The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-03-30
WOMEN RULERS OF INDIA.
Three Begums of BhopaI who Have
Been at Head of a Large
S1 Native State.
Amonm fhe interesting

Among the interesting personages
Wales have met in the course of their
tour through India, none presents
more engrossing study than the woman
ruler of the State of, Bhopal, Naval
Sultan Jehan, Begun, if the London
accounts may be regarded as anthem
tic. The Begun is a daughter and a
granddaughter of a Begun, and be-
tween them these three women have
ruled, for the past sixty years, the
destinies of a state comprising nearly
1000 square miles of territory and a
population of a million people.
The mother of the present ruler de-
scended from the famous Dost Mohan-
mad Khan, the founder of the Bhopal
dynasty. She succeeded to the throne
in 1868, in which year she sent to
Queen Victoria a quaint letter ae-
knowledging her majesty's kindness
in accepting the dedication OF book
written by the Begum's mother, the
enlightened Sikandar, describing her
pilgrimage to Mecca.
The book in question Is q pictur-
esque record of an oriental journey,
containing an appreciation of the char
acteristics of that place as seen and
understood by an Indian lady. The
Begun seems to have been particular
ly struck by the enormous quantities
of food which the inhabitants of Mec-
ca were able to consume. She records
that they were in the habit of dispos-
ing Of five or six pounds weight per
hand per day.
They appeared to thrive on Ct, how.
ever, for the Begun vouches for the
fact that the average man was so abb
normally strong that he thought moth
ing of carrying a weight Of 900 pounds
from the street to the top of a house.
The Begun apparently took great in
terest in building operations in Mec-
ca, for she includes in her book a list
OF building materials, with their cost.
Loyal to England.
The loyalty to the British Govern
ment, to which the present Begum's
mother referred In her letter to Queen
Victoria, was strikingly exhibited by
the famous Sikandar who ruled dur
Ing the mutiny.
At the height of the instruction a |
Reputation from her army gathered
outside the palace and expressed a |
wish that the Begun would put her
self at the head of her men and lead |
hem on to Delhi to exterminate the
nfidel British. The Begun promised
% do so, but during the night she, |
with few faithful adherents, caused |
he whole army, consisting of about /
,hree thousand men all told, to be dis
lrmed and their weapons hidden. The
day she offered to lead them
to Delhi, but the army
bought better Of 1t. This plucky act /
had great influence on the
rend OF events, and it undoubtedly
Iayed the British residents at a neigh
,oring town from massacre.
Bhopal has always been one of the
most friendly of the Indian States. So
ar back as 1878, when Gen. Goddard
marched across India, Bhopal was the
My Indian power which showed IT.
elf friendly. In 1918 the British Gov
Irnment formed an alliance with Bio
'al, guaranteeing to the Nawab theI
Of the State. z
More Liberty for Women.
The Shah Gehan Begun, the daugh-
er OF Sikandar, succeeded in 1868 and
'roved a most worthy follower of her
mother. She threw aside the restric-
ions of the 'purdah," which imposed
he strictest secIusion upon Indian
women, and was always accessible,
business on her own initia-
i've with the greatest vigor. M. Louis
lousselet. a French explorer, thus de-
cribes a meeting he had with her
many years ago.
i had an appointment with Her
he wrote, ''and so called
t the palace. which is full of Euro
ean treasures and Injuries. In the
oona into which I was ushered sat a
title Girl whom took to be tbs daugh-