Mower County transcript., 1869-12-16
AN.lNDlAN PRINCESS.
How q Woman can Govern-A ANe.
markAble story

How . Woman can 0ovoS"-n 1~o-
markAble story
The London Spectator gives the follow
ING interesting account OF I" remarkable
character. II HindoO woman ofa'ncommon
ability, who died little more th"n :" year
ago: :. ,,- AZ,
'Subjection of Wouen,' that IN lndia wo-
men have, on the whole, proved themselves
greater administrators than men, and 1t is
Undoubtedly true that in our time the most
distinguished and most successful native
rulers have belonged to the sex which Mr..
Mill describes as subjugated. The mother
OF Dhulcep Singh, Chundu Kour. originally
aslave and dancing-girl, governed the
Punjab, directed armies, and shook the
British empire; and when fugitive in
Katmandoo, WAS described by Lold Dal-
housie as the most dangerous politlca!
parsonage east Of Suez' The Begun OF
Dude offered the King counsels which
would have saved his throne. and that fail.
ing, levied armies to recover 1t, and after
gallant struggle taxed all Lord Clydes en-
erpies in pursuit: while the Rance Of Jhansl,
ia Messai,na Joan of Arc, not five and
twenty wears of ag., expelled us, defeated
us. and died CHARGING at the head Of her
cavalry on British Hussars.
None among these, however, had SO
strong a character as the Musulman lady
who died last October and who for twenty
one years governed Bhopal with the wit
and the success Of q great statesman. or
displayed her capacity for sensible,
straightforward rule. Her state was not
very large, not very much bigger than the
eastern counties. and her revenue did not
ut best exceed that Of the Duke of Devon
shire; but still she was one OF the true
governing class Of earth, and the facts OF
her career may interest our readers as we'll
as any parochial matter. They have been
recalled to our recollection by short bio
eraphy, Just received, in which Kuhn
Brahmin of Bengal contrives in his admira-
ton of her to insinuate some strongly
deprecistory but not very unjust remarks
upon our rule. He writes Johnsonese in
stead of English, lii e most Of the students
in our colleges, but to anybody who will
forget that, end read little between the
lines, he will appear . shrewd.
hard-hitting critic, with no slight
political ability. This, for instance. is .
nearly perfect answer to Mr.. Mill,
much better, because simpler than our own,
which was that in certain states of civiliza-
ton tho weaknesses of the female character
= such, for example, as it's tendency to mi
croscopical finance-were qualifications for
administration. Sombhoo Chunda Nook
erica says Mussulman or Hindoo Lady
Reguant 'is per- &c ability pelsonifed, tor
public opinion in Asia. a. indeed every
where, permits none but women Of extra
ordinary ability to rule in propria persona.
Were it not 80, the number Of able female
sovereigns in India, and indeed all over the
world, might give the impression that abil-
ity was an endowment peculiar to the re-
pressed sox-repressed possibly out OF
jealousy and alarm?-for there are able
he-sovereigns and incapable he.sovereigns.
but there are only able she-soversigns. He
seems, too, thoroughly aware of the speoi-
ality Of his heroine, her consciousness OF
masculine ability, for he quotes two or
three times her pet saying that she had de-
itermined all her life not to be q mere
Dhaee,' or wet-nurse to sovereigns.
sThouth not OF royal blood in the Eu
rope an sense-no Mussulman in India not
o descendant of Timour can be that-Se
cundra Begun (literally. the Lady A'exan.
dra) was, nevertheless, born in 1916 to a
th,one. Her father was one of the Pathan
3or Afghan soldiers Of fortune who, under
AurunRzebe, carved out principalities, and
on Aurungzebe'6 death declared himself in
| dependent in BhopoL On his death his
wife was declared Regent by the army, and
his daughter Secundra heir; but the British
| government, which even then claimed some
sort of paramount authority, decreed that
| the actual sovereignty should pass to the
GIRLS cousin and betrothed husband.
.'Ths Regent, woman Of powerful
but vulgar mind, contrived by series Of
| intrigues not worth relating here to retain
| power, and to delay the marriage for some
years, till Secundra, wearied ont with wait
ing, took her nuptuals into her own hands,
aud in spite of her mother married her
cousin Jehangeer conditions. These
| ccnditions. which vere reduced to wiring.
| violated every law Of Mohammedanism and
every prejudice of the country, and strong
| ly mark the character of q girl who even
then must have been conscious Of excep-
tional ability. Her husband, Jehangeer,
swere to be always her first subject, to
leave her the direct and visible control of
all affairs, to take no second wife, and to
liberate her absolutely from the restric-
tions of the purdah or curtain, that is, to
allow her to see and be seen, to visit and be
visited like man, privilege Secundra,
through the remainder of her lite, never
resigned; reviewing her own troops, giving
audience in open Durbar, and even attend
| ing the grand assemblage of feudatories at
AGRA, where she was publicly presented
| with the Grand Cross of the Star of India,
| and was family quizzed for wearing some
costume in which tight drawers were unus
ually conspicuous.
sJehaneeer, however, though he yielded,
did not like the conditions, raised an army,
and rebelled; but his wife fought for hel
own, and would have succeeded, but the
Governor-6 General signified his will that q
woman should not reign. Secundra in.
stantly submitted without blow. A born
politician, she had, like RujeetS Singh, per.
ceived, as she subsequently proved in most
signal style, that in India resistance to the
British power was the one fatal error, and
though wild with repressed ambition. she
waited quietly till in 1845 her husband, ar
acter, died. Then sho put forward hel
government disappointed her.
1.-THE Governor General was ready te
hunt for man in the wilderness rather
than let a woman reign, and decreed that
her daughter, child, the present ruler o.
Bhopal, should be married to an old Mo
hammedan of no particular claims, who
upon her attaining full age, should be rule1
Of Bhopal. That is. child whose only
claim was through her mother should ex
clude that mother, not for herself, but fol
an old officer who might one day marry
her. Again, however, Secundra yielded
Her influence was, however, too great fol
her son-in-law, weak and unambitiouf
man; he resigned, and the political agent
reported that the alternatives we're Secun
dra Begun or annexation. Lord Hardingt
gave way, though he took all grace from hi
concession by declaring Secundra he1
daughters trustee, and in 1s47 the princess
as regent, mounted the throne OF o STATE
in the last condition Of disorder. The no
bles,t whose title was a. good as their lord's
were waging intestine war, the treasur!
was bankrupt, the revenues were sold il
advance, the currency was debased. ant
the army unpaid; but Secundra understood
governing.
I'm less than five years the revenue hat
been set free, mainly by substituting he
own officers for farmers-general, the arm.
had been reformed, being regularly -paie
and punished; q rupee had been introduced
of full weight, the mobiles had been sub