Qudsia Begum
Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
Qudsia Begum is yet another forgotten and
unfortunate azadar. It is so as Imami orators and scholars refrain themselves
from recalling her love to Panjatan and contribution to Muharram ceremonies in
their narration and writing. Their apathy towards is not deliberate but a result
of her character assassination by British historians. Her position as the most ardent
admirer of Ahle-Bait among all the Imami Mughal Queens and princes also remains
unknown to azadar world due to lack of research work on her life and character.
The height of her misfortune could be gauged from the fact that no body knows even
the spot where she was buried after her death. It is quite surprising, for Qudsia
Begum was not an ordinary woman. She was the third wife of Mughal emperor
Muhammad Shah and mother of his successor Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Like NurJahan, she also served as de
facto ruler of India. After her husband’s death in 1748, her son Ahmad shah
ascended throne. As queen mother, she took the title of Qudsia begum and ruled
as regent of her son till 1754.her real name was Udham Bai that indicates that she was
a Hindu by origin. She was introduced to Muhammad shah as a dancer and her
skills soon captured the heart of the emperor. He grew fond of her and took her
as his third wife. He also offered her a high rank in his army that could be
used to enforce his rule and maintain his authority, especially during his
absence from the capital.
After becoming queen, she could have
easily lived like her predecessors Nur Jahan or Mumtaz Mahal who were the
favorites of Jahangir and Shah Jahan but did nothing to promote the mission of
martyrs of Karbala. While Nur Jahan failed to save Shaeed-E-Salis desp0ite her
tremendous influence of Jahangir, there is also nothing on record to reveal
that Mumtaz ever did anything to commemorate the tragedy of Karbala. Nur Jahan
and Mumtaz despite being Imami with Iranian origin could not persuade Jahangir and
Shah Jahan to give due acknowledgement to Muharram ceremonies. They also failed
to check the growing influence of orthodox Ulema in the court even though they had
remarkably passionate husbands. The task was not difficult for them as well,
for Humayun had granted lands for Imam Chowks for placing Tazias during
Muharram in the entire kingdom. Likewise during the regime of Akbar, Imamis
enjoyed religious freedom and wielded considerable power in the court. But neither
Nur Jahan nor Mumtaz who lies buried in Taj Mahal could prevent the Kingdom
from slipping into the hands of Ulemas who were averse to Muharram rituals.
The character of Qudsia Begum looks
much better as compared Nur Jahan and Mumtaz against this backdrop. After embracing
Islam, she preferred to be Imami despite residing in a palace dominated by
non-Imamis. As a true follower of Panjatan, she earned the title of Rahamdil
Begum by resorting to extensive selfless charity not only to the poor but also to
the descendants of a former King who were living in abject poverty and neglect.
Her move was different from the established Mughal tradition of killing and
imprisonment to those close to previous emperor. Qudsia braved all sort of criticism
to advance Nawab Bahadur Javed khan in position and power at the royal court. The
elevation of Javed khan gave tremendous fillip to Marasim-e-Azadari in Delhi and
produced a breed of eminent marsiyakhwans who made majalis extremely popular
among the people of all faiths through their excellent recitation backed by
mournful narration of the sufferings of Imam Hussain and his small band of
followers.
She also built the central shrine in Dargah Shah-e-Mardan
complex .In his famous book, ‘Isarul Sanadeed’
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan has written” in 1724 Qudsia Begum acquired a stone having a
foot impression of Hazrat Ali. Out of her reverence to Imam, she got the stone
fixed in a marble ‘hauz’(small Pond) with a marble floor around it.” Entitled as “mistress of the age”, Qudsia Begum is
also credited for commissioning exorbitant reconstruction or ornamentation of the complex and the structures at
Shah-e-Mardan complex. She also placed at the Dargah the holy relics given to
her by Imamis visiting the court of her husband. Qudsia also ensured proper
representation of Imamis in Civil and military administration and turned Muharram
rituals as lavishly sponsored holy events. Her two contemporary Imami warlords
buried nearby – Nawab Mirza Safdarjung and Mirza Najaf Khan, stand nowhere as
compared to her contribution to Azadari in the period of later Mughals.
She
also constructed Golden Mosque near red Fort and carried several other works
for the welfare of people. It is indeed ironical that such a kind hearted queen
and admirer of Panjatan has been portrayed as a lady of shady character and
given prominence to her intimacy with Javed Khan without bothering to look into
the fact that he was Khwajasara (eunuch).It is high time to carry out research
on her so that she is remembered as a
great patron of Azadari, women and the poor and not merely as a dancer whose
beauty smitten the Mughal emperor as is usually mentioned by the historians.The effort could also lead to discovery of her grave.As of now it is only known from the account of Maulvi Zafar Hasan that Qudsia Begum had "lost all her influence and was cast into prison and blinded along with her son as early as 1753-54 AD).(References
available on request).
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