Wajid Ali Shah

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
Mirza
Nawab of Awadh
Reign13 February 1847 – 11 February 1856
PredecessorAmjad Ali Shah
SuccessorBirjis Quadir (son)
Born(1822-07-30)30 July 1822
Lucknow, Oudh State
Died1 September 1887(1887-09-01) (aged 65)
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Spouses
Names
Abul Mansoor Mirza Muhammad Wajid Ali Shah
DynastyOudh
FatherAmjad Ali Shah
Silver Rupee of Wajid Ali Shah, struck at Lucknow in AH 1267 (1850–51 CE), showing the coat of arms of Awadh State on the reverse. The two figures holding the pennants are intended to be fish, seen also on the Awadh flag.

Mirza Wajid Ali Shah (Urdu: واجد علی شاه) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.[1][2]

Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better known as Khas Mahal (transl. special wife) because of her exquisite beauty.[3] She was one of two Nikahi[clarification needed] wives. His second wife, Muhammadi Khanum, better known as the Begum Hazrat Mahal, rose against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 as the regent of Awadh.[4]

His kingdom, long protected by the East India Company (EIC) under a treaty, was annexed by the EIC on 11 February 1856, two days before the ninth anniversary of his coronation. The Nawab was exiled to Garden Reach in Metiabruz, then a suburb of Kolkata, where he lived out the rest of his life on a generous pension. He was a poet, playwright, dancer and great patron of the arts. He introduced Kathak, a major form of classical Indian dance as a court dance after the decline of Mughals for recreation activity.[5]

  1. ^ "Wajid- Ali-Shah (1847-1856)". National Informatics Centre, India. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Wajid Ali Shah (1847-1856)". Lucknow.me. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  3. ^ Kundalia, Nidhi Dugar (4 June 2017). "Debauchery, dissipation and low pursuits". The Hindu.
  4. ^ "Begum Hazrat Mahal: The Revolutionary Queen of Awadh". Indian Culture Portal. Ministry of Culture, Government of India; Indian Institute of Technology Bombay; Indira Gandhi National Open University. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ Sharar, Abdul Halim (12 May 1994). Lucknow: The Last Phase of an Oriental Culture. OUP India. ISBN 978-0-19-563375-7. Retrieved 17 September 2020.