Begum Jahanara of Palanpur (née Joan Falkiner) (1915-2003) was an Australian heiress who became the
Begum of
Palanpur, India, during the mid 20th-century.
Her life story was later recorded in a biography written by a distant cousin,
Australian author
Suzanne Falkiner
Suzanne Falkiner (born 1952) is an Australian writer.
Biography
Born in Sydney, Falkiner grew up in western New South Wales. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and later completed postgraduate cour ...
.
Biography
Joan Falkiner was born in
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...
in 1915. The Falkiners were stud
merino sheep breeders in country
Victoria and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, and by the early 20th-century had established themselves as wealthy members of Melbourne society.
Joan's father was a director of the family company, and she was a childhood friend of
Jo Gullett.
![Taley Mohammed Khan Bahadur - Nawab of Palanpur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Taley_Mohammed_Khan_Bahadur_-_Nawab_of_Palanpur.jpg)
Joan Falkiner met
Taley Muhammed Khan in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
in Germany in 1937, where he was seeking treatment for a painful
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
injury. Taley was the
Nawab
Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian language, Persian,
Punjabi language, Punjabi ,
Sindhi language, Sindhi,
Urd ...
of the
Palanpur State, a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
of the British Empire under the administration of the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
He had ascended to the throne of Nawab in 1918, and had since embarked on a campaign of construction and reform. When he and Joan met, she was 19 and he was 55.
The two subsequently became engaged to be married, though the relationship was objected to by Joan's family. In Suzanne Falkiner's biography ''Joan in India'', Joan's niece posits that colonial politics and racial tensions played a role in the Falkiner family's objections to the proposed marriage.
Joan's family were also concerned that Taley, as a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, was already married to an Indian woman (who had since become an invalid), and had a 20-year-old son.
Furthermore, the Falkiners feared that if Joan married into an Indian noble family, she might be placed in purdah.
In 1939 Joan
eloped
Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...
, and traveled to India to marry Taley. The departure of the 21 year old heiress caused a stir and much speculation in Melbourne high society.
She converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and was married in an Islamic ceremony. Though recognised by as such by Taley, she was denied the title of Begum by the British Raj, which disapproved of marriages between Anglo women and Indian rulers; Joan was also not invited by the British to appear beside her husband during public functions.
Regardless of these restrictions, Joan was otherwise accorded her rights as Taley's wife.
In 1947, the
Indian Independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
successfully resulted in India becoming independent from the shrinking British Empire; this development meant the end of the British Raj. On the night of 14 August 1947 the last
Viceroy of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
,
Lord Louis Mountbatten
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...
, decided to confer a title of nobility on Joan, allowing her to claim the title of 'Her Highness' in British eyes. However, Indian independence also led to the dissolution of the Palanpur State.
Joan and Taley lived together until the latter died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in 1957. Joan settled in
Southern France
Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...
after her husband's death.
She died in 2003.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkiner, Joan
1915 births
Australian expatriates in India
Australian expatriates in France
Australian Muslims
Indian nobility
2003 deaths
People from Melbourne
People from Banaskantha district
Converts to Islam from Christianity