The poor “heirs” of the Mughal emperors demand the return of the Red Fort to India History News

A poor Indian who claims to be the heir to the Mughal dynasty has demanded the ownership of a formidable palace where the Mughal emperor lived.

Sultana Begum lives in a cramped two-room hut in a shack on the outskirts of Kolkata, which survives on a meager pension.

Among his humble possessions are documents of his marriage to Mirza Mohammad Bedar Bakht, who is said to have been the great-grandson of the last Mughal ruler of India.

He gave up his death struggle in 1980, and has spent the last 10 years pleading with the authorities to recognize and compensate for his royal status.

“Can you imagine the descendants of the emperors who built the Taj Mahal living in desperate poverty?” asked the 68-year-old.

Begum has filed a lawsuit claiming ownership of a formidable 17th-century Red Fort, the owner of a large, dirty New Delhi castle that was once the seat of Mughal power.

“I hope the government will do me justice once and for all,” he said. “When something belongs to someone, it has to be returned.”

Her case, aided by genuine campaigners, claims that her husband’s lineage may be in Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor to reign.

By the time Zafar was crowned in 1837, the Mughal empire had been reduced to the borders of the capital by a British merchant trading initiative known as the East India Company after the conquest of India.

Twenty years later, the rebel soldiers, who saw what was now called the first independence war in India as a formidable uprising – declared the weak 82-year-old as the leader of the uprising.

The emperor, even the famous Urdu poet, knew that the chaotic uprising was doomed and that he was a reluctant leader.

British forces besieged Delhi within a month and mercilessly crushed the rebellion, despite the surrender of the royal family who executed the 10 surviving sons of Zafar.

Zafar himself was exiled to neighboring Myanmar, traveling in a guarded bullock cart, and died without money in captivity five years later.

The historic Red Fort has become a powerful symbol of freedom from British rule [File: Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Symbol of Indian independence

Many of the Red Fort’s buildings were demolished in the years following the uprising, and the complex was demolished before the colonial authorities ordered its renovation in the 20th century.

It has now become a powerful symbol of freedom from British rule.

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted a national flag from the fort walls to celebrate the first day of independence in August 1947, a solemn ritual that is repeated every year by his successors.

Begum’s court argues that the Indian government is an illegal occupier of the property, saying it should hand it over to it.

The Delhi High Court rejected his request last week as a “serious waste of time”, but did not rule on whether his claim to his imperial ancestor was legitimate.

Instead, the court said its legal team did not justify why they had not filed a similar case 150 years after Zafar’s descendants were exiled.

His lawyer Vive Morek said the case would continue.

“He has decided to file a plea to challenge the order before a high court panel,” he said.

Sultana Begun works in an outfit inside her house in Kolkata [Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP]

‘Justice will happen’

Begum has suffered a precarious life, even before she became a widow and moved to a hut now called a house.

Her husband — she was married in 1965 when she was just 14 — was over 32 years old and earning some money as a fortune teller, but she could not afford to support their family.

“Poverty, fear and lack of resources pushed them to the brink,” he added.

Begum lives with his grandson in a small hut, shares a kitchen with his neighbors, and cleans a street faucet.

For a few years he ran a small tea shop near his home, but it was demolished to make way for a road, and he now survives on a monthly pension of Rs 6,000 ($ 80).

But he has not given up hope that the authorities will recognize him as a direct beneficiary of India’s imperial heritage and the Red Fort.

“I hope today, tomorrow or in 10 years, I will get what I deserve,” he said. “God willing, I’ll get it back … I’m sure justice will happen.”