SSC
The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II (Zafar), died in exile in the year:
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Answer: Option D — 1862
Detailed Solution
The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II (Bahadur Shah Zafar), died in exile on 7 November 1862, at the age of 87.
About Bahadur Shah Zafar:
- He was born in 1775, the son of the Mughal emperor Akbar II.
- He became emperor in 1837.
- By then, the Mughal emperor had no real power; his authority was limited to the Red Fort in Delhi, and he received a pension from the British.
- He was a poet in Urdu, writing under the pen name "Zafar" (victory).
- His court was a centre of Urdu poetry; the famous poets Mirza Ghalib and Ibrahim Zauq were associated with it (Zauq was his teacher).
His role in the Revolt of 1857:
- In May 1857, the rebel sepoys from Meerut reached Delhi and proclaimed him the emperor of India (Shahenshah-e-Hindustan).
- He reluctantly agreed to lead the revolt, and his name gave the revolt a symbol of unity.
- After the British recaptured Delhi in September 1857, he took refuge in Humayun's Tomb, where he was arrested by Major William Hodson.
- Hodson shot dead two of his sons and a grandson near Delhi Gate (the "Khooni Darwaza").
His trial and exile:
- He was tried by a British military court in 1858 at the Red Fort, on charges of treason and rebellion.
- He was found guilty and sent into exile, with his wife Zeenat Mahal and some family members.
- With his exile, the Mughal dynasty came to an end.
His poetry:
His famous verses express sorrow at his fate; one well-known couplet laments that he could not get even two yards of land for his grave in the land of his beloved (India).
His tomb:
His grave was forgotten for many years, and was rediscovered in 1991; a shrine (dargah) now stands there.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1857 was the year of the Revolt.
- ✗1858 was the year of his trial.
- ✗1877 was the year of the Delhi Durbar proclaiming Queen Victoria as Empress of India.
Quick tip
Remember: Bahadur Shah Zafar = last Mughal emperor (1837-1857); proclaimed leader of the Revolt; tried in 1858; died in exile in 1862; pen name "Zafar".
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Revolt of 1857 — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Revolt of 1857, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Revolt of 1857 was the first large-scale uprising against British rule in India. This topic covers its causes, the immediate trigger of the greased cartridges, its leaders and centres, the reasons for its failure, and its results, including the end of Company rule through the Government of India Act 1858. The most common questions match a leader with a centre of the revolt: Bahadur Shah Zafar and Bakht Khan at Delhi, Rani Lakshmibai at Jhansi, Nana Saheb and Tatya Tope at Kanpur, Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow and Kunwar Singh at Arrah in Bihar. The revolt began at Meerut on 10 May 1857, and Mangal Pandey's protest at Barrackpore came earlier that year. Practise the Revolt of 1857 questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.