When the Afghan "Scourge of God" Collided with "the King of the World"
Muhammad Hayat Khan's 19th-century text Hayat-i-Afghani examines the historical and ethnological aspects of Afghanistan's tribes, including the Rohilla Pathan tribes. They settled in the 13th century in what was then known as the Kather region of northern India. This area was later renamed Rohilkhand after the Rohillas rose to prominence as a political force in this area. During the reign of the 17th Mughal emperor Shah Alam II (r. 1759-1806), the mighty Mughal Empire was already in its twilight years. The territorial extent of the empire and the political power of the reigning emperor were reduced enormously. The following Persian expression encapsulates the situation very aptly:
سلطاناته شاه علم
از دهلی تا پالم
It means 'The empire of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam'. Palam was located on the outskirts of Shahjahanabad, the Mughal capital city.
- Captured and Castrated:
On the other hand, a number of regional powers were shooting up. Among them was Rohilkhand. The leader of the Rohillas during this time was Zabita Khan. His aspiration to challenge the authority of the Mughals brought him in direct confrontation with the latter. A joint military expedition by the Mughals, headed by Mirza Najaf Khan and the Marathas, under the command of Mahadji Scindia, invaded the Rohillas in 1777, defeating Zabita Khan. Zabita Khan went to the Sikhs for safety. Ghulam Qadir, his young son, and others were apprehended. Ghulam was about to be put to death, but Manzul Ali Khan, the head eunuch, intervened and saved his life. He was ordered to work as Shah Alam's page in Shahjahanabad. It is said that the incredibly beautiful Afghan child drew the attention of numerous women in the emperor's harem. Alarmed, the emperor gave the order to have him castrated. Accordingly, he was drugged and made unconscious and then turned into a eunuch. In some subsequent accounts, he is also said to have been used as a catamite by Shah Alam. However, it's also thought that Shah Alam treated him like his son and that the claims are merely unfounded gossip. If that is indeed the case, then there is no explanation for the intense anger and animosity that Ghulam Qadir displayed against Shah Alam upon his return to the emperor's durbar as the head of the Rohillas.
- Blighted and Blinded:
After the death of Zabita Khan in 1785, Ghulam Qadir succeeded his father as the sardar or leader of the Rohillas and in 1788, he by means of a conspiracy was able to gain an audience by Shah Alam II in his durbar (court). While the audience was in progress, the Mughal fort was besieged and overrun by Qadir's two thousand soldiers. This was the beginning of the nine weeks of horrors that no Mughal monarch had ever seen before or since. The emperor faced a threat to reveal the locations where the imperial treasure was hidden. The monarch and his sons were imprisoned in a private mosque within the fort after he refused to comply. Ghulam Qadir occupied the royal chambers. He asked the emperor about the royal riches once more the following day. He was rejected once more. This time, the king and his sons were brought to a state prisoner-only area of the fort. The private apartments of Shah Alam's consorts and concubines were searched. Their jewels and money were confiscated. His soldiers began tearing up the floors and tapping the walls in the entire fort in search of hidden treasure.
To force the slaves to divulge the whereabouts of any concealed treasures, they were subjected to torture in the ensuing days. Other's hands had been drenched with hot oil. The eunuchs were fatally beaten. The imprisoned 'king of the world' was brought before Qadir and was made to sit in the burning sun without food or drink. Qadir repeatedly humiliated and intimidated Shah Alam. Finally, the emperor was knocked down and Qadir with the aid of one of his military commanders extracted the eyeballs of Shah Alam. As he was being blinded, Qadir asked the ruler if he could see anything. Shah Alam retorted, "Nothing but the holy Quran between you and me". He was returned to his prison, half-dead and without food or drink.
- Seraglio and Savagery:
The following day Qadir had a painting made that captured the moment when the Mughal emperor was being blinded. A water-carrier and a few benevolent servants attempted to fetch the monarch some food, but they were immediately apprehended and executed. soon, the whole royal family members were left without food and water. this resulted into the death of many children and some elderly women. Instead of burying the dead, Qadir let them fester in their places of death. A terrible stench started to raid the royal harem. the princes were beaten, and women were not spared either. the widows of a former Mughal emperor Muhammad shah were brought to the terrace and detained there without access to water for a number of hours. Two young princesses who were reported to be of exquisite beauty were brought to him. the veiled girls were stripped, and he caressed their breasts and thighs while his companions made lewd remarks. on the intervention of his Sikh supporters who threatened to withdraw their support if he persisted in abusing the princesses. Qadir had to back off, but he yelled that he would have every Mughal princess raped by his soldiers so that the Mughals might boast to be a manlier race.
Afterwards, he summoned the sons of Shah Alam and in order to humiliate them, he ordered them to dance. They declined. The oppressor gave the order to chop off the noses of the princes who refused to obey. They obliged. Finally, after days of persecution and barbarity, the "King of the World" was rescued by the military forces of Maratha sardars, Begum Samru of Sardhana and others.
- An Eye for an Eye and Their World Went Blind:
Ghulam Qadir was captured and sent to Mathura, the headquarters of Mahadji Scindia. Scindia in the beginning treated the prisoner with kindness. Fine clothes and food were given to him. His intention was not to kill him. However, he changed his mind when he received a letter from Shah Alam, who in the letter threatened to abdicate and embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca if his humiliation was not avenged. To pacify the emperor, the ears of Qadir were severed and hung around his neck. His face was blackened. He was driven around the city in a bullock-cart as a proof and warning to the people. The following day, his nose and lips were cut off and again paraded. The next day, his eyeballs were torn out and he was paraded once more. Subsequently, his hands and then his feet were chopped off. At last, it was his head. His mutilated body parts -ears, lips and eyeballs- were placed in a casket as a gift to Shah Alam. The "Scourge of God" received a retribution.
Earlier, in 1764 after the Battle of Buxar, Shah Alam II surrendered himself to the British East India Company. The decisive battle proved to be a turning point in Indian history. It marked the beginning of British rule in India. The "King of the World" became the company's pensioner!
References:
Dalrymple, William. The Anarchy. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2019.
Edwardes, Michael. King of the World: The Life and Times of Shah Alam: Emperor of Hindustan. London: Secker & Warburg. 1970.
Larneuil, Michel. Begum Samru of Sardhana. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. 2011.
Maharashtra Archives Bulletin of the Department of Archives, No. 2. ed. Joshi, P. M. and Khobrekar, V. G. Bombay: Government Central Press. 1966.
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