Review of ‘The Last Mughal’

I just finished ‘The Last Mughal’ by William Dalrymple.

This book is based around the fall of Bahadur Shah II (Zafar) - the last Mughal emperor. It details events leading up the Indian Uprising of 1857 and its aftermath. An event that sealed the fate of Mughal rule in India, and led to the end of Indo-Muslim civilisation in India. Zafar was the last of the Mughal emperors- whose family ruled India for over 300 years.

The Last Mughal

By William Dalrymple

William Dalrymple has used Indian sources to write this history, in the form of recently discovered ‘Mutiny Papers’. Before this time, the history of this period has been based on largely British sources. I love the way Dalrymple incorporates the sources into the storytelling (total history nerd thing)!

The book begins with depicting how Zafar and his family lived- and there was clearly lots of decadence going on. They lived in luxury and enjoyed extravagance. At this time, Delhi was also the seat of learning, culture and civilisation.

The British were established in India already with the East India Company- starting off with trade and then slowly building a power base which would result in full British rule in India.

The East India Company came to India under the guise of trade only and were treated well by the rulers. But these guys had bigger ambitions. The first example of corporations exerting much power!

Zafar was still the nominal emperor. But he was only a figurehead and his rule was only really centred in Delhi.

A large part of the British army in India was made up of Indian sepoys- mainly Hindus. The Indian sepoys weren’t happy with British presence and the treatment they would receive. There were many issues from pay to regulations to the way that they were treated.

Some say the Uprising was caused by religious issues such as the use of cow and pig fat on the rifle grease. But it was caused by a collection of deep rooted issues.

The Uprising was really started by the large number of Hindu sepoys. The Muslims joined in - and they both looked to the emperor as a figurehead.

The Emperor didn’t want the rebellion. He wasn’t a revolutionary leader. He was bullied into taking this position as figurehead by the rebels and some of his advisors. The King just wanted to protect his people, both Hindu & Muslims and his city.

When the British suppressed the Uprising (after quite a struggle) - they captured Zafar- scapegoated him and sent him into exile to Burma. He was disrespected and lived in sub-standard conditions. When he died - his grave wasn’t even marked.

The British tried to paint the picture of Zafar leading a Muslim jihad that was trying to keep the Mughals in power. Dalrymple states that this was not the case at all.

The British treated the Muslims really badly after the uprising of 1857. Muslims weren’t even allowed back into Delhi for a long while. Hindus were allowed in first.

What happened after this was that the Hindus rose in wealth and prominence and the Muslim elite declined as did Indo-Muslim civilisation.

The British treated Muslims as subhuman and were Islamophobic, and they used divide and rule between the Hindus and Muslims.

After the Uprising, British propaganda painted the Mughal Empire as decadent and inefficient. They destroyed some of their architecture and heritage.

This book clearly shows that there has been an ongoing expression of Islamophobia from the west; it is not a new phenomenon! If you’ve studied history, it’s clear to see that there have been many instances of Islamophobia in the long history of western dealings with Muslims.

The way the western powers have behaved in this underhand way across the world, even when treated with kindness and offered a hand of friendship, has resulted in many people feeling aggrieved and resentful of the treatment that they have received throughout history. This in turn has led to a rise in Islamic fundamentalism.

Dalrymple says: “As we have seen in our own time, nothing threatens the liberal and moderate aspect of Islam so much as aggressive Western intrusion and interference in the East, just as nothing so dramatically radicalises the ordinary Muslim and feeds the power of the extremists: the histories of Islamic fundamentalism and Western imperialism have, after all, often been closely, and dangerously, intertwined.“

Edmund Burke, himself a fierce critic of western aggression in India said “Those who fail to learn from history are always destined to repeat it.“