Look at the image given below (referenced as image_6278a5.png) and identify the queen who helped in the preservation of Sanchi Stupa :
Show Hint
To remember the sequence of the famous ruling Begums of Bhopal:
Qudsia Begum $\rightarrow$ Sikandar Begum $\rightarrow$ Shahjehan Begum $\rightarrow$ Sultan Jehan Begum
The fil two Begums—Shahjehan and Sultan Jehan—were the primary fincial protectors of the Sanchi Stupa site.
Image shown in image_6278a5.png = Sultan Jehan Begum
Concept:
The survival of the ancient Buddhist monument, the Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh, is largely due to the enlightened patroge, fincial grants, and preservation policies ected by the female rulers (Begums) of Bhopal during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Step 1: Identifying the historical figure in the photograph.
The photograph in image_6278a5.png depicts wab Sultan Jehan Begum, who ruled the princely state of Bhopal from 1901 to 1926. She succeeded her mother, wab Shahjehan Begum.
Step 2: Alyzing her contributions to the preservation of Sanchi.
• Both Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum provided massive fincial funding for the preservation of the ancient stupa complex at Sanchi.
• Sultan Jehan Begum funded the museum that was built there to store artifacts and provided monetary grants for the construction of a guesthouse where scholars like John Marshall could live and work.
• She also finced the publication of John Marshall’s detailed, multi-volume archaeological volumes on Sanchi.
• It is because of her proactive conservation measures that the monument was not plundered or shipped away to European museums, unlike the Amaravati Stupa.
Step 3: Verification of options.
While Shahjehan Begum also funded conservation efforts, the specific archival portrait shown in image_6278a5.png belongs to her daughter, Sultan Jehan Begum. Therefore, Option (A) is the correct historical match.
