‘First Ladies’ of Early Eighteenth Century Murshidabad: Contrasting Roles and Characters

This paper tries to analyse the roles played by the Begums of Murshidabad during the nizamat in Bengal in the early eighteenth century. It will be shown that some of these Begums possessed strong personalities, sharp intelligence and mature wisdom. They stood steadfast by their husbands in times of crisis, helped them in administering the country and carrying out their responsibilities with love and care. But there were others who were too ambitious, self-seeking and notorious in nature. Not only that, while some of them were of noble and laudable character, blemishes marred others’ character.