Malika Kishwar

Malika Kishwar Bahadur Fakr-ul-Zamani Nawab Taj Ara Begum (1803 – 24 January 1858), also known as Janab-i-Alia, was Queen Mother of the last king of Awadh in northern India. The chief consort of the tenth nawab of Awadh, Amjad Ali Shah, her son Wajid Ali Shah succeeded his father when she was widowed in 1847. When British officials announced their intent to annex the Kingdom of Oudh, she met with General James Outram in Lucknow to plead their case. In 1856, she travelled to England with one of her sons and grandson and met with Queen Victoria in 1857. After the intervention of France, she was given permission to leave England, but died three days after arriving in Paris. Her mother was Vilayati Begum, a daughter of the sixth Nawab of Awadh, Saadat Ali Khan. Well-educated, Malika Kishwar could read and write Persian and Arabic, and prioritised the education of her children and other dependents. They included Begum Hazrat Mahal, whom Malika Kishwar disliked.

Annexation of Awadh

At the end of January 1856, British military forces proceeded from Cawnpore to Lucknow as General James Outram sought to carry out the annexation of Awadh. The decision had been made by the Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie, with the backing of the Court of Directors of the East India Company and the British government.

General Outram accepted Malika Kishwar's request for an interview on 1 February 1856, speaking to her through a curtain and an interpreter, in an attempt to persuade her to convince her son to sign the annexation treaty. According to K. S. Santha, it was regarded as a deliberate theft.

Arrival in Southampton Crowds of people gathered near the dock at Southampton for the highly anticipated arrival of the royal party of Awadh (spelled by the British as "Oude"). Among the guests received by the royal family that day were "the mayor, an earl, a countess, three ladies, two baronets, and an admiral". As they took horse-drawn carriages to the station, their servants waved back at the crowds which once again lined the streets. The free-standing house was on the north side of Marylebone Road, enclosed by a brick wall with a side entrance to Regent's Park. It was the first time that Malika Kishwar had appeared in public, though she sat with her female attendants in the Royal Box behind blue and silver tissue fabric.

Arrest of Wajid Ali Shah Wajid Ali Shah was arrested and imprisoned at Fort William in Calcutta on 15 June 1857, but the news took almost four weeks to reach Malika Kishwar and royal family in London. According to the faded inscription on the tombstone, her name was Princess Omdutel Aurau Begum.

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