The Trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar and Rethinking 1857

The Trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar
Edited by Pramod K. Nayar
Published by Orient Longman

Rethinking 1857
Edited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya
Published by Orient Longman

As is well known, following the ‘recapture’ of Delhi in mid-September 1857, the British carried out a mock trial of Bahadur Shah in the Diwan-i-khas of the Red Fort. This sham show was conducted by a military commission headed by Lt. Col. M. Dawes. It lasted from 27 January to 9 March 1858. At the end of the trial Bahadur Shah was convicted of treason and of having abetted the killing of Europeans. Neither of these charges had any legal substance. In October 1858 Bahadur Shah, along with some of the members of his immediate family, was transported to Rangoon, where he died in 1862.

If Trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar and Rethinking 1857, and some of the other writings on the Revolt which have appeared during the course of 2007, are any indication then the commemoration of such a major historical event is not merely an occasion of empty rhetoric or trivial cliché-laden speeches/writings as quite a few sceptics have suggested it is. The commemoration has provided an opportunity for serious reflection on our past, on the rich legacy of the anti-imperialist struggle which has great contemporary relevance.

Amar Farooqui
THE BOOK REVIEW/ April 2008