It was then that Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar too decided to leave the fort for the safety of Humayun’s tomb. He didn’t know at the time, but he would surrender the next day, marking the end of the Mughal empire.

There have been many accounts of the two fateful days, but the most graphic are by Khwaja Hasan Nizami in his book Begumat ke Aansu (Tears of the Begums), which he wrote in the early 1920s based on eyewitness accounts as well as the stories he heard from his mother, whose father, Khwaja Shah Ghulam Hasan, was the Sajjadanasheen (hereditary administrator) of Hazrat Nizamuddin’s dargah at the time.
The beginning of the end

When Bahadur Shah left the Qila e Moalla (the name by which the Red Fort was then known), he went straight to the Dargah of Mehboob e Ilahi Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. It is said that the Emperor was in a state of despair and hopelessness.
He was all alone except for the porter carrying his sedan chair and a couple of Khwajasara (court eunuchs or hijras) with him. He had already sent his family ahead to Humayun’s tomb, where he was to join them later.

When Khwaja Shah Ghulam Hasan heard that the Emperor had come to the dargah, he hurried there to find the tired, dusty monarch sitting against the shrine.

Bahadur Shah Zafar addressed the Khwaja and said that he had been reconciled to his fate for a long time. He was a Sufi himself with great faith in mendicants. A famous Sufi mendicant had already told him, even before the ‘rebel’ soldiers had come to the Qila, that the fate of the Mughal Empire was sealed.

Bahadur Shah and his predecessors were paying for the sins of his ancestors. Bahadur Shah said he wanted no more bloodshed and so he had left the Qila, giving the British a free hand once they entered it.

“I have known for some time that I am the last of the glorious Timurid line. Now someone else will be the ruler. Their law will prevail. I don’t have any regrets; after all, we too had usurped the throne from someone else.”

He went on to say that when Amir Timur invaded Constantinople, he had acquired some Holy Relics of Prophet Muhammad from Sultan Yildaram Beyazid. These were hairs from the holy beard and had been in the custody of the Mughal rulers till now, but as “there is no place for me under this sky or on this earth, I am handing it over to you for safe custody.”

Khwaja Shah Ghulam Hasan took them away and locked them in the dargah’s treasury.

After that the Emperor said, “I have not eaten for more than a day (teen waqt). If you have any food in your house please bring it.”

Khwaja Hasan immediately asked the Emperor to accompany him home. But the Emperor refused, saying that he would not put the lives of the sons of his Spiritual Master in jeopardy for the sake of his old worthless self. He had just come to take the blessings of the saint and hand over the relics. He had done both; now he would leave after a bite to eat.

All that was in the house was besan ki roti aur sirke ki chutney (gram chapatti and vinegar relish). After the Emperor had eaten, he made his way to Humayun’s tomb.

What happened there is well-documented.
The end of the end

Much has been said of Major Hudson’s capture of the Badshah and subsequent trial. What many may not know is that General Bakht Khan, the commander of the Indian forces in Delhi, had exhorted the Emperor to come away with them before he left the Qila.

He had said, “Although the British have taken the City, militarily it is not a big blow to the Rebel Army as the whole of Hindustan is up in arms against the British and everyone is looking up to you for guidance.

Travel with me to the mountains from where the fight can be continued in such a way that the British would not be able to break through.”

The Emperor was inspired by the speech and asked Bakht Khan to meet him in Humayun’s tomb the next day; the tomb, at the time, was located on the outskirts of the city.

As soon as Bakht Khan was sent off by Bahadur Shah Zafar, it was all over for him.

Mirza Ilahi Bux and Munshi Rajab Ali, spies for the British, overheard this and carried the news to their masters and promised to persuade Bahadur Shah to stay in Delhi.

Mirza Ilahi Bux was the Emperor’s father-in-law and was furious with him for the preferential treatment given by the Emperor to Zeenat Mahal – the youngest wife – and her son. Ilahi Bux’s grandson and the Emperor’s heir apparent had been poisoned to death a year before, in which Zeenat Mahal was suspected.

The Emperor trusted the two when they implored him to stay in Delhi, despite warnings from his Khwajasaras. While Major Hudson waited at the western gate, these two entered the tomb and convinced the Emperor with their oratory that the best course for him lay in going back to the Qila with Hudson and not with Bakht Khan.

He was arrested and put on trial and later exiled to Rangoon.
The rest of course is history

( published in Catch News http://www.catchnews.com/culture-news/what-bahadur-shah-zafar-did-on-his-last-day-as-mughal-emperor-1442836586.html

The rest, of course, is history.

It was on 17th May 1648 that Emperor Shah Jahan entered the Qila e Mubarak (The Blessed Fort) through the gate facing the River Yamuna.

This fort built in the city of Delhi named after him- Shahjahanabad- was his legacy to Delhi. A magnificent Fort from where the Mughal Empire would be ruled. It was to be an enduring symbol of Mughal power and glory in the whole world.

Unfortunately for him, though the Fort now called Red Fort is still a symbol of Indian power, the Mughal legacy didn’t last very long. The Empire disintegrated after the death of his son Aurangzeb with the defeat of Mughal forces in The Battle of Buxar in 1764 legalizing the position of East India Company in India. The British even got the right to collect revenue from Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

It was famously said for Emperor Shah Alam (1759-1806) :

‘Sultanat-e-Shah Alam, Az Dilli te Palam,’

The kingdom of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam

Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II but not his favourite or chosen successor. He was a Sufi in his inclinations and had taken the oath of allegiance with the famous Sufi master of his era Maulana Qutbuddin. In fact Zafar himself was an acknowledged Sufi master and had several disciples himself. He would distribute charms and amulets to the afflicted and desirous. He was a poet of note and his nom de plume was ‘Zafar’ or victor.

He ascended the throne in 1837 at the age of 62, with the title of Bahadur Shah II, at a time when the Mughal Emperor no longer received nazr (tribute) and coins issued under his name have been abolished. There was no reference to the Badshah in the seals of the Governor and he was reduced to being just a titular head. His pension had been reduced and as per legend he was in debt to local moneylenders to sustain himself and the large royal family. The pious and spiritually inclined Emperor had all the time in the world for himself and to spend it in devotion of God and writing Sufiana kalam (mystical poetry).

The poet Emperor describes his own plight:

Yaa mujhe afsar-e-shahaana banaaya hota

Yaa mera Taaj gayayana banaaya hota

Either you should have made me a Royal Officer

Or you should given me a Crown like a Beggar’s Bowl

An account of the events of 1857 written by Khwaja Hasan Nizami in Urdu called ‘Begumaat ke Aansoo’ ( Tears of the Begums) describes a typical day of the Emperor in his Diwan e Khaas (Hall of Private Audience). This was the same hall where his ancestor Shah Jahan sat on his peacock throne and dispensed on matters of state.

The mace bearers would announce that ‘Zill-e-Ilahi’ ( shadow of God on earth) was about to distinguish the gathering with his exalted presence and the Shadow of the very institution of Emperors, Bahadur Shah Zafar would seat himself on the marble throne there and after formalities of greetings were over, would announce that he had written a new ‘ghazal’ and would recite its first verse.

The nobles would immediately raise their voices in enthusiasm and as the Emperor read each verse, one noble would approach the throne and praise it in flowery prose.

Perhaps it was his own Sufi leanings and piety, which helped the aging monarch to come to terms with his tenuous position.

Kah do in hasrato’n se kahin aur jaa base’n

Itni jagah kahan hai dil-e-daagdaar mein

Tell these desires to find another abode

Where is the place in this wounded heart

There is something ironic in the fact that as the flame of the Mughal Empire was flickering and dying out, there was a literary and cultural resurgence and the shamma –e- firozaan (lamp presented before poets at start of a mushaira or poetic soiree as a sign for them to read their poems) of poetry was burning the brightest.

This was the period when seven of the brightest stars in the firmament of Urdu poetry were glittering in Delhi led by Mirza Ghalib. These included the Emperor’s own master Ustad Ibrahim Zauq and Momin Khan Momin. In the words of one of his own very popular ghazals:

Baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi tau naa thi

Jaisi ab hai teri mehfil kabhi aisi tau na thi

( Never was it so difficult for me to speak

Never was your gathering as now at its peak)

In 1856, Lord Canning added the last nail to the coffin by writing to the British Resident in Delhi, “A lot of the elements of the glory of the Badshahi have finished and it is no longer as bright as it was. Most of the rights of the Badshah have finished. It is, therefore, not difficult to think that on the death of the Badshah by just a few lines on paper the title could be abolished.”

It was planned that on the death of Emperor Bahadur Shah II the Mughal royal family would have to vacate the Qila e Mubarak too.

Hamne duniyaa mein aake kyaa dekhaa

Dekhaa jo kuchh so Khwaab-saa dekhaa

On coming into this world, what did I see?

Whatever I saw it was like a dream

It was in this scenario that on the morning of 11th May 1857 a group of sepoys from the Meerut cantonment of East India Army came to the Fort demanding the restoration of Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan, under whose banner they would fight the British usurpers.

On 12th May 1857 an unused silver throne lying in one of the rooms of the Fort was dusted and brought out and Bahadur Shah II was crowned the Shahenshah e Hind. He was the people’s choice under whom men of all region, religion and profession were gathering to restore the pride of Hindustan.

The sepoys had already rebelled against the usage of cartridges for the Enfield rifle, which was said to be laced with fat of pig and cow. After killing the British officers in Meerut they escaped to Delhi and succeeded in capturing it.

Though initially hesitant to join the rebel sepoys he was persuaded and then joined in whole-heartedly. Bahadur Shah II issued a royal farman declaring it was the imperative duty of all his citizens, Hindu or Mussalman to join in the uprising.

From 11th May to 14th September 1857, Delhi was once again under Mughal rule: as the saying goes

“char din ki chandni phir andheri raat.”

Four days of moonlight and then darkness.

These four months saw murder and mayhem first of the British and Europeans by the rebellious sepoys and then the British.

Bahadur Shah Zafar personally tried to stop the murder of the Europeans under his protection in the Fort. He exhorted the sepoys in the name of humanity and religion but to no avail.

To a man of his temperament this unnecessary and brutal bloodshed was galling:

Zafar aadmi uss ko na jaaniyega, vo ho kaisa hi sahib-e-fahm-o-zaka

Jisse aish mein yaad-e-Khuda na rahi, jisse taish mein khauf-e-Khuda na raha

Zafar don’t count human a man, be he a man of understanding and charity

If he doesn’t remember God in moments of happiness, or doesn’t fear God when angry.

By mid September the tide of fortune changed in the favour of the British troops and their ‘native allies’. Delhi was back under their control.

The Mutiny memorial on the Ridge in Delhi gives a timeline of the ‘Revolt’ of 1857.

The last two lines read :

Capture of the Palace – Sept 19th

City finally evacuated by the Enemy – Sept 20th

Ai vaaye inqilaab zamaane ke jaur se

Dilli Zafar ke haath se pal mein nikal gayi

Alas! What a revolution, due to cruelty of the age

Delhi slipped out of Zafar’s hands in a moment

On 21st September 1857 the British were ensconced in the Red Fort while the Emperor and his sons fled to Humayun’s Tomb to seek refuge.

‘Capture of the King of Delhi by Captain Hodson’, 1858.
(though technically it was a surrender as the Emperor could easily have defended the fortified tomb against the 100 odd British soldiers.)
Bahadur Shah II, last Mughal emperor of India, in the custody of a British cavalry officer.

On 22nd September, the Emperor and his sons were betrayed by his close confidant Mirza Ilahi Bux who disclosed his whereabouts to the British and advised him to surrender to the British forces. Major Hodson negotiated surrender with the Emperor and took back his captives to the Red Fort.

On the way Major Hodson, ordered the two sons of Bahadur Shah Zafar : Mirza Mughal , Mirza Khizr Khan and grandson Mirza Abu Bakr to descend from the carriage and disrobe. He then shot them in cold blood at Khooni Darwaza near Firoz Shah Kotla.

It is said that after his defeat he said

Ghaaziyon min bu rahegi jab talak imaan ki

Takht-e-London tak chalegi tégh Hindustan ki

As long as there remains the scent of faith in the hearts of the valiant

The sword of Hindustan shall flash from here till the throne of London

However the reality was different. The British in preparation for a trial, held the Emperor as a prisoner in a dark and dingy room of his ancestral Fort.

A summer of despair began for the residents of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). The men and women of the walled city were either killed or rendered homeless.

Zafar wrote a poem on the travails of his city while in British captivity. That poem became so popular amongst the hapless populace of Delhi that the British banned it.

Gayi yak ba yak jo hawa palat, nahin dil ko mere qaraar hai.

Karu’n iss sitam ka main kya bayan, mera gham se seena figar hai.

(The winds of fate changed suddenly, my heart is inconsolable

How can I describe the pain, my chest is heavy with melancholy

yeh riyaya-e-Hind tabah hui,Kahu’n kya jo un pe jafaa huyi.

Jisse dekha hakim-i-waqt ne, Kaha yeh to qabil-i-daar hai.

Indians have been ruined, one can’t describe their oppression

The new rulers condemned everyone they saw worthy of the gallows

From 27 January 1858 the Emperor of Hindustan went on trial for “rebellion, treason and murder” by a Military Commission in the same Diwan e Khaas where he used to recite his poems to great applause.

The prosecutor declared “To Musalman intrigues and Mahommedan conspiracy we may mainly attribute the dreadful calamities of the year 1857. The Mutineers were in immediate connection with the prisoner at your bar,”

On March 9 at the sentence was pronounced that “the prisoner, as the head of the Mahomedan faith in India, has been connected with the organization of that conspiracy, either as its leader or its unscrupulous accomplice…” It was decided that he would be exiled and not given a death sentence as Major Hodson had guaranteed him safety of life.

Seven months later Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Rangoon in Burma along with two of his wives and two remaining sons and a few servants.

kar chuke tum nasiihate’n ham ko?

jaao bas naaseho Khudaa hafiz

Have you done giving me sermons?

O admonisher stop now, Khudaa hafiz

On Friday, 7 November 1862 at 5 am, he breathed his last under house arrest was given a hurried and ignominious burial in Rangoon.

Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar, dafn ke liye

Do gaz zameen bhi mil na saki ku-e-yaar mein

How unlucky is Zafar, for burial

He could not get 2 yards of land in the land of the Beloved

Note : All poems are by Bahadur Shah Zafar ( only 2 sayings are common lore which I have stated)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/art/exploring-the-last-mughal-s-poetry-as-it-intertwined-with-his-life/article1-1353232.aspx

This article came out in Hindustan Times on 31st May 2015

I have driven past the Khooni Darwaza many a times as its very close to Firoz Shah Kotla,a favourite haunt of mine but few days ago I decided to explore it.
Not many know that this gate was built by Sher Shah Suri for his city Shergarh (Purana Qila area) and was named Kabuli Darwaza because caravans to Afghanistan passed through this the northern gate of Sher Shah’s city according to  Maulvi Zafar Hasan in his famous book.
So at least till 1919 when Monuments of Delhi was published it was called Kabuli Darwaza or Lal Darwaza because of the red stone used.

The facade of the gate is imposing amd measures 53’5″ in width and has a height of 50’9″ from base to top of the parapet. Its been built of Delhi quartzite.
This gate is now fenced in with its own patch of wilderness and wild grass and very few who pass by it know of its gory past.

The reputation of this gate was already bloody to start with since it is said that Emperor Jahangir had the two sons of Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, a minister in his father Akbar’s court, killed and hung on this gate. Khan e Khana had supported the claims of Jahangir’s son Khusrau, who was also Akbar’s favourite against Jahangir and so paid the price later.
It is said that Aurangzeb also displayed Dara Shikoh’s head here after he had him killed in the War of Succession.

The name Khooni Darwaza alludes to the cruel and unprovoked act of Major Hudson on 22nd September 1857, when he was taking the sons of the Mughal Emperor, (who had surrendered to him in Humayun’s tomb) to the Red Fort. Mirza Mughal* who had been the initial leader of the Mughal troops against the British and Mirza Khizr Sultan and grandson Mirza Abu Bakr, were being taken in a bullock cart.
As the procession went towards Red Fort they were joined by citizens of Delhi who had white cloth tied on their heads- kafan baandh kar niklay hain.
Near the Kabuli Darwaza, Hodson panicked, fearing an attack against himself and his men, 100 in number. Hudson panicked that rescue of the princes may overturn the tide against the British who had subdued the “mutiny” after much bloodshed and effort. He shot the princes in cold blood.
“Hudson latter recalled, “I was surrounded on all side by Ghazis as far as my eyes could see.” According to Archaeological Survey of India’s, board on the site/gate, it says Hudson, made them remove their “upper” garments) and using his service “sword” he “hacked”/cut the heads of all three sons, and entered the carriage and “slaughtered all men, women and children.” Others assert that Hodson ordered the three to get down at the spot, stripped them naked and shot them dead at point blank range.” (Source Wikipedia)
It is said that after killing the prince, Hodson personally stripped their bodies of jewellery, this being the signet rings, turquoise arm-bands and bejewelled swords worn by the three princes. He pocketed these valuables as trophies of war, although they had been obtained by killing disarmed prisoners of war under dubious circumstances. He took the naked bodies of the princes, to the Chandni Chowk where they were left to rot in the sun in front of the kotwali for days.
Hodson was later censured for this by the British authorities but by then it was too late and the barbaric deed was done.

The Gate is kept locked after a student of Maulana Azad Medical College was raped here in 2002.
And it has this board kept inside for some reason

It is built on 3 levels with staircases leading to the top. The different floor levels of the gate are marked by windows framed in red sandstone each furnished with a balcony carried on heavy quartzite corbels.

“Heavy kangura battlements rubble built and dressed with grey stone,crown the parapet of the gate and thevstring course immediately below them,being broken over the central arch by three damaghah intended for the vertical discharge of projectiles or boiling oul.” (Zafar Hasan)

It is today lying totally abandoned and i saw one man sitting in the cold with a small bonfire going

From afar it seems so innocuous and innocent but even during the Hindu Muslim riot of 1947 many refugees were killed while they were proceeding towards Purana Qila for shelter through this gate.

Bahadurshah Zafar with this two sons – Ten year old Mirza Mughal (standing at right side of the image) and Mirza Fakhru (at left side of the image)
*In May 1857, sepoys of the British Indian army rebelled against their British officers and streamed into Delhi. A few days later, Mirza Mughal 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 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. He was later replaced by Bakht Khan as commander in chief.

Location: On Bahadur Shah Marg in front of Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Nearest place is Pragati Maidan