Daily Times

As hostilities continue to define relations between Pakistan and India, perhaps it is time to remember how much both countries share with a focus on what brings them together rather than what keeps them apart.

November 7th marked the 155th death anniversary of famed poet, mystic and the last Mughal Emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Over a century since his death, his brave support of the 1857 uprising against the exploitative practices of the British East India company is remembered across South Asia.

In spite of being perceived as a tragic figure who symbolised the end of a once invincible dynasty, Bahadur Shah Zafar’s role in the 1857 independence movement was a galvanising point for both the Muslim and Hindu communities of India. Indian political commentator AG Noorani states, “Bahadur Shah was the one around whom both communities rallied as a symbol of revolt and unity.”

Bahadur Shah Zafar lived through a time of momentous change and in many ways was a victim of the region’s changing power dynamics. When he ascended the throne, the Mughals, who had ruled India for three centuries, were a diminished force. During his 20-year reign, the kingdom which previously spanned across South Asia was limited to Delhi.

As renowned academic William Dalrymple notes, “Born in 1775, when the British were still a coastal power clinging to the Indian shore, he lived long enough to see his dynasty reduced to humiliating insignificance, and the British transform themselves from simple traders into the most powerful military and economic force India had ever seen.”

In spite of being perceived as a tragic figure who symbolised the end of a once invincible dynasty, Bahadur Shah Zafar’s role in the 1857 independence movement was a galvanising point for both the Muslim and Hindu communities of India. AG Noorani states, “Bahadur Shah was the one around whom both communities rallied as a symbol of revolt and unity”

In spite of his nominal political power, his reign oversaw the cultural and intellectual flowering of Delhi. It was under his patronage that the poetry of literary masters like Ibrahim Zauq, Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir and Sauda captivated the public, and to this day influence the literary cultures of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The legendary poetic rivalry between Ghalib and Zauq as each attempted to outdo the other with their beautiful verses was fostered under his patronage.

After ascending the throne in his 60s, he maintained peace between Delhi’s various religious and ethnic groups. The Hindu sacred festivals of Diwali and Holi were celebrated at his court with equal splendour and enthusiasm as Eid.

A follower of the Sufi tradition, Bahadur Shah Zafar devoted himself to poetry, philosophy and calligraphy. Sadly much of his poetry was destroyed, but what remains reveals a man with a profound understanding of the vagaries of life. The verses he composed during his last days in Rangoon, where he was exiled in his 80s for his support of the 1857 independence movement against British rule, still carry a profound resonance today for those far away from their homeland: Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar dafan ke liye, Do gaz zameen bhi naa mili kue-yaar mein (How ill-fated is that for Zafar even for his burial, was not granted two yards of earth for his grave in the land of the beloved).

On official state visits to Burma, leaders from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh pay tribute at Bahadur Shah Zafar’s grave as a matter of routine. Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi left a poignant message at the Emperor’s grave during his visit to Burma in 1987, “Although you do not have land in India, you have it here, your name is alive… I pay homage to the memory of the symbol and rallying point of India’s first war of independence.”

The legacy of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar can be recast as an important unifying figure in the struggle for independence. He remains today a shared symbol in Pakistan and India, in spite of the troubled state of bilateral relations.

The writer is the founding editor of Blue Chip magazine. She tweets @MashaalGauhar

Published in Daily Times, November 9^th 2017.