PBA Galleries

169 pp. 32x20.5 cm (12½x8"), modern blue wrappers.

Transcript of the trial of the last Moghul emperor, styled the "King of Delhi," for his participation in, or at least non-resistance to, the Sepoy Rebellion or Indian Mutiny of 1857.  By the time Bahadur Shah began his reign in 1837, the mighty Moghul Empire had shrunk to include only the city of Delhi and surrounding towns, though the main power was wielded by the East India Company, who supplied Bahadur with a pension. The rebellion of the Sepoy troops in 1857 thrust Bahadur into the forefront, and for a while he gave his support to the cause. This led to his trial and conviction for conspiracy and other crimes, and he was place in exile in Burma, where he died in 1862. The caption title is headed "Return to an order of the honourable the House of Commons, dated 24 March 1858, a copy 'of the evidence taken before the court appointed for the trial of the King of Delhi'" This transcript is surprisingly scarce - OCLC/World Cat lists only three copies, at the Universiteit Leiden, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Texas.  Accompanied by "Copy of a Letter of the Chief Commissioner of the Punjab, forwarding to the Governor General of India, the Proceedings on the Trial of the King of Delhi," 9, [1] pp., 1859.