For example, Abdul described the riots that sometimes broke out in Agra when the Muslims had the religious procession of Muharram to mark the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet, and it clashed with the Hindu procession of Sankranti. She put her opinions on governance - and sometimes those of her trusted Munshi - forward in her frequent letters to the Viceroy often with severe underlining to emphasise her points. To Queen Victoria India was both an exotic, faraway place and also a country to be ruled. It was not long before he became her ‘Munshi’, or teacher, and they began a friendship that would last over a decade. Abul told her all about Agra, from the local fruits and spices to the sights and sounds of his homeland. The Queen wanted to know everything about India, a place where she ruled but could never visit. Soon the twenty-four-year-old’s role changed from patiently waiting at tables to teaching the Queen to read, write and speak in Urdu, or ‘Hindustani’. Victoria took a liking to one of her new servants in particular: Abdul Karim. Indian attendants were brought to the royal household to help with the festivities as well. She hosted lavish banquets and parties for Indian princes and European nobility and rode in elaborate processions accompanied by the Colonial Indian cavalry. Queen Victoria took her duties as Empress very seriously and when her Golden Jubilee came around in 1887 she made every effort to showcase her ‘jewel in the crown of the British Empire’. This was too much for the elephants…they became more and more alarmed, and at last scampered off, dispersing the crowd in every direction.’ The Queen delighted in her new title and wrote in her diary, ‘my thoughts much too taken up with the great event at Delhi today, & in India generally, where I am being proclaimed Empress of India.’ A field report from Delhi stated that ‘a salute of one hundred and one salvos of artillery was fired. India had been under crown rule since 1858, and before this under the dominion of the East India Company, who took control in 1757. Benjamin Disraeli, the Conservative Prime Minister, saw the new title as an effort to link the monarchy to the country and tie it closer to Britain while also showcasing Britain as a dominant world power. Queen Victoria became Empress of India in May 1876.
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