Kaikhusrau Jahan, Begum of Bhopal
| Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum سلطان کائی خسرو جہان بیگم |
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| Nawab Begum of Bhopal | |
| Reign | 16 June 1901 – 20 April 1926 |
| Predecessor | Sultan Shah Jahan Begum |
| Successor | Hamidullah Khan |
| Born | 9 July 1858 Bhopal, British Raj, now India |
| Died | 12 May 1930 (aged 71) |
| Spouse | Ahmad Ali Khan Bahadur |
| Issue | Bilqis Jahan Muzaffar Begum Muhammad Nasru'llah Khan Muhammad Ubaidu'llah Khan Asif Jahan Begum Hamidullah Khan |
| Father | Baqi Muhammad Khan Bahadur |
| Mother | Sultan Shah Jahan Begum |
Hajjah Nawab Begum Dame Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan GCSI GCIE GBE GCStJ CI (9 July 1858 – 12 May 1930) was a notable and progressive Begum of Bhopal who ruled from 1901 to 1926.
Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan (here Sultan is a name, not a title) was born at Bhopal as the elder and only surviving child of Nawab Begum Sultan Shah Jahan and her husband General HH Nasir ud-Daula, Nawab Baqi Muhammad Khan Bahadur (1823–1867). In 1868, she was proclaimed heir apparent to the Bhopal musnaid following the death of her grandmother, Sikander Begum and her mother's succession to the throne. In 1901, Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan succeeded her mother at her death, becoming Nawab Begum of Dar-ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal.
A great reformer in the tradition of her mother and grandmother, Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan founded several important educational institutions in Bhopal, establishing free and compulsory primary education in 1918. During her reign, she had a particular focus on public instruction, especially female education. She built many technical institutes and schools and increased the number of qualified teachers. From 1920 until her death, she was the founding Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. Even till today, she is the only female Chancellor ever served for Aligarh Muslim University.
Not just a reformer in the field of education, the Nawab Begum reformed taxation, the army, police, the judiciary and the jails, expanded agriculture, and constructed extensive irrigation and public works in the state. Also, she established an Executive and Legislative State Council in 1922 and began open elections for the municipalities.
In 1914, she was the President of the All-India Muslim Ladies' Association. Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan's primary legacy, though, was in the field of public health, as she pioneered widespread inoculation and vaccination programs and improved the water supply and standards of hygiene and sanitation. A prolific author, she wrote several books on education, health and other topics, including Hidayat uz-Zaujan, Sabil ul-Jinan, Tandurusti (Health), Bachchon-ki-Parwarish, Hidayat Timardari, Maishat-o-Moashirat. Owing to her numerous activities, she was the recipient of numerous honours and awards.
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