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Bahadur Shah Zafar and 1857: Evidence-Driven Reassessment Beyond Heroics and Betrayal

Bahadur Shah Zafar’s role in the Revolt of 1857 defies simple labels. Rather than casting him as either a heroic liberator or a betrayer, this analysis situates the last Mughal emperor within the material constraints of siege warfare, fractured command, and colonial-era power asymmetries. It traces the uprising’s structural causes—from annexations and revenue extraction to…
