Kathmandu, April 7

The Indian Embassy today organised a wreath laying ceremony at Jame Masjid in Kathmandu to commemorate the death anniversary of Begum Hazrat Mahal.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri laid the wreath at the tomb of Begum Hazrat Mahal. BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation also screened a documentary on her at the Nepal-Bharat Library today, according to a release issued by the Indian Embassy.

Mahal was one of the earliest female freedom fighters during the First War of Indian Independence. She was the first wife of Nawab Wajid Shah and fought against the British East India Company during the Mutiny of 1857.

She refused to accept any kind of favours and allowances offered by the British rulers but chose to seek asylum in Nepal, where she died in 1879.

She was among the major leaders who never surrendered to the British, and she maintained her opposition through twenty years of exile in Nepal until her death. Her tomb is established in the central part of Kathmandu near Jame Masjid.