Last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II

Summary

A bad omen is not picky when it falls on anyone beating a wealthy or a poor family and likewise,  there are some families whose descendants have lost their glorious days to begging such as the Abbasid empire who lost everything and baked in the streets of Baghdad. the miserable family of the nawabs of Bengal and the golden royal lineage of the Mughal emperors of India.

Today we are talking about the last Mughal emperor of India Bahadur Shah II with whom the last son of the Mughal Empire sang his poems came down to us and one can glean from them. Bahadur Shah Zafar was an emotional and thoughtful man who believed in the oneness of all he was also a man who believed in all religions.

Bahadur Shah Zafar History

Bahadur Shah II also know as Bahadur Shah II was born on 24 October 1775, in Shahjahanabad, Mughal Empire (Present-day Old Delhi, India). After the death of his father in 1837, he ascended the throne. However, it’s important to note that by the time Bahadur Shah 2 became emperor, the Mughal Empire had significantly weakened and shrunk to a small area, which is now known as Old Delhi.

In addition to being a king, Bahadur Shah Zafar was a renowned and successful poet of the Urdu language. His talent in poetry is still appreciated today, as his works continue to be read with great interest in the Urdu literary world.

By 1857, the British East India Company had taken control of most of India, which led to growing resentment among the Indian population. The people were fed up with the brutalities inflicted by the British rulers.

Moreover, Indian soldiers serving in the British army were issued cartridges that were reportedly greased with cow and pig fat. These cartridges had to be bitten off before use in rifles. The British deliberately used such materials to provoke division among the Indian soldiers, as pigs are considered Haram in Islam and cows are sacred in Hinduism. As a result, many Indian soldiers refused to use these cartridges, leading to their dismissal from the army.

Bahadur Shah 2 Facts

Full Name:	Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar II
Born:	24 October 1775, Shahjahanabad, Mughal Empire (Present-day Old Delhi, India)
Died:	7 November 1862 (aged 87)
Burial:	Rangoon, Burma
Spouse:	Taj Mahal, Zinat Mahal, Sharaful-Mahal, Akhtar Mahal, Rahim Bakhsh Bai, Hanwa
Descendants:	Mirza Dara Bakht, Mirza Mughal, Mirza Fath-ul-Mulk Bahadur, Mirza Khizr Sultan, Mirza Jawan Bakht, Mirza Shah Abbas, Mirza Abu Bakr
Parents:	Akbar Shah II, Lal Bai
Dynasty:	Mughal Empire

Rebellion of 1857

On March 29, 1857, an ordinary soldier named Mangal Pandey in Meerut refused to use the cartridges and attacked the British officers. This marked the beginning of a rebellion 1857 that the British called a mutiny or insurrection. However, this event is remembered in India as the First War of Independence.

The rebellion in Meerut soon spread across India, and soldiers from different regions began to rise against the British. Many powerful kings and local leaders declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as their emperor and decided to fight the war for independence under his leadership.

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As the armies from various parts of India marched toward Delhi, the Mughal forces also sprang into action and declared war against the British. What began as a small spark quickly turned into a full-fledged war. However, the Indian forces were no match for the British army, which was equipped with advanced weapons of the time.

After four months of fierce fighting, the British forces succeeded in breaking through the Kashmiri Gate in Delhi. They entered the city, captured Bahadur Shah Zafar, and began a massacre. The British held a trial for Bahadur Shah Zafar in their court, declared him guilty, and ordered his exile from the country.

Death of Bahadur Shah Zafar

The frail old king knew that there was no point in proving his point to the British court as they had already made up their mind to punish him his only wish was to remain in Delhi to stay closer to his country but the east India Company did not grant his wish he and his whole family were imprisoned and sent to Rangoon in Burma for a life.

Tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar

Sentence: His lines reflect the pain he writes. Alas, what a revolution! Due to the cruelty of the age, Delhi slipped out of Zafar’s hand in the moment Captain H Nelson Davis recalls the last sight of the emperor, who was no less than a beggar. He lived in prison for four years and wrote his last wishes on the walls.

how unfortunate for Zafar’s funeral not even two yards of land was found my friend The empathy moved Nelson as he saw the frail emperor dead without a prayer or an open window of freedom thus the last king of India crossed the line of life as his plane funeral was taking its force these lines resonated in captain nelson’s ears when the time came for the tomb there was no land available for the last crown prince of  India.

In the whole of Rangoon, the captain writes that he saluted the king for the last time and left if we ever go to Rangoon you will still find his grave and the citizens of Myanmar have built a holy relationship with him that Bahadur Shah Zafar may have been the emperor of  Hindustan but he was greater than that they call him baba because he was so learned he knew everything.

Bahadur Shah Zafar famous poetry

Bahadur Shah Zafar famous poetry in Urdu

لگتا نہیں ہے دل میرا اُجڑے دیار میں
کس کی بنی ہے عالمِ ناپائیدار میں

دل ہی تو ہے نہ سنگ و خشت، درد سے بھر نہ آئے کیوں
روئیں گے ہم ہزار بار، کوئی ہمیں ستائے کیوں

عمرِ دراز مانگ کے لائے تھے چار دن
دو آرزو میں کٹ گئے، دو انتظار میں

کتنا ہے بدنصیب ظفر دفن کے لیے
دو گز زمین بھی نہ ملی کوئے یار میں

Bahadur Shah Zafar’s famous poetry in English

My heart no longer finds peace in this ruined land
Who has ever found happiness in this ephemeral world?

It’s just a heart, not brick and stone, why shouldn’t it fill with pain?
We will cry a thousand times, why should anyone torment us?

I had begged for a long life of four days,
Two passed in longing, two in waiting.

How unfortunate is Zafar, that even for burial,
He couldn’t find two yards of land in his beloved’s lane.

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