The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II (or Bahadur Shah Zafar) lived a miserable life in his last time. After the death of Aurangzeb, Mughal emperors held only symbolic value. During the 1857 revolt, the rebels needed someone who would rule the land once the British were thrown out of the country. They decided that it would be the Mughal emperor. Though at first Bahadur Shah was a reluctant leader but he played important role in the rebellion.

Bahadur Shah sent letters to all small rulers and chieftains to come forward and support the rebellion. But when the British captured Delhi in September 1857 A.D. Bahadur Shah left Lucknow, from there he continued his fight against the British. At last when the revolt was suppressed his sons along with some other rebels were captured by the English. His two sons and a grandson were shot dead before his old eyes. Their dead bodies were hanged at the Khooni Darwaja, Delhi to create terror among the rebels. Bahadur Shah himself was deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862 A.D. His last words were “Zafar was really unfortunate for he could not get six feet grave in the street of his beloved country.”