Prince who became a pauper in Delhi

October 8, 2016 12:15 AM

Tales from India's First War of Independence Eyewitness accounts of survivors of the Mughal family who fled from Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) after the Revolt of 1857.
posted by infini (5 comments total)

Wonderful post! Thanks!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:56 AM on October 8, 2016

I wonder what became of the rest of his family, that he did not seek them out.
posted by Diablevert at 6:27 AM on October 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Well, his mother who already was seriously disabled died. Maybe most of his other relatives also died.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:53 AM on October 8, 2016

The missus went to Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb in Rangoon and made friends with the ladies there by speaking in Hindi. Having been to all the magnificent tombs in Delhi for his forefathers, she says it was quite a shock to see a simple dargah for the last of the greatest dynasties India has known. My take then was what Zafar lost out in material wealth, he gained in spiritual fame; while all the other tombs are only glorified photo spots for tourists, to be cynical about it, Zafar's dargah still draws the faithful in, performing Sufi qawwalis and such, presumably like how Hazrat Nizamuddin's dargah is vibrant with worshippers and performances.

William Darlymple's Last Mughal makes the point that Zafar himself was quite poor even before the 1857 War; he says that an entire slum consisting of extended relatives and such grew up in the confines behind the Diwan-e-Aam. Indeed, when the Mughal emperor needed to borrow money to conduct his son's wedding, the Marwari lenders were reluctant, only to eventually turn in his favour and support him when the Revolt flared up.

And of course, not to forget that the descendants of the Burmese royal family is also live in penury in Ratnagiri in India.
posted by the cydonian at 7:36 AM on October 8, 2016 [4 favorites]

I remember reading about some of the descendants living in penury in Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi)

That would make a great FPP cydonian - where are they now?

Thanks for the tidbit about his dargah in Rangoon, I didn't know all that
posted by infini at 10:51 AM on October 8, 2016 [1 favorite]