Tawaifs in the British Raj (Thread)
'Tawaif', a term used for courtesan were performers, singers and dancers at the court who shaped the development in Hindustani music and kathak dance styles. The young sons of the nobles were sent to the best known salons to learn...
'Tawaif', a term used for courtesan were performers, singers and dancers at the court who shaped the development in Hindustani music and kathak dance styles. The young sons of the nobles were sent to the best known salons to learn...
...etiquettes, the art of conversation and manners, and the appreciation for Urdu literature.
By the end of the 19th century, 'tawaif' had become a word carrying an immoral sense, in the popular sense tawaif was equated with a prostitute. However, these women were the most...
By the end of the 19th century, 'tawaif' had become a word carrying an immoral sense, in the popular sense tawaif was equated with a prostitute. However, these women were the most...
...educated of their times.
They owned property and paid taxes. Talwar Oldenburg has found that their names were registered in Lucknow's civic tax ledger of 1858-77. Interestingly, some of the courtesans were in the highest tax bracket. Their names were also on the list of...
They owned property and paid taxes. Talwar Oldenburg has found that their names were registered in Lucknow's civic tax ledger of 1858-77. Interestingly, some of the courtesans were in the highest tax bracket. Their names were also on the list of...
...properties confiscated by the British for their involvement in the seize of Lucknow and the rebel uprising of 1857. Courtesans had a lot of anger against the Raj because of the increasing cases of rapes in the British mehefils.
Playwright and Prof. Tripurari Sharma of...
Playwright and Prof. Tripurari Sharma of...
...National School of Drama, Delhi in his well-researched play 'Azizun Nisa San Sattavan ka Kissa' has portrayed Azizun Nisa as a main protagonist. She was a courtesan in Kanpur who joined his lover Shamsuddin Sawar of the 42nd Cavalry and others in the revolt against British...
...in 1857. Her place became an important meeting place for the sepoys.
The British government overlooked their artistic talents and high culture of the kothas and equated them as brothels. They brought tawaifs under the Act XXII of 1864 (medical laws) which required the....
The British government overlooked their artistic talents and high culture of the kothas and equated them as brothels. They brought tawaifs under the Act XXII of 1864 (medical laws) which required the....
... registration and periodic medical examination of all prostitutes in the cantonment cities of the British Indian empire. This only worsened their condition and status.
The impact of the revolt and such regulations was that they were stripped of their court patronage...
The impact of the revolt and such regulations was that they were stripped of their court patronage...
...and regularly harassed. Such legislations further sigmatised them and their art.
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