08 January,2026 11:26 AM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma
Anoushka Jain
After a successful podcast on the Maharanis of India, New Delhi-based historian Anoushka Jain has culled cool facts about the Mughal queens, and their role in shaping Mughal India in her book, Badass Begums (HarperCollins India). Jain runs an initiative called Enroute Indian History, through which she leads heritage walks around the National Capital.
. Zeenat Mahal was married to the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and fought for her son's ascension to the throne. It isn't clear whether her haveli was commissioned by her, or was a gift from Zafar, but the interiors reflected Zeenat Mahal's personality and taste. Beneath the fineries were also secret tehekhanas (cool dungeons). One led to the Red Fort, and the other to Ajmeri Gate. During the colonial era, with heavy surveillance, these passages would often be used for confidential underground meetings.
. Jahanara Begum, Shah Jahan's eldest daughter, was the first Mughal daughter to be named Padshah Begum. She commissioned the Town Hall (Begum ki Serai), built in white limestone, which became home to several women. The design was inspired by a comparable serai in Iran, and the Italian traveller Niccolao Manucci praised it for being the most beautiful one in Hindustan. Women, otherwise restricted in movement, would walk, talk, and relax
freely here.
. After the death of Asad Khan, a high-ranking nobleman during the reign of Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah, a young concubine and her daughter, Farzana were ousted from their home by Khan's stepson. Farzana was given refuge by a matriarch, Khanum Jan, who introduced her to the world of music, dance, and poetry in Chawri Bazaar. After marriage, Farzana became Begum Samru, and managed her husband General Walter Reinhardt's diplomatic affairs from the zenana. Her sound judgment was invaluable in governance. After his death, she took over the reins, and was often called for strategic and military aid.
. A nautch girl from Pune, Mubarak Begum fell in love with a British resident David Ochterlony and married him. She insisted that she be called Lady Ochterlony, a title reserved for âpedigreed' British. She was vilified by the natives and the British for being a tawaif and a radical woman. Her masjid was given derogatory names like âWhore's Mosque', but it was the centre of Delhi's classical arts. More than 40 poets would gather to attend mushairas here.
. Mughal women were sharp with commerce and had annual incomes. They were funded through four mediums: A royal land grant, an annual income given in monthly instalments, gifts on anniversaries and coronations, and small business that they ran. For instance, one of the earliest Mughal women to command ships that helped pilgrims reach Mecca was Mariam-uz-zamani, one of Emperor Akbar's wives.
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