Begum Hazrat Mahal was one of the important leaders of the Revolt of 1857 which shook the very foundation of the British rule in India. Born a courtesan, she was one of the wives of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the ruler of Oudh, who was deposed by the British in 1856 and sent to exile in Calcutta. She led the revolt at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Acting as a regent of her eleven year old son Brijis Qadr, she ruled Awadh and under her tutelage the administration was reorganized. During the revolt, the residency of Lucknow was raided on her instruction. Providing spirited lead to the rebels she joined Maulvi Ahmadullah at Shahjahanpur.
After her defeat by the English, Begum Hazrat Mahal retreated to Nepal. She refused to accept the pension offered by the British and chose to die unknown in alien country in 1879. She is buried in a grave in Kathmandu.
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