‘The Smallest Monarch in the World’: Othering, Indirect Rule and Depictions of the Heights of the Begums of Bhopal in the Imperial Press, 1872–1914

This article examines how the imperial press promoted othering in its documentation of the Nawab Begums of Bhopal. While stereotyping was largely based on the racial and gendered categorisation of larger groups within the British Empire, the status, loyalty and traditions of the Begums of Bhopal also impacted the ways they were othered in the imperial press. Using both theories surrounding stereotyping and innovative digital humanities methods, shortness provides a case study associated with the specific othering of the Begums that contributed towards the broader promotion of othering within the British Empire. The Begums of Bhopal were complex individuals: as favoured rulers within the system of indirect rule, being female in a man’s role and maintaining the private sphere of purdah in the public office of ruler. Consequently, the Begums largely defied more familiar stereotyping, such as commentary on skin colour. This article builds on existing scholarship on othering to highlight how depictions of height demonstrate intersections between race and gender but also rank, and how the press, universally, as a descriptive medium could exaggerate accounts to promote otherness further. This article argues that accounts of otherness were nuanced and varied, with the Begums’ case study highlighting the importance of flexibility.