Despite the pervasive attitude of cultural superiority of the colonizers to the subject nations of the East, it is possible to find instances of racial and cultural intermingling between individuals of disparate racial origins and religious persuasions, in the annals of history. One such instance is the celebrated romance between John Kirkpatrick, the British Resident in Hyderabad, and Khair-un-Nissa, the niece of Nawab Salar Jung, the Prime Minister of the Nizam of Hyderabad. His love for her was so intense that he gave up his phoren dress and habits and adopted the Muslim ways of living and even got himself considered the adopted son of the Nizam. Such cultural and religious inter-mingling give the lie to the imperialistic theories of cultural superiority and the clash of civilizations. This paper examines the central theme of William Darlymple's much-acclaimed novel, White Moghuls, which brilliantly narrates the peerless tale of love and the enduring message of oneness of all mankind, irrespective of the fissiparous tendencies which haunt the strife-torn world of today.
William
Dalrymple's novel White Mughals, published in
November 2002, has been hailed as "a thrilling
masterpiece and a triumph of the historian's craft",
as well as a stunning achievement for various reasons.
While imitating the art of journalism, the writer transcends
all the forms of fiction and uses the technique of non-fiction
novels, as a result of which it may be regarded as a
travelogue, "a detective story, a romance and history",
and yet it is more than any one of these. But apart
from its unique and complex form, the theme itself,
at a deeper level, is much more significant and interesting.
The story of the book appears to reveal three themes,
which are artistically interwoven along with a fine
combination of history, romance, art and culture, court
intrigues and the British rule in India.
The
central theme deals with the romantic story of James
Achilles Kirkpatrick, a young British soldier, posted
as the British Resident at Hyderabad, falling in love
with a young beautiful Mughal Princess of 14 called
Khair un Nissa, who was the niece of the famous Prime
Minister of Nizam. Colonel James not only secretly married
her according to Muslim Law, and adopted Muslim attire
and way of living but had actually converted to Islam
and had become a double agent working against East India
Company and for the Nizam of Hyderabad. So devoted and
enamored was the young lady that she sacrificed everything
for the young British resident and had a son and a daughter
whom Colonel James owned as his natural children and
at the young age of five and three, he sent them to
England to his father to bring them up as Christians
and give them proper education. |
