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Bahadur Shah Zafar
Bahadur Shah Zafar was an eighty-two-year-old poet when he was thrust into the center of a violent rebellion that would end his dynasty. Born on the 24th of October 1775, he was the twentieth and last Mughal emperor, yet his authority was reduced to the Walled City of Delhi and the surrounding territory as far as Palam. Unlike his predecessors who commanded vast armies, Zafar had no interest in statecraft or imperial ambition. He lived like a poor scholar and dervish, wearing plain clothes that approached meanness, a stark contrast to the three royal brothers who preceded him. His court was not a place of military strategy but a sanctuary for Urdu scholars, poets, and writers including Mirza Ghalib, Daagh Dehlvi, and his mentor Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq. While the East India Company held the real power, they respected the emperor and provided him with a pension, allowing him to maintain a court that embodied a multicultural composite Hindu-Islamic culture. He celebrated Hindu festivals like Rakhi, Holi, and Diwali, and was tolerant of Shia Muslims who regained their lost influence under his rule. This spiritual and artistic focus defined his reign, which lasted from 1837 until the British exiled him in 1857.
The Shadow Throne
The Mughal Empire had been reduced to a shadow of its former self by the time Zafar ascended the throne. The Maratha Empire had brought an end to the Mughal Empire in the Deccan during the 18th century, and the regions of India formerly under Mughal rule had either been absorbed by the Marathas or had declared independence and become smaller kingdoms. The East India Company became the dominant political and military power in mid-nineteenth century India, and outside the region controlled by the company, hundreds of kingdoms and principalities fragmented their land. Zafar's father, Akbar II, had been imprisoned by the British, and Zafar was not his father's preferred choice as his successor. One of Akbar Shah's queens pressured him to declare her son, Mirza Jahangir, as his successor. However, the East India Company exiled Jahangir after he attacked Archibald Seton, their resident in the Red Fort, paving the way for Bahadur Shah to assume the throne. The emperor was respected by the company, who provided him with a pension, but he permitted the company to collect taxes from Delhi and maintain a military force in it. This arrangement left Zafar with a title but no real power, a situation that would prove fatal when the rebellion began.
The Reluctant Rebel
On the 12th of May 1857, Zafar held his first formal audience in several years, attended by several sepoys who treated him familiarly or disrespectfully. When the sepoys first arrived at Bahadur Shah Zafar's court, he asked them why they had come to him, because he had no means of maintaining them. His conduct was indecisive, yet he yielded to the demands of the sepoys when he was told that they would not be able to win against the East India Company without him. On the 16th of May, sepoys and palace servants killed fifty-two Europeans who were prisoners of the palace and who were discovered hiding in the city. The executions took place under a peepul tree in front of the palace, despite Zafar's protests. The aim of the executioners was to implicate him in the killings. Once he had joined them, Bahadur Shah II took ownership for all the actions of the mutineers. Though dismayed by the looting and disorder, he gave his public support to the rebellion. The administration of the city and its new occupying army was described as chaotic and troublesome, which functioned haphazardly. The emperor nominated his eldest son, Mirza Mughal, as the commander in chief of his forces, but Mirza Mughal had little military experience and was rejected by the sepoys. The sepoys did not have any commander since each regiment refused to accept orders from someone other than their own officers.
When was Bahadur Shah Zafar born and when did he die?
Bahadur Shah Zafar was born on the 24th of October 1775 and died on the 7th of November 1862. He was eighty-two years old when he was exiled to Rangoon and passed away at the age of 87.
What was the role of Bahadur Shah Zafar in the Indian Rebellion of 1857?
Bahadur Shah Zafar was the primary accused in the trial for the rebellion despite his lack of real leadership or military experience. He yielded to the demands of the sepoys and gave public support to the rebellion after they killed fifty-two Europeans under a peepul tree.
Where was Bahadur Shah Zafar exiled and when did he die?
Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Rangoon, Burma, and died on the 7th of November 1862 at 5 am. He was buried near the Shwedagon Pagoda at 6 Ziwaka Road in Yangon.
Who was the British Commissioner in Rangoon when Bahadur Shah Zafar died?
Captain H. Nelson Davies served as the British Commissioner in Rangoon when Bahadur Shah Zafar died. He documented the emperor's final days and arranged for his burial near the Shwedagon Pagoda.
What was the outcome of the trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar?
Bahadur Shah Zafar was not sentenced to death but was exiled to Rangoon, Burma, after the trial concluded. Hakim Ahsanullah Khan, his Prime Minister and personal physician, betrayed him by providing evidence against him at the trial in return for a pardon.
During the Siege of Delhi, when the victory of the British became certain, Zafar took refuge at Humayun's Tomb, in an area that was then at the outskirts of Delhi. Company forces led by Major William Hodson surrounded the tomb and Zafar was captured on the 20th of September 1857. The next day, Hodson shot his sons Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan, and grandson Mirza Abu Bakht under his own authority at the Khooni Darwaza, near the Delhi Gate and declared Delhi to be captured. Bahadur Shah himself was taken to his wife's haveli, where he was treated disrespectfully by his captors. When brought news of the executions of his sons and grandson, the former emperor was described as being so shocked and depressed that he was unable to react. After Zafar's defeat, he said: As long as there remains the scent of faith in the hearts of our Ghazis, so long shall the sword of Hindustan flash before the throne of London. The British Commissioner in Rangoon, Captain H. Nelson Davies, later described his life as very uncertain, a fitting epitaph for a man who had lost everything.
The Trial of a Poet
The trial was a consequence of the Sepoy Mutiny and lasted for 21 days, had 19 hearings, 21 witnesses and over a hundred documents in Persian and Urdu, with their English translations, were produced in the court. At first the trial was suggested to be held at Calcutta, the place where Directors of East India company used to their sittings in connection with their commercial pursuits. But instead, the Red Fort in Delhi was selected for the trial. It was the first case to be tried at the Red Fort. Zafar was tried and charged on four counts, and on the 20th day of the trial, Bahadur Shah II defended himself against these charges. Bahadur Shah, in his defense, stated his complete haplessness before the will of the sepoys. The sepoys apparently used to affix his seal on empty envelopes, the contents of which he was absolutely unaware. While the emperor may have been overstating his impotence before the sepoys, the fact remains that the sepoys had felt powerful enough to dictate terms to anybody. The eighty-two-year-old poet-king was harassed by the mutineers and was neither inclined to nor capable of providing any real leadership. Despite this, he was the primary accused in the trial for the rebellion. Hakim Ahsanullah Khan, Zafar's most trusted confidant and both his Prime Minister and personal physician, had insisted that Zafar did not involve himself in the rebellion and had surrendered himself to the British. But when Zafar ultimately did this, Hakim Ahsanullah Khan betrayed him by providing evidence against him at the trial in return for a pardon for himself.
Exile to Burma
Respecting Hodson's guarantee on his surrender, Zafar was not sentenced to death but exiled to Rangoon, Burma. His wife Zeenat Mahal and some of the remaining members of the family accompanied him. At 4 am on the 7th of October 1858, Zafar along with his wives, two remaining sons began his journey towards Rangoon in bullock carts escorted by 9th Lancers under command of Lieutenant Ommaney. In 1862, at the age of 87, he fell ill. In October, his condition deteriorated. He was spoon-fed on broth but he found that difficult too by the 3rd of November. On the 6th of November, the British Commissioner in Rangoon, Captain H. Nelson Davies, wrote that Zafar is evidently sinking from pure desuetude and paralysis in the region of his throat. To prepare for his death, Davies commanded the collection of lime and bricks, and a spot was selected at the back of Zafar's enclosure for his burial. Zafar died on Friday, the 7th of November 1862 at 5 am and was buried at 4 pm near the Shwedagon Pagoda at 6 Ziwaka Road, near the intersection with Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Yangon. The shrine of Bahadur Shah Zafar Dargah was built there after the restoration of his tomb on the 16th of February 1991.
The Spiritual Emperor
He was a prolific Urdu poet and calligrapher. He wrote the following Ghazal as his own epitaph. In his book, The Last Mughal, William Dalrymple states that, according to Lahore scholar Imran Khan, the beginning of the verse, umr-e-darāz māng ke, was not written by Zafar, and does not appear in any of the works published during Zafar's lifetime. The verse was allegedly written by Simab Akbarabadi. My heart has no repose in this despoiled land. Who has ever felt fulfilled in this futile world? The nightingale complains about neither the sentinel nor the hunter. Fate had decreed imprisonment during the harvest of spring. Tell these longings to go dwell elsewhere. What space is there for them in this besmirched heart? Sitting on a branch of flowers, the nightingale rejoices. It has strewn thorns in the garden of my heart. I asked for a long life, I received four days. Two passed in desire, two in waiting. The days of life are over, evening has fallen. I shall sleep, legs outstretched, in my tomb. How unfortunate is Zafar! For his burial. Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved. Zafar is seen as the hero of Indian rebellion of 1857. In 1943, the Indian National Army paid tribute to his tomb in Rangoon. In 1975, Indian government released a postal stamp in his honour. He was portrayed in the play 1857: Ek Safarnama set during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by Javed Siddiqui. It was staged at Purana Qila, Delhi ramparts by Nadira Babbar and the National School of Drama repertory company in 2008. A Hindi-Urdu black-and-white movie, Lal Quila, directed by Nanabhai Bhatt, showcased Bahadur Shah Zafar extensively. A television show, Bahadur Shah Zafar, aired on Doordarshan in 1986. Ashok Kumar played the lead role in it. In the 2001 Hindi historical drama series 1857 Kranti, on DD National, the character of Bahadur Shah Zafar was played by S. M. Zaheer. In the 2005 Bollywood film Mangal Pandey: The Rising, directed by Ketan Mehta, the character of Bahadur Shah Zafar was played by
The Last Words
Habib Tanveer. In historical series Bharat Ek Khoj which aired on Doordarshan he was portrayed by Virendra Razdan. In Gulzar's TV serial Mirza Ghalib, Zafar was played by Sudhir Dalvi.