Begum Hazrat Mahal
Begum Hazrat Mahal, 1876, Begum of Avadh, and freedom-fighter. One of the wives of Wajid Ali Shah, the last King of Avadh, she was originally named Iftikhar-un-nisa. She, along with her son, Birjis Qadr, led the revolt against the British in Avadh in 1857. After the capture of Lucknow by the British and the defeat of her troops, she sought asylum in Nepal where she ultimately died. She contemptuously rejected the offer of allowance and status held out by the British, and issued her own counter-proclamation against that of queen Victoria.
