The talk is about the period when the Mughalia Sultanate was in its last phase. The 17th emperor of the Timur dynasty was sitting on the throne, Shah Alam II. On August 1788, something happened in the Red Fort which could not even be imagined.
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The talk is about the period when the Mughalia Sultanate was in its last phase. The 17th emperor of the Timur dynasty was sitting on the throne, Shah Alam II. He was certainly not a capable ruler but had a deep understanding of Braj and Persian poems. Since Mughalia blood was running in his veins and was part of the same heritage, he used to be in the discussion, but in August 1788 something happened in the Red Fort which was unimaginable.
Without any restriction, the Afghan Sardar Rohilla Ghulam Qadir reached the royal court with his two thousand soldiers. He asked for information about the treasure from Shah Alam. Shah Alam said, after that he does not have much money. Whatever I got from here is just that. Hearing this, Ghulam Qadir threatened to humiliate him. Jadunath Sarkar has mentioned this incident in his book ‘Fall of Mughal Empire’.
He writes that when the Afghan Sardar Rohilla Ghulam was not satisfied with the information of Shah Alam, he pushed him and sat on the royal throne. The smoke of the hookah kept next to it filled the mouth and left it on the emperor’s mouth with great ferocity. He did not leave the emperor. He was first removed from the throne and then kept hungry and thirsty in the sun. Repeatedly kept asking about the hidden money.
When Ghulam Qadir crossed the limits of cruelty
While serving his sentence in the sun, Shah Alam told him, whatever I had, you have already taken it. Is the money in my stomach now? On this Ghulam Qadir said while taking a sarcasm, maybe money is in your stomach, I will have to see only after tearing your stomach.
Ghulam Qadir crossed the limits of cruelty. First put a needle in Shah Alam’s eyes. made him blind. After that he sat on his chest. He bent down and the dagger took him out of his eyes. Then the other eye was also removed. The slave did not stop here. He called the painter present in the court and asked to draw that scene on paper exactly.
After this incident, Shah Alam was not even given water for several days. During this, all those who helped him secretly became victims of the cruelty of Ghulam Qadir.
Afghan’s vengeance remains silent, but does not die
Seeing Shah Alam pleading in his feet, Ghulam Qadir says that I have done to you what you have done to me. An Afghan’s revenge may be silent, but never die.Behind this cruelty of Ghulam Qadir, there is an anecdote of history whose connection has been with Shah Alam.
Ghulam Qadir was the son of Jabita Khan, the chief of an Afghan Rohilla branch. It was the same Jabita Khan whom Shah Alam II declared as the head of the Mughal army on 29 December 1770. After getting this post, Jabita Khan and Rohillas revolted together. He refused to obey the orders of Shah Alam. insulted his sister. The emperor was getting weak, so to take revenge for this, Shah Alam took help from the Maratha government Mahadaji Shinde. Both attacked the Patthargarh fort where Jabita Khan was staying. Hearing about the attack, he ran, but could not go far and was caught.
People were looted and women were raped
Historian of that period Khairuddin writes that after the death of Jabita Khan, the Marathas evacuated people from his fort the next day. People were looted. Women were raped. People were humiliated.
People were taken captive and brought to Delhi. Among the prisoners were Jabita Khan and her 8-year-old son Ghulam Qadir. Shah Alam started raising Ghulam Qadir like a son, but Jabita Khan did not leave the conspiracy against the emperor. During this, many courtiers told the emperor to kill the enemy’s son Ghulam Qadir, but the emperor did not listen to anyone.
One day the emperor got the news that Ghulam Qadir was taking too much interest in the women of his harem. Knowing this, the emperor made Ghulam Qadir unconscious by giving him medicine and got him castrated. When the slave came to his senses, he was shocked to know this.
The slave grew up and walked on the same path that his father and grandfather had followed. He forced him to get the post of army chief from the emperor. As a result, the emperor had to give him that post. Finally the day also came about which the courtier often asked the emperor to be alert and he showed such cruelty on the emperor that the senses of the Mughals were blown away.
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