Wajid Ali Shah

Wajid Ali Shah was the last Nawab of Awadh. The British removed him from his throne in February 1856.

That annexation angered many people and fed the Revolt of 1857. His Lucknow court also helped shape Kathak dance.

1Who was Wajid Ali Shah?

Our story begins in Lucknow. Wajid Ali Shah was born there on 30 July 1822. His father was Amjad Ali Shah.

He took the throne on 13 February 1847. He was the eleventh and last ruler of Awadh. He ruled for nearly nine years.

Awadh was already weak when he came to power. A treaty of 1801 had cost the kingdom much of its land. The Company also made it pay for the Bengal Army and kept asking for loans.

Early on, he took interest in justice and reorganised the army. Yet many saw him as a detached, pleasure-loving ruler. Some of that name seems to have been unfair.

• Born 30 July 1822 in Lucknow.
• Ruled from 13 February 1847; the eleventh and last ruler of Awadh.
• Awadh was under heavy Company pressure well before 1856.
• His bad name for idleness was partly overdone.

2Why did the British annex Awadh?

The British Resident at Lucknow was General William Sleeman. He wrote a report on what he called maladministration and lawlessness. This gave the Company its official reason.

Sleeman himself did not want outright annexation. He gave political, money and moral reasons. The decision still went ahead under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie.

On 11 February 1856 the Company annexed Awadh. It came two days before the ninth anniversary of his coronation. The Company said the land was being misgoverned.

Later studies doubt that story. They suggest Awadh was neither as bankrupt nor as lawless as claimed. For practical purposes it was under British control already.

• Annexed on 11 February 1856.
• Official plea: maladministration, from Sleeman’s report.
• Sleeman himself opposed outright annexation.
• Later historians doubt the plea.

3What happened after the annexation?

Wajid Ali Shah left Lucknow and went by Kanpur to Calcutta. He came ashore near Metiabruz on 13 May 1856. A large group of relatives, musicians, cooks and animals travelled with him.

He had planned to plead his case to Queen Victoria. In the end he did not make the long sea voyage. His mother, brother and eldest son went to England instead.

In 1857 the revolt reached Lucknow. Rebelling sepoys placed one of his sons on the throne. His wife, Begum Hazrat Mahal, ruled as regent for their son.

The British feared he might become a rallying figure. They held him at Fort William, with his Prime Minister. After the revolt he was freed and settled at Metiabruz.

There he built what people called a second Lucknow. He lived on a pension of about 12 lakh rupees a year. He died on 1 September 1887.

• Reached Calcutta on 13 May 1856; settled at Metiabruz.
• Held at Fort William during the 1857 revolt.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal was regent in Awadh for their son.
• Lived on a pension of about 12 lakh rupees a year.
• Died 1 September 1887.

4What did he give to music, dance and theatre?

Wajid Ali Shah was a great patron of the arts. He had trained in singing and composed thumri songs. He used the name Akhtarpiya for his musical works.

His court was a centre of Kathak. Lucknow Kathak grew graceful and refined here. His Kathak guru was Thakur Prasad, and the Kalka-Binda brothers performed at his court.

He also staged Rahas, a dance-drama on the tales of Krishna. It mixed acting, music and dance. Some people call him the first playwright of Hindustani theatre.

He wrote a great deal himself. His poetic name is given as Akhtar. His Sawat-ul-Qalub holds 44,562 couplets. Mirza Ghalib also received a yearly pension of 500 rupees from him from 1854.

The famous thumri “Babul Mora” is linked to his name in popular memory. Treat that credit with care. Thumri existed before his time too.

• Musical works under the name Akhtarpiya.
• Patron of Kathak; the Lucknow style matured under him.
• Staged Rahas dance-dramas at Qaiserbagh.
• Mirza Ghalib got a yearly pension from him from 1854.
• He did not invent thumri; it was already known.

5How do historians judge him?

Old British accounts painted him as a worthless ruler. Later historians are kinder. They point to the Company’s own pressure on Awadh. They also point to his skill as an artist.

The annexation caused deep anger in Awadh and in the army. Much of the Bengal Army was recruited from Awadh. So the loss of the kingdom was one long-term cause of 1857.

One point is easy to get wrong. Awadh was not annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse. That rule applied when a ruler had no natural heir. The Company used the plea of misgovernment instead.

• Awadh supplied many soldiers to the Bengal Army.
• The annexation was a long-term cause of 1857.
• It was not the Doctrine of Lapse.
• Views of the Nawab have shifted from scorn to a fairer reading.

6What are the exam traps?

A few mix-ups appear often. Keep them straight.

• Annexation was in 1856, before the revolt, not after.
• The plea was misgovernment, not a missing heir.
• He was exiled to Calcutta first. Fort William came only in 1857.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal was his wife, not his mother.
• Do not credit him with inventing Kathak or thumri.
• Read about Begum Hazrat Mahal.
• Read about Awadh after annexation.
• Read about the Doctrine of Lapse.