Everything about Mirza Mughal totally explained
Mirza Mughal (1817–1857) was the fifth son of
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last
Mughal emperor. His mother, Sharif-ul-Mahal Sayyidini, came from an aristocratic family that claimed descent from the prophet
Muhammad.
Following the death in 1856 of his elder brother Mirza Fakhru, Mirza Mughal became the eldest surviving legitimately born son of Bahadur Shah Zafar. However, the British refused to recognize anybody as heir to the throne of
Delhi, and indicated that the monarchy would be abolished following Zafar's death.
War of 1857
In May 1857, sepoys of the British Indian army rebelled against their British officers and streamed into Delhi. A few days later, Mirza Mighal and some of his half-brothers petitioned their father to be appointed in charge of the rebel troops. Their plea was initially refused but later granted, and Mirza Mughal was designated commander-in-chief. Mirza Mughal had had no training or experience for his new office; however, he energetically sought to organize the troops, make arrangements for their billeting and provisioning, and bring a semblance of order to the edgy city. His inexperience soon became apparent, and he was upstaged a few week later by the arrival, at the head of a large force from
Bareilly, of Bakht Khan, a former officer in the British army, who had earned a fine reputation during the Afghan wars. Shortly after his arrival, the emperor appointed Bakht Khan commander-in-chief and left Mirza Mughal in charge of supplies. A few weeks later, following another reshuffle of offices, Mirza Mughal was given charge of administering the city of Delhi.
Death
Towards the end of the revolt, Mirza Mughal, along with several members of his family, took refuge in Humayun's tomb lying outside the walled city of Delhi. They later surrendered to the British troops, led by
captain Hodson, who surrounded the tomb. Mirza Mughal and two of his half-brothers were mounted on a bullock-cart and driven towards the city. As they approached the city gate, Hodson asked the princes to get off the cart, and strip naked. He then shot the three princes dead, in
cold blood and at
point-blank range. Hodson then stripped the princes of the
signet rings, turquoise arm-bands and bejewelled swords, all of which he pocketed. The bodies were then thrown in front of the
kotwali or police-station and left there to be viewed by the public. The gate near which the murders were performed has came to be called the
Khooni Darwaza (Bloody Gate).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mirza Mughal'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mirza_mughal.totallyexplained.com">Mirza Mughal Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
