Azizan Bai

Azizan Bai was born in Lucknow in 1832. Her mother was a courtesan who died when she was very young. She was adopted by a kotha hostess in Lucknow and grew up in Satrangi Mahal. After Azizan Bai came of age, he took over kotha and became the chief tawaif. She later went to Kanpur and lived in Lurkee Mahal with tawaif Umrao Begum. She frequently performed mujra in Kanpur.^[4][5]

Azizan Bai met Nana Saheb and his army members through her exquisite dance. She was gradually influenced by Nana Saheb's ideas and began to participate in the anti-colonial movement.^[6][7]Her residence was the site of secret talks among the soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.^[8]She helped gather intelligence on the British colonists and passed this information on to the freedom fighters.^[9]Azizan even assembled an army of 400 nautch girls, known as the "Mastani Toli".^[10]Azizan taught other women how to use weapons, and she herself often disguised herself as a man, riding a horse and fighting against British soldiers with a sidearm. She led the women in her group to care for the wounded and participated in the collection and distribution of weapons and ammunition.^[11]She is said to have participated in the massacre of British women and children in Kanpur.^[12]According to existing records, the perpetrator of this massacre was a courtesan named Hussaini Kanum, not Azizan Bai.^[13][14]Azizan had a close relationship with officer Shamsuddin Khan, the two often carried out missions together. She once collaborated with Shamsuddin Khan to assassinate a British officer. She followed the British officer to a club, lured him into a trap, and Shamsuddin Khan carried out the assassination.^[15]Following the British recapture of Kanpur in July 1857, Azizan Bai was taken prisoner by colonial forces. Accused of being a primary conspirator in the uprising, she faced intense interrogation to extract confessions and names of fellow rebels but steadfastly refused to yield or apologize.^[16]She was ultimately sentenced to death.Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has written about "Azizan was a dancer, but the soldiers have great intimacy with her. Her love was not sold in the market on price, but her love was gifted to those who have devotion to the country. A beautiful smile on her face used to become a source of strength for the fighting soldiers. A form on her face used to bring back to the escaped cowardice soldiers off the battlefield".^[17][18]

In the early novel “The Story of Azizan”, her original name was Mastani. In September 1853, Mastani's father, Hussein Khan was shot and killed after a dispute with British soldiers. She escaped by jumping into the Gomti River. She drifted to Lucknow, where she was rescued by a group of tawaifs. Mastani was taken in by Umrao Jaan Ada, changed her name to Azizan Bai, and became a tawaif.^[19]

In Sharma Tripurari's play "A Tale from the Year 1857: Azizun Nisa", she is portrayed as a brilliant artist. When the British mocked Azizun Bai as a prostitute and accused her of prostitution, she retorted:

“such accusations are baseless. I am not a prostitute. I am a dancer. I am an artiste. I do not wear the veil but I'm not a public woman. People in the city...acknowledge me as a courtesan, a poet, a lyricist. I'm not in the flesh trade”.

^[20][21]

The character Tawaif Bibbo Jaan in the Indian TV series "Heeramandi" was inspired by the experiences of Azizan Bai.^[22]