Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar or better known as Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal ruler and also the last legitimate hire of the Mughal fortune.
Some mind-blowing facts about Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar are:
- During his time the Britishers already had a strong foothold in India and his rule existed only inside the walls of the Red Fort. It was told to him that after his death his successors would have to vacate the fort.
- He had over 90 concubines.
- He was a patron of music, arts and literature (especially shayaris) like his ancestors.
- Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was a brilliant poet.
- During the revolt of 1857 he was proclaimed as the leader of the revolt by the sepoys who had revolted (very much against his wish but did not have much choice as the sepoys were literally inside his house at the peak of the revolt).
- He later remained hidden in Humayun’s Tomb for months to escape the Britishers.
- After the defeat and capture of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Britishers sent him the heads of all his legitimate sons except the youngest one (who died in a gutter as a drunkard in Burma).
- He was tried in the Diwan-e-Khaas and was brought before the judges in chains. This was the same Diwan-e-Khaas where his legendary ancestors had passed rulings as kings.
- It was his dream to see the flag of free India fluttering on the Red Fort.
- When he was exiled to Rangoon, he carried the soil of India in his tobacco pouch so that it could be sprinkled on his grave.
A really good book on Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar is William Dalrymple’s “The Last Mughal”. It not only tells us about the last Mughal ruler but also about the last days of Mughal rule in India.
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Article Name
Top 10 facts about Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar
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Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar or better known as Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal ruler and also the last legitimate ruler
Author
Salil Shukla
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Youth Express
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