White Mughals

by William Dalrymple

  He does not say it here, but the Begum—missing her own children as badly as she clearly did—had in fact offered to bring the child up herself; ia something that was in both Mughal and Georgian society more normally the response of a long-suffering wife to a husband’s infidelities than that of a distant friend or acquaintance. But if Charles Russell, on reading these letters, was growing suspicious of his brother’s relationships with the Begum, he does not appear to have voiced it. So it was only in November, as winter was beginning to set in across north India, that Henry brought the matter to a head. He began by telling Charles that he had changed his mind and had now decided to come back to his job beside Charles at the Residency: ‘You will be astonished to learn that I have determined to return to Hyderabad,’ he wrote.

  The motives which have led to this decision appear to me so prudent and judicious, with a view to your interests, as well as to my own, that I am sure you will not disapprove of them … the result of my experience during the time I have been in Calcutta, convinces me that no situation in my own line is to be got here, and that Sir George Barlow [the acting Governor General since the sudden death of Cornwallisib] is the most unlikely man in the world to make one for me … It is true that Captain Sydenham is both poor and young, and that he is therefore likely to hold the Residency longer than it may be worth while to wait for it … [but] painful experience has taught me that in deciding a question like the present, the chance of death ought not to be excluded from the calculation … ic

  Having tried to explain the purported reason for his sudden change of plan, Russell then, as discreetly as possible, drops a heavy hint about what has happened in his relationship with Khair un-Nissa:The Begum having performed her intention of visiting the poor Colonel’s tomb, and finding herself melancholy and lonesome without the society of the friends and relations with whom she was accustomed to live, has gladly determined to avail herself of the security of my convoy to return to Hyderabad. After having resided so long among us, and having been accustomed since the poor Colonel’s death to look up to me entirely for protection and support, she wished, in addition to the house of the family in the city, to have one near me.

  I have therefore purchased for her Uzeez Oolah’s Shadee Khana, the zenana which he gave to his nephew Ibrahim when he was about to leave Hyderabad, and the enclosure near the large mill containing the Bawuraha Khana, Movigh Khana, and other offices and accommodations for servants. Some or all of these houses are, I believe, occupied by Captain Sydenham’s Moonshee or his friends. Tell them I shall be very sorry to put them to any inconvenience, and that they are perfectly welcome to continue in the houses that I have bought until my arrival within a few marches of Hyderabad, when of course it will be necessary to have them cleaned and repaired for the Begum’s reception.

  Having gently dropped into the middle of the letter the news that he had bought the Begum a zenana next to his own Residency bungalow, Russell goes on to reveal that Khair un-Nissa was very nervous about the security of her estates under Mir Alam. Her affair with James had, after all, led to the Mir’s disgrace six years earlier, and in his violent treatment of both Aristu Jah’s widow and the former Minister’s close political allies, the Mir had already shown his appetite for revenging himself on those who had brought exile and disgrace on him at that time. Khair thus had every reason to worry that since James’s death she was vulnerable to her cousin’s schemes of vengeance, and at the very least could expect that her estates, given to her at the time of her marriage by Aristu Jah, might now be seized by his successor. For this reason, in an earlier letter, she seems to have persuaded Russell to ask Sydenham to use his influence as Resident to guarantee her estates and her income. Sydenham had agreed to this, and Russell now ended the letter by telling Charles:I have communicated to the Begum that part of your letter of the 22nd ultimo which contained Captain Sydenham’s handsome and satisfactory assurance of protecting her jagir and property. She is not less sensible of his kindness than I am; and she desires that when you express her gratitude to him, you will assure him that she will never abuse his kindness by troubling him with applications. She [now] does not seem to have any fears that her jagirs and property will be lapsed to the Nizam; and at all events, an attempt to encroach on them would be the only occasion that could induce her to request the interference of Captain Sydenham... 40

  The response to this letter was not long in coming. Despite his careful wording, no one in Hyderabad—least of all Sydenham—seems to have had any doubts about the nature of the ‘protection’ Russell was offering the Begum. Nor did the new Resident have any doubts as to Russell’s motives in wanting Khair installed in a zenana within easy reach of his bungalow. In both cases Sydenham’s suspicions proved entirely correct: though it was not something Russell yet felt able openly to admit, thrown together in the house in Calcutta by James’s death, he and Khair un-Nissa had indeed become lovers.

  Three weeks later, when Sydenham’s reply reached him, Russell had not yet set off from Calcutta and was still making preparations for his overland journey back to Hyderabad. His preparations were not going to plan, and he had been forced to put off his departure as he grappled with the massive task of arranging a full complement of tents, elephants, carriage bullocks and an armed escort. He cannot have been very surprised by what he read in Sydenham’s letter, but nevertheless both he and Khair must have been bitterly disappointed by it.

  In his reply to Russell, Sydenham makes it quite clear that he does indeed have a ‘serious objection’ to the plan of the Begum returning to the Residency, with the political repercussions this could cause.id He also remarks that Russell’s plan would hardly be a very satisfactory solution to the Begum’s needs as, ‘after occupying the Rang Mahal and living in a state of comparative Opulence and Splendour, it must be distressing to her own feelings to be placed in the local remembrance of all her former Enjoyment, at one of the Moonshies dwellings’. It would, in other words, represent a considerable demotion for the Begum: from Lady of the Manor to what Sydenham regarded as a residence behind the green baize door. To soften this blow, the new Resident added:At the same time I beg you to assure her that, if she determines in returning to Hyderabad, I will consider her under the protection and safeguard of the British Residency, that I will pay her every Attention and Respect in my Power; & that she may depend on my fullest assistance & support in securing her from every possible Inconvenience and Danger. If she requires any assurances from Mir Allum and his family, I will readily procure them, and I will take care that these assurances shall be meticulously fulfilled. She has only to point out how I can be useful to her, and she may rely on my most zealous exertions.41

  This was an important and unexpectedly explicit guarantee of full protection, and must have come as a great relief to Khair. However, Sydenham appears immediately to have copied these letters, or at least relayed their contents, both to the acting Governor General in Calcutta and to Mir Alam in Hyderabad. It was at this stage that Khair un-Nissa’s love-life blew up again into yet another full-scale scandal.

  Sir George Barlow was the first to respond. His letters to Russell on the subject have been lost, but it is clear that he was horrified by the new development. Worried by the possibility of Khair un-Nissa causing yet another breach in Anglo—Hyderabadi relations, he went as far as attempting to forbid the Begum from ever returning to Hyderabad at all. In a letter to Sydenham he cited the recent mutiny of sepoys at Vellore, and claimed that ‘the connexion of native women with European officers having been urged by the troops on the coast as one of the causes of the disaffection, it might be dangerous to recall to their minds so conspicuous an instance as that afforded by the connexion of Col Kirkpatrick with a female of the Begum’s rank and family’.42 This was an extremely dubious assertion, and one that even Sydenham thought stretched credibility. ie But the ban on Khair leaving Calcutta remained in place.

  A desperate Henry Russell was forced to go to Government House to plead on the Begum’s b
ehalf with Barlow’s Private Secretary, Neil Edmonstone, himself something of a Persian scholar and (discreetly) the father of an Anglo-Indian family. Russell pointed out ‘the painful and cruel situation to which the Begum would be reduced by being detained in Calcutta, and the difficulty she would find in returning to her family at any future time’.43 This argument had little impact on Edmonstone. As Russell later wrote to his brother, ‘All this he acknowledged, but still he said that the objection which had suggested itself to Sir George Barlow’s mind being of a public nature he would not suffer any considerations of individual hardship to be opposed to it.’ Russell then lost his temper and angrily pointed out that Barlow had no jurisdiction over Khair, a subject of the Nizam of Hyderabad, and so was hardly in any position to order her to remain in Calcutta. Edmonstone coolly replied that he would convey Russell’s argument to the Governor General. On Christmas Eve 1806, Russell received a curt note from Government House stating Barlow’s conclusion on the matter:My dear Sir, On a consideration of all the circumstances of the case, the Governor General withdraws his objections to the lady’s proceeding to Hyderabad. But he considers it necessary for political reasons that she should not be deemed to be in any way under the immediate protection of the British Government. She may return to Hyderabad and live under the protection of her own family. Any pledge of protection on the part of the British Govt might eventually be productive of great embarrassment. I have instructions to write to Capt Sydenham on the subject,

  I am ever, dear sir,

  Yours most sincerely

  NB Edmonstone44

  That night Russell finalised his preparations for departure, and scribbled a last, conciliatory note to Sydenham, saying that he wished to

  assure you that neither the Begum nor I will ever trouble you with any Requests which, under the letter you will have received from Mr. Edmonstone, you might think improper. She wishes to live as quietly and as much retired as possible with her mother and grandmother, and she does not appear to be apprehensive of danger from any quarter. Perhaps indeed Mir Alum might occasion her some difficulty and uneasiness if a declaration were explicitly made to him that she would not receive any protection from you. But such a declaration cannot under any circumstances be necessary and I am sure your own kindness and your regard for the memory of Colonel Kirkpatrick would alone be sufficient to restrain you from making it.45

  Khair and Henry bade goodbye to the two munshis, Aziz and Aman Ullah, who were setting off into retirement by the banks of the Ganges at Benares. The following morning the two lovers nervously set off on their journey to Hyderabad.

  It was a journey that they would never complete.

  For over three months, Russell and Khair, accompanied by Sharaf un-Nissa and the Begum’s household, travelled slowly down the now-familiar spine of the Eastern Ghats, between the teak forests of the hills and the white breakers of the Bay of Bengal.

  With little to look forward to in their return to Hyderabad, they took their time about the journey. Their progress slowed even further after an express message from Sydenham reached them on the road sometime at the end of January. The Resident had received Barlow’s orders, and explained that regrettably he was now forced to withdraw his offer of protection for Khair. He claimed to have ‘rejoiced’ that Russell had been able ‘to overcome the Governor General’s objections to the Begum’s Return to this Place’, adding: ‘As a question of mere policy, I should certainly prefer the Begum to remain in some part of Company’s Territories; but as she felt such repugnance at that plan, I do not foresee that there will be any unpleasant consequences to her return to Hyderabad, provided she remains in the City under the protection of her own Family and Friends … I am told that the houses, both of the mother and Grandmother of the Begum are in good repair and sufficiently convenient; and I should imagine that one of them would be the proper place of Residence for the Begum herself.’ But Sydenham then added what was in effect a new condition to Russell’s return, further impeding his and Khair’s hopes.

  I hope you are prepared to relinquish all personal intercourse with the Begum after her Establishment in the City. I know that Meer Allum will expect that she should not see you, and his objections are natural enough when the customs and prejudices of the Moosulmen respecting their women are considered. I have already informed you that the people in the city of every Description have misconceived notions of the Nature of your Protection which you have afforded to the Begum and there is no doubt that your visits will confirm their notions.46

  Rather stiffly, the very English Sydenham then added as a postscript: ‘P.S.: If such a message be not inconsistent with Propriety I beg you will make my Compliments to the Begum,’ before noting that: ‘Sir H Russell [Henry’s father, the Chief Justice] had once the Goodness to spare me a canister of his excellent snuff. Do you think you could prevail upon his kindness to repeat such a sacrifice?’

  Just to rub salt in Russell’s wounds, there soon appeared a second express letter, this time from his old enemy, Captain Hemming. It was short and to the point. Hemming wrote that he had just had breakfast with the Begum’s brother, Dustee Ali Khan,if and he wanted to make a few things quite clear to Russell: ‘It is not impertinent curiosity that makes me ask you if you are prepared to take leave of the Begum the day you arrive, probably never to see her again. I don’t mean to say that her life would be in any danger residing in the city. But I am sure that all intercourse between you will be interdicted by Meer Alum ...’47

  Knowing now for sure that their affair would have to end once they arrived at their destination, the two lovers slowed their progress even further. An express runner could make the journey from Calcutta to Masulipatam in under two weeks (something that amazed Abdul Lateef Shushtari, and which he compared to the old Sufi tales of saints being able to fly at will from one end of India to anotherig), but on this journey Russell and Khair took over twelve. They were clearly in no hurry to resume their separate lives.

  By the end of March the two had passed Masulipatam and were only a week’s journey from Hyderabad, when they stopped for three days to allow the Begum’s party and Russell’s own Muslim servants to celebrate Muharram. Their tents were still pitched by the banks of the Krishna when another express courier cantered into the camp bringing yet another urgent letter, this time from Charles Russell. Again it contained bad news. Mir Alam had at last reacted to the news of Henry’s ‘protection’ of his cousin. In a conversation with Sydenham the new Minister had made it chillingly clear that Khair un-Nissa was a disgrace to her family and that she would not be welcome back in Hyderabad. The vehemence with which the Mir had said this made it quite apparent what it meant. It would not be safe for Khair to return. If she did her life would be in danger.

  This was of course the worst possible news; but there seemed no way of getting around it. Now that Sydenham had been forbidden by Calcutta to offer any protection whatsoever to Khair un-Nissa, she had to make a simple choice: either to return and risk Mir Alam’s desire for vengeance, or to settle elsewhere. As Russell wrote back to his brother, he had expected that if he had left the Begum alone she would have been

  suffered to live quietly and securely with her family, and that she would not have anything to dread from Meer Alum. But I infer from a part of your letter that you apprehend that the spirit of malignity and revenge by which the Meer is still actuated towards the Begum [appears to be] so active as to urge him to the adoption of measures of such severity, that the influence of Capt Sydenham—confined [now] by the restrictions imposed on him by the Gov. General—would be insufficient to protect her … If I have accurately conceived your meaning, and you still think your apprehensions are well founded, it is absolutely necessary that I should resort to the only means still in my power to preserve the Begum, by recommending her to stay in some part of the Company’s Territories.

  He then, rather belatedly, apologised to Charles for not having been more open with him about his relationship with Khair: ‘You are more than
justified in censuring me for not having communicated to you what passed respecting the Begum before I left Calcutta … I thought it probable that you would not hear that anything had passed until I arrived in Hyderabad, and that I should have had an opportunity of personally talking the matter over with you.’48

  For three weeks, Russell and Khair remained stationary in their temporary encampment, apparently torn by indecision. Russell wrote to Sydenham and Charles to try to find some way around the impasse. Eventually, however, it became clear that there was no choice. In the second week of April Charles wrote again to Henry. The rumours of Khair un-Nissa’s affair with him had been the final straw. The situation was hopeless. Mir Alam’s mind was made up. Khair could not return. She had to find somewhere else to live, outside the Nizam’s dominions.

  The worst had happened. Mir Alam had decided formally to banish Khair un-Nissa from Hyderabad. Already a widow at the age of nineteen, the Begum was now, in addition to that, at twenty, an exile, a refugee.

  On 14 April 1807 Henry wrote back to his brother, telling him of the decision he and Khair had finally made: ‘Your letter has convinced me that [Khair un-Nissa] would be exposed to great danger at Hyderabad.’ He explained that he read Charles’s letter to the two Begums, who ‘notwithstanding the desire they had both felt to return to Hyderabad, and the repugnance they had always evinced against remaining in the Company’s Territories, both resolved, without any further advice or persuasion from me, to relinquish their original plan, and to settle, for the present at least, at Masulipatam’. He added: ‘Whether Residence there, or in any other part of the Company’s country, will be permanent, or whether it will continue only during the life of Meer Allum, is a question of which the decision must depend on various circumstances which may hereafter come to pass. At all events they will be secure from danger at Masulipatam; and to that important consideration that of mere comfort must of course be sacrificed.’49