Through a century marked by impermanence and unrest, one state in India remained stable. The state of Bhopal blossomed between 1819-1926 while the rest of the country raged with revolts againts increasing British domination, the decline of the Mugal empire, and rivalries between princely states. Ruled by four brilliant and dynamic women- Qudsiya Begum, Sikander Begum, Shah Jahan Begum- who chose to subvert convention, Bhopal went on to become a First Class State in British India, a state whose ruler ‘had full powers in all administrative matters, judicial and general, including the power to confirm sentences of death.’ This is a story of the Begums of Bhopal. It relates with lucidity their rise to power, their administrative and military reforms, their interest in art, their clever handling of court intrigues, and their sustained diplomacy in maintaining cordial relations with the British.
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