Last Mogul king Bahadur Zafar's legal heirs during 1857 rebellion in Delhi: Cold-blooded killing by Brig. Gen. Hodson

Navrang India November 15, 2025

 William Stephen Raikes Hodson was one of the most controversial British officers of the 1857 Revolt, remembered as much for his audacity as for the cold-blooded execution of the last heirs of the Mughal dynasty. When the uprising engulfed North India, Delhi became the symbolic centre of the rebellion. Bahadur Shah Zafar, though old and powerless, was proclaimed the nominal leader by sepoys and civilians who sought legitimacy under the last Mughal sovereign. The Emperor had reluctantly accepted this role, and the young princes—Mirza Mughal, Mirza Khizr Sultan, and his grandson Mirza Abu Bakr—became prominent leaders of the rebel defense of Delhi.

William Hodson. en.wikipedia.org

Last Mogul kingShah Jafar
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Hodson arresting the last mogul ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar, alamy

The killing of 52 British officers inside the Red Fort by enraged rebels created intense fury among East India Company officials, who blamed Bahadur Shah and his family. After Delhi fell to British forces in September 1857, the EIC was determined to capture and punish the imperial family. Hodson, a daring but erratic officer with a chequered service record, secured permission from Colonel Archdale Wilson to ride to Humayun’s Tomb, where the Emperor and thousands of rebels had taken refuge. Bahadur Shah Zafar surrendered without resistance, handing Hodson his arms, including two exquisite swords—one bearing Nadir Shah’s name and another with Jahangir’s seal—later sent to Queen Victoria as trophies.

The princes, however, were deeply suspicious of Hodson and demanded guarantees of safety. Eventually, surrounded by thousands of disarmed rebels, they submitted. Hodson placed them on a bullock cart for transport to Delhi. Near the city walls, at the historic gate later known as Khooni Darwaza, Hodson abruptly ordered the princes to dismount and strip off their upper garments. Before the stunned crowd, he confiscated their rings and jeweled weapons, seized a carbine from one of his troopers, and shot all three princes dead at point-blank range. The bodies were displayed outside the Kotwali as a grim message to Delhi’s population. The killings were carried out without trial, inquiry, or provocation—an act remembered across India as one of the ugliest episodes of British vengeance.
Khooni Darwaza,,Delhi en.wikipedia.org

Above image: Bahadur Shah Zafar's sons Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan and grandson Mirza Abu Bakht, were shot by a British officer, Major William Hodson.......

Hodson’s ruthless action drew sharp criticism even within the British ranks. Lord Dalhousie had earlier removed him from civil duties for arbitrary behavior, and officers like Frederick Roberts considered the executions a permanent “blot.” Yet Victorian Britain celebrated Hodson as a fearless soldier; politicians praised his role in retaking Delhi, and Queen Victoria rewarded his widow with a grace-and-favour residence at Hampton Court.

Hodson himself did not live long after the killings. On 11 March 1858, during fighting at Begum Kothi in Lucknow, he was fatally shot by a rebel. Buried at La Martiniere College, his monument proclaims, “Here lies all that could die of William Stephen Raikes Hodson”—a fittingly ambiguous epitaph for a man remembered as both a daring cavalryman and the executioner of the last Mughal heirs. Based on the old post

https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2016/11/william-hodson-killer-of-last-mogul.html