Begum Hazrat Mahal

Begum Hazrat Mahal, also called Begum of Awadh was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. She rebelled against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. She finally found asylum in Nepal where she died in 1879. After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta, she took charge of the affairs in the state of Awadh and seized control of Lucknow. She organised an army of women. She actively took part in the revolt of 1857. She gave a stiff resistance. But after the fall of Lucknow, she escaped to Kathmandu. She was a very brave woman and such bravery in a male-dominated society was unprecedented.