• THE BEGUM OF BHOPAL
BY SIR STANLEY REED, formerly Editor of the
Times of India.
IN the spacious days of Indian history, when every stout soldier of fortune carried a governorship in his sword hand, Dost Mahomed Khan, a Tirah Afghan, won a sanad in Central India by his services to the Emperor at Delhi. The Mughal Empire disintegrated under the attacks of the Marathas, and this land grant developed into the State of Bhopal. It is one of the many strange contradictions -which we meet in a study of the Indian Empire that for three successive generations this State, carved out by a scion of the most martial race on the Indian Borderland, has been ruled by women.
The most distinguished of this trio, Nawab Sultan Jehan Begum, is now visiting England, on a mission associated with the difficult question of the succession. In the West we are apt to waste an unwanted pity on the women of the East who spend their lives behind the veil, and to imagine that an aimless seclusion debars them from all interest in the affairs of life. But those who know their India have always appreciated the immense influence which women exercise, and of this there could be no better instance than the resolute lady who is now our guest.
For consider what responsibilities lie on the Ruler of an Indian State. British publicists, and for the matter of that, Indian too, often talk of India as if it consisted only of British India—of the India which we directly administer., The plain fact is that one-third of India and one-fifth of its people are the direct care of the Princes and Chiefs ; seventy-twdimillions of people look to them for that good government without which there can be little human; happiness. Lord Curzon, in a great speech at the zenith of his viceroyalty, said there was no grander opportunity than that which opens out before an Indian Prince invested with powers of rule at dawn of manhood. True ;1 but what of the burden he must shoulder ? Whilst the authority of the British raj as the paramount Power is absolute, in practice it is exercised with increasing reluc- tance in all that concerns the internal affairs of the States. All power, all authority, all influence flow direct from the Ruler. If things go ill he is responsible ; if well he alone is entitled to the credit. He is surrounded from the earliest days by some who would draw him from the straight path in order to increase their own influence ; his officials, however able, can accomplish nothing without his steady countenance and support. Far from wondering that a few stray, it should be a source of pride that the general standard of rule in the Indian States is so high.
For nearly a quarter of a century the Begum of Bhopal has exercised these great powers with wisdom, energy and resolute courage. Seven thousand miles of territory, seven itundred thousand people and £435,000 of revenue are committed to her sole and undivided care. The unceasing duties she has to discharge must be faced in strict privacy and from behind the veil. Ever since the reins of authority passed into her small capable hands the administration of Bhopal has been firm, stable, and con- servatively progressive. No scandal has touched it ; no complaint has reached the ears of a somewhat jealous public. Invariably screened from gaze by the burka- the veil which falls to the shoulders—she has gone freely, amongst her own people. Whilst her main care is the welfare of her own State, she takes her part in the wider spheres of Indian polity. No important decision on the affairs of the States is taken without consulting the Begum of Bhopal. In the special sphere of Central India her influence is great. Lord Curzon broke down the old idea that the Indian States are things apart from the Empire as a whole. He preached the doctrine of a common responsibility which flamed into splendid service during the War. The means of centralizing this common responsibility were created when the Chamber of Princes, was constituted as part of the scheme of constitutional development in 1919; the Chamber actively consults with the Viceroy on affairs peculiar to the States, or common to the States and British India. Here the Begum of Bhopal has always been a respected figure, and either from behind the burka, or through the lips of some trusted emissary, the wise and experienced word has been spoken.
The Begum of Bhopal then comes amongst us first as one of the great Indian Rulers who have been aptly described as the pillars of the Indian Empire. Next, as one who in thT American phrase has "made good " ; through the lonely years of her long rule she has stood for stability in the, changing, often restless Indian scene—not the stability of reaction, but the steadiness of pi-ogress suited to the genius of her people. But above all she is welcome as a woman—as one who illustrates all that can be accomplished by a wise and resolute woman behind the veil in India. She may not be seen much in public ; ready to take her part in public affairs, she does not court the forum. Those who see her will mark the strength and dignity of her small resolute figure, reminiscent of Queen Victoria in her maturity. The Begum of Bhopal has another claim on our sympathy and support. Two of her tall sons have pre- deceased her ; the Question specially embarrassing the autumn. of her days is the succession to the masnad ; shall it be the son of the eldestsori, or the survivor of her own sons ? Whatever the decision, it will be given in grateful recognition-of the life and work of one who has tried to do her duty, and Who is and ever has been a staunch friend of the British raj in India.
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