Neglected grave of last Mughal king reflects exile in poverty

The last emperor of the royal dynasty that built the Taj Mahal lies buried in a nondescript tomb in Yangon - thousands of kilometres from Delhi, the city from where the Mughal ruled India.

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal ruler, was captured by the British after the fall of Delhi in 1857 and banished to Yangon, then called Rangoon, sounding the death knell of the royal Muslim dynasty that had ruled India since 1526.

The exiled emperor passed his last days in abject poverty with his wife, Zeenat Mahal, and two children, until his death in 1862. Thirty years later, Indians living in Yangon built a simple brick-and-mortar memorial over his grave. Neglected for more than 110 years, the memorial is in such a run-down state that its impoverished keepers have appealed to the Indian government for funds to repair the crumbling tomb on Ziwaka Road, near Yangon's biggest tourist attraction, the glittering, gold-encrusted Shwedagon pagoda.

'We have written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for financial assistance to renovate the memorial before it collapses,' said caretaker Nazir Ahmed.

'Bahadur Shah was one of the great rulers of India who fought British imperialism till his last breath. It is only befitting that New Delhi does not forget him and pays for the upkeep of a piece of Indian history in an alien land.'

The dilapidated tomb figures on the itinerary of every visiting Indian dignitary, including prime ministers, and the Indian embassy in Yangon has occasionally made small donations.