Abida Sultaan: India’s Unconventional Muslim Princess Who Hunted Tigers and Drove a Rolls-Royce

Abida Sultaan was far from a conventional princess. She sported short hair, engaged in tiger hunting, and excelled as a polo player. From the age of nine, she piloted aircraft and operated her own Rolls-Royce. Born in 1913 into a lineage of valiant ‘begums’ (Muslim women of high rank) who governed the northern princely state of Bhopal in British India for over a century, Abida perpetuated their tradition of challenging stereotypes concerning women in general and Muslim women specifically. She declined to observe purdah—a custom practiced by Muslim, and some Hindu women, involving concealing attire and seclusion from men—and became heir to the throne at 15 years old. Abida managed her father’s cabinet for more than ten years, interacted with notable Indian freedom fighters, and later observed firsthand the animosity and unrest that fragmented the nation following its partition in 1947, leading to the formation of Pakistan. Her grandmother, Sultan Jehan, a stringent disciplinarian and the ruler of Bhopal, mentored her from an early age for her future role as a leader. In her 2004 autobiography, *Memoirs of a Rebel Princess*, Abida recounts her routine of waking at 4 AM to study the Quran, the Islamic religious text, followed by a day packed with activities such as sports, music, and horse riding, alongside household duties like sweeping floors and cleaning bathrooms. Regarding her upbringing, she stated in an interview: “We girls were not allowed to feel any inferiority on account of our sex. Everything was equal. We had all the freedom that a boy had; we could ride, climb trees, play any game we chose to. There were no restrictions.” Even in childhood, Abida displayed a strong, independent nature, rebelling against her grandmother’s attempt to enforce purdah upon her at age 13. Her audacity, combined with her father’s progressive views, enabled her to avoid this practice throughout her life. At 12 years old, Abida, already the heir to Bhopal’s throne, was married to Sarwar Ali Khan, her childhood friend and the ruler of the adjacent princely state of Kurwai, potentially making her part of its royal family. Her memoir humorously details her nikah (wedding), about which she was unaware. She recounts an instance where, during a pillow fight with her cousins, her grandmother entered and instructed her to prepare for a wedding, without informing her that she was the bride. She writes, “No-one had prepared or instructed me on how to conduct myself, with the result that I walked into the nikah chamber, pushing the gathered women out of my way, my face uncovered, sulking as usual for being chosen again for some new experiment.” The wedding ceremony was short, mirroring Abida’s marriage, which concluded in under ten years. Abida found married life challenging, attributed not only to her youth but also to her rigorous, devout upbringing. She openly discusses how her unfamiliarity and unease with sexual intimacy negatively impacted her marriage. She writes, “Immediately after my wedding, I entered the world of conjugal trauma. I had not realised that the consummation that followed would leave me so horrified, numbed and feeling unchaste,” further stating that she was never able to “accept marital relations between husband and wife.” This ultimately caused her marriage to dissolve. Historian Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, in her academic work on intimacy and sexuality within the autobiographical narratives of Muslim women in South Asia, highlights how Abida’s frank accounts of sexual intimacy with her spouse dismantle the preconception that Muslim women refrain from discussing sex, offering an unreserved perspective on the subject. Following the dissolution of her marriage, Abida departed her marital residence in Kurwai and returned to Bhopal. However, an acrimonious custody battle ensued over their sole son, Shahryar Mohammad Khan. Exasperated by the prolonged conflict and unwilling to be separated from her son, Abida undertook a decisive action to deter her husband. During a mild March night in 1935, Abida drove continuously for three hours to arrive at her husband’s residence in Kurwai. She entered his bedroom, produced a revolver, placed it in his lap, and declared: “Shoot me or I will shoot you.” This event, alongside a physical altercation between the pair where Abida prevailed, resolved the custody disagreement. She subsequently raised her son as a single parent while simultaneously managing her responsibilities as heir to the throne. She presided over her state’s cabinet from 1935 until 1949, the year Bhopal was incorporated into the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Abida participated in the round-table conferences, convened by the British government to determine India’s future governance, where she encountered influential figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, and his son, Jawaharlal Nehru, who would later become India’s inaugural prime minister. She also directly witnessed the worsening relations between Hindus and Muslims and the subsequent violence that erupted following India’s partition in 1947. In her memoir, Abida recounts the discrimination she started to encounter in Bhopal, noting how her family, who had resided there peacefully for generations, began to be regarded as “outsiders.” In an interview, she shared a particularly unsettling recollection of the violence that erupted between Hindus and Muslims. She recounted that one day, after being notified by the Indian government about the impending arrival of a train transporting Muslim refugees to Bhopal, she proceeded to the railway station to oversee its reception. She stated, “When the compartments were opened, they were all dead,” and further explained that this pervasive violence and mistrust compelled her relocation to Pakistan in 1950. Abida departed discreetly, accompanied solely by her son and aspirations for a more promising future. In Pakistan, she advocated for democracy and women’s rights during her political career. Abida passed away in Karachi in 2002. Following her departure for Pakistan, the Indian government designated her sister as the heir to the throne. Nevertheless, Abida remains recognized in Bhopal, where she is affectionately known by her nickname ‘bia huzoor’. Journalist Shams Ur Rehman Alavi, who conducts research on Bhopal’s female rulers, observes, “Religious politics over the past few years have chipped away at her legacy and she isn’t spoken about as much any more,” but adds, “But her name isn’t likely to be forgotten anytime soon.” For additional content, BBC News India is available on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. This material is copyrighted by BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding its external linking policy is available.