The Trial of Bahadur Shah by H.L.O. Garrett

In January 1858, the cataclysmic conflict – depending on your point of view, either the ‘Indian Mutiny’or the ‘First War of Independence’- over the East India Company brought Bahadur Shah Zafar to trial. The last ruler of the House of Babar was charged with treason and war crimes in his own country, a fine instance of victor’s justice: how else would one explain the conundrum of a nation’s ruler accused of rebellion by foreigners? The documents presented in this book are a fascinating portrait not only of the three-week trial, with details of arguments for the prosecution, evidence placed before the military court and the defence of the last Mughal. They also describe Delhi at a crucial juncture in its high-voltage history; the leap of national expectations; the mismanagement by a ruling elite that had forgotten how to rule; the extraordinary Hindu-Muslim unity at street and sepoy level; and the tragic somersault of events that ended in silence, despair and resignation.

The narrative is laced with a wealth of detail: the instigation of the Muslim citizenry of Delhi; the King’s apparent belief that a Persian invasion in support of the Mughal throne was imminent; his faith in the Urdu tabloid press, soothsayers and charlatans; and the compelling role of rumour and bazaar gossip in rousing a people, perhaps an incipient nation. This invaluable primary material is worth the while of both the historian and the history buff.