The Fall of Delhi, 1857
Follow the story of The Last Mughal, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, as written by William Dalrymple who is no stranger to the Mughal era. With the Mughal dynasty in its twilight years, the stage was set for a change in landscape. At this point the British had already stopped paying their respects to the Mughal dynasty, signaling the power of the Emperor was no more than a monarch figure atop a city throne.
Beyond the walls of the Red Fort, it would be a stretch to say Zafar had any real influence and pull. The treasury coffers were empty, thanks to rampant spending and corruption by nobles. Truly, the empire was just a former shell of itself, displaying only courtly traditions at best.
Every armed British soldier Can do whatever he wants. Just going from home to market Makes one's heart turn to water. The Chowk is a slaughter ground And homes are prisons. Every grain of dust in Delhi Thirsts for Muslims' blood. Even if we were together We could only weep over our lives. - Ghalib
The Last Mughal: A Precarious Position
Zafar himself had no desire to rule; poetry was his real passion. His patronage to the great poet Ghalib shows just how invested he was in upending British rule and rejuvenating the glory of his ancestors. With sepoys mutinying out of Meerut, they found in Zafar a symbol of resistance – whether he liked it or not. And as the sepoys made their way to Delhi, they may have truly had success were they led by an experienced leader. Zafar was not this leader.
As history has shown us time and time again, it is the people that suffer. Delhi was leveled to the ground as the British sought to quench their thirst for mutinous blood. No one in the city was safe; not from them and not from uncouth rebels. The city Zafar loved, the city his forefathers built into a metropolis, the city of arts and great fortune, was nothing more than a shooting gallery for the British Raj.
With Zafar’s capture, exile, and eventual death in Burma, the great Mughal dynasty came to an end.
Recommendation: Worth a Read
For anyone that is fascinated with Delhi, the Mughals, or the British Raj…this is the book for you. Dalrymple’s characteristic storytelling style does well to keep the reader engaged. His subtle references to modern day as consequences of actions hundreds of years ago are welcome and refreshing.
