Hazrat Mahal and the Many Archives

A Comparative Review

Authors

Keywords:

Revolt of 1857, Begum Hazrat Mahal, colonial archive, women's representation, feminist historiography

Abstract

This review examines two recent books on Begum Hazrat Mahal. The first, authored by Rudrangshu Mukherjee, delves into the lives of Hazrat Mahal and Laxmibai, exploring themes such as historical memory, amnesia, and the hierarchies of heroes within colonial and nationalist narratives. The second, by Sudipta Mitra, offers a narrative history of Hazrat Mahal and her husband, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. The essay advocates for a dialogue between Mukherjee’s emphasis on historical objectivity and the colonial archive, and Mitra’s focus on indigenous archival sources, popular belief, and memory, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive approach to women’s historical representation.

References

Burman, Tanya. “Begum Hazrat Mahal and the Revolt of 1857: Some Reflections on Women’s ‘Self-Representation’ in Politics.” Women’s Link 30, no. 1 (January 2023): 84-9.

Burman, Tanya. “Begum Hazrat Mahal: Power, Politics, and Representation in the Revolt of 1857” PhD dissertation, Ambedkar University Delhi, 2024. http://hdl.handle.net/10603/621939 (accessed 7 June 2025).

Lal, Ruby. Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Lewellyn-Jones, Rosie. The Last King in India: Wajid Ali Shah, 1822-1887. London: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Malhotra, Anshu and Siobhan Lambert-Hurley. Speaking of the Self: Gender, Performance, and Autobiography in South Asia. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015.

Nagar, Amritlal. Gadar ke Phool. Lucknow: Suchna Vibhag, 1957.

Sangari, Kumkum, and Sudesh Vaid. Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History. New Delhi: Zubaan, 1989.

Sharar, Abdul Halim. Guzishta Lucknow; or, Lucknow: Last Phase of an Oriental Culture. Edited and translated by E. H. Husain. London: Paul Elek, 1975.

An eye of inquiry

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Published

07-07-2025

How to Cite

Burman, T. (2025). Hazrat Mahal and the Many Archives: A Comparative Review. Reading the Archive, 1(1 Monsoon), 1–7. Retrieved from https://readingarchive.janastu.org/ria/article/view/20

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 Monsoon (2025): Inaugural Issue

Section

REVIEW ARTICLES

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Copyright (c) 2025 Tanya Burman

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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