Doğu Dilleri Dergisi

Öz

The Bhopal State, founded in 1709 and joined the India in 1949 after the partition of United India, was ruled by four female monarchs who made significant progress in social and administrative fields, especially during the reign of female monarchs. The era of female monarchs, starting with Nawab Qudsia Begum (r. 1819-1837), continued with Nawab Sikander Begum (r. 1844-1868), Nawab Shah Jahan Begum (r. 1868-1901), and Sultan Jahan Begum (r. 1901-1926) who became the last female monarch to ascend the throne of Bhopal. Nawab Sikander Begum went on a pilgrimage to the Hijaz in 1864. She kept her impressions of this journey in daily notes and later penned them down under the title Yad Dast-e-Tareekh-e-Waqai-e-Hajj in 1864. This work is the first example of a travelogue written by women in the Urdu language. Additionally, Sikander Begum changed Bhopal's official language from Persian to Urdu. Following in her mother's footsteps in the field of writing, Nawab Shah Jahan Begum wrote poetry in Urdu language under the pen name Shirin and also has a collection of poetry in Urdu. Her granddaughter, Sultan Jahan Begum, was known for her educational and health reforms, literary works, and efforts to preserve the Urdu language. She opened various institutions to empower Muslim women in society and financially supported these institutions. Under Sultan Jahan Begum's rule, women in Bhopal played a significant role in preserving, developing, and spreading the Urdu language. Moreover, Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum has over 40 works contributing to Urdu literature. Among her works are books covering a wide range of topics such as child development, recipes, education, politics, and religion. Sultan Jahan Begum not only contributed through her own works but also supported significant works in Islamic history, such as Asr-i Saadat by Shibli Nomani, which consists of thousands of pages, contributing to the development of Urdu language and literature. In this article, we will discuss the contributions of Bhopal women to the development of the Urdu language and their contributions to the cultural heritage.