Essay, Biography or Paragraph on “Razia Sultan” complete biography for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Razia Sultan

India : First woman ruler of medieval India

Birth : Not known                Died : 1240

Razia Sultan was the first woman ruler during the Sultanate period in India. She ruled for five years. A historian has opined that though she was a woman, she had the qualities of man and was better than twenty sons. The Muslim courtiers, amirs, and army commanders could not stomach the fact that a woman ruled over them. As such, they continuously conspired to remove her.

Razia had to face problems all along her five-year rule. It can be said that if she was not a woman, she would have been hailed as a very successful ruler. She was a courageous and foresighted person. The well-known historian, Minhaz-us-Siraz, has written, “Razia was a capable ruler, who had a keen mind. She was just, benevolent, patronised learned men, looked after the well being of her subjects and at the same time was well versed in war.” She discarded women’s clothes and dressed herself as a man. She sat in the court and looked into the affairs of the state personally. Punjab, Bengal, Bihar and other parts of the country were in her domain. Many of her opponents j9ined her after she suppressed the revolt of Nuruddin at Delhi.

There are two main reasons for her downfall. Firstly, she was a woman and, secondly, her close relations with an Abyssinian slave Jalaluddin Yaqut. Historians like Ferishta and Ibn Batuta charge her with compromising her dignity on this count. Yaqut was her favourite and as such the Turks hated them both. They instigated people to revolt. There were revolts in Lahore and Bhatinda. She suppressed the rebellion at Lahore. While on her way to Delhi after defeating Altunia, subedar of Bhatinda, she was killed on 14 October, 1240. Historians have praised her for her courage and fearlessness in facing the problems in spite of being a woman.