Synopses & Reviews
In 1863, the Nawab Sikandar Begum, a Muslim woman and hereditary ruler of the princely state of Bhopal in colonial India, traveled to Mecca with a retinue of a thousand people. On returning, she wrote this witty, acerbic account of her journey. In it, we glimpse a process by which notions of the self could be redefined against a Muslim "other" in the colonial environment. Sikandar Begum emerges as a genuinely complex individual, crafting an image of herself as an effective administrator, a loyal subject, and a good Muslim. Siobhan Lambert-Hurley's critical introduction and afterword make this edition a comprehensive resource on travel writing by South Asian Muslim women, colonialism, and world history.
Review
"... this book - with its excellent introduction and afterword - should be celebrated by historians studying the Indian Ocean basin, the history of Islam, travel writing and women's history." --Brett Bennett, University of Texas, Austin, JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES, Vol. 48.3
Review
"This is a must--read for students of gender, imperial, post/colonial, and Middle Eastern histories." --Antoinette Burton, University of Illinois Indiana University Press Indiana University Press Indiana University Press
Review
"Readers interested in a very wide range of subjects, including Indian history, Muslim women, and Islam in the colonial period, will welcome this book." --Barbara D. Metcalf, University of Michigan
Synopsis
Politics, colonialism, and empire in Indiaa Muslim rulers journey to Mecca and back
About the Author
Siobhan Lambert-Hurley is Senior Lecturer in Modern History at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She is author of Muslim Women, Reform and Princely Patronage: Nawab Sultan Jahan Begam of Bhopal and Rhetoric and Reality: Gender and the Colonial Experience in South Asia.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
An Introduction to Nawab Sikander Begum's Account of Hajj, by Siobhan Lambert-Hurley
A Pilgrimage to Mecca: The Nawab Sikandar Begum of Bhopal
Preface
Translator's Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Appendices
Afterword: Muslim Women Write Their Journeys Abroad, by Siobhan Lambert-Hurley
Bibliography