Ghulam Kadir | |
|---|---|
| Mir Bakhshi of theMughal Empire | |
| In office 5 September 1787 – 18 July 1788 | |
| Preceded by | Zabita Khan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ghulam Abd al Qadir Ahmed Khan 1767 or 1769 |
| Died | (1789-03-03)3 March 1789 (aged 20, or 22) |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Najib ad-Dawlah (grandfather) |
| Seal |  |
Ghulam Kadir (1767/1769 – 3 March 1789), fullyGhulam Abd al Qadir Ahmed Khan,[1] was a leader of theAfghanRohilla during the late 18th century in the time of theMughal Empire. He is particularly known for blinding the Mughal EmperorShah Alam II andoccupying and plundering Delhi for two and a half months in 1788.
Ghulam Kadir was the son ofZabita Khan.[2] His father had assumed the leadership of a branch of the Afghan Rohilla after the death of his own fatherNajib-ud-Daula on 31 October 1770.[3][4] As the eldest son of Najib-ud-Daula, Zabita Khan had succeeded him and was invested asMir Bakhshi (Head of the Mughal Army) byShah Alam II on 29 December 1770.[5]
After several rebellions by the Rohillas led by Zabita Khan, Shah Alam II began a military campaign against him, led by theMaratha leaderMahadaji Shinde.[3] During this campaign Ghulam Kadir, aged eight to ten, was captured in Ghausgarh (nearHasanpur Luhari in today'sShamli district,Uttar Pradesh) on 14 September 1777[6] as part of Zabita Khan's family,[7][8] while his father managed to escape.
After his capture, Ghulam Kadir was taken to Delhi. There he grew up in a "gilded cage" in theQudsia Bagh:[9] Shah Alam II called Ghulam Kadir his son (farzand)[7] and granted him the title ofRaushan-ud-Daula.[7] The Mughal Emperor even wrote poems about him, some of which have been preserved.[10] On the other hand it has been reported that Ghulam Kadir was castrated during his captivity.[11] This, however, is disputed by modern scholarship, foremost byWilliam Dalrymple.[12]
As resentment against Ghulam Kadir grew in the palace, Shah Alam II sent him back to his father, Zabita Khan, who had regained the imperial favour once more and had again been established asMir Bakhshi.[10]
After the death of his father on 21 January 1785,[13] Ghulam Kadir was able to assert himself as his father's successor and leader of the Rohilla.[14]
In 1787 Ghulam Kadir wished to step into his father's and grandfather's footsteps and becomeMir Bakhshi of the Mughal Empire. To accomplish this feat, he demanded an audience with the emperor.[15] At the Mughal court, thenazir – the superintendent of the Shah'sharem –, Manzur Ali Khan[16] (also transliterated as "Munsoor Ali Khan"),[17] supported Ghulam Kadir's cause against Maratha resistance. According to the historianJadunath Sarkar, thenazir – who is said to have personally saved Ghulam Kadir's life in Ghausgarh in 1777 – intended to use him to curb Hindu influence over the Mughal emperor.[18]
As there were not enough men to defendDelhi, Ghulam Kadir entered the city on 26 August 1787 and was presented to the emperor by thenazir. On 5 September 1787 he entered the city again, this time ahead of 2,000 men. This action forced Shah Alam II to reluctantly establish him asMir Bakhshi and regent of the Mughal empire and granting him the titleamir al-umara.[19]
To consolidate his position at Shah Alam II's court, Ghulam Kadir tried to secure the support ofBegum Samru, the wife ofWalter Reinhardt,[20] and ruler of the principality ofSardhana, who had considerable influence at this time. Furthermore, she commanded four battalions of French-ledsepoys stationed in the city and was thus in a position to disobey the Empire's new regent.[21]
Ghulam Kadir's efforts to secure her support were, however, fruitless, as Begum rejected a proposal for an alliance. After this rejection, he demanded her removal from the city and declared that he would otherwise begin hostilities.[22] As this demand was not met, he started cannonadingSalimgarh Fort[23] and on 7 October 1787 the first cannonballs hit the imperial palace. Now thenazir intervened and was able to dissuade him from continuing his assault on the city.[24]
Ghulam Kadir and his Rohillas then turned away from Delhi to conquer the crownlands in theDoab.[25] This expansion ledLord Cornwallis to write a letter dated 14 November 1787 to Ghulam Kadir asserting that theEast India Company would not militarily engage him, as long as he observed peace with the Company and their ally, theNawab of Awadh.[1] This demand was accepted by Ghulam Kadir.[1]
In July 1788 Ghulam Kadir joined forces withIsmail Beg and their attention focused again on Delhi.[26] The small imperial Mughal army was sent to engage them, but due to treason its leaders led their units away.[27] On 18 July 1788 Ghulam Kadir and Ismail Beg therefore took full possession of the city and of theRed Fort, after thenazir had tricked the Shah into granting them an audience and forbade any resistance by the Red Battalion on 15 July 1788.[28]
Ghulam Kadir's occupation of Delhi lasted from 18 July 1788 to 2 October 1788, marking Delhi's last Afghan occupation until today.[29] During these months he deposed Shah Alam II on the 30 July 1788[29] and installed the Mughal princeBidar Bakht as the new emperor under the regnal nameNasir-ud-din Muhammad Jahan Shah (r. 31 July 1788 – 11 October 1788).[30] Bidar Bakht was the son of Ahmed Shah, who was a beloved step-son ofMalika-uz-Zamani; Bidar Bakht's enthronement was the result of a pact between Ghulam Kadir andMalika-uz-Zamani, who paid 12 lakhs of rupees to Ghulam Kadir to ensure her step-grandson's investiture.[31] Badshah Begum wanted to see Shah Alam II deposed and laid low because Shah Alam's father, Alamgir II, had blinded and killed her beloved step-son, Ahmed Shah, in order to seize the throne.
%2c_the_blind_mughal_Emperor%2c_seated_on_a_golden_throne..jpg)
The occupation led to a reign of terror, during which Shah Alam II was blinded on 10 August 1788.[29] According to tradition Ghulam Kadir said to the Shah immediately after his blinding that it was "the return for [his] action at Ghausgarh."[32] In his quest to secure Mughal treasure, Ghulam Kadir tortured theTimurid imperial family and it is said that 21 princes and princesses were killed.[33] The dishonouring behaviour towards the women of the imperial family is noted as especially cruel in the eyes of its time.[34] Even Malika-uz-Zamani's fate turned as her palace was raided and she was placed on a riverbank.[33] Thenazir's house was next to be sacked and stripped of all belongings.[35]
The plunder of Delhi resulted in losses amounting to 25 crore of rupees.[36] According toJadunath Sarkar, this "dance of demons" finally "ruined the prestige of the empire beyond recovery".[29]
Ismail Beg was not rewarded for his part in the occupation and left the Rohillas in September 1787,[37] when the Marathas mounted an offensive to free Delhi from Ghulam Kadir's occupation. This force was led byMahadaji Shinde and it managed to occupyOld Delhi on 28 September 1787.[38] Then an attack was conducted by the combined forces of the Marathas, of Begum Samru and of the turned Ismail Beg, which Ghulam Kadir's Rohillas could not withstand indefinitely. After the explosion of a powder magazine, that Ghulam Kadir saw as an omen, he abandoned Delhi Fort at 10 October 1787[39] with his remaining troops.[40] On 16 October 1788 the now blind Shah Alam II was reinstated as Mughal emperor and on 17 October 1788khutbah was read in his name.[41][42] His formal coronation happened on 7 February 1789.[43]
After the liberation of Delhi, a hunt for Ghulam Kadir was mounted by the Marathas. Ghulam Kadir fled to Mirat fort, which in turn was encircled by the Marathas.[44] After the conditions there had become intolerable, he managed to break the encirclement during the night with 500 horsemen and tried to escape to Ghausgarh.[44] But during the engagement of his horsemen by a Maratha patrol, he lost sight of his entourage. Then his horse stumbled and broke its leg and he had to continue his escape alone and on foot. He reached Bamnauli (Uttar Pradesh), where he sought refuge in a house of a Brahman and offered him a reward for a horse and a guide, who could lead him to Ghausgarh.[45] But the Brahman recognized him and alerted a party of Marathas, who captured him on 18 December[46][47] or 19 December 1788.[48] According to Jadunath Sarkar andHerbert Compton, the saddlebags of Ghulam Kadir stuffed with valuables looted from Delhi fell into the hands of Lestineau, who took them to the United Kingdom for his retirement.[49][50]
Ghulam Kadir remained in Maratha custody for some time but was not harmed. However, on 28 February 1789 Mahadaji Shinde received a letter by Shah Alam II, demanding the eyes of Ghulam Kadir as the Shah would otherwise retire toMecca and live as a beggar.[46][47] Then Mahadaji Shinde ordered his ears to be cut off, and the next days nose, tongue and upper lip were sent to the emperor in a casket. After this was done, his mutilation continued and his hands, feet and genitals were cut off, before he was hanged from a tree and beheaded atMathura on 3 March 1789.[47][51][52] His ears and eyeballs were sent to the Shah.[52]
Muhammad Iqbal created anazm about Ghulam Kadir inUrdu ("Ghulam Qadir Ruhela"), which narrates the treatment of theTimurids during the Delhi occupation in 1788.[48][53]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)