Begum Sultan Jahan

In News 

Recently, the death anniversary of Begum Sultan Jahan was observed.

Begum Sultan Jahan 

• She was a Philanthropist, Prolific writer, Feminist, Symbol of Women Empowerment. 
• Born in 1858, Begum Sultan Jahan ascended the throne in 1901. 
• She was the fourth female ruler of Bhopal.
  • The last Begum of Bhopal was Begum Sultan Jahan.
  •  She ruled from 1909 to 1926 after which she stepped down and was succeeded by her son.
• She died on May 12, 1930, at the age of 71. 

                                                                                                                Image Courtesy:IE

Roles and Contributions

• As a Ruler 
  • Municipality system: When she took over as Queen, there was only Rs 40,000 in the treasury which was not enough to even pay the salary of her employees.
  • She decided to tour her kingdom and interact with the village folk. After learning their concerns, she set up the municipality system and even introduced municipal elections.
  • Public health: She took steps for improving public health, sanitation, and water supply in the walled city and implemented widespread vaccination drives for its residents.
• As Feminist 
  • Progressive policies: Her progressive policies for women, at a time when they were shackled by the forces of patriarchy, have made her a feminist icon even today.
  • Meeting hall: She laid the foundation stone for a meeting hall in Lahore in 1913 recognising that women needed a space exclusively for them to assemble and discuss ideas,
  • Exhibition: She organised an exhibition called ‘Numaish-e-Masnuaat-Hind’ in Bhopal to encourage women and promote handicrafts where she displayed her creations. 
    • Queens from other kingdoms, such as Gwalior, Jhanjhar, Sultanpur, Narsinghgarh and Gulburgah also participated and displayed their handiwork.
  • She established the Ladies Club in Bhopal intending to involve more women in her mission.

• As an Educationist

• Authored books: She was a pioneer in the field of education and even authored a book, Dars-e-Hayat, about the education and parenting of young girls.
  • She authored 41 books, many of which were distributed for free. She also translated several English books into Urdu
• Set up several educational institutes: There was a time when almost every city of the country had one or more educational institutes for girls which were funded by Begum Sultan Jahan
  • She set up several schools to encourage parents to educate their daughters, 

• Revamped the syllabus: She revamped the syllabus and added subjects such as English, Urdu, Arithmetic, Home Science and crafts. 
  • These schools were meant for underprivileged children and hence their expenses were borne by the Bhopal estate. Even in those times, she got the Madarsa Sultania affiliated to the Allahabad Board.
    • This Madarsa was well equipped and even had an ambulance and sections for medicine and nursing. Later she also started a nursing school called Lady Minto Nursing School

• Main Focus: Begum Sultan Jahan did not solely focus on uplifting Muslim girls. 
  • She famously founded the Barjeesiya Kanya Pathshala’ and even instituted a scholarship for the underprivileged students of Jain Shwetambar Paathshala.
  • She was also funding a Madrasa in Deoband, Nadwatul Uloom in Lucknow and even Madarsa Sultania in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. 

• She also went as far as encouraging the rulers of other princely states to promote education. Even Lord Harding praised her efforts.

• She was the first female Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, which she had nurtured during its nascent stage when it was still known as the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College.
  • In 1910 During her visit to Aligarh she donated Rs 50,000 for the construction of the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference, which still exists today and is known as Sultan Jahan Manzil.
• Institutions such as Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi and some renowned colleges in Bombay and Calcutta received generous grants from her.

Source: IE