy daughter , and so maintain the treaty withthe British Government in perpetuity . Thelate Maj or _

Henley was present at the proceedings

40 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

and Nawab Munir Mahommed Khan was selected,

though I obj ected to the choice as I knew bothhis father’s and his ownquarrelsome natures andhad no hope of peace in the future . To removemy Obj ections an agreement was taken fromMunir Mahommed Khan’s father promising notto interfere in the management of the S tate ,and guaranteeinghis obedience to me

,and this

was attested by the Kazis and Muftis and mykinsmen .

Nawab MunirMahommed Khan was only fourteen years Oi age and is devoid ofwisdom and senseand refuses to obey me, and is moreover headinga revolt against my authority . I trust that outof regard for me and my daughter you will no tallow him to defy my authority and ruin theState and bring destruction onthis family,whi ch relies onthe first article of the treatywhich states that the friends and enemies of oneparty shall be the friends and enemies of theother . Jamal Mahommed Khan

,who is an

adviser of Munir Mahommed Khan , first embezzled six or seven thousand rupees and thencame to me for protection . Subsequentlyh‘erebelled and is now encouraging Munir Mahommed Khan to ruin the State and using every effortto that end . For myself I put my trust in theCompany’s Government and yourself .”

CHAPTER THE FOURTH .

ATTEMPTS AT CONC I L IAT I O N . A PLOT FA I L S .D I STURBAN CES . JAHAN GI R MAHOMM E D KHAN

SELECTED AS SI KANDAR’S HU SBAND .

MR . MADDOCK sent his assistant Captain Johnstone to endeavour to settle the quarrel and ifnecessary to assist Qudsia Begum

,and he

warned and remonstrated with Munir Khan .

In one letter he wrote The Sirkar (QudsiaBegum) is the ruler of the State and you mustact according to her advice and you cannot bepermitted to interfere in the Government of theState . You have disobeyed and Opposed hercommands and desire to make changes in themanagement of the State without authority.

’

In‘

another he referred to the agreements confirming the Begum as ruler of the State

,and the

promise of Amir Khan his father to abst a Infrominter ference

,and later onhe pointed out that his

betrothal to the Sikandar Begum had not beenmentioned in those agreements and that ifcontinued to act contrary to her mother’s wishesthe betrothal would be cancelled .

42 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

Mr . Maddock in referring to a letter from Captain Johnstone wrote to Munir Khan :

“ I t isobvious that the Begum Sahiba has the supportof the Officers of the State , and that y ou haveraised an army with the intention of gainingpossession o f the State by force . This is verybad and God only knows who the illomenedperson is who has given you such evil advice .

You should understand that any one interferingin State aff airs is the enemy of the Brit ishGovernment

,and if hostilit ies ensue we shall be

obliged to assist the Begum . What j ustificationhave you for enrolling a force Your peoplehave attacked the frontier posts and forts forno reason , and if the Begum and her offi cershad not acted with restraint troubles wouldhave resulted .

Afterwards he urged Munir Khan to dismisshis followers in another letter in which he re

ferred to the treaty between Nawab NazarMahommed Khan and the British Government ,and said that that Government would see thatthe provisions were observed to the Nawab’sdescendants generation by generat ion . Naza rMahommed Khan’s only issue was his daughterthe Sikandar Begum

,and the Government would

support her . She would be ruler and after hermarriage her child would succeed . And he


further recommended Munir Khan to considerthe facts whi ch he was well aware of, and

‘i f hehad any representation to make he shouldprefer it to Captain Johnstone . In a subsequentletter he wrote : The Nawab Begum has fullauthor ity over the State and you Should Obeyher .

“

The British Government will not permityou to interfere and act contrary to her wishes ,a copy Of the document signed bo th by thegreat and minor Officials has been sent to youand you have seen the bond of your father AmirKhan . In that paper Obedience to the Begumis expressly stated and she has the power toforfeit your succession. Mr . Maddock furtheragain reminded Munir Khan of Nazar Mahommed

Khan’s treaty with the British Governmentwhose intention it was to see that the provisionswere carried out , and he refe1 red also to SikandarBegum’s rights and the rights ofhe I chi ldren .

In Spite of Munir Khan’s outrageous conduct

Qudsia Begum proposed t hat he should Signan agreement engaging not to quarrel with her

,

and if he dismissedhis followers she would beprepared to fix an allowance for his maintenance .

These warnings had no effect onMuni r Khanwho continued as before and succeeded in gainingover a large number of faithless soldiers . Hethen gained possession of the Fort of Raisen by

44 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

a conspiracy, and was in touch with a numberof di sloyal Jats who garrisoned the fort ofI slamnagar , and a few persons within the wallsof Bhopal were also favourable to his cause .

He and Jamal Mahommed Khan next assembledtheir forces and made a progress through theCity of Bhopal which ended at Munir Khan’sresidence . Jamal Khan Mahommed Din Khanand Ibrahim Khan then gathered their supporters together and se t to work to make a plot .After much discussion it was arranged that thehouses of all the prominent supporters of QudsiaBegum Should be surrounded some hours beforeday break

,and that guards should be placed

before dawn at the heads Of all the streets of thecity

,which might then be looted without fear

of a surprise attack by the other party. Thewomen were to be dishonoured and the Officialsprevented from going to their dut ies or homes

,

water and food was to be cut off , and it washoped that the affair would be settled in one day .

News of the plot and the plans of the conspirat ors reached Hakim Shahzad Maseh afterthe evening prayer

,and he summoned all the

prominent Officials and held a consultationwith them . The “general opinion was that allshould go to their houses and arrange t o defendthem . At this j uncture Bakshi Bahadur Mahom


med Khan arrived and his advice was asked .

He was strongly against the proposal to awaitthe attack of the insurgents and to allow themto gain pOssessionof the gates and importantpoints in the city

,and he was Of Opinion that if

this course were followed , and if any generallooting of the city took place

,many men who

were adherents of the Begum would j oin therebels through fear of their lives or with hopeof partaking in the loot . He strongly urgedthat the gates Of the city and streets should beguarded

,and the insurgents should be boldly

attacked before they secured any advantage .

Allagreed to this proposal and the carrying outof thi s plan was left to his discretion .

The Bakshi then asked all the nobles andprominent persons to assemble at Hakim ShahzadMaseh’s house , and said ‘

that he would attackthe rebels with the forces under his owncommandwhich he could rely on

, and he asked ShahzadMaseh to keep himself informed as to the courseof events so that if necessary he might cometo his assistance with reinforcements . The Bakshi then placed 150 men of his ownforce

,250

Sikhs under a leader named Kan Singh and 150

Afghans at the Palace gate and furnished themwith ammunition . After that he surrounded thehouses of Mian Jamal Mahommed Khan and

46 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

Mahommed Din Khan so that they could notcome out and assis t Munir Khan . Meanwhile aregiment of the body-guard and some othermen assembled at Shahz ad Maseh’s and KaramMahommed Khan’s houses , and the Bakshi withonly 500 men of his own command reached theGhariali gate of the Diwankhana . At the time1700 Afghans of Munir Khan

’s force were asleepat the gate with only two or three men onguard

,

so the Bakshi directed a Havildar to go forward,

and if challenged,to kill the sentry . This was

done and the Bakshi fired a pistol to rouse theAfghans and immediately attacked them .

‘

Thestruggle didnot last long and those of the Afghanswho resisted were killed and the remainder whodid not escape were cap tured . During thefight a man who had surrendered to the Bakshi

,

and who had been ordered to give up his armsand lie down with those who had fallen

,fired a

shot which grazed the Bakshi’s head, and thelatter p romptly cut him in two. with his sword

,

and went onfighting without letting his menknow that he had been wounded . Desultoryfighting went onfor four or five days , shots were firedat the Begum’s palace

,and the guns in Fatehgarh

fort were turned onthe rebels . In the endMunir Mahommed Khan andhi s force werehard pressed for food and water and sent a


piteous request to Qudsia Begum for relief,and she was merciful enough to send themsupplies . Shortly after they surrendered

,and

Munir Mahommed Khan was brought into herpresence . She took pity on him and treated himwith clemency . She however banished JamalMahommed Khan and the evil companions of

Munir Khan and despatched Kan Singh and hisSikhs to turn Amir Mahommed Khan out of thefort of Raisen .

Onarrival there Kan Singh was received withthe fire of the guns of the fort by Amir Khanand was obliged to retire and camp out of rangeon the banks of a tank . Karam Mahommed Khanhowever succeeded in inducing Amir Khan toevacuate the fort, and he escaped to Sironjand thence to Tonk .

Islamnagar fort was also surrendered by theJats who begged for forgiveness and fo r arrearsof pay due from Munir Mahommed Khan .

Both petitions were granted,though their trucu

lent r ingleader Budh Singh was banished . Theegum then decided to dissolve the betrothal

n Munir Khan and her daughter,and he

obliged to relinguishall claims to her handto the S tate , and executed an agreement toeffect . I t was then decided by the Begumher advisers to betroth Sikandar Begum to

48 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

Jahangir Mahommed Khan , the younger brotherof Munir Mahommed Khan , and after takingMunir’

s wr itten approval, Mr . Maddock wascommunicated with and he attested the document . Jahangir Mahommed Khan was thenformally adopted by the Qudsia Begum . AmirMahommed Khan and his wife also sent theirconsent in writing and the former stated : “ Ihave given Jahangir Mahommed Khan to theNawab Qudsia Begum to be adopted by herof my own free will , and I have surrendered myrights as his parent . He Should accept QudsiaBegum as his real mother and he should make itthe obj ect of his life to fulfill his duties to her .She is his master .

”

The Qudsia Begum also executed a bondwhich ran as follows : “As Sikandar Begumhas been betrothed to Jahangir Mahommed Khan

,

the State,it s government , and all the duties

pertaining thereto have been entrusted to him,

therefore both my children are owners of theState . The best thing for him is to please andobey me . The ceremony of marr iage will becarried ou t at a suitable time .

”

Amir Mahommed Khan,however

,again began

to make difficulties and to cause Obstruction,but

owing to the influence of the Political Agent thisnewtrouble did not come to anything. Mian


Karam Mahommed Khan remained as ChiefMinister of the State as

l

before , the betrothalrites were performed and Jahangir Mahommed

Khan received the title of Nawab Nazir-udDaulah.” As he was only eight or nine years Oldsuitable persons we re appointed as tutors andguardians

,and the age of nineteen or twenty was

fixed for investing him with full authority overthe State . All these arrangements were formallycommunicated to the Political Agent and thesanction of the Governor General was conveyedthrough, Maj or Evans , Political Agent , in thefollowing terms .When Jahangir Mahommed Khan is married

to Sikandar Begum his succession to the gadi willbe carried out by the Nawab Qudsia Begumand he will be recognised as Nawab of Bhopal . ”

Jahangir Mahommed Khan first received instruction in ordinary subj ects of education andlater on was taught administration of the State .

Qudsia Begum also gave similar instruction toher daughter . The latter eventually held hert and Signed papers of State . Jahangirommed Khan however

, was indolent andling

'

to learn,and caused his adopted

anxiety . The Political Agent also enavoured to infuse him with some ene

rgy and

y ehim'

advice. Jahang ir wasnowgrowing up ,

59 HAYAT—I —QUDSI

and if the former troubles were to be avoided itwas high time to impress onhim a sense of hisfuture reSponSibilit ies . Both Mr . Maddock andMaj or Evans had been transferred to otherposts and Hakim Shahzad Maseh was dead .

The result was soon apparent and the QudsiaBegum’s anxieties increased

,and she took an

agreement from Jahangir Mahommed Khanwhich She attempted t o have attested by theBrit ish Agency . Mr . Wilkinson had only beenappointed a few days prev iously, and AmirMahommed Khan and Asad Ali Khan who werenoted for their intr igues

,and had done so much

harm to the State , had been working to securethe support of the Political Agent , and the resultwas that Qudsia Begum’s request was refused .

Mr . Wilkinson wrote as followsYou should not expect the help of the British

Government in,

dealing with any action of theNawab during his minority as he was not re

sponsible at the time for either good or baddeeds

,and the S ignatures to the agreement

whether Obtained willingly or unwillingly are‘of

equal value . He cannot be held to be bound bythem

,but any arrangements for his benefit

will be readily accepted .

”

No doubt Qudsia Begum’s action was due toher anxiety and the Political Agent’s View was


correct . She hoped that Mr . Wilkinson wouldhelp her as former Agent’s had done , and theagreement would serve the purpose of preventingfriction in the future .

CHAPTER THE FIFTH .

VI S IT OF JAHAN GI R MAHOMM ED KHAN ToLORD WILLIAM BENT I N CK . S IKANDAR BEGUM’S

MARRIAGE . TROUBLE S B EG I N .

I F Mr . Wilkinson had been more in sympathywi th the Qudsia Begum it is probable that hewouldnot have re fusedher request . He however

,

gave his support to Nawab Jahangir Mahommed

Khan whose aims were those of Asad Ali Khanand others . It was his custom to assist theNawab in every way

,sometimes havinghim to

stay withhim at the Agency in Sehore and atothers raising Obj ections to the method of hiseducation and the selection of his tutors . Complaints were also made about the insufficiencyof the Nawab’s allowances , and these matters ,small in themselves

,tended towards a dangerous

situation . Three or four years passed in thi sway when information of the intended visit of

Lord William Bentinck,the Governor General

,

to Saugorwas received in 1 832 . Qudsia Begum ,

considering that Jahangir Mahommed KhanWas to be the future ruler of Bhopal

,and had

52

54 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

ing that the Nawab at the time was on ly thirteenyears Old it seems clear that he was put up to

make the request by others who wished to obtaincontrol over the State in his name , and oust the

Qudsia Begum .

When the Nawab returned to Bhopal, QudsiaBegum , well knowing that Amir Mahommed

Khan,his father , was at the bottom of all the

past friction,decided that he should live apart

fromhi s parents . Amir Mahommed Khan wasordered to take uphis residence at Raisen asbefore

,and those persons suspected of intriguing

and fomenting trouble were either imprisoned orexiled . She also surrounded him with trustworthy and respectable companions who neverallowed him out of their sight . I t was furtherarranged that certain kinds o f cases should bedisposed of beforehim and the usual daily ordersShould be issued inhis presence . This did notsuit the Nawab’s inclinations , and he madeseveral complaints to the Brit ish authorities .Meanwhile Mr . Wilkinson had been reappointedPolitical Agent in place of Maj or Evans , and arumour became current that he was desirs usof marrying J ahangir Mahommed Khan to someother girl . He however

,denied this in a letter

in which he said Sidiq Ali Khan from Nagpurapproached me onthe subj ect

,but I explained to


him that the matter was impossible .

” Thisdisposed of the rumour .Meanwhile the Nawab obj ected to the grant

by Qudsia Begum of j agirs to certain faithfulofficials for their services , and he addressed theResident and the Governor General on the sub

j ect , although the Polit ical Agent pointed out

that the Begum as ruler of the State was quitewithin her rights in rewarding either faithfulsubj ects or members of the army ; at the sametime, however , he wrote to the Begum urgingher to have the marriage celebrated at an earlydate, and he suggested that the sanads (deeds) ofthe j agirs and rewards should bear the signatureof the Nawab as in the time of Munir Mahommed

Khan . He subsequently wrote as followsWazir Mahommed Khan and others were de

sirous of taking the Nawab away with them andraising dissensions in the State . Measures

,how

ever,were adopted, and both Sironj and Bhilsa

warned not to receive him , and their evil int entions were frustrated . The Governor Generalwas also informed, and he has instructed me tosay that so long as the marriage of the Nawab isdelayed there is no hope of any end to

‘

thesedissensions . I f the marriage is performed nosuspicion will remain, and surely it is time for theBegum to accomplish it in order to allay any

HAYAT- I -QUDS I

suspicion which may exist as toher motivesfor postponing matters . I as your s incere frienddesire the same

,and trust that a date may be

fixed and the ceremony performed in a happy andauspicious manner . ” Soon after a letter to the

same effect was received from the Res ident atIndore .

The Begum did not relish the advice,as her

Obj ect in delaying the nuptials was the desire tosatisfy herself fully as t o the character of theNawab .

Owing t o the pressure from the Agency , Resideney and the Governor Generalhimself, theBegum at last decided that the marriage shouldbe performed a fewdays after the receipt of theletters referred to . She , however , did not lookonthe marriage as an occasion for rej oic ing andshe decided that i t should be a perfectly informalone .

A‘

Chobdar (mace bearer) was therefore sent toNawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan to requesthim to come to the Mosque and to tell him thatthe Nikah (marriage) would be celebrated , andthat the Qudsia Begum andher daughter wereproceeding there as soon a s the latter was dressed .

Onreaching the Mosque the Begum sent forRaj a Khushwak t Rai , who arr ived with hisattendants and a regiment of the bodyguard .


Nawab Moiz Mahommed Khan and Fauj darMahommed Khan were also summoned , togetherwith other leading men , and all were puzzledand could not imagine why they had been called .

The Qudsia Begum was much incensed andreproached both her daughter , Jahangir Mahommed Khanand all present , as the Nawab refusedto come , and the party remained in the mosquefrom Zohar to I sha prayers . Several requestswere sent to him t o come and he replied : Asmy S i ster is a s yet unmarried it does not becomeme to marry before she does ,

” and no other courseremained but to postpone the ceremony .

A new diffi cultynowarose,as Sikandar Begum

had reached an age when her consent to themarriage became very necessary according to

the tenets of her religion , and she was unwilling ,as She dreaded future troubles (which in factoccurred later) . Finally She consented to themarriage on the condition that the Nawabexecuted an agreement with her defin ing herposit ion

,and that the document be attested by

Mr . Wilkinson . He , however , refused to dothis as being opposed to official custom

,and he

continued to urge that the marr iage should takeplace soon .

Nawab J ahangir Mahommed Khan professedhimself to be anxious for the marriage , and

58 HAYAT- I -QUDS I

accused Qudsia Begum of delaying it under onepretext or another, and made as much as possibleof his grievance . Finally matters came to acris is , and Mr . Wilkinson proceeded to Bhopaland informed Qudsia Begum that he would notreturn to Sehore till he had heard the sound ofthe drums proclaiming the Nawab’s marriage .

In addition to this he sent his Mir Munshi to

Qudsia Begum to persuade her to agree , and tothreaten her with the displeasure o f the GovernorGeneral . She however remained firm in herrefusal

,so Mr . Wi lkinson summoned Raj a Khush

wakt Rai , and God knows what instructions hegave him . The result was that he remonstratedboth with Qudsia Begum and Sikandar , andwarned them that they ran the risk of beingconfined in the Fort and of losing the State .

Sikandar Begum then drew out an agreementbetween the Nawab and herself and requested

Qudsia Begum to S ign and attest it . Qudsia

Begum told her that she would be her companionboth in grief and j oy and agreed to attest thebond .

Qudsia Begum throughout had not been Op

posed to the marriage , and her action in delayingit had been due to a des ire to ensure the happinessboth of the Nawab and of her daughter

,and

to prevent quarrels and misunderstandings .

60 HAYAT- I -QUDS I

late Nawab and that of Hakim Shahzad Maseh .

Nawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan signed andsealed a bond in which he undertook to act insubordination to Qudsia Begum

’s wishes, bothonbehalf of himself and his adherents . Thecontents of the bond were as followsThe Nawab Qudsia Begum has shown her

regard for me from the time that I was e ight yearsof age by appointing instructors for my guidanceand she has brought me up from that time , and sheextends her favour to menow. As she ObservedS igns of ability and wisdom in me she is desirousof giving me her daughter in marriage , but as shehas certain doubts in her heart I write the following lines of my own free will and without constraint from anybody , that I will not take anyother woman to wi fe when I have married herdaughter

,neither will I ever mention such a

thing . I will t ry to carry out all her orders andwishes and I will not permit anyone to opposeher . I consider it advisable that my parentsand relatives Should reside at Raisen fort as before,and I will only permit them to visit Bhopal a sordinary guests . I take the Begum as my mother' ,and as I have attained to this high positionowing to my marriage with her daughter

,I will

give her my hearty obedience always . I prayGod to be my witness to the above promises

,


and i f I depart from the condi t IOnS of thisagreement I trust that the officers of the exalted

( British) Government may consider that I amfalse .

”

Future events showed that the conditions of

the bond were not observed and that the document was worthless .The marriage had hardly been

\completed

when Jahangir Mahommed Khan , casting asideall ideas of right and wrong and family feeling ,and carried away by ambition , was induced t o

j oin in a plot against the lives of the Begums andfor the destruction of the family.

Onthe occasion of a festival, armed soldierswere hidden in the city

,and an attacking party

were kept outside,while another body Of soldiers

were at the Nawab’s residence . Fortunatelynews reached Qudsia Begum and she cleverlyfrustrated the plans of the plotters . SaadullahKhan one of the leaders was pursued till heescaped from the State , and the Nawab was putunder supervision till the Political Agent enquired in to the matter . He wrote to the Nawabsaying that afterhis warnings and plans he hadbeen in hopes that things would go smoothly ,but this affair had taken place and it would havebeen better i f Jahangir Mahommed Khan had

exercised pati ence a little longer . The Nawab

62 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

placedhi s version of the affair before Mr . Wilkinsonand made out that he was the inj ured party .

Even Mr . Wilkinson’s warnings and threats tothe Nawab were couched in such terms that theygave the impression that he sympathised withhim

,and this no doubt was the case so far as

the struggle forhis rights was concerned . As adescr iption of each event would be very lengthyand take much Space it will be better to giveextracts of the correspondence which took placeat the time between Qudsia Begum and theBr it ish authorit ies .

Qudsia Begum ,finding that she could get no

support from the Polit ical Agent in keepingJahangir Mahommed Khan out of his powers a sRuler

,thought that if the Governor General

was made aware of all the facts some favourablearrangements could be come t o ; she thereforeaddressed a long letter to Lord Aukland

,then

Governor General,and the gist of it was as

followsThe treaty made by Nawab Nazar Mahommed

Khan with the Brit ish Government made nomention of Wazir Mahommed Khan , but it wasstipulated that the succession to the Gadi of

Bhopal Should go to the lineal descendants of theNawab Nazar Mahommed Khan . When hedied his only issue was one daughter , viz .

,the


Begum Sikandar . The third day after his deathallhis relatives and the leading menof the Statebound themselves to Obey me and my rule, andthe bond was drawn and attested by the Kazisand Muftis .Further onre ferring to the adoption of Munir

Mahommed Khan , it s sanction by the GovernorGeneral and it s disastrous consequences

,she

mentioned the betrothal of Jahangir Mahommed

Khan ‘

to her daughter, and his succession to theGadi and his petit ion to the Governor General atSaugor that his marriage might be performed .

This was approved by the Governor General,and both Maj or Evans and Mr . Wilkinson gaveher both advice and warnings which she repliedto by saying that the Nawab neither desired themarriage nor had reached a suitable age . Nextshe urged that the Nawab’s relations wished toget control of the State , and the marriage wassimply a pretext

,so to defeat their intrigues she

asked that a bond which Should bear the authorityof the Governor General excluding them from allinterference , Should be taken from them . Thiswas not approved, and the Nawab grew up andpressed for the marriage

,so Qudsia Begum took

a bond from him and again endeavoured butwithout success to obtain the attestat ion andapproval of the GovernorGeneral. The marriage

64 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

then took place , andQudsia Begum was in hopesthat J ahangir would act in subordination toherand in accordance with the bond promisingto obeyher °

whichhe had given . This was,however

,not the case , and nothing but trouble

ensued . Qudsia Begum then kept quie t and theNawab visited Mr . Wilkinson at Sehore inconnection with ma t ters relating to his education

,

and while there collected a number of seditiousand disaffected persons round him and with sometwelve or fourteen hundred horsemen and infantryprepared to take mili t ary action . She

,however

,

sent some leading offi cials to Mr . Wilkinson , andhe tactfully persuaded the Nawab to dismiss thegreater part of the gathering

,reassur ing him at

the same time . Mr . Wilkinson and the Nawabthen went t o Bhopal and stay ed there for fifteenday s , and while there the Nawab through Mr .

W ilkinson urged that he might be granted fullpowers a s Ruler of the State . Qudsia Begumreplied that She would surrender the powers tohim when she was sa t isfied that he was fit to

exerci se them,and She s tat ed that if the Political

Agent was satisfied with him he might granthimthe powers . Afterwards arrangements were madeto provide the Nawab with suffi c ient funds forhis expenses , and tutors forhis instruction and amounted bodyguard was appointed . Judicial

,


cases were sent to him for d isposal every thirdday, and a bondwas S igned at the instance of thePolit ical Agent both by him and the leading menof the State defining his and their positions . Anagreement was also signed by the Nawab engagmgnot to j oin in plots against the lives of Qudsia or

Sikandar Begum , and a similar agreement wa sSigned by them . In Spite of the grant of funds andother arrangements for his comfort fourteen dayslater he made a plot to murder the Begums, andsummoned a body of evil men who actuallycamped outside the city

,and he distributed

armed Afghans disguised as travellers throughoutthe city. The plot was abortive

,as news of it

reached Qudsia Begum ,and the state troop s

dispersed the gathering and arrested some of theleaders . Some of these were under arrest stilland others had been banished . The PoliticalAgent was informed and requested to take stepsthrough Government to restrain the : Nawab

,

and induce him to dismiss certain mischie fmakers who were with him . The PoliticalAgent however , replied that the Nawab refusedti) be guided by his advice , and he suggested thatQudsia Begum should warn and remonstratewith him . This was done , and she even providedhim with funds for the travelling expenses ofthe men to be got rid of. The Nawab , however ,

66 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

did nothing, and the Begum now requested thatthe Br it ish Government should take actionagainst the Nawab who by plotting againstherli fe had sinned against God and the Prophet

,and

she asked that three English Officers like Mr .Maddock and several persons acquainted with theadministration of the State might be sent to holdan impartial investigation into matters . Sheprofessed to be ready to ab ide by the orders ofthe Governor General onthe results of theirenquiry, and ended by saying I t is a thousandtimes better to die with a good name than to livewith a bad one .

”

This letterwas sent to . the Polit ical Agent withthe request that it

.

might be forwarded to theGovernor General. He agreed to do so

,but at

the same time pointed out toher that‘ he saw nohope of any peace bet‘ween them ; as She compla ined against the Nawab’s intentions towardsher , and she re fused to ,grant

'him the r igh ts whichhe was j ustified inc laim ing. He stated that shehad not affixedher Signature to the agreementwith the Nawab

,and that his companions put

this down to her unmotherly sentiments towardshim . I t was true that he had sent for SaidullaKhan and others to assist him

,but had since dis

missed them . The Political Agent asked QudsiaBegum to send Raj a Khushwakht Rai and Saiyid

CHAPTER THE SI' TH .

MR . VVI LK I NSON’S EFFORTS To COMPO SE THE

DIFFEREN CE S BETWEE N QU D S I A BEGUM ANDNAWAB JAHAN GI R MAHOMM E D KHAN . THE

LATTER RA I S E S A FORCE .

I T seems clear that Qudsia Begum’s obj ect inpetitioning the Governor General was that shebelieved that the Nawab had Secured the supportof the Political Agent , and that she despaired of

gaining her ends throughhis assistance,and She

wrote to him to this effect . Subsequently,

though disappointed p reviously,she applied

again to the Political Agent for assistance .

In this letter She referred to her having ruled theState satisfactorily and quietly for the past seventeen y ears and to Mr . Wilkinson having been atSehore for six years

,and his knowledge that she

alway s carr ied out the wishes of the supremeGovernment ; She referred to the Nawab’sviolent action in collecting evil disposed personsand tohis plot against her life, and said that asShe was informed that the Nawab had sent hisagents t o Indore and *Agra she had been obliged

*The Governor-General was at Agra at the ti me .


to ~ do so also . She begged Mr . Wilkinson totake measufes to prevent the Nawab from plott ing

,and asked him to protect her life , and again

quoted the words of a section of the treaty withthe Government that the friends or enemies ofone party are the same for the other ,

” and sheaffirmed her readiness to abide by the orders ofGovernment .In reply t o thi s , Mr . Wilkinson in a lett er dated

November 22nd ,1 836, said : When I was

proposed for the appointment of Political Agentat Bhopal

,I visited the Governor General

,and

he told me that he was informed that the administ ra t ionof the State was superior to that of otherNative States

,and that it was in the hands of

capable,reliable and faithful officials . I also

dur ing the past six years have observed that j usticeis meted out by the officers of the State, and Iam well aware of your benevolent and highcharacter . I also am of opinion that the Government of the State has been superior to that inother States , and I have informed the GovernorGeneral in detail of this .”

Afterwa i‘ds expressing his sorrow at the '

dis

putes between the part ies and their failure to acton his advicehe declared that although theNawab was impatient and hasty

,the root of the

matter washi s demand forhi s rights. Describ ing

79 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

:'

a conversation with Hakim Bakar Al i he wrote7 I f you will only consider the matter fully youi illsee that the \ awabhasno other Obj ect butto demand his rights . You have seated theNawab onthe gadi with the sanct ionof thesupreme Government , and have executed a bondto hand over the rule o f the State to him when hereached the age of nineteen . Youhave received arobe of honour for him from the Governor General

,

and nowthat hehas attained the 1 equired ag

and demands the rights set out in the bondshowcan he be refused The Nawab as he could notObta in his rights has raised disturbances andacted in an undesirable and improper manner ,but you have promised to act according to theviews of the supreme Government , and it is tobe hoped that there will be no disturbance andintriguers will be restrained . A copy of yourlette r has been sent to the Nawab

,and he has

informed me throughhis representative that notrouble will be caused by him for the present . ”

Mr . Wilkinson after some further advice endedhis letter by saying The matter is in your hands— act as you deem fit .

”

Mr . Wilkinson at the same time addressed theNawab and sent him a Copy of the Begum’sletter . He advised the Nawab to be guided bythe Begum’s advice and wishes

,and recommended

THE NAWAB BEGUMj ijQUDSIA 71

him to treat the Old and ‘faithfulf

officersv

of theState with kindness and consideration . Hesaid that if thi s was done he wouldfind the Begumto be well disposed towards him and his friend ,but if both sides practised deceit and treacheryowing to their ownselfish aims and motives ,they would earn a bad name before the worldand the displeasure of God . He asked the Nawabto inform him which course he intended to take .

Qudsia Begum next requested that the disputemight be settled by Mr . Wilkinson and Mr .Carnac the Resident at Indore , and requested thelatter to visit Bhopal . He , however , regrettedthat he was unable to come

,urging pressure

of work , and saying that he did not desire to

intervene in quarrels betweenhe1 self and herrelatives, moreover he had little hope that evenif he did visit Bhopal he would be able to set tlethe matter .Seeing no hope of inducing the Residency at

Indore or Agent at Bhopal to intervene, theBegum decided to approach the Governor Generalagain .

No doubt the leading menof the State madea mistake when after the death of Nawab NazarMahommed they effected the arrangement bywhich the future husband of Sikandar Begumwas to be ruler of Bhopal . They

,however,

HAYAT-I -QUDSI

were actuated byhonest motives and in theirview they acted for the benefit of the State , anditwas a mistake which even loyal , farsighted , andfaithf ul men were likely to make consider ing thecondition of the times . The Nawab felt obligedto press for his rights and in this he had thesupport of Mr . Wilkinson . The Begum

,there

fore,in addressing the Governor General pointed

out that in her opinion,Mr . Wilkinson had

exceeded his powers in the measures taken tosupport the Nawab

,and she detailed the cir

cumst ances at length . The gist of her letterwas that the British Government was desirous ofpreventing rebellions in the tributary Statesand appointed Residents for that purpose .

In this State the policy was not followed , asplots against the lives both of the rulers andruled were permitted

,and the Political Agent

had summoned Nawab Jahangir Mahommed

Khan to Sehore onthe plea of superintending hiseducation , and that while there the Nawab wasencouraged to cause trouble . Further that ,although the appointment of a Political Agentwas for the purpose of suppressing trouble

’hechad failed to control mischief makers . Furtherhe hadno t dispersed a rebellious gathering whichhad collected at Sehore, and that two of theNawab’s servants

,Mustaj ab Khan and Sume

74 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

conduct,and to safisfy themselves as to her admin

ist rat ionof the S tate during the past s eventeenyears . She was ready to abide by the ruling of

Government after they had considered the rightsof her late husband, Nawab Nazar Mahommed

Khan .

Meanwhile the Nawab’s' father , Amir Mahommed Khan

,his brother Munir Mahommed Khan ,

and *Asad Ali were working inhis interest atSehore

,and had collected several hundred

mounted and foot soldiers,and word was sent to

the Nawab in Bhopal to come to Sehore . Hestarted in disguise onfoot and met the mes

sengers at the tomb o f Moulvi Ziauuddin( ashort distance outs ide Bhopal) and mounting hishorse rode in to Sehore , arriving there aboutmidnight . Onthe Political Agent being informeda salute o f eleven guns was fired , and next dayhe addressed a letter to Qudsia Begum .

In this letter he informed her that he hadforwardedher letter to the Resident at Indorerequesting him and the Political Agent to cometo Bhopal . He had givenhis Opinion before andhe again repeated it

,that the quarrel betweenHer

and the Nawab could be settled by themselves .He had instructed the Nawab t o be p atient andto allow the Begum to carry out the administration

*Asad Ali was Chi ef of a small Stat e called B asod a .


for a few days longer , and he asked her to send hertrustworthy agent, Raj a Khushwakht Rai , to

arrangel

mat ters .

Meanwhile the Nawab began to collect an armyat Sehore , and borrowed money from the bankersthere , and the Begum complained to the Polit icalAgent . He wrote to her saying that he wasaware that shehad been told that SadullahKhanand other rebellious persons had gathered in

jSehore with the knowledge and countenance of thePolitical Agent , but he trusted that She would

rd all such untrue reports . He hadto the Nawab in the matter and he hadthat the people had com e at his request

,

s no doubt was inaccurate,and he had

ed on t he Nawab that he would obtainight s if he exercised patience , as the Begumpledged her word to the Government thatwould grant them . Further he informedBegum that the Nawab seemed inclined toerse the gathering

,and that if she would send

Khushwakht Rai to reason wi th him andure him he felt sure that the Nawab wouldonly get rid of his following

,but would

to Bhopal and make his peace with herurged the Begum not to delay in sending thea as the numbers of the Nawab’s adherents

were increasing daily,and it would be difficult

HAYAT- I -QUDSI

to get rid of them without fighting unless immediate action were taken . He was of opinionthat it would be necessary for the State to paythe members of the gathering a certain amountto cover their expenses in returning to theirhomes

,and as he had the true interests of the

State at heart he urged her to take early actiononthe lines he suggested .

Mr . Wilkinson then told the Nawab that hecould not be permitted to collect armed forcesin Sehore

,and that if he continued t o do so he

must leave the Cantonment . The Nawab’sreply to this was to attack and capture Doraha ,Devipura and Jharkhera (places within a radiusof about fifteen miles from Sehore) . Mr . Wilkinson again pressed the Nawab to dismiss his fo rces ,and wrote to Qudsia Begum upbraiding her withher fa ilure to fulfil her promise to hand over thegovernment of the state to the Nawab .

He also wrote to Raj a Khushwakht Rai andsuggested that he should visit Sehore and takesteps to arrange matters with the Nawab

,and

pointed out that as the Raj a was the leadingOfficial in the State the discredit of any bloodshedwhich might ensue would attach to him if hedid no t do his utmost in preventing the partiesfrom coming to blows . Mr . Wilkinson pointedout that he was precluded from act ive inter


ference by the orders and policy of the SupremeGovernment

,but that if the Begum resigned her

powers and applied for the grant of a j agir for hermaintenance, and for a promise of protection toher life and fair and respectful treatment

,She

should send a petition to this effect, and theGovernment would be prepared to guarantee thisto her . He added that neither the Raj a norany one else could command victory , and thatthe issue of the struggle was in God’s hands .Personally he had left no stone unturned tocompose the dispute

,he had written strongly to

Asad Ali Khan ; and he ended by saying that ifthe Raj a thought that there was no other way outof the difficulty he was prepared to ask theSupreme Government to admonish both parties .Although the Qudsia Begum had suffi cientmilitary forces to crush the dis turbers of thepeace yet she was desirous if possible to effecther obj ect without bloodshed , and both She andRaj a Khushwakht Rai accepted the a dvice ofthe Political Agent and negoti ations with theNawab were Opened . The Begum deputed Raj aKhushwakht Rai and Hakim Ghulam Hussainto represent her, and the Nawab chose Asad AliKhan and Mir Wasil Ali . The Begum’s repre

sent at ives urged that the powers of State shouldbehanded over to the Nawab after a period of ten

7s HAYAT- I —QUDSI

years,while the Nawab’s party pressed that the

period should be three years . A deadlock ensuedand the Begum wrote asking the Resident atIndore t o come down and settle it . Her letterrepeated what she had said onformer occasions

,

and stated that in Spite o f the nego tiationsinaugurated. by Mr . Wilkinson the Nawab wasstill bent oncausing trouble, and She trusted thatthe Resident would come and see for himselfwhich sidewas to blame

,as she trustedhim as an

impartial j udge .

The Resident replied that he regretted hisinability to come as he had reported the affairsin detail to the Imper ial Government and awaitedtheir directions . Shortly after

,a reply to Qudsia

Begum’s letter to the Governor General askingforhis intervention was received

,and after an

expression of sorrow at the state of affairs,the

Governor General wrote that it was an old

established custom fo r the British Governmentto abstain from inter ference in such matters

,

either directly or through its agents,and hence

so far no action had been taken . I f,however

,

matters continued in their present state theGovernment would be constrained to interfere

,

and he warned the Begum that such action couldnot be favourable to her a s that would mean theextinction of Nawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan’s


j ust rights . The Begum had undertaken andexecuted a bond to surrender the rule of theState to the Nawab on his attaining the ageof nineteen

,and it was hardly necessary for him to

say that the br eaking o f such a promise was acrime against the Government

,religion

,and the

public at large . He added that although hedesired to abstain from active inter ference

,still

i t was the Opinion of the Company’s Governmentthat the Nawab was the rightful heir to thegadi and that it became her to surrender therule of the State to him . I f she did so

,it wa s

probable that the Nawab would be glad to provide forher liberally

,and he trusted that she

would accept the adv ice of the Government andact accordingly .

CHAPTER THE SEVENTH .

BATTLE OF ASHTA . S IKANDAR J O I N S HERHUSBAND THERE . INTERVENT ION B Y THE

GOVERNMENT .

WHILE this correspondence was going ontheNawab succeeded in winning over some of theimportant land owners , Jagirdars and Priests ,and he sent Asad Ali Khan with a force to take

( I ) Bar i , ( 2) Jaithar i and ( 3) Chowkigarh, and heentered the fort of (4) Ashta without resistance ,as the Killedar (Captain of the Fort) Shahamat

Khan went over tohis party,although he had

( I ) B an. This is the headquart er of Tehsi l in the SouthernD i stnct , and I s S it uat ed on ri ver Marna , 25 mi les from the rai lwaystat ion , Semri .(2 ) Jaithar i Thi s I S the headquart ers of a Tehsi l In the

E ast ern D 1stnct , and is 20 mi les from the railway stat ion ,Gad erwara .

Chowki garh. The fort at Chowk i garhis S I tuated on thesummi t of a mountain In the Nort hern Di st rict , and Is 50 milesfrom Bhopal

Asht a . This t own 13 47 mi les west from Bhopal , and issrt uat ed on the nver Parb ati . Dost Mahommed Khan hadbu1lt a forthere in 1 7 15 A D . I t is the headquart er s of theWest ern Dist rict .

Doraha . Thi s is a village 1 4 miles north-west of B hopal .80

HAYAT-I -QUDSI

to have been written with a View to compromisethe recipients . The Begum was greatly enragedand was about to punish the persons addressed

,

when Raj a Khushwakht Rai represented that thiswas no time for anger and that friends and foeswould be easily recognised when the operationscommenced . The Begum accepted his adviceand it is stated was anxious to p roceed with herforce to Ashta and take command of it . TheRaj a

,however

,with diffi culty dissuadedher from

this course,and himself set off in command

of 4000 horse and foot and four guns , and encamped ar the village of Maghli ( a few milesfrom Ashta) onJune the 22nd

,1 837. The

Nawab accompanied byhis father assembled hisforce

,and before hostilit ies commenced sent

a messenger to Raj a Khushwakht Rai asking himto encamp farther off at a village called Kotri ,and possibly an arrangement could be come towithout bloodshed . The Raj a replied that hewas act ing under the orders of the Begum andcould not go back , and he suggested that theNawab should retire to Ashta . Meanwhile somearrows were fired by the Nawab’s men ahdfighting commenced .

At first fortune favoured the Nawab— BaksI radat Khan one of the Begum’s leaders wslightly wounded by Nana Kan Singh

DU LHAN SAH EEA ,W I F E OF H AK I M S HAH zAD MASEHMADAM E BOURBON

[Facepag e 82

84 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

Meanwhile the Begum sent a force to captureBari and Jaithari which Asad Ali Khan hadoccupied

,and he onhearing that the Nawab

was surrounded at Ashta evacuated them andfled t o Basoda . Onhearing this the Nawabsentword to Asad Ali Khan to go to the Polit icalAgent and a sk forhis assis tance in the righteouscause . The Begum then gained possession of

Garrhi,Doraha

,Devipura

,Jharkhera and Sehore

,

after some fighting with the Nawab’s t roops

nea r *Nazarganj .Sevendays after the commencement ofhost ili

ties at Ashta fighting was resumed there , butbefore any result was obtained by either partythe Governor General intervened and directed Mr .Wilkinson t o put a stop to the fighting . Heobliged Raj a Khushwakht Rai t o withdrawhisforces from Ashta , and he summoned the Nawabandhis followers t o Sehore and appointed aGovernor of the Ashta Fort . He also called upthe Company’s 68thRegiment and stationed it atGunga .

The writer was told by DulhanSaheba ,the

wife of Hakim Shahzad Maseh , that when NawabJahangir Mahommed Khan was surrounded inAshta Fort after the first engagement the PoliticalAgent told Qudsia Begum that althoughher*A market place , founded b y Nawab Nazar Mahommed Khan .


forces had been victorious , the quarrel wasbetween members of the same family

,and the

Government highly disapproved of it , and thatas she was the senior and the Nawab was ashamedand anxious for a reconciliation , it would bebecoming and advisable if she held out theolive branch to him . He suggested that either

Qudsia Begum should go herself to Ashta orsend her daughter Sikandar Begum to bring herhusband back to Bhopal .

Qudsia Begum agreed to this and despatchedSikandar Begum together with DulhanSahebaand some nobles , and they were received into theFort by the Nawab . The party remained therefor twenty- four hours and then returned wi ththe Nawab to Bhopal .After this Qudsia Begum was clearly informed

by the Governor General in a letter dated the27thOctober , 1 837, that She must dismiss thefore igners enrolled Inher army ; i t was pointedout that '

she had disobeyed the clear orders of

Government and had disregarded its advice .

The letter reminded her of her promise to handOver the control of the State to the Nawab , andsaid

,that this must now be done even though the

transfer of authority might lead to'harm . The

Governor General further stated that if QudsiaBegum wasnot satisfied with the Nawab’s

‘

bond

86 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

to arrange for her maintenance and securitywithout the guarantee of the British Governmentthis would be granted , as the comfort andwelfare of the Begum was desired by Government .In forwarding this letter to the Begum thePolitical Agent informed her that She would haveto defray the expenses of the Company’s regimentat Gunga till she complied with the wishes of theGovernor General .This was a critical time for Qudsia Begum .

She was aware that her forces had defeatedthe Nawab

,She knew that the people of Bhopal

and the army were in her favour,and under the

treaty Nawab Nazar Mahommed Khan and theEast India Company, her daughter was therightful heir to the throne

,further She considered

that she had acted in accordance with all treatiesand bonds , yet She was mindful of the failureof ( I ) Bej a Bai Saheba in a neighbouring Statewhen She had acted somewhat similarly againsther adopted son some three or four years previously ,

and she reflected that 2) Badshah Begqmhad failed when she Opposed Mr . Low , the Resident at Lucknow

,only two or three months

before . and she feared that the result would bethe same in her case . She also was proud of thedistinction that Bhopalwas the only State which

88 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

t ook Mahommed Ali Shah t o the Palace in the middle of thenight and int erviewed B adshah B egum I t appears that someI CJOI ClilgS were going on when some one insult ed M r . Low,

and he prompt ly ordered the B egum andhe r followers t o leavethe palace W ithin fift een minutes As they fai led t o do so ,the palace was bombarded and the B egum W ithher followers ' edThe foll owing d ay Mahommed Ali Shah was put on the throne ,and B adshah B egum and Munna Jan were arrest ed and deport edt o B enares

Qudsia Begum therefore decided to withdrawher claims and expressed herself willing to handover the State onbeing given a Jagir for hermaintenance . The Political Agent signed abond guaranteeing this and agreements weresigned both bv Qudsia Begum and NawabJahangir Mahommed Khan and sent to theGovernor General for ratification .

CHAPTER THE E IGHTH .

AGREEMENTS AFTER QU D S IA BE GUM’s

AB DI CAT ION .

THE first was in the vernacular and it’s gist wasas followsA letter dated , October 2nd , 1 837, has been

received from Mr . McNaught en, Secretary to theGovernment of India , regarding the dissensionbetween the Nawab Qudsia Begum and NawabJahangir Mahommed Khan

,and pointing out

that it was advi sable that the Begum shoulddismiss those persons who had re cently beenappointed to her service , and that she shouldentrust the full powers of the State to the Nawab .

Onher doing this the Hon’ble the East IndiaCompany would be responsible for her life andhonour and would guarantee the continuanceto her of her Jagir . This letter was communicatedto the Begum , and she has expressed her acceptance of the directions of the Government . Shehas discharged many new employees and whenshe has made over the admin istrat ion of theState with full powers to the Nawab the followingfewwords are written for her comfort .

89

90 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

Firstly— that the Jagir of‘the Begum with

customs rights will remain in her possession asbefore .

The Fort and lands of Islamnagar whi ch hadbeen part of her J agir , with the income thereofamounting to some seventeen or eighteen thousand rupees per annum

,will remain in her pos

session according to her request .The district of Bari , with the town of that

name,whose net revenue is about Rs per

annum will be added t oher j agir , with the provisothat a sum of Rs : formerly allotted fothe expenses of religious devotees and travellerwill be resumed by the State .

The Palace in which she resides,the

of Baghpur , the shops of the mosque and othbuildings in Nazargange will remain her propert

“ I t is stipulated that the Qudsia Begum wnot interfere in matters of State whatever actionthe Nawab may take

,and will not conspire

against the Nawab’s life or the safety of theState . I t is further stipulated that the Nawabwill not interfere in any way with the abovej agirs during the life of the Begum , nor willallow anyone to conspire against the life ofthe Begum or t o interfere in the managementof her property or affairs . The British Government hereby guarantees the fulfilment of the

92 HAYAT-I -QUDS I

her mother ly affection . and will encourage him in the performanceof good deeds which W i ll br ing prosper ity and welfare t o theStat e , and be the cause of happiness and benefit t o the Nawaband toher name .The agreement entered into by the Qudsia

Begum and submitted for attestation by theGovernor General in Council is as follows

Whereas the Right Honourable the GovernorGeneral of India in council , upon learning theexistence of the dissensions which had arisenbetween me and my beloved sonthe NawabNazir—ud-DaulahJahangir Mahommed Khanaddressedhis orders through Mr . SecretaryMacNaught anto Mr . Lancelot Wilki nson ,Agent at Bhopal , in regard to the bestowalby His Lordship of the guarantee of theGovernment of India for the security of mylife and of my pr ivate Jagir onmy consigningthe reins of Government of Bhopal State t o

the Nawab and Whereas the Agent dulycommunicated the above in a Kharita to myaddress and Whereas it was ever my heartfeltaim to obey the orders of the British Government in every respect

,I have therefore con

signed the whole management of the affairs (ffthe Bhopal State into the hands of my sontheNawab . My or iginal Jagir including the Sayarduties attached thereto and the fort and landof I slamnagar which are est imated to yield


about Rs : or Rs : per annumwill remain in my possession . The lands of

the Bari Pargana now remaining Khalsayielding about Rs per annum togetherwith the Cusba town of Baree , have beenallotted to me in addition as a new Jagir .The garden and sacred tomb (of my latehusband) , with the lands originally attachedto them for their due maintenance

,yielding

about Rs : per annum , together withmy present residence , the Baoli Bagh , theNazzarga

’nj , dookhans , my mosque , etc . ,and

the Poora called by my name will also continuein my possession . The Nawab is to refrainfrom interfering in anyway with my possessionand control of this J agir , and from seeking todo inj ury to my life in any way . I in likemanner engage to refrain from all interferencewith the a ffairs of the State and the direct ionthereof by the Nawab and from seeking todo any inj ury to his life

,the Government of

India holding either party responsible forany breach of these engagements . I t is

requested that the signature of His Lordshipbe attached to the deeds of Agreements of

both parties in ratification thereof,that they

may prove,i f required , a full assurance on

any future occasion . I Will show every con

94 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

sideration and the most cordial affection to theNawab due to him as my son .

Sd . By the BE GUM KU DS I A’s MARK .

Agreement of the Nawab Nuzzur-ud-dowlahthe Nawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan , Nawabof Bhopal

,submitted for the rati fication of the

Right Honourable the Governor General of

India in Council .

Whereas the Right Honourable the GovernorGeneral of India in Council , upon learning theexistence of the dissensions which had arisenbetween me and the Begum Qudsia , myrespected mother

,addressed orders to the

effect that onthe Begum’s consigning the

entire management of the affairs of the Stateinto my hands

,H is Lordship would grant the

guarantee of the B rit ish Government for thesecurity o f the Begum’s life

,and whereas the

Begum signifi ed her acquiescence in theseorders in a Kharita addressed to Mr . LancelotWilkinson , Political Agent at Bhopal , and asthe Agent desired that a s uitable provision bemade by way of Jagir for the Begum

,and

whereas the Begumhas consigned into myhands the sole management of the affairs of theState , I therefore , have , witha view of pro

96 HAYAT—I —QUDSI

transgressing these agreements in any respectresponsible . I t is hoped that His Lordshipwill be pleased t o attach his signature to thisagreement in rat ification thereof , that it may

prove onany future occasion i f necessary a fullassurance . I shall ever seek with hea rt andsoul to preserve the filial respec t due to theBegum as my mother .

Dated 29thShaban of the year 1 253 Hej iracorresponding with 29thNovember , 1 837.

Sd . By the NAWAB JAHANGI R MAH OMM E D

KHAN .

These engagements were ratified by the Governor General on15thJanuary, 1 838.

98 HAYAT-I -QUDS I

fled to rule and the claim of the Nawab to theState under the agreement might have beendisregarded

,i t was considered politically ex

pedient at the time that the reins of Governmentshould be in the hands of a man

,and seeing

that there wa s no likelihood of peace and tranquility in the State it would no doubt have beendangerous to appoint a woman to guide itsdestinies .Even in Europe therehas been a prej udice

against women as Rulers so it is not to be wondered at that a similar prej udice exi sted inIndia . The throne of Hanover , formerly unitedt o that of Great Britain was separated from itat the accession of Queen Victoria

,as the Salic

Law exists in Hanover .The writer feels sure that Mr . Wilkinson

shared the prej udice,as he once declared t o

Qudsia Begum that history did not support thecontention that women could be satisfactoryrulers . When reminded by Qudsia Begum thata great lady had j ust ascended the throne ofEngland he gave the astonishi ng reply thatfemale rule was not allowed in Islam . His

argument being that Fatima did not succeedto the Caliphate onthe death of the Prophet

(may peace and God’s blessing be upon him) .

No doubt historyhas mostly been silent about


Eastern women rulers , and no clear accountof them has so far been written , probably fromthe same reasons as in England , namely, thattheir rule was not generally approved . I t wa sthought that women have very little politicaland administrat ive capacity and that if theydid possess it they were incapable of using it .That their physical weakness and mercifulnatures prevented them from fulfilling theduties of a Ruler satisfactorily . There are

,.

however,many examples both in the world and

inhistory of splendid Queens , e .g

Queen Mary ,Queen Elizabeth ,Queen Mary I I ,Queen Anne

,and others .

To English readers it is unecessary to descr ibethehi stories of these English Queens , but therehave '

also been celebrated Mahommedan Queensthough less well known to the world in general .For instance Shujarat -ud—dar the last rulingQueen of the Aiyubiya dynasty in Egy pt whichwas founded by Sultan Salali—ud deen aheroof the 6thcentury of the Hej ira . The chiefresult of her reign was the peace which existedafter the series of wars during the ' precedingreigns of that dynasty . When she ascended thethrone the Aiyubiya dynasty was decaying and

100 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

she was obliged to call in the help of othernat ions

,but it was due to her that Egy pt re

mained with an independent government tillit was shattered by the Sultan Salim .

Then there was Razia Sultanah , daughterof Sultan Alt am ish, the only woman who everoccupied the throne of Delhi . Generally whenthere isno male heir to a ruling family a daughtersucceeds

,but Razia Sultanah had a brother

,

and she is the only instance in thehist orv ofIslam in which a woman succeeded in preferenceto a male heir . She was brave and courageousand had commanded the army with great couragein many battles . Ibn- i—Batata

,the famous travel

ler and writer,who visited India in Mahommed

Taghlaq’s reign , writes : Razia comes out on

horseback dressed as a soldier , she constantlytakes the field herself to suppress the insurrectionsOf rebellious officers . She carries out the administ ra t iono f the countr y so well that even astatesmanlike ruler l ike Sultan Alt amshpreferred the daughter t ohis sons .”Next comes Ummul Maj d of the Vilam dynasty .

She was a contemporary of the Sultan Mahmii d ,who endeavoured to conquer her country , butwas frustrated by the clever plans of the lady,and it was not till after her death that SultanMahmud succeeded in over running the country .

HAYAT- I -QUDSI

In the second part of this book my readers willsee that the Begum Qudsia

’s rulewas a blessing in

comparison with that of Nawab Jahangir Mahommed . Events obliged even Mr . Wi lkinson toadmit that the people of the State lived inpeace and comfort in the time of Qudsia Begum .

During our owntimes our beloved QueenVictoria and the Nawab Sikandar Begum

,a

greatly respected lady in India and in the Islamicworld , have proved that the female sex mayhave administrative qualities

,and that such

women are born both in Europe and Asia possessed both of enlightenment

,tact

,and the

many other qualities inherent in a good ruler .The history of Queen Vic toriahas been thetheme of many wr iters and excites wonder andadmiration in every one . Although a biographyof the Begum Sikandarhas not y e t been written ,she has been mentioned many times in thehistories of India

,and one Of her descendants

Nawabzada Hafiz General Obaidulla Khan isat present engaged in writingher life .

The writer,from a study of the histories of

the world and from her knowledge of her 0

dynasty,has come to the conclusion that ad

St ra t ive capacity i s more inherent in womethan in men

,and that nature specially intende

them for rulers .


Men are given bodily strength to earn theirliving and to enable them to fight in batt les .Women have been granted the qualities ofmercy

,sympathy, toleration , fidelity and firm

ness . These render them specially suitable as

rulers of kingdoms though no doubt educaronand careful upbringing are necessary for bothsexes . Given t hese , women are superior to men .

CHAPTER THE TENTH .

QU D S I A BEGUM ABANDON S THE VEI L . THE

ADM I N I STRATI O N OF THE STATE . THE BH OPALCO NT I NGENT .

FROM her infancy Qudsia Begum had been inPurdah and up to and after her marriage SheObserved the rules of Purdah very strictly .

Hakim Shazad Masih and Mian Karam Mahommed Khan were her chief advi sers . They wereboth advanced in years and although the formerwas of another faith (he was a Bourbon)hisvaluable services to Nawabs Wazir Mahommed

Khan and Nazar Mahommed Khan made himthe most distinguished among the officials of

the State . Mian Karam Mahommed Khan hadalso rendered faithful service

,and Qudsia

’s

administrationwas carried onunder their advice .

Each held the post of Minister successively, andthe Begum held their advice in such regard thatshe would not visit the house of a relative withouttheir permission. She even went SO far as to

consult them before going for a walk in hergarden which she was fond of doing .

104.

106 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

the Offi cers of State , then she allowed the offi cersof her household to come into her presence andgave them their orders ; after that she sent forFatehj ang Khan the Commander of the Fortand took lessons in riding from him with hergrooms in attendance . Later on she summonedher Minister and he presented his homage to herand subsequently allher offi cers appeared beforeher and within twenty days she had issuedorders that any of her subj ects who wished topresent a petition to her should be admitted .

Her idea evidently was that i t was diffi cult torule from behind the Purdah , part icularly whenthe recognised rules of Purdah exceeded thedirections laid down by her religion .

She also compelled her daughter S ikandar toabandon Purdah as she was under the firmconviction that she would rule the State one day .

Before the time of Nawab Nazar Mahommed

Khan , owing to constant wars disorders andmi smanagement

,the whole receipts of Bhopal

didnot exceed one lakh and a quarter of rupees .During his reign by the grace of God the Stateof the country improved, and the East IndiaCompany granted the Nawab five districts andthe Fort Of I slamnagar in return for the assistancerendered by him to General Adams , and theState came under the protect ion of the Brit ish


Government with a treaty of alliance and friendship . Peace was restored throughout the countryand the method of collecting revenue and thegeneral administration was revised . The progress was so marked that the revenue rose to tenlakhs of rupees during the four years of his reign .

Details of the methods of the government of

the country during Nazar Mahommed’s reign

are. not forthcoming , and even during QudsiaBegum’s rule it is not possible to state exactly .

Only this can be said for certain,her orders

were practically all oral ones ; the people weresimple and there was an absence of cunning andcraft among them and this system appears tohave worked well . Sikandar Begum has givenan account of the administration in her timewhen her husband was in power with Fauj darMahommed Khan as Minister . A civil warhad been going on for many years and the timeswere barbarous . C ivilization and enlightenmentwere unknown and there was no distinctionbetween the civil and criminal courts . Theaccount shows that in* some divisions there was a

’civil Official called a Tehsildar whose duty it wasto collect the revenue and deal with c ivil dis

N ote by Translator — The pre sent revenue of Bhopal , includinga dist rict grant ed to Sikand ar B egum forher loyalty’

intheMut iny ,

is ab out 60 lakhs . A lakh r:

108 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

putes and a Thannadar who looked after crime .

In some divisions,however , there was only a

Thannadar Who did everything . There wasmust confusion over revenue matters and noregular offices were maintained . I t appears ,however , that disorders did not occur and theState was not in financial diffi culty during thenineteen years of Qudsia Begum

’s re ign .

Af terwards when general disorders broke out

during the time of Nawab Jahangir Mahommed

Khan,Mr . Wilkinson

,who had been chiefiy

instrumental in effecting the transfer of powerfrom the Begum to the Nawab

,paid a tribute

to the peace and good order which had prevailedduring the Begum’s time .

In a letter to Nawab Asad Ali Khan . thenMinister , caut ioning him to pay greater attentionto the disturbed state of the country he wroteas followsThe public of Bhopal are openly declaring

that they lived inpeace and comfort under theprotection of Qudsia Begum and that there wasneither fear nor danger during her wise reign .

She gave Jagirs and generous rewards to thosewho served her faithfully

, she made good arrangements for the supply of food and warlike storesfor the army

,and spent money on the treatment

of wounded soldiers and gave sums of money tothe heir s of those who were ki lled .

”

I 10 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

This force was stationed at Sehore Cantonment under the orders of the Polit ical Agentand was paid by the State . During QudsiaBegum’s time the annual cost of its upkeep wasfixed at Rs :

N ote — Subsequent ly the force became the Bhs pal cont ingentunder B rit ish officers , and lat er ,

inLord Ki t chener’s t ime, i t

became a regular regi ment of the I ndian Army under the name o fthe I ' Bhopal I nfant ry , and gained great dist i nct ion by i t s

gallant conduct InF rance , in 1 9 1 5. Aft eplosmg eight een B ri ti shofficers and the great er part of i t s effect ives , the regiment wassent t o Mesopot am ia , where i t is now ( 1 9 1 6 ) serving .

CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH .

THE BH OPAL ARMY I N QU D S I A BEGUM’S DAY .

As regards the army of Qudsia Begum’s day,

i t can be said that it was suffic ient for theneces s

sit ies of the time . It was enlisted from thevarious divisions of the State ; there is no information as to its dress and quarters beyond thatmost of the men lived in the forts in Bhopal

,

and a rather interesting account of it is givenin the report of an official describing the meetingof Nawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan and LordWilliam Bentinck at Saugor . It ran as followsSaiyid Anwar Ali was the commander of the

advance guard of cavalry with the drums andstandard

,then followed the art illery

,the Afghan

flag bearers,the infantry

,the sepoys in black

uniform,the Arab soldiers with the Fut t eh

Nishan ( flag of victory) , then the Mahi Murat ib

( the insignia of the order of the Fish presentedto a former Nawab of the Bhopal by the Nizamof Hyderabad) , then Mahommed Khan’s horsemen and bodyguard troopers followed by gailycapar isoned horses , palanquins , drums , m

’enbearing trays of food , standard andmace bearers .After all this came the elephant carrying Nawab

I I I

I 1 2 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

Jahangir Mahommed Khan , surrounded by 50other elephants

,onsome of which were Engli sh

offi cers . Then came the regiment of NanaKan Singh

,the horsemen of the household

,horse

men clad in coats of mail and Mian KaramMahommed Khan was r iding with the processionof Seth Moolchand’

s soldiers both horse and foot,

men from Mewar and runners . Last of allcame the Jagirdars ( landed gentry) of the State .

The bright howdahs and Aft abis (drinkingvessels) were shining in the sunlight and truly itwas a wonderful sight . Every one praised thearmy .

Bakshi Mahommed Khan commanded . the

Qudsia Begum’s forces

,he was a tactful com

mander,and a brave and loyal soldier . Qudsia

Begum was famed for her charity and liberality .

All relatives of the reigning family were assistedby grants o f money and in spite of this there isno evidence to show that the Begum had to

borrow money o r contracted any debts . Afterwards Nawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan andhis minister Fauj dar Mahommed Khan laid agreat burden of debt onthe State , although hewas not confronted with such strenuous timesas the Begum . Mentionhas already been madeof the unmethodical method in which the dist ricts were managed

,therewas

,however

,a head

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSIA 1 1 3

Daftar ( offi ce) . The contracts for the collectionof the revenue were given in a formal manner

,and

in the case of the grant of Jagirs and Mafis

( revenue free grants of land) regular documentswere engrossed . A store of corn was kept inevery fort

,and the fa rmers and tenants received

advances of seed grain when they required it .From all that has been written above there

can be no doubt that Qudsia Begum carried onthe administration of the State for nineteenyears to the benefit of her subj ects and theState

,and had she been favoured with more

peaceful t imes her good qualit ies would havebeen more evident .

After the death of Nawab Jahangir Mahommed

Khan she wrote to the Governor General thatwhen her daughter Sikandar Begum was onlyone—and- a—half years old

,her Father’s heritage

had been bestowed onher, and that during herminority she (Qudsia) had carried out the dutiesof the State Opposed by no one . Now thatJahangir Mahommed had died

,Sikandar Begum

who had been carefully educated and trained byher and was possessed of wisdom and sagacityShould succeed as ruler of the State .

This letter was not forwarded by the Agency,

but Shows that Qudsia Begum had trained andeducated her daughter .

PART I I .

CHAPTER THE TWELFTH .

EVE NTS AFTER THE ACCE S S ION OF NAWABJAHAN G I R MAHOMM ED KHAN .

As related in previous chapters the disputes andfamily stri fe which had lasted for seventeenyears had at last been settled . All the agreementshad been ratified by the Governor General

,and

Nawab Sikandar Begum had been to Ashta andreturned with her husband to Bhopal , and theywere living together in his palace .

Qudsia Begum’s troubles , however , were notat an end

,as the Nawab and his supporters

were not even new content although he hadgained possession of the State .

Sikandar Begum was e xpect ing an heir , andas long as She lived there was no hope of theStat e going to the family of Amir Mahommed

Khan . Several abortive attempts onthe livesof the Begums were attempted ; Sikandar Begumwho had given up Purdah was constrained byher husband to adopt it again

,andfinally Qudsia

1 14

I 16 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

the streets and bazars of the city withoutfear of interference , and they even lay handson the females of noble houses besides thewomen of the city . The people even intendt o leave the city and go to some place wherethey will be safe .

The people of Bhopal say that they livedin peace and comfort under the protection of

the Nawab Qudsia Begum who was a widow ,

but under the present Nawab , who is a man ,they live in terror and misery . They furthercomplain against the officers of the Hon’bleEast India Company

,and declare that they

have been entrusted by them to the chargeof a tyrant . Many bankers and traders

,

inhabitants of other cities , but who havebranches or shops in Bhopal are in dangerof their places being plundered and havecomplained to me .

My dear friend, last year there were abundance of thieves , but this y ear it. is far worse .

You and the Nawab know how to deal withthem . but have taken no steps to that end .

So much so that the city people say that theNawab wishes to destroy Bhopal in ordert hat the people may go to live inhis newcity of Jahangirabad

,and has encouraged

the thi eveb, and they say that such a State


of affa irs could not exist without his connivance .

I t is a matter for regret that the bestowalof powers onthe Nawab has resulted in thestainless skirt of j ustice of the British Government being polluted by tyranny and theOppression of the people . They a re / cert ainlyj ustified in their complaints . During thereign of Qudsia Begum and her ministersHakim Shahzad Maseh,MianKaram Mahommed and Raj a Khushwakht Rai , such a numberof thieves was never heard of.

Both ancient and present Kings'

and Rulershave considered the comfort and ease of theirsubj ectswho are obedient and have been giveninto their charge by God as of more importancethan their ownluxury and pleasures . I t issurprising that Singing and dancing continuein the palace of the Ruler while his subj ectsare oppressed and in misery . How can theruler and his m in ister expect the blessing of

God .

You are aware that the Government isinformed of the state of things every week

,

and the daily thefts and the absence of anyattempt to suppres s them are reported .

I expect from your friendship that speedymeasures will be taken so that the creatures

1 I 8 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

of God may be relieved of misery worse thana dangerous disease whi ch endangers lifeonly , but these thieves are a curse to li fe ,property and the honour of women . I shallbe greatly obliged if y ou will see that thesighs of the people and their complaintsagainst the offi cials do not reach heaven .

”

Qudsia Begum then wrote a long letter to theGovernor General stating that She had honestlycarried ou t his instructions and that she andSikandar Begum had left no stone unturnedto please the Nawab and the Political Agent .She now asked for justice and for the punishment of the Nawab , and she pressed her claimsand those of Sikandar to the State and beggedthat the tyrants might be ej ected so that thepeople might live in peace and comfort . Re

ce iv ing no reply to this , she despatched MirzaAmj ad Beg and Moulvi J amal-ud-din to Simlato wait onthe Governor General , and the latterwrote the following account of the interv iewI and Mirza Amj ad Beg went to the Governor

General’s lodge at 4 p m . The Guard of Honourwas drawn up and saluted us . The Secretarycame to receive us at the door and gave theletter which had come two day s before to MirzaAmj ad Beg t o present to the Governor Generalwho was sitting on a gold cha ir . There was a

1 20 HAYAT—I -QUDSI

given to Mirza Amj ad Beg and an ornamentalturban was placed onhis head . He saluted theGovernor General and with the garments in hishand expressedhi s thanks . Afterwards anothertray was brought , a turban was placed on myhead and two garments were given me . I ' also

saluted and expressed my gratitude for them .

”

Although both of Qudsia Begum’s represen

t a t ives were introduced to the Governor Generaland had an opportunity of pressing the Begum’sclaims

,one of them viz Mirza Amj ad Beg

, al

t hough under great obligations to her,was

faithless,and took no advantage of the good

Opportunit y of lay ing her grievances before LordAuckland . These men were sent not only topresent the Begum’s letter which could quitewell have gone by post , but to plead her cause .

Moulvi Jamal—ud- din being under the orders ofthe Mirza could say nothing , and the Mirzawasted all the time in formal and ceremonialtalk . After the interview the Deputies returnedt o their lodging with the usual ceremonies .Two or three days later they waited ontheForeign Secretary athis house and discussed thematter withhim. Moulvi Jamal-ud-din onthisoccasion spoke very freely and removed anydoubts which the Secretary may have had

,but

it was dec ided that the affa ir should be settled


when Mr. Wilkinson visited Agra,and they were

told to attend at that place . Qudsia Begum’s

obj ect in sending this letter to Lord Aucklandwas that it was rumoured that the Nawab wasalways giving out that the misunderstandingbetween himself and Sikandar were caused byQudsia Begum , and he wished to prove that shehad lost her reason and fix a pension in cash onher instead of allowing her to hold a Jagir .The Governor General replied to Qudsia Begum’sletter and a translation of his Kharita

(polite letter in Persi an) i s as followsLetter from Lord George Auckland

,Governor

General of India dated the 1 7th October , 1 839 .

I re ceived your letter through your deputiesMirza Amj ad Beg and Munshi JamaluddinKhan . I was informed of every thing writtenin the letter and also verbally by your de

put ies in my presence . I am very sorryto know that the quarrel between yourself

,

your daughter and the Nawab of Bhopal isstill go ing on ; and you , instead of relyingand trusting upon the friendship of Mr .Wilkinson whose sympathy and regard foryour family has been proved by experience

,

and particularly by his untiring zeal andenergy for the welfare and prosperity of theBhopal State , are susp ic ious ofhis act ions

I 22 HAYAT- I —QUDS I

and think that he is partial t o the Nawab . Itherefore inform you for your satisfactionand in order to convince y ou , that thePoli t ical Agent has alway s written to me allthe stor ies about the distressing incidentsbetween yourself and the Nawab correctly ;and a deta iled account of every matter hasreached me from him .

Onexamining the papers presented byyour deputies . I , as a friend

,think it advisable

t o write my conclusions on the subj ect to thePoli tical Agent . Accordingly he will describefully my views to you . As the correspondenceonthese important problems should all becarried onthrough the Polit ical Agent inBhopal , who is our representative there , hisinterventionis necessary . I believe that hehas provedhis sincerity , in the meantime i oushould bear in mind that unless he is interviewed that matter can in no wise be settled .

I have accordingly directed your represemt a t ives to leave my presence and to carry onall correspondence in future through thePoliticalAgent .Heping always to be regarded as your friend

and well wisher and to receive your confidenceand news of your welfare .

There is nothing further to wr ite .

1 24 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

ruler,and about the rules and customs ofMahom

madan marriages .Correspondence continued and Qudsia Begum

next asked that the State might be divided intotwo parts

,the Nawab taking Raisen as his

head quarters while She and Sikandar had Bhopal .She urged that Bhopal was her birthplace andthat she had embelli shed it with palaces

,gardens

and a fine mosque ,not yet finished,and that she

had expended large sums onthe religious andsecular education of the people

,further that her

husband had been a faithful ally of the BritishGovernment and that to remove her from Bhopalwould be a great hardship .

This request was tendered to Mr . Maddock,

Secretary to the Governor General at Gwalior ,and emissaries from the Nawab also waited on,

him at the same time . Mr . Maddock , however ,told the messenger , Kazi Ahmad Ali , that theBegum’s request could not be entertained andthat the previous arrangement could not bealtered . This was unexpected as Mr . Maddockhad always supported the claims of Qudsia

Begum .

No doubt the decision was right , as had theBegum’s request been granted the S tate wouldhave been split up into two small States and theefforts of Nawab Jahangir Mahommed Khan

SHAH JAHAN B EG UM[Face [Sage 1 24

126 HAYAT-I -QUDS I

feelings between Sikandar Begum and her husband had softened , and although the formerlived at I slamnagar and the Nawab at Bhopalthey used to meet sometimes in their walksab road . The Nawab

,however

,was never re

conciled to Qudsia Begum ,and died in 1 844, after

having reigned only six yea rs . Afte rhis deathAsad Ali Khan

,his minister

,was turned out by

the Government of India,and Shahj ahan was

acknowledged as Begum and ruler of Bhopal,

with Fouj dar Mahommed Khan her grea t uncleas Regent . Qudsia Begum was a t last happy .

She and Sikandar moved into Bhopal a monthafter the death of the Nawab and they livedtogether in great happiness . Qudsia Begumattempted again to secure the recognition of

Sikandar Begum as Ruler of Bhopal,and even

tually after some years as Regent Sikandar wasrecognised by the Government .

Qudsia Begum had attained her desires 27y ears after the death ofher husband and shespent the remainde r of her long life in acts ofchar ity fo r the public good . Sikandar Begumwas a devoted daughter and always treated hermother with the greatest resp ect and love .

CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH .

THE BE CU M’S JAe i R AND ITS ADM I N I STRATION .

CEREMON IAL V I S ITS AND THE BEGUM’S

DARBARS .

THE Begum’s Jagir consisted of a large numberof villages and much land S ituated in severalparts of the State . The customs o f the grantsof j agirs vary considerably in different States aswell as in British India , but the general rule isthat a Jagir means the grant to some personof the revenues of a certain village or a pieceof land and those revenues had already beenfixed by the State or British authorities . Solong as the cultivators paid thei r land revenueand whatever other taxes there might be to theholder of the Jagir the latter had no authorityover them . In the case of Qudsia Begum

,

however , the Jagir meant very much more , andwas nothing less than a small State or largepr ivate property over which she had full control .The whole amounted to many square miles witha revenue of Rs per annum . The Jagirwas divided into seven subdivis ions with fifteen

1 27


Police posts . There was a forest department,

Public works offi ce , Judicial courts . Head offi ce ,Treasury ,

Stables and a department for charitableobj ects as well as var ious other Offi ces

,and the

Begum supported a small force of horse and footsoldiers and a regiment of Arabs . All theseDepartments were under the control of an Agent

,

called Kamdar,assisted by a committee of

advisers . Qudsia Begum heard all the reportsand petitions and issued orde rs onall of themand She was ready t o listen to the personalgrievances of any of her subj ects or servants .All letters addressed to the Agency or toBritish Offi cers were signed by the Begum ,

andshe kept an Agent at Sehore for communicat ingwith the Polit ical Agent onunimportant matt ers .All letters or orders except the above were notsigned by the Begum but bore the words Fromthe presence of the Begum ,

”and were taken as

having been Signed by her . The Begum alsohad two trusty officials always withher whocarried out her verbal instructions .

Grain was dist ributed daily to indigent personsin the garden containing the tomb ofher la tehusband .

None of the lands held by the Begum hadbeen surveyed

,and itwasnot till Sikandar Begum

caused a general revenue settlement t o be made


Annual cont ribut ion for purchase of rai lway st ock 5 o O

Servant s 1 , 3 O

The expenses of Palace and kit chen 4 9

These expenses include the pay of her privateservants which was only Rs 22-8-0 . Thisshows that she had only five or six such servants .I t wasnot surpri sing that with an Imperium

in Imperio like this , friction should arisebetween the officials of the Jagir

‘

and those of theBhopal State

,and attempts were made both in

the time of Sikandar andher daughter Shahj ahanBegum to deprive Qudsia Begum of such extensivepowers . In the former’s reign it was decidedthat certainhenious offences occurr ing in theQudsia Begum

’s Jagir should be t ried in theState Courts

,and the services of a trusted

offi cial , named Munshi Fakr—ud-din,were lent

at her request by the British Government toassist her in the management of her property .

No further curtailment ofher powers took placein Shahj ahan’s reign in spite of considerabletrouble

,a s neither the Political Agent , nor the

Governor General who was applied to , wouldagree t o anything calculated to hurt or annooyQudsia Begum .

Before Qudsia Begum abandoned the Purdahwhen receiving B rit ish Offi cers she used to sit

behi nd a curtain of broad cloth . The offi cers’

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSIA 1 3 1

arrival was not ified by her female attendants,and their salams and enqu iries after her healthand welfare were conveyed to her through HakimShahzad Maseh and Mian Karam Mahommed

Khan who also brought her replies . All important matters were settled through these twomen

,less important ones being dealt with by

the Vakil . I f the Polit ical Agent held a consult at ionwith the State offi c ials , the Ministerreplied for the Begum who received reports of

what the British Offi cers said and the replymade to him .

The Begum oftenheld Darbars or receptions inPurdah

,and as the offi cials or others came up to

the curtain their names were announced bypersonal attendants and their salutes and compliments listened to . The Darbar then ended andpan and betul nut were distributed .

The strict rules of Purdah which were observedby Mahommedan ladies of that time were inaccordance with the custom then prevalent , andpurdah is still observed in India and has certainadvantages owing to the condition of the country .

I t i s , however , not prescribed either by God or

the Prophet , and religious doctrine does notenj oin such rigid adherence to the rules whichhave nowbecome the custom . .For instance itis nowhere laid down that women must not

1 32 HAYAT~I ~QUDSI

Speak so that their voices are heard by strangemen , and there are many other austerities whichhave no foundation in religion .

This is not a suitable place to di scuss thisquestion , but the author hopes to write a bookin whi ch the whole question of the origin ofPurdah , its re asons , the severity rought into itfrom time to t ime

,and Purdah as it was enj oined

by I slam will be fully discussed .


of an old Hindoo temple called the Sabha Mandal,

and round the basement are a number of shopswhose rent form part of the endowment of themosque . There is an inscr ipt ion on the i lortherngate which translated , runs as follows ° Theconstruction of the Jama Musj id was commencedin the beginning of the year 1 248 A .H . ( 1 832 A.D .)corresponding to 1 240 by the Fasli calender ,by the generous and virtuous Nawab GauharBegum Saheba , daughter of Nawab GhousMahommed Khan , wife of the late NawabNaziruddaulahNazar Mahommed Khan Bahadur .I t was finished in the end of the year 1 273A .H . ( 1 857 A.D .) corresponding to 1 264 Fasli .Eminent architects have given it strength andbeauty, and by the careful management of honestpersons it cost five hundred and Sixty fivethousand rupees two annas and nine pies . Thisinscription is by the hand of Mahommed Abbas ,Shirwani .”The old ruined Hindoo Temple

,Sabha Mandal ,

which it succeeded had an interest ing inscriptiononit which gave the following particularsRani Salmali

,wife of Raj a V idia Dat , built

a great stone temple named Sabha Mandal nearthe fort . It was commenced in the * Sambaty ear

,1 208 ( 1 151 A.D .) and finished onMonday

*Hindoo calender .

THE NAWAB BEGUM QUDSIA 1 3 ;

the 3rd day of the month Kat ik Badi 1 24 1'

Sambat ( 1 1 84 A D .) The Rani and Raj a appointed 500 Brahmins to carry onworship inthe temple and to teach the four Vedas , ssixShastras

,eighteen Puranas and Prosody and

other branches of learning in the Sanskrit tongue .

Bhopal had always depended for its watersupply on wells , and as the site is mostly rockythe wells were few and far between and thesupply scanty , people having to pay as much asfour annas for a leather skinful .

Qudsia Begum , ever ready to benefit thepeople

,conceived the idea of giving them a supply

of pure drinking water from the upper lake,

and spent between five or six lakhs of rupees inN ata — The four Vedas were wr itt en by Hakim B eyas, and

are calledSam VedRi g VedArt ur VedYaj ur Ved

The six Shastras are the six schools of phi losophy ,and are

sty led( I ) Sankhya(2 ) Nyaya(3 ) Y oga(4 ) Vaisheshi ka Concentrat ion(5) Parva Mi mans(6 ) Ut tara M imansa or Vedanta Phi losophy

To be qu it e accurat e ( I ) and (4 ) come under the Vedangas (3 )and (5) under the Shastras , and (2 ) under Smrit is .The 1 8 Puranas , B hagvat Git a , Shi va Puran‘, and others arebooks held in great venerat ion by the Hindoos . Pingala is theauthor of Chhandas or Prosody .

1 Logic

1 39 HAYAT- i -QUDSI

erecting a pumping station and a system of

pipes throughout the City . This was carried outby a Scotch Engineer named David Cook , andShe placed a sum of three lakhs with the B ritishGovernment to be a perpetual endowment forthe upkeep of the water works . The system isworking well up to the present day and the supply,of pure water has been responsible for stampingout the ravages of cholera whichwas c ommon informer y ears .

Qudsia also intended to bring a water channelto her mosque , but gave up the idea owing to thenumber of houses which would have had to bedemolished .

Sir Henry Daly,Agent to the Governor General

for Central India,was much distressed at the

terrible loss of life during the famine and cholerayear of 1 869 . Although strenuous efforts weremade it was found impossible to bring grain intothe afflicted districts fast enough to save life ,and he therefore urged onthe Governmentof India the necessity of a Railway throughBhopal and Central India and was instrumentalin getting the Indian Midland Railway constructed

,which connected up the Great Indian

Peninsula Railway at Khandwa with the Railwaysof Northern India at Agra . This Railway passedthrough the terr itories of the Maharaj a Holkar


of Indore , Bhopal State , and for a long distancethrough Gwalior territory . I t was therefore ,arranged that these three Chiefs should contributetowards the cost of the portion through theirStates . As Qudsia Begum knew that her subj ectswould benefit she contributed a sum of Rs

from her private purse . This sumhad to be paid in instalments over four years

,

ari d an agreement was made with the BritishGovernment that if any sum remained to be paidafter her death it would be made good by theBhopal State . Similarly as regards interest

,

i t was agreed that Qudsia Begum should receiveit during her life and after that it was t o go tothe Ruler of the State . Only one out of the fourinstalments had been paid when she died

,and the

other three were paid subsequently from theincome of her Jagir .I t is hardly necessary to mention that this

link between Bombay and the North of Indiahas proved of the utmost value not only to

Bhopal bu t to India generally.

CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH .

THE MUTI NY . QU DS I A BE GUM’s TRAVELS .

DURI NG the mutiny of 1 857-

58 , Qudsia Begumdid all in her power t o prevent trouble in Bhopal .Her daughter Sikandar was then Regent andQudsia hadno part in the government but whensigns of discontent arose among the Bhopaltroops

,and times were very critical , owing to

their having demanded double pay and therewasnot suffi cient money in the State Treasury tomeet the demand

,she came forward and paid

them out of her ownfunds . She was all infavour of satisfying the demands of the army andletting any man go who wished to , keeping onlythose who were willing to serve . In this way shegave most valuable help to her daughter ; Shehad full confidence in the sepoys who wereresidents of Bhopal and she recommended onlymild measures

,and she urged that Nawab

Umrao Doola and Fa t t ehj ang Khan the leade‘rs

of the army should be fully satisfied and keptin a good temper . She also had full confidencein God and commended her daughter to his care .

Sikandar Begum onher part constantly con1 38

149 HAYAT-I -QUD SI

P.S.— Colonel Durand , Agent to the Governor

General ,has asked Qazi Saiyi d Gohar Ali for anelephant for his convey ance . The Qazi hasgiven his elephant . I t will shortly be returned toBhopal .”

Although there is not much onrecord , the fewletters whi ch remain Show that the Begum’sservices to the Br itish cause during the mutinywere appreciated , and that the Government wasgrateful to her . In the dispute during the lastday s of her li fe between the State and herselfregarding the proposal to limit her authority inher Jagir

,Mr . Eden

,Political Agent

,while refer

ring to a memorandum of the Government ,wrote t o Shah Jahan Begum in February , 1 880

Nawab Qudsia Begum had been lo a llyattached to the Government of India during thedays of trouble

,andher generosity and kindness

are well known and deserve respect . She is inthe last stage of her life and it is of the utmostimportancenot to disturb her peace and comfortin any way . The Government of India doesno tapprove of the diminut ion of her past authorityand honour .

Similarly, Sir Lepel Griffi n , Agent to the

Governor General,in his letter of condolence on

her death in 1 88 1,wrote She was a friend of

the Grit ishGovernmentand her intentions weregoodf

’


Qudsia Begum doesnot seem to have travelledoutside the Bhopal State until 1 862 , when sheVisited Jubbulpur and Allahabad and was presentat Lord Canning’s famous Durbars held after themutiny . At Jubbulpur Sikandar Begum rece ivedthe grant of the Bairasia distri ct together with arobe of honour from the Government . Qudsia

Begum received also a robe of honour at thesame time .

She also Visited Benares , Lucknow ,Faiza

bad,Agra and other Cit ies . Then in Nov

ember,1 863 , she started ona pilgr image to

Mecca . After travelling to Bombay by Stageand railway she embarked onthe SteamerIndore and reached Jeddah in January

,1 864 .

She proceeded thence to Mecca by caravanand remained there for four months . Whilethere She visited the Shar i f and was received withgreat honour byhim and later she Visited theTurkish Pasha and was called on by everyone Ofimportance . H er intention was to have goneonto Medina , but she was dissuaded from doing.

so owing to the danger of the route and herreputation for wealth . Shortly before

,a rich

man from Oudh had been captured by theBedouin and wasno t released till he p aid a lakhof rupees .She therefore , postponed her Vi sit and returning

142 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

via Jeddah to India , made a Short stay at Poona ,and arrived in Bhopal in October, 1 864 .

In 1 87 1 , she again attempted to visit Medinaand wrote to the Polit ical Agent

,Colonel Wil

loughby Osborne , asking him to obtain a passportfor her

,and say ing that she intended t o tour

about inher Estate t o improve her health andgain Strength for the j ourney . She

,however ,

found that with advancing age she was incapableof standing the fatigue of the j ourney and gaveup the idea .

144 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

Empress of India , QudSI a Begum was grantedthe order of the Crown of India , and the grantwas made known to her in an offi cial letter whichwas brought to Bhopal by Colonel WilliamKincaid

,Polit ical Agent . He held a Durbar

and made the following speechI have much pleasure and happiness in

making over the distinguished title and insigniaof the Crown of India to the Nawab Begum

Qudsia Sahiba which the Honourable the Governor Generalhas sent as a token of Her Imper ialMaj esty’s regard for her loyalty and honour .Throughout the Bhopal State she is remembered with love and reverence for many generousdeeds of char ity . Those deeds and alms tothe poor and needy were done for the sake of

God and not from a desire for fame, and I willabstain from describing all of them at thisgathering as those present are fully aware of them .

My audience , do you not offer y our prayersin the great mosque which was built at theexpenditure Of great sums byher ' Do younot know how many poor and needy persons areenabled to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca andMedina through grants of money made by theBegum , and thus fulfil a duty laid upon them byGod which even many persons of moderatemeans arenot able to perform 3 You also know

QUDS I A B EGUM

[Fa cefiag e 1 44

146 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

Qudsia Begum , and if the members of the rulingfamily of the Bhopal State which is so well knownfor it s loyalty t o the British Government couldcherish love and union among themselves as isthe case in the family of Her Maj esty the Queenof England .

”

I n this connection Lord Ripon’s Opinion o f

Qudsia Begum is of interest . H is Excellencywrote as follows in a letter dated July

,1 880

,to

Shah Jahan Begum It should also be bornin mind that nothing Should come to pass whichmay troubleher in the last few years ofher life

,

as she is loved and respected since long byeveryone who has benefit t ed byher generosity .

I firmly believe that such an enlightened ruleras yourself will not be affected by the words ofselfish persons who have taken advantage of theold age and infirmity of y our grandmother , theNawab Qudsia Begum , to entertain evil designsagainsther .

”

Although up to the time of her death QudsiaBegum loved her grand- daughter Shah Jahan ,the latter’s second marriage with Siddiq HasanKhan withouther knowledge or approval wasthe cause of considerable friction between them .

Qudsia in common with most people at thattime was against the remarriage of widows ,and although in a discussion with the Chief


Qazi she was rem inded that the daughters of theProphet married a second time , she replied thatwhat was permitted to them was not right formore sinful mortals . Besides this she was ofOpinion that Shah Jahan if she wished to re

marry should have married into her own family,

and not have taken one who was her own dependant . EfI OI t s were made by Shah Jahan toconciliate her grandmother and to persuade herto receive her husband , but without success ,and the author has described all that happenedin this unhappy affair in a book called Tuzuk

Sultani,

” and it is painful to refer to it . Eventually Qudsia and Shahj ahan were reconciledthrough the offi ces of the Political Agent

,but

Qudsia lived only about a year after the differences had been settled .

CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH .

HER DEATH . HE R CHARACTER . HE R WI LLSAND HAB ITS .

QU D S I A BEGUM died after a short illness onthe1 7th December , 1 88 1 , fifteen years after thedeath

'

of her daughter S ikandar . She hadsuffered every kind of grief and enj oyed everypleasure

,while devotingher life to the benefit

of others and worshipping Go d . Her body wascarried in sorrowful silence toher husband’sgarden where a grave had been prepared for along time , and it had been her custom -to fillthe grave every year with corn and then distribute the corn with an equal weight of silvert o the poor . A great concourse of people of everysect and religion assembled and j oined in thefuneral ceremonies and prayers . The shops andoffi ces were closed for three days

,and Shahj ahan

Begum distributed thousands of maunds ( 86lbs : _

— I maund) of corn to the poor as alms .The flag at the Agency at Sehore was also loweredto half mast and the sheps of the Cantonmentwere also closed as a mark of respect .

148

150 HAYAT- I -QUDS I

const antly'walked for hours e ither in her Palace

gardens or elsewhere , sometimes even she wouldenter the houses of poor people in the c ity andenquire about their condition and stay chattingwith them .

I t was her custom only to eat two simple mealsa day

,though many rich dishes were cooked in her

kitchen and afterwards sent either to the Mosquesor to the poor . Some near relations or dist in

guished persons dined with her .Her dress co nsisted of the narrow Mahomme

dan trousers , a long shirt to the knee , and a headdress after the Arabian fashion . At times thematerial was sumptuous and at Others quitesimple

,and in the latter years of her life she wore

garments of quite coarse material and a headdress o f ochre- coloured long cloth . As far asthe author remembers she seldom if ever we reornaments except onthe 9thof the month of

Zilhij in honour of the day of the Haj pilgrimage ,but she soon took them off as they were irksometo her . She had been fond of riding and alwaysowned valuable and well bred horses as well aselephants and carriages . When touring she usedan elephant or palanquin , and later in her life , asort of sedan chair She was very fond of givingparties and banquets both to European andIndian ladies , and onthese occasions there was


Singing and music both by professional Singersand by the Begum herself .Onone occasion she had a well sunk in theNazar Bagh (garden) and when the water ap

peared She was so pleased that She summoned thecourtiers and a number of the poor and madethem drink the water ; afterwards they wereregaled with sweetmeats . Onanother She gavea party at the Aish Bagh where the * Jamun fruitwas ripe

,and the author remembers when she

was only five years old being given a Jamunfruit by Qudsia Begum , and not knowing what itwas

, ge t frightened . Onthi s Qudsia Begum gotangry and told her daughter Sikandar that childrenought to be brought up to eat anything and notonly bread and meat , as only God knew whatthey would get in the future . After this a partywas held whenever any part icular fruit got ripeand the author and her Sister used t o attend them .

So much has been said already about herliberality that it is scarcely necessary to referto it again , but the following story is worthmentioning . When She gave over the reins of

government to Jahangir Mahommed Khan shewas obliged to reduce her establishment as herincome of course was greatly reduced . Herservants

,however , all came to her and insisted

*A k ind of plum .

152 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

onremaining in her service ona third of the paythey had been getting . This she agreed to

,

but some years later they attempted to takeadvantage ofher good nature by saying that shewould be held responsible for the reduction of

their salaries at the day of j udgment . Thisso affected her that she had a calculat ion madeof all they had lost and began paying the amountsdue . When she had paid out about a lakh of

rupees Sikandar Begum hea rd what was takingplace and went and persuaded her that there wasno call to pay anything more . After consultingthe Qazi and Mufti , Qudsia desisted .

Qudsia was most regular at her devotionswhich she performed very earnestly . Besidesthe five prayers laid down in the Qoran sheoffered others and went so far as to rise a t twoin the morning and remained engaged in prayerand in reciting the Qoran till eight a m . Shealso insisted onher servants offer ing prayers too .

Her own sleeping apartment was well furnished,

but there was a small room attached to it withnothing onthe floor except stones and she oftenspent whole nights in prayer in this place .

The author remembers so many acts of generosity of Qudsia Begum that to mention them all

wouldfilla large book ; among others she bestowedj agirs from her ownEstate to learned and godly

154 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

for the service of the holy Mosque , and builta caravanserai there and a house at Medina forthe use of pilgrims .According to her accounts , out of an income

of seven lakhs per annum nearly two lakhs werespent oncharitable or religious obj ects . Herreputation for wealth , however , sometimes gother into diffi culties when travelling ona camelto Mecca

,some twenty Bedouin tried to lead her

camel away from the rest , evidently with thepurpose of robbing her ; a slave however , whomshe had freed

, fiung himself on the neck of thecamel and shouted for help , with the result thather armed escort came up and drove off theBedouin .

Qudsia Begum made two wills . The first wasexecuted in 1 286 A .H . when she was in greatdespair over the death of her daughter . Thesecond was twelve y ears later and she died thefollowing year .The first will t ranslated ranas followsThe first letter asking about my welfare

reached me in the morning by the hand of acamel rider who had travelled all night

'

Iwas indisposed in temper and could not replyonthe instant . To-day I received three lettersfrom you informing me of your and SultanJahan Bibi’s welfare and enquir ing after mine .


May God bless you and Sultan Jahan withproperity , long life and dignity . What is thereto be said about my welfare I am not in normalcondit ion

,my old age and infirmity are increasing .

My strength is failing . Life seems far away anddeath is approaching . Hence I entrust you andyour daughter to God and write the followingfew lines as a will . You should act upon themas you are Virtuous .

Obey/God and his Prophet and do not

deviate from their‘ commands . Thisline comprises all the words of advicewritten below .

You should help the people althoughGod helps everyone .

Always keep to the union with the re ign ingpower

,that is the English Government

,

and consider their wishes prior to yourown.You should personally hear the complaintsof those who are oppressed and youshould do them j ustice . Abstain fromoppressing the people .

You should dismiss cruel officers under

you as you will be held responsiblefor their tyranny .

You should pay regard to your relatives

156 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

and to the citizens , as their prosperityadds to the Splendour of the city andtheir l ives and '

property will be at yourservice .

Be moderate in everything .

Take care o f the needy and benefit God’screature s .

May God keep you from undesirabledeeds . Do not be troubled and resignyourself to the will of God

,and be

patient and thankful .You should settle all cases as far aspossible according to religious law .

Trust more to old servants than newones .

The allowances of Sultan Jahan Bibiand her husband , Miyan Yasin Mahommed Khan

,Mo iz Mahommed Khan and

Ya r Mahommed Khan , who are yourrelations and who are young and withoutexperience of the world

,should be

continued to them .

Think of the result before commencinganything .

i ’

You should take counsel in all mattersand never depend onyour ownj udgment .

All the servants whether literate or

158 HAYAT- I -QUDSI

You are wise enough not to requireany more wr it ing .

According to a statement made by theNawab Moiz Mahommed Khan duringhis lifetime it appears that we receivedRs : from him onthe occasionof the battle of Ashta as a loan onaverbal promise to repay it . Out of

this Rs : 4000 according to him wasrepaid through Diwan Sikandar Quli

,

and Rs 6000 remained due . Of this Igave Rs : 3000 to Yasin Mahommed

Khan when he was pressed for money .

The balance should be paid up . Be

sides this some money due from me onthe allowance of Amna Bibi

,daughter

of the deceased Nawab , has been partlypaid to her dur ing her lifetime , and apartwas spent onher daughter ChandniBegum’s marriage . The remaindershould be paid .

Besides all this I will send a paper foryour signature promising to continue mycontr ibutions to charity

,dist ribut io

’

fi offood

,dresses and funds to pilgrims

and others . Please send me your sanction so that I may send the above twopapers for your signature .


The second will was as follows , dated Zilhij a1 286 A .H . Owing to old age I suffer much fromweakness and infirmity . No one except Godcan live always . As long as I am alive I am theowner of my property in whole and in part .Afterwards

,I

'

making y ou the owner of my

Whole property without exception of anythingwr ite the following few lines as a will to be carriedout in perpetuity .

( 1 ) The expenses of my works of charityand alms

,Sada Barat

,the garden of

the mausoleum,the Juma Masj id

,etc .

,

should be maintained as before .

( 2) A table showing the names of my servantsand those of the Mausoleum and Bakshigiri with theif present salaries is attachedherewith . After my death all theseservants should receive the pensfonsfixed by me according to their mer its .They Should receive your favour andmercy .

( 3) I have deposit ed a sum of money with theBritish Government for the perpetualmaintenance of the water supply system

,

on the understanding that no tax shouldbe levied onany one using '

the water .The system should always be maintainedfrom the income of this sum .

160 HAYAT-I -QUDSI

All three wills which I have executed withthe full possession of my senses should be carr iedout . I have sent a copy of this will to thePolit ical Agent .”

These interesting wills were a fit conclusion tothe life of a great and charitable woman of Indi a .

THE END .

au t umnI N G REAT B R I TAIN AT In; D I VQN S H IKE PRE S S , To UAY .

Sult an J ahan BeganHaya t - i -Qud s i

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