Harbingers Of Prosperity

There Is a Common, Mistaken Perception That Money Is a Man’s Game. However, Women Are Not Just Adept at Handling Their Individual or Home’s Finances, They Have the Ability to Stretch and Grow Scarce Resources and Use Them for the Greater Good

- Susan Philip

The Bhagavad Gita names Shree, or prosperity, as one of the attributes of an ideal woman. When a new bride enters her marital home, in the Hindu tradition she is welcomed as a representative of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, who heralds prosperity. This prosperity is not meant to be limited to herself. The implication is that it must be extended for the benefit of those around her.

Bhopal, now the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh, was once a Princely state. Between 1819 and 1926, it was ruled by four women – Nawab Begums, as they were called. They ruled in their own right, daughters inheriting the throne from their mothers, not as regents or proxy rulers. Sultan Jahan Begum, also known as Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum, was the last of the women Begums. Sultan was her name, not her title. When she ascended the throne in 1901, she was 43 years old. What she inherited was an almost empty treasury. There was just Rs. 40,000 left in it. And a pile of debts, besides.

Not one to be fazed by adversity, Sultan Jahan Begum quickly embarked on a course of royal austerity and public reform. That meant doing away with hunting and polo, favourite pastimes of the ruling class. The time was spent instead on getting to know the problems and needs of the people, and working out solutions.

She reworked the tax structure and took steps to foster agriculture by providing irrigation facilities and other necessary public works. She undertook a widespread public health programme, including sanitation, vaccination and water supply. The efforts of the Nawab Begum and her dedicated team quickly bore fruit, and Bhopal became prosperous once more.