English
In a rundown slum on the outskirts of Kolkata, 60-year-old Sultana Begum, the great-granddaughter-in-law of India’s last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, struggles to survive. Once connected to a family of immense power and wealth, she now faces a life of hardship and poverty. Despite her royal lineage, Sultana lives in a tiny two-room hut in Howrah, a slum in Kolkata. She shares a kitchen with her neighbors and relies on public taps for water, a stark contrast to the grandeur her ancestors once enjoyed. The riches and splendor of the Mughal era are now just a distant memory as she fights to meet her daily needs.
Sultana Begum’s great-grandfather-in-law, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the last emperor of the Mughal dynasty, which once ruled India for over 300 years. When he ascended the throne in 1837 at the age of 62, the empire had already weakened significantly. His rule was mostly limited to the Red Fort in Delhi, while the British East India Company had taken control of much of India’s political and military affairs.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar was declared the symbolic leader of the uprising. However, after the British crushed the revolt, he was arrested, charged with treason, and exiled to Rangoon (now Yangon in Myanmar), where he remained in captivity until his death in 1862.
Sultana’s life took a devastating turn in the 1980s when she lost her husband, Prince Mirza Bedar Bukht, in 1980. Sultana Begum was 14 years old and her husband was 46 years old. Since then, she has struggled with extreme poverty. Once managing a modest but stable life, she now fights daily to make ends meet.
Despite her royal ancestry, Sultana survives on a meager pension of Rs. 6,000 per month—barely enough to support herself and her six children. “I don’t know how we get by,” she says. “My other daughters and their families are struggling too, so they can’t help us.”
She lives with her unmarried daughter, Madhu Begum, in a tiny, overcrowded home. Although her family’s historical significance is well-documented, she has received little to no support from the Indian government. Despite years of pleading for assistance—be it financial aid or proper housing—her situation remains unchanged.
In recent years, human rights activists and concerned citizens have called for action to support India’s royal descendants, many of whom were left struggling after British rule ended and the Mughal dynasty fell.
What makes Sultana’s story even more heartbreaking is the rich history of her ancestors. Her great-grandfather-in-law, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was once the ruler of a mighty empire. However, his reign ended in turmoil with the brutal suppression of the 1857 Rebellion, leading to the downfall of the Mughal dynasty.
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