Sultana Begum, 60, the great-granddaughter-in-law of India's last Mughal emperor, bahadur shah zafar, fights for her life in a dilapidated slum on the outskirts of Kolkata.
She used to be a member of a wealthy and powerful family, but today she lives in poverty and struggles. Sultana lives in a small two-room hut in Kolkata's Howrah slum, despite her regal ancestry. In sharp contrast to the splendor her family previously experienced, she uses public taps for water and shares a kitchen with her neighbors. As she struggles to meet her basic necessities, the wealth and magnificence of the Mughal era are now only a faint memory.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, Sultana Begum's great-grandfather-in-law, was the final ruler of the Mughal dynasty, which dominated india for more than three centuries. By the time he took the throne in 1837, at the age of sixty-two, the empire had already begun to decline. Much of India's political and military activities had been taken over by the british East india Company, and his authority was mainly restricted to Delhi's red Fort.
Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the uprising's symbolic leader during the indian Rebellion of 1857. But once the british put an end to the uprising, he was taken into custody, accused of treason, and banished to Rangoon, which is now Yangon in Myanmar. He stayed there until his death in 1862.
Sultana Begum living in poverty
When Sultana lost her husband, Prince mirza Bedar Bukht, in the 1980s, her life took a terrible turn. Sultana Begum was fourteen years old, and her spouse was forty-six. She has battled severe poverty ever since. She used to lead a simple but secure life, but these days she struggles every day to make ends meet.
Sultana barely makes enough money to maintain herself and her six children on a paltry pension of Rs. 6,000 per month, despite her royal ancestry. Her words, "I don't know how we get by," "My other daughters and their families are struggling too, so they can't help us."
She shares a small, cramped house with Madhu Begum, her unmarried daughter. The indian government has given her little to no support, despite the historical significance of her family being widely known. She has been begging for help for years, whether it is financial aid or decent accommodation, but nothing has changed.
Support from human rights activists
Human rights advocates and concerned individuals have asked for action in recent years to protect India's royal descendants, many of whom were left in a difficult situation following the fall of the Mughal dynasty and the end of british control.
The lengthy history of Sultana's forefathers adds even more tragedy to her story. bahadur shah zafar, her great-grandfather-in-law, was the head of a powerful empire once. However, the violent suppression of the 1857 Rebellion brought to the fall of the Mughal monarchy and ended his reign in chaos.
She used to be a member of a wealthy and powerful family, but today she lives in poverty and struggles. Sultana lives in a small two-room hut in Kolkata's Howrah slum, despite her regal ancestry. In sharp contrast to the splendor her family previously experienced, she uses public taps for water and shares a kitchen with her neighbors. As she struggles to meet her basic necessities, the wealth and magnificence of the Mughal era are now only a faint memory.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, Sultana Begum's great-grandfather-in-law, was the final ruler of the Mughal dynasty, which dominated india for more than three centuries. By the time he took the throne in 1837, at the age of sixty-two, the empire had already begun to decline. Much of India's political and military activities had been taken over by the british East india Company, and his authority was mainly restricted to Delhi's red Fort.
Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the uprising's symbolic leader during the indian Rebellion of 1857. But once the british put an end to the uprising, he was taken into custody, accused of treason, and banished to Rangoon, which is now Yangon in Myanmar. He stayed there until his death in 1862.
Sultana Begum living in poverty
When Sultana lost her husband, Prince mirza Bedar Bukht, in the 1980s, her life took a terrible turn. Sultana Begum was fourteen years old, and her spouse was forty-six. She has battled severe poverty ever since. She used to lead a simple but secure life, but these days she struggles every day to make ends meet.
Sultana barely makes enough money to maintain herself and her six children on a paltry pension of Rs. 6,000 per month, despite her royal ancestry. Her words, "I don't know how we get by," "My other daughters and their families are struggling too, so they can't help us."
She shares a small, cramped house with Madhu Begum, her unmarried daughter. The indian government has given her little to no support, despite the historical significance of her family being widely known. She has been begging for help for years, whether it is financial aid or decent accommodation, but nothing has changed.
Support from human rights activists
Human rights advocates and concerned individuals have asked for action in recent years to protect India's royal descendants, many of whom were left in a difficult situation following the fall of the Mughal dynasty and the end of british control.
The lengthy history of Sultana's forefathers adds even more tragedy to her story. bahadur shah zafar, her great-grandfather-in-law, was the head of a powerful empire once. However, the violent suppression of the 1857 Rebellion brought to the fall of the Mughal monarchy and ended his reign in chaos.
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