Bahadur Shah Zafar & “Bharat Ratna” – more than a joke

Amidst all the recent brouhaha around Bharat Ratna nominations, someone conveniently forgot the “truth” about some of our nominees. I am thinking of Bahadur Shah Zafar who was proposed for the award as a champion of India’s freedom and someone who actively opposed the British.

The demand was made by Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Shoaib Iqbal…(who reportedly said that)…it was unfortunate that Emperor Bahadur Shah II, also known as Zafar, whose martyrdom and national stature rank among the highest in India’s freedom struggle, had not so far been conferred with the Bharat Ratna.

”Bahadur Shah Zafar was the leader of the freedom fighters of the entire sub-continent. He could have compromised with the British and lived a life like the royal family of England but chose to sacrifice his sons, pomp and grandeur – all for for the sake of the honour and independence of India and its people,”

The facts are somewhat different (and inconvenient).

The reality was that the Emperor did not think much of the Sepoys who had marched to Delhi to ask him to be their leader. He viewed them as “rustic, uncouth and ill-mannered”.

His support (for the revolt), when it came…was far from being decisive…”He vacillated, but overcome by the desire to reclaim his inheritance, he assented” (from “Requiem for Mughal Delhi” by By Muneeza Shamsie, a review of William Dalrymple’s book “The Last Mughal”).

And yet,

…he was never quite in control. His page, Zahir Dehlavi, who later wrote an invaluable memoir, Dastan-e-Ghadr, described Bahadur Shah’s horror when he learnt the sepoys wanted to slaughter the British families held prisoner in the fort. He pleaded with them.

He asked the sepoys, Hindus and Muslims, to consult their religious leaders if they had the authority to massacre helpless women and children.  “Their murder can never be allowed”, he added. But in the end, he failed to prevent it.” (from Muneeza Shamsie’s review)

So much for leading the freedom fighters.

The end of his leadership was also far from heroic: “When the victory of the British became certain, Zafar took refuge at Humayun’s Tomb, in an area that was then at the outskirts of Delhi, and hid there. British forces led by Major Hodson surrounded the tomb and compelled his surrender.”

Will the Honorary Dy Speaker admit that he may have been mistaken?

For some extra “fun”, read this leftist interpretation of Zafar’s life from an article written for CPI(M)’s newspaper last June. I thought this bit was the funniest:

One should not take too literally Zafar’s statement at his so-called “trial” in which he projected himself as a mere prisoner of the sipahis.”

Classic!

Related Post: Lies and half-truths in the name of national integration

Image courtesy: Wikipedia

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18 Responses

  1. Vijay says:

    Well said Shantanuji,

    This is exactly how the Secularists shroud the history of India under the Moghul occupation with complete mis-information, deceit and lies in order to justify and glorify things / occurances which were not.

    The GOI under Nehru had a very significant role to play to implement a “secularist” constitution, revamp the whole education system with a very strong and damaging Marxist / Communist flavor in order to brain wash the post independence generation of Indians.

    The true meaning of secularism was “Indianized” by them.

  2. Patriot says:

    Everyone should read the “The Last Mughal”. It is a compelling read about the last days of the Mughal Dynasty and the sepoys’ fight for Delhi (It only deals with the Delhi part of the 1857 War for independence).

    How many people in India know that the Red Fort Complex had many beautiful palaces and gardens ….. and that the British razed them all to the ground after winning the battle of Delhi …. and then made it into an army cantonment …… and the government of Free India still continues this practice of using the historic Red Fort Complex as an army cantonment.

    And yes, poor, old, indecisive Bahadur Shah Jaffar was not just the reluctant head of the sepoys, but a coerced one.

    And, the 1857 war was partially a religious war for the Sepoys who came to Delhi from the Gangetic plains, especially for the Muslim sepoys. It was the first Jihad on the subcontinent!

  3. ASHU says:

    The last mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar,no matter holds his own kind of importance in Indian History but not at all he deserve a BHARAT RATNA award.
    I mean in what sense it is decided. He was the king who was a coward .It was during his reign that Britishers gain the power as much as that they even get the hold on Indian politics. He was not a great rulers like his ancestors were.His ancestors never allowed the foreigners to gain powers. So in what way Bahadur Shah deserve The most respected award.
    Yes he was a deserving candidate for the award if he on the first attempt by the Britishers would have fought against them and would have lost his life during battle.
    ASHU
    ________

    add posting

  4. saif says:

    yes ,he does deserve the award.Why did he not compromised with the British to live a life of royals,when his sons were slaughtered in front of him in his own palace.Instead he commented,”You are all very lucky for your blood being flown for such a great country like INDIA”.this happened right in front of him when he was sitting on his crown.

  5. Indian says:

    No invader deserve to be Bharat Ratna! India was not his country, they grab the land to rule Bharat.

  6. v.c.krishnan says:

    Dear Sir,
    Let us first give the award to the leader who gave us the concept of United India after the partition.
    SARDAR VALLABHAI PATEL.
    Others can wait and even not be given it does not matter.
    The others did not believe in BHARAT, they believed in SECULAR INDIA!
    Regards,
    vck

  7. Bharat says:

    Sardar Patel was confered Bharat Ratna in 1991 (posthumous).

    Sardar Patel Trust
    http://www.sardarpateltrust.org/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardar_Vallabhbhai_Patel

    Gandhi incomplete without Sardar, says Modi

    Sardar’s grandson Bipin Patel handed over the ‘Bharat Ratna’ Conferred on Sardar in 1991 and few of personal belongings to the Sardar Patel Memorial Trust on the occasion.

    http://www.sardarpateltrust.org/bharat.htm

  8. Bharat says:

    Learn more about Bharat Ratna Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

    http://missionnetaji.org/

    PS. MK Gandhi, Netaji Bose, Sardar Patel and several other great personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, are Ratnas of Bharatvarsh. They don’t need any decorations. They are Icons of Bharat, along with many others like Sri Tagore, Bankim Chattrejee and so on.

  9. v.c.krishnan says:

    Dear Bharat,
    Thank you very much for the information. Was it after MGR, Indira Gandhi etc.?
    Regards,
    vck

  10. nawazada shajje nawab says:

    what for Mangal Panday cried in the Prison? what was his ambitions? what were the words of Pandit Jawaharlal nehru [our beloved prime-minister}? whom did Sardar Wallab Bhai patel Admired? NONE BUT BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR.do not follow the communal leaders who are only interested in divid and rule policies. Bhadur Shah, never, encouraged castisms but BHARATHISM

  11. shajee nawab says:

    India is a democracy, it is a democracy of the Gundas by the Gundas and for the Gundas, I remeber, Gulzari Lal Nanda[Deputy Prime-minister}and his family tasted it. His belonging were on the road because he was unable to pay the rent. such an honest man, I havn’t come accross in my life.Bharat Ratna for Zafar? in a recent survey, 30.000 student of various Universities were question about Bahadur Shah Zafar and Dawood Ibraheem. only hundred and three were aware of Bahadur Shah Zafar. on the contrary every one of them knew who Dawood Ibraheemwas. who will deny the Indian Indian Politicians and the Media are doing excellent Work?
    As long as Indian communal politicians will be remauined in the parliament neither Bahadur Shah not any of his descendant will enter the parliament premises. I wish the new generaion to decide who is a tue representative.

  12. Anonymous says:

    No invader deserve to be Bharat Ratna! India was not his country, they grab the land to rule Bharat.
    Plz how can ppl so incredibly stupid and lame in life !!!

    Bahdur Shah Zafar for bharat ratna well frankly its a incredibly stupid idea an emperor getting a Bharat Ratna really smart instead of ppl who died years b4 the concept of india was born is a really a incredibly stupid idea .If they do want to give it give it to ppl like Netaji Bose who actually did something for the cause of modern india.

  13. v.c.krishnan says:

    Dear Sir,
    One cannot wish away the thought of the invasions. One cannot rewrite history as the whiteman has done. The truth is here and will stay with us.
    Ther was an invasion. There were atrocities committed and the native people of this country suffered; but unlike the natives of the west who were exterminated, due to the population and the determination of the native people of this country they could be conqured in body but “NEVER IN SPIRIT” and their culture could not be destroyed. Even after the suppposed to be egaliterian thoughts of the Christian World the natives of this country have been able to strengthen their way of the life and keep it alive and kicking.
    The point is whether we require a Bharat Ratna being conferred at all on anybody. “Please understand that the world does not exist for the dead man”.
    Even supporting the argument of conferring a award the point to be considered is whether the “INDIVIDUAL” is worth it.
    We are looking at “Bahadur Shah as an individual”. We are looking at “Netaji as an Individual”. We are looking at ” MGR as an individual”.
    Our sense of looking beyond the religion of the person is important. The award is given for perfomance of the “Individual”. Not for the group. Akbar, Birbal, Chandragupta Maurya, Shivaji are all Indians and then should they be given the Bharat Ratna?
    I do have my differences with the “Islamists” and the “Christians”; but does that not deny me to think of, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Parveen Sultana, Ustads Allah Rakha, Madhubala, less than Shivkumar Shankar, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and also less of The Mother in the Aurobindo Ashram, Amrita Sher Gill.
    The award is for us to celeberate what This BHARAT stands for.
    We, as not being politicians and hangers on, have no axe to grind; Let us view it unbiasedly and look at an “Individual” and his contribution to “BHARAT”.
    Let us be what we are; “True Sanatana Dharmists”, who welcomed the Parsees the Jews and not modulate us on what an irresponsible education over two Hundred years has led us to be.
    Regards,
    vck

  14. B Shantanu says:

    Well said, vck

  15. Indian says:

    @vck

    Liked it-can be conqured by body but never be conqured by spirit.

  16. v.c.krishnan says:

    Dear Shantanu and Indian,
    Thank you very much for the comments.
    By the way to prove that we are still alive and kicking, please read http://www.paramnews.com which has taken up the challenge of the bised media headlong.
    Happy reading.
    Regards,
    vck

  17. Vijay says:

    Before someone starts being sympathetic to Bahudur shah let us remeber the last days of Prithvira chauhan who got slaughtered for his crime of not punishing the invaders, let us not forget the Vijaynagar empire which was plundered for 6 months by barbarians, let us not forget how secular politicians keep insulting hindus everyday. It is time that this Government first apologizes to every hindu & stop forceful conversion of Hindus by foreign religion.This country is property of sanathana dharma not some foreign invaders or their religions.

  18. N. P. Singh says:

    Zafar was one of a long list of tyrants who over 150 years since the death of Aurangzeb turned a blind eye to the subjugation of India by the British without offering any resistance and were happy enough to live in their palaces with their hundreds of wives and concubines and delusions of grandeur and trappings of ill gotten wealth. Bharat Ratna for him, you can’t be serious.