Begum Samru, the Dutch girl who rose to become Sardhana’s ruler
If you’re acquainted with Chandni Chowk in the Walled City of Delhi, also known as Old Delhi, Bhagirath Palace is the place to go for chandeliers, electric devices, lamps, and other accessories. But Begum Samru used to reside at Bhagirath Palace.
Begum Samru, a nautch (dancing) girl, was born in 1753 and performed in the Kotha (brothel) at Chawri Bazaar, Old Delhi. Following the death of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, this was the period when the Mughal empire was at its lowest.
India was going through a turbulent period at the time. An Austrian mercenary named Walter Reinhardt Sombre, who had served with the French army in India, paid Khanum Jan a visit at his kotha in 1965. It happened when he fell in love with Farzana, a teenage dancer. She was relocated from the kotha to Sombre’s zenana (harem) since he was so infatuated with her. It is said that she came from Kashmir. As the Austrian mercenary offered his military skills to numerous aristocrats, the bright female Farzana became his constant companion. The Jaat kings of Deeg were also covered in one section. After her marriage, Farzana was renamed Begum Samru (Sombre).
The Mughal emperor Shah Alam II and Najaf Khan began to trust Samru while her husband made the decision to join up with the Mughals. The couple’s influence was so enormous that they managed to avoid punishment by the British.
They received the rights to Sardhana’s land, a principality close to Meerut that brought in thousands of rupees annually. Following Sombre’s death in 1778, the Jagir was to be inherited by his son from the oldest wife. But Samru was not going to back down without a fight. She succeeded in winning over Sombre’s warriors to her cause and using her clout with Najaf Khan to secure Sardhana for herself. She rose to lead the 4,000 soldiers under her husband’s command. A few mercenaries from Europe were also there. Following her husband’s death, she became a Christian and went by the name Joanna.
When she held her court and smoked hukkah, she would dress in a turban. During fights, she would command her men and often saved Shah Alam. Begum Sumru bequeathed an estate of 18 billion Deutsch marks in 1953 and 55.5 million gold marks in 1923 after her death. However, no heir could make a claim to it. She constructed palaces at Sardhana, Jharsa, and Delhi.
