In the history of Hyderabad, the name Ashraf-un-Nisa Begum is immortalised not by a long career in public service but by a single, extraordinary act of courage in the face of a horrific tragedy. Her story is one of profound bravery that transcended the strict social conventions of her time, earning her one of the highest civilian honours for gallantry.
The defining moment of her life occurred on a fateful night of June 14, 1936, when a devastating fire erupted at the Moti Mahal Cinema in Hyderabad, located in the Sultan Bazaar area of Hyderabad, Deccan State. The cinema was showing a film called “College Girl” when the tragedy occurred. The blaze quickly consumed the wooden structure, creating widespread panic. The situation was most perilous for the women seated in the segregated “purdah” gallery, a section for those who observed seclusion. With their primary exit, a wooden staircase engulfed in flames, they were trapped on the balcony with no clear path to safety.
Amidst the chaos and terror, Begum Ashraf-un-Nisa, the wife of a retired army officer named Lieutenant Muzaffaruddin, rose to the occasion with remarkable presence of mind. Disregarding her own safety, she tore off her sari and fashioned it into a makeshift rope. Securing it to the balcony railing, she created a lifeline for the other trapped women. Through her valiant efforts, she managed to lower several women to the floor below, saving them from the encroaching fire.
Tragically, the fire claimed the lives of twelve women and two children. Begum Ashraf-un-Nisa herself was injured in the incident, forced to jump from the balcony after helping others escape. Her selfless act did not go unnoticed. For her “most conspicuous gallantry in perilous circumstances,” she was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM) on February 1, 1937. The award was gazetted in The Edinburgh Gazette on 5 February 1937. The medal was presented to her by the Viceroy of India in Hyderabad on January 19, 1938. The citation noted that her act was of “outstanding bravery” performed at considerable “self-sacrifice and risk”.
In 1940, the George Cross was established to supersede the EGM as the premier civilian award for bravery within the British Empire. All living recipients of the EGM, including Ashraf-un-Nisa, were instructed to exchange their medals for the new, more prestigious honour. She was formally presented with the George Cross on 25 September 1942, making her the only Indian woman to have received the George Cross. Her award places her among a very select group, as only 130 Empire Gallantry Medals were ever awarded (64 Civil, 62 Military, and 4 Honorary).