Abdul Karim (Munshi)

Abdul Karim after a painting by Rudolf Swoboda

The Munshi, painting by Laurits Tuxen , commissioned by Queen Victoria, 1887

Hafiz Abdul Karim , CIE , CVO (* 1863? In Jhansi ; † 1909 in Agra ), better known as Munshi ( Urdu about secretary , teacher of rhetoric ) was an Indian servant of the British Queen Victoria .

Life

As one of two Indian servants who were accepted into the royal household on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the throne in 1887, the Munshi was initially employed as a servant for the dining room. The queen quickly fell in love with him. Presumably after telling her that he had been a teacher back home in India and that the physical labor of a servant was below his dignity, he was quickly promoted to "the Queen's Munshi". He gave Victoria language classes in Hindustani and Urdu and taught them Indian customs. In later years he became the "Indian Secretary to the Queen" (not to be confused with the cabinet post "Indian Secretary of State").

The Munshi saw how to take advantage of his position as the queen's favorite . As a result, he drew the resentment of the court. He brought his wife and other family members from India to the UK, where they lived at royal expense. He exaggerated his origins by saying that his father was a doctor in the Indian Army . In fact, he was just a traditional healer in Agra prison. When confronted with this, the queen defended her favorite.

Victoria's advisors were also concerned about his dealings with Rafiuddin Ahmed , a London-based Indian politician running for Parliament. They feared that Ahmed could get confidential information through the Munshi. There is no indication that this concern was legitimate, or that the Munshi was ever indiscreet until Victoria's death. He would have had the opportunity to do so, for he brought and burned Victoria's correspondence.

The Queen made him Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1895 and Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1899 . She also rewarded him with land in Agra and placed him and his family in cottages at Balmoral , Windsor and Osborne House . She also had Rudolf Swoboda make two portraits of him.

After the Queen's death in 1901, her son, King Edward VII, banished the Munshi and his relatives from the court and ordered them to be sent back to India. The king allowed the Munshi one last look at the queen before the coffin was closed and allowed him to take part in the funeral procession.

After his return to India until his death in 1909, the Munshi lived in his house at Agra Karim Lodge .

Karim's family hid his diary for over a century. It was released in 2010.

2017, the movie was Victoria & Abdul by Stephen Frears with Judi Dench and Ali Fazal in the title roles.

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literature

• Sushila Anand: Indian Sahib: Queen Victoria's Dear Abdul . Gerald Duckworth & Co., London 1996.
• Shrabani Basu: Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant . The History Press, Stroud 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Abdul Karim
2. ^ Empress and I, The | Spectator, The. Find Articles at BNET.com
3. ↑ GoldenJubilee ( Memento of March 9, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
4. ^ Empress and I, The | Spectator, The | Find Articles at BNET.com
5. ↑ Here To Stay Gone Tomorrow. 400 years of Muslim deportations from Britain. In: Q-News, No. October 350 , 2003, archived from the original on January 26, 2007 ; accessed on January 5, 2014 . 
6. ↑ BBC - Radio 4 Empire - Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim
7. ^ Delhi's hall and arch of fame. In: The Hindu - Online edition of India's National Newspaper. October 28, 2002, accessed January 5, 2014 . 
8. ↑ The Telegraph: The lost diary of Queen Victoria's final companion - Abdul Karim's writings, hidden by his family until now, throw new light on a close and controversial relationship, says Ben Leach. (February 26, 2011)