what happened to Indian art after the collapse of the Mughal Empire
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The Mughal Empire has intrigued Europeans for centuries and the huge attendance at the British Library's splendid Exhibition shows how it still holds our interest.
The Mughal Emperors attained great power in India from 1526 to 1757. They lived surrounded by incredible opulence, created magnificent Architecture and developed Arts and Culture. They controlled all of what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The Empire survived in a diluted form, for another hundred years, until 1858 when there was a British presence and the Mughal Empire was absorbed into the Raj.
The Exhibition made me see them as the embodiment of a true oxymoron, being warrior aesthetes, warlord artists, equally skilled with pen and sword. These Emperors were ruthless, yet, there was one among them who was capable of the passion for a lost love that inspired the creation of the Taj Mahal, a Mausoleum eternal in its ethereal beauty.
The name, 'Mughal' is derived from the original homelands of the Timurids of the Central Asian Steppes, an area once conquered by Genghis Khan which was named 'Moghulistan' or 'Land of Mongols'. These people became Persianised and transferred Persian Culture to India. They also spread Islam. It must be remembered that in 1500 the Persian Empire was widespread and powerful. There was a flowering of Art, poetry and literature in their Courts. The Mughal Emperors encouraged Persian artists to visit and reside at their own courts.
Although the Mughals and their rulers hailed from murderous, invading ancestors such as Genhis Khan and Amir Timur ( known in the West as Timberlaine ) they made a love of Arts and aesthetic principles very important in their rule. It was a central part of their identity. Their glorious citadels were a symbol of prestige and power. Their patronage of Scholarship has left us with many priceless treasures. Milo Beach, the Historian, observed that it was probably the first time that wealth was used to commission the Arts. In India there was no shortage of wealth as there was an abundance of jewels, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds. He also commented on much international activity at the Court. The 'Grand Mughal' myth meant literally that, they were grand.
The Mughal Emperors attained great power in India from 1526 to 1757. They lived surrounded by incredible opulence, created magnificent Architecture and developed Arts and Culture. They controlled all of what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The Empire survived in a diluted form, for another hundred years, until 1858 when there was a British presence and the Mughal Empire was absorbed into the Raj.
The Exhibition made me see them as the embodiment of a true oxymoron, being warrior aesthetes, warlord artists, equally skilled with pen and sword. These Emperors were ruthless, yet, there was one among them who was capable of the passion for a lost love that inspired the creation of the Taj Mahal, a Mausoleum eternal in its ethereal beauty.
The name, 'Mughal' is derived from the original homelands of the Timurids of the Central Asian Steppes, an area once conquered by Genghis Khan which was named 'Moghulistan' or 'Land of Mongols'. These people became Persianised and transferred Persian Culture to India. They also spread Islam. It must be remembered that in 1500 the Persian Empire was widespread and powerful. There was a flowering of Art, poetry and literature in their Courts. The Mughal Emperors encouraged Persian artists to visit and reside at their own courts.
Although the Mughals and their rulers hailed from murderous, invading ancestors such as Genhis Khan and Amir Timur ( known in the West as Timberlaine ) they made a love of Arts and aesthetic principles very important in their rule. It was a central part of their identity. Their glorious citadels were a symbol of prestige and power. Their patronage of Scholarship has left us with many priceless treasures. Milo Beach, the Historian, observed that it was probably the first time that wealth was used to commission the Arts. In India there was no shortage of wealth as there was an abundance of jewels, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds. He also commented on much international activity at the Court. The 'Grand Mughal' myth meant literally that, they were grand.
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We read and commemorate the heroes who gave their lives in the first war of Indian Independence, every year on their death anniversaries. But spare a thought for those who lived and lived a life worse than death.
Ahmed Ali in his book Twilight in Delhi describes the Delhi Darbar held in 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V a few months earlier.
The British Emperor and his wife Queen Mary left the Red Fort, as the Qila-e-Mubarak, was called by the British in a state procession. Almost every prince and ruler and notable attended it and presented tribute to King George V.
In the background as this princely convoy is moving a beggar known as Bahadur Shah is dragging himself on useless legs, begging on the streets of Shahjahanabad.
Who was this beggar? Why was he named Bahadur Shah?
An intense curiosity led me to research on the life of the Mughals after the fall of Delhi into the hands of the British on September 14, 1857.
Though hardly any English book bar Ahmed Ali's describes the remaining Mughals, Urdu books of late 19th and early 20th century are full of it.
Ghalib himself describes it in two of his works, Dastanbu and the other is Roznamcha-e-Ghadar. Even though Ghalib was not critical of the British and hoped for their patronage and a pension, he still portrays the desolation of Shahjahanabad.
The major description of the plight of the innocents is found in Khwaja Hasan Nizami's Begmaat ke Aansu, Zahir Dehalvi's Dastan-e-Ghadar, Mirza Ahmad Akhtar's Sawaneh Dehli, Syed Wazir Hasan Dehlvi's Dilli ka Aakhiri Deedar and from Fughan-e-Dehli or the dirges written by many Urdu poets on the condition of royals left in Delhi.
The prince found begging on the streets of Delhi in 1911 finds mention in Khwaja Hasan Nizami's (1873 - July 31, 1955) Begmaat ke Aansoo. His name was Mirza Nasir-ul Mulk and after escaping the British wrath in the immediate aftermath of the Uprising he had taken up employment along with his sister in a merchant's house in Shahjahanabad.
The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. (Photo credit: Google)
Later when the British government fixed a pension of Rs5/pm for the Mughal prince and princesses he had stopped working. Soon the pension was squandered away and he was in debt.
After a few years later a peer baba, who looked as if he was from the Timurid-Chengezi lineage used to drag himself around Chitli Qabr and Kamra Bangash area. His legs had been struck by paralysis. He had a bag tied around his neck and he would look at passersby mutely to ask for help. Those who knew who he was would throw in a few coins in his bag.
Someone asked who he was and was told that his name is Mirza Nasir-ul-Mulk and he is the grandson of Bahadur Shah.
Another prince, son of Bahadur Shah Zafar's daughter Quraishia Begum was also begging on the streets of Shahjahanabad.
Known once as Sahib-e-Alam Mirza Qamar Sultan Bahadur, after the British took control of Delhi he was reduced to begging.
He would come out only at nights as he felt ashamed and embarrassed to be begging on the roads where people bent low to salute him when he rode in the streets.
Mirza Qamar Sultan asked for alms with an aristocratic air. He doesn't address anyone just cried out, "Ya Allah please get me enough that I can buy provisions for myself."
Khwaja Hasan Nizami wrote innumerable books on the events of 1857, all based on eyewitness accounts of survivors. One story which I found particularly moving was the story of the daughters of Mirza Kavaish who had been appointed the Heir Apparent of Bahadur Shah Zafar by the British overturning the claims of Mirza Jawan Bakht, the son of Bahadur Shah Zafar's favourite wife Begum Zeenat Mahal.
In Begmaat ke Aansoo, Khwaja Hasan Nizami has described the story, which he heard from the princess herself.
Her name was Sultan Bano and she was the daughter of Mirza Kavaish Bahadur. When she met Khwaja Hasan Nizami she was 66-years-old but still remembered everything vividly. He recorded it in Begmaat ke Aansoo as Shahzadi ki Bipta.
She tells her story to Khwaja Hasan Nizami:
Although the ghadar took place 50 years ago I still remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday. I was 16-years-old then. I was two years younger than my brother Mirza Yavar Shah and six years older than my sister Naaz Bano, who died.
My name is Sultan Bano. My father Mirza Kavaish Bahadur (he was appointed the Crown Prince by the British in 1856, over the claims of Zeenat Mahal's son Mirza Jawan Bakht). He was a favorite and able son of Hazrat Bahadur Shah.
We sisters were very fond of our brother Yawar Shah and it was reciprocated fully.
Aqa Bhai had a whole range of tutors who taught him every range of subject and various arts. He had expert calligraphers, Arabic and Persian scholars and ace archers teaching him.
We learnt embroidery, stitching and other household arts from Mughlanis.
Ahmed Ali in his book Twilight in Delhi describes the Delhi Darbar held in 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V a few months earlier.
The British Emperor and his wife Queen Mary left the Red Fort, as the Qila-e-Mubarak, was called by the British in a state procession. Almost every prince and ruler and notable attended it and presented tribute to King George V.
In the background as this princely convoy is moving a beggar known as Bahadur Shah is dragging himself on useless legs, begging on the streets of Shahjahanabad.
Who was this beggar? Why was he named Bahadur Shah?
An intense curiosity led me to research on the life of the Mughals after the fall of Delhi into the hands of the British on September 14, 1857.
Though hardly any English book bar Ahmed Ali's describes the remaining Mughals, Urdu books of late 19th and early 20th century are full of it.
Ghalib himself describes it in two of his works, Dastanbu and the other is Roznamcha-e-Ghadar. Even though Ghalib was not critical of the British and hoped for their patronage and a pension, he still portrays the desolation of Shahjahanabad.
The major description of the plight of the innocents is found in Khwaja Hasan Nizami's Begmaat ke Aansu, Zahir Dehalvi's Dastan-e-Ghadar, Mirza Ahmad Akhtar's Sawaneh Dehli, Syed Wazir Hasan Dehlvi's Dilli ka Aakhiri Deedar and from Fughan-e-Dehli or the dirges written by many Urdu poets on the condition of royals left in Delhi.
The prince found begging on the streets of Delhi in 1911 finds mention in Khwaja Hasan Nizami's (1873 - July 31, 1955) Begmaat ke Aansoo. His name was Mirza Nasir-ul Mulk and after escaping the British wrath in the immediate aftermath of the Uprising he had taken up employment along with his sister in a merchant's house in Shahjahanabad.
The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. (Photo credit: Google)
Later when the British government fixed a pension of Rs5/pm for the Mughal prince and princesses he had stopped working. Soon the pension was squandered away and he was in debt.
After a few years later a peer baba, who looked as if he was from the Timurid-Chengezi lineage used to drag himself around Chitli Qabr and Kamra Bangash area. His legs had been struck by paralysis. He had a bag tied around his neck and he would look at passersby mutely to ask for help. Those who knew who he was would throw in a few coins in his bag.
Someone asked who he was and was told that his name is Mirza Nasir-ul-Mulk and he is the grandson of Bahadur Shah.
Another prince, son of Bahadur Shah Zafar's daughter Quraishia Begum was also begging on the streets of Shahjahanabad.
Known once as Sahib-e-Alam Mirza Qamar Sultan Bahadur, after the British took control of Delhi he was reduced to begging.
He would come out only at nights as he felt ashamed and embarrassed to be begging on the roads where people bent low to salute him when he rode in the streets.
Mirza Qamar Sultan asked for alms with an aristocratic air. He doesn't address anyone just cried out, "Ya Allah please get me enough that I can buy provisions for myself."
Khwaja Hasan Nizami wrote innumerable books on the events of 1857, all based on eyewitness accounts of survivors. One story which I found particularly moving was the story of the daughters of Mirza Kavaish who had been appointed the Heir Apparent of Bahadur Shah Zafar by the British overturning the claims of Mirza Jawan Bakht, the son of Bahadur Shah Zafar's favourite wife Begum Zeenat Mahal.
In Begmaat ke Aansoo, Khwaja Hasan Nizami has described the story, which he heard from the princess herself.
Her name was Sultan Bano and she was the daughter of Mirza Kavaish Bahadur. When she met Khwaja Hasan Nizami she was 66-years-old but still remembered everything vividly. He recorded it in Begmaat ke Aansoo as Shahzadi ki Bipta.
She tells her story to Khwaja Hasan Nizami:
Although the ghadar took place 50 years ago I still remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday. I was 16-years-old then. I was two years younger than my brother Mirza Yavar Shah and six years older than my sister Naaz Bano, who died.
My name is Sultan Bano. My father Mirza Kavaish Bahadur (he was appointed the Crown Prince by the British in 1856, over the claims of Zeenat Mahal's son Mirza Jawan Bakht). He was a favorite and able son of Hazrat Bahadur Shah.
We sisters were very fond of our brother Yawar Shah and it was reciprocated fully.
Aqa Bhai had a whole range of tutors who taught him every range of subject and various arts. He had expert calligraphers, Arabic and Persian scholars and ace archers teaching him.
We learnt embroidery, stitching and other household arts from Mughlanis.
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