Shah Jahan Begum, who ruled from 1868 to 1901 and began the construction of the Taj-ul-Masajid, was the ruler (Begum) of which princely state?

Shah Jahan Begum was the ruler (Nawab Begum) of the princely state of Bhopal; she ruled in her own right from 1868 to 1901.

The Begums of Bhopal:

Bhopal was ruled by four women rulers in succession for more than a hundred years (1819-1926), which is rare in Indian history.

They were:

• Qudsia Begum (1819-1837).
• Sikandar Begum (1844-1868), the mother of Shah Jahan Begum.
• Shah Jahan Begum (1868-1901).
• Sultan Jahan Begum (1901-1926), the daughter of Shah Jahan Begum.

About Shah Jahan Begum:

• She was born on 29 July 1838.
• She was proclaimed the ruler as a child in 1844, but her mother Sikandar Begum governed the state on her behalf, and later as ruler.
• She became the ruler in her own right after her mother's death in 1868.

Her rule:

• She carried out administrative reforms, improved the revenue system, and reorganised the police and the army.
• She built many public works, such as roads, waterworks and a new town called Shahjahanabad, in Bhopal.
• She began the construction of the Taj-ul-Masajid in Bhopal, one of the largest mosques in Asia; it was completed much later, in the 1980s.
• She built the Taj Mahal palace in Bhopal.
• She was a poet and writer, who wrote in Urdu and Persian.
• She was given the title of Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India by the British.
• She remained loyal to the British.

Later history of Bhopal:

• Hamidullah Khan, the son of Sultan Jahan Begum, became the last Nawab of Bhopal (1926-1949).
• Bhopal was merged with India in 1949, and later became the capital of Madhya Pradesh (1956).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Rampur, Tonk and Junagadh were other princely states ruled by Muslim Nawabs, but they did not have this line of women rulers.