Mirza Mughal: Difference between revisions

| name = Mirza Mughal

| birth_date = {{birth date text|1817}}

| birth_place = [[Red Fort]], [[Old Delhi]], [[Mughal Empire#Decline (1707–1857)|Mughal Kingdom]]

| death_date = 23 September, {{death year and age|1857|1817}}

| father = [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]]

| mother = Sharif-ul-Mahal Sayyidini

| house = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]]

| death_place = [[Old Delhi]], [[Mughal Empire#Decline (1707–1857)|Mughal Kingdom]]

| title = [[Shah]]zada<br>[[Mirza (name)|Mirza]]<br>[[Prince]] of the [[Mughal Empire#Decline (1707–1857)|Mughal Kingdom]]

| image = MirzaGhulam Ali Khan mughal016c.jpg

| image_size = 275px

| caption = Mirza Mughal, son of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, dressed in British-style military clothing

| religion = [[Sunni Islam]]

In May 1857, sepoys in the service of the [[East India Company]] rebelled against their British officers and streamed into Delhi.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=JAISHREE |first=PARMOD KUMAR |date=12 December 2022 |title=THE GREAT REVOLT OF 1857 IN INDIAN HISTORY : A REVIEW |url=https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2212247.pdf |journal=International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) |volume=10 |issue=12}}</ref> They made straight for the palace, apprised the Emperor of their grievances against their British superiors, affirmed their allegiance to him, and sought sanctuary and leadership. A few days later, after taking stock of the situation, Mirza Mughal and some of his half-brothers petitioned their father to be appointed in charge of the rebel troops. Their plea was initially refused but later granted, and Mirza Mughal, as the senior-most legitimate prince, was designated commander-in-chief. Though the emperor seems to have opposed the cold-blooded killing of the European prisoners, the princes also seem to have been involved in the act. Mirza Mughal had absolutely no training or experience for his new office. However, he energetically sought to organize the troops, make arrangements for their billeting and provisioning, and bring a semblance of order to the edgy city. His inexperience soon became apparent, and he was upstaged a few weeks later by the arrival of a large force of mutineers from [[Bareilly]], led by [[Bakht Khan]], formerly an Indian officer ([[Subedar]]) in the service of the East India Company. Bakht Khan had earned a reputation as an artillery officer during the Afghan wars. Shortly after his arrival, the emperor appointed Bakht Khan commander-in-chief and left Mirza Mughal in charge of supplies. A few weeks later, following another reshuffle of offices, Mirza Mughal was given charge of administering the city of Delhi.