Observations on the Mussulmauns of India | Page 4

history of Mrs. Mir Hasan 'Ali after her arrival in
England. It has been stated that she was attached in some capacity to
the household of the Princess Augusta, who died unmarried on
September 22, 1840.[7] This is probable, because the list of subscribers
to her book is headed by Queen Adelaide, the Princess Augusta, and
other ladies of the Royal Family. She must have been in good repute
among Anglo-Indians, because several well-known names appear in the
list: H.T. Colebrooke, G.C. Haughton, Mordaunt Ricketts and his wife,
and Colonel J. Tod.
The value of the book rests on the fact that it is a record of the
first-hand experiences of an English lady who occupied the exceptional
position of membership of a Musalman family. She tells us nothing of
her friends in Lucknow, but she had free access to the houses of
respectable Sayyids, and thus gained ample facilities for the study of
the manners and customs of Musalman families. Much of her
information on Islam was obtained from her husband and his father,
both learned, travelled gentlemen, and by them she was treated with a
degree of toleration unusual in a Shi'ah household, this sect being rigid
and often fanatical followers of Islam. She was allowed to retain a firm

belief in the Christian religion, and she tells us that Mir Haji Shah
delighted in conversing on religious topics, and that his happiest time
was spent in the quiet of night when his son translated to him the Bible
as she read it.[8]
Her picture of zenana life is obviously coloured by her frank admiration
for the people amongst whom she lived, who treated her with respect
and consideration. It is thus to some extent idyllic. At the same time, it
may be admitted that she was exceptionally fortunate in her friends.
Her sketch may be usefully compared with that of Mrs. Fanny Parks in
her charming book, The Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the
Picturesque. Mrs. Parks had the advantage of having acquired a literary
knowledge of Hindustani, while Mrs. Mir Hasan 'Ali, to judge from the
way in which she transliterates native words, can have been able to
speak little more than a broken patois, knew little of grammar, and was
probably unable to read or write the Arabic character. Colonel Gardner,
who had wide and peculiar experience, said to Mrs. Parks: 'Nothing can
exceed the quarrels that go on in the zenana, or the complaints the
begams make against each other. A common complaint is "Such a one
has been practising witchcraft against me". If the husband make a
present to one wife, if it be only a basket of mangoes, he must make the
same exactly to all the other wives to keep the peace. A wife, when in a
rage with her husband, if on account of jealousy, often says, "I wish I
were married to a grass-cutter," i.e. because a grass-cutter is so poor
that he can only afford to have one wife.'[9] Mrs. Parks from her own
experience calls the zenana 'a place of intrigue, and those who live
within four walls cannot pursue a straight path; how can it be otherwise,
when so many conflicting passions are called forth?'[10] She adds that
'Musalmani ladies generally forget their learning when they grow up, or
they neglect it. Everything that passes without the four walls is repeated
to them by their spies; never was any place so full of intrigue, scandal,
and chit-chat as a zenana.'[11] When she visited the Delhi palace she
remarks: 'As for beauty, in a whole zenana there may be two or three
handsome women, and all the rest remarkably ugly.'[12] European
officers at the present day have no opportunities for acquiring a
knowledge of the conditions of zenana life; but from the rumours that
reach them they would probably accept the views of Mrs. Parks in
preference to those of Mrs. Mir Hasan 'Ali.

Though her opinions on the life of Musalman ladies is to some extent
open to criticism, and must be taken to apply only to the exceptional
society in which she moved, her account of the religious feasts and
fasts, the description of the marriage ceremonies and that of the
surroundings of a native household are trustworthy and valuable. Some
errors, not of much importance and probably largely due to her
imperfect knowledge of the language, have been corrected in the notes
of the present edition. It must also be understood that her knowledge of
native life was confined to that of the Musalmans, and she displays no
accurate acquaintance with the religion, life or customs of the Hindus.
The account in the text displays a bias in favour of the Shi'ah sect of
Musalmans, as contrasted with that of the Sunnis. For a