Bahadur Shah II بہادر شاہ دوم‎, better known as Bahadur Shah Zafar, born as Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar, on 24 October 1775 -- died 7 November 1862) was the last Mughal emperor . Zafar was the son of Mirza Akbar Shah II and Lalbai, and became Mughal Emperor when his father died., wrote many Urdu ghazals under it. After his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British tried and then exiled him from Delhi and sent him to Rangoon in then-British-controlled Desi.
Zafar's father, Akbar Shah II, ruled over a rapidly disintegrating empire between 1806 and 1837. It was during his time that the East India Company dispensed with the illusion of ruling in the name of the Mughal monarch and removed his name from the Persian texts that appeared on the coins struck by the company in the areas under their control.
Zafar was not his father's preferred choice as his successor. One of Akbar Shah's queens, Mumtaz Begum, had been pressuring him to declare her son Mirza Jahangir as his successor. The East India Company exiled Jahangir after he attacked their resident, Archibald Seton, in the Red Fort
Capture of Bahadur Shah Zafar and his sons by William Hodson at Humayun's tomb on 20 September 1857
As the Indian rebellion of 1857 spread, Sepoy regiments seized Delhi. Seeking a figure that could unite all Indians, Hindu and Muslim alike, most rebelling Indian kings and the Indian regiments accepted Zafar as the Emperor of India., under whom the smaller Indian kingdoms would unite until the British were defeated. Zafar was the least threatening and least ambitious of monarchs, and the legacy of the Mughal Empire was more acceptable a uniting force to most allied kings than the domination of any other Indian kingdom.
On 12 May, Bahadur Shah held his first formal audience for several years. Although Bahadur Shah was dismayed by the looting and disorder, he gave his public support to the rebellion. On 16 May, sepoys and palace servants killed 52 Europeans who had been held prisoner within the palace or who had been discovered hiding in the city. The executions took place under a peepul tree in front of the palace, despite Bahadur Shah's protests. The avowed aim of the executioners was to implicate Bahadur Shah in the killings, making it impossible for him to seek any compromise with the British.
The administration of the city and its new occupying army was chaotic and troublesome, although it continued to function haphazardly. The Emperor nominated his eldest surviving son, Mirza Mughal, to be commander in chief of his forces, but Mirza Mughal had little military experience and was treated with little respect by the sepoys. Nor did the sepoys agree on any overall commander, with each regiment refusing to accept orders from any but their own officers. Although Mirza Mughal made efforts to put the civil administration in order, his writ extended no further than the city. Outside, Gujjar herders began levying their own tolls on traffic, and it became increasingly difficult to feed the city
When the victory of the British became certain, Bahadur Shah took refuge at Humayun's Tomb, in an area that was then at the outskirts of Delhi. Company forces led by Major William Hodson surrounded the tomb and compelled his surrender on 20 September 1857. The next day Hodson shot his sons Mirza Mughal, Mirza Khizr Sultan, and grandson Mirza Abu Bakr under his own authority at the Khooni Darwaza (the bloody gate) near Delhi Gate. On hearing the news Bahadur Shah reacted with shocked silence while his wife Zeenat Mahal was content as she believed her son was now Bahadur Shah's heir.A Mughal Troopers gather in their attempts to defend their emperor Bahadur Shah II during the Indian rebellion of 1857.Many male members of his family were killed by Company forces, who imprisoned or exiled the surviving members of the Mughal dynasty. Bahadur Shah was tried on four counts, two of aiding rebels, one of treason, and being party to the murder of 49 people, and after a forty day trial found guilty on all charges. Respecting Hodson's guarantee on his surrender Bahadur Shah was not sentenced but exiled to Rangoon, Burma in 1858. He was accompanied into exile by his wife Zeenat Mahal and some of the remaining members of the family. His departure as Emperor marked the end of more than three centuries of Mughal rule in India.
Bahadur Shah died in exile on 7 November 1862 in Rangoon, (now Yangon). He was buried in Yangon's Dagon Township near the Shwedagon Pagoda, at the site that later became known as Bahadur Shah Zafar Dargah. At the time of his hurried burial in 1862, a bamboo fence surrounded his grave, which was grown over by grass in the following years, thus the exact spot was lost for nearly a century. In 1991, during a restoration exercise behind the shrine which was till then believed to be that of the Emperor, the original brick-lined grave was discovered.