The Role of Royal Women in the Establishment of Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur (1489-1534)
The role of women in politics has remained an area of interest, but there is still a dearth of research the documents of such participation. Given the dominance of patriarchal values, it has generally been accepted that there was little scope for women to participate in public/political life. However, history does throw up a few names of queens like Raziya Sultana, Nur Jahan, Chand Bibi, Jijabai, Tarabai, and Ahilyabai Holkar, who must, however, be seen as rather exceptional cases. This does not mean that there were no women in politics other than these. An attempt is made in this paper to throw light on the role of women in the establishment of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. The establishment period (1489-1534) was the period of the first three sultans. During these 45 years the mother of the founder Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah, his foster sister Dilshad Agha and Queen Bubuji Khanum played an important role, which helped to establish the Sultanate on a firm foundation.