In the last phase, Wajid Ali Shah started loving the animals and birds of the zoo more than the Begums.
The British government had already decided that after the death of the last king of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah, none of his descendants would be able to claim the royal inheritance. The Emperor’s life ended on 21 September 1887. Soon the British government started auctioning the properties of Garden Ridge in Calcutta, where the Emperor had spent the last three decades of his life, and those things which could remind of the monarchy. This list also included the animals and birds of the zoo, which the King had grown to love more than the Begums in his last days.
The Nawab of Bahawalpur and the ambassador of Afghanistan were also involved in the purchase. Alipore Zoo Director Ram Brahm Sanyal had bought two rhinos for Rs 2,000 and a very big rat for sixty rupees. By February 1888, a total amount of thirty thousand rupees was collected from the auction of the zoo in which the Emperor had spent lavishly in collecting rare indigenous and foreign animals and birds. Read the situation after the death of Wajid Ali Shah.
No one will have the title of king in future
Wajid Ali Shah was told that the title of king would end with him and none of his heirs would be able to stake claim to it. Nevertheless, after the death of the Emperor on 21 September 1887, the British government was worried that his elder son Prince Qamar Qadr might create a rebellion-like situation by laying claim to the throne.
Wajid Ali Shah.
The government was conscious that looting of the emperor’s wealth should not start after his death. By this time there were about five thousand people in Garden Ridge, whose livelihood depended on the Emperor. Apart from this, about one thousand family members or their servants including two married and other two-hundred and fifty-two-hundred begums, twenty-one sons and twenty-six daughters were included.
Advance of two rupees for reply to telegram
The king had not made any will. In such a situation, the government feared that the property dispute in his huge family could also take a violent form. A week before the Emperor’s death, a reporter for the Statesman newspaper wrote, “The Emperor is lying in bed and his servants are cleaning his belongings. His belongings are even being taken away in carts.”
Begum Khasmahal, the first married lady of the Emperor, sent three telegrams to the Lieutenant Governor. In one of these, an amount of Rs 2 was paid for reply telegram expenses. The telegram contained a prayer, “May God and Her Majesty bless you and Queen Victoria. I trust that the widow will receive your mercy. Two rupees have already been paid for a reply to the telegram.” He received no response to this appeal. The concerned clerk wanted to know about the refund of Rs 2. He was advised to forget it.
The Great Gate of Kaiserbagh was part of the Nawab’s property. Photo: Getty Images
Dozens of shareholders of the king’s property
Colonel Prideaux was responsible for collecting details of the property of the Emperor’s Garden Ridge estate and auctioning it. Under Muslim law, the emperor’s two surviving married wives and 47 legitimate children were entitled to the emperor’s property. There was very little jewelery left. It is possible that the king might have distributed these among all his Muttah Begums.
When Prideaux asked Bhikan Khan, the custodian of the royal jewels, for their return, he replied that he did not have any jewels. Muttah Begums falsified the details recorded in their name register. Some said they had sold them. Prideaux felt that efforts in this regard would only increase disharmony and achieve nothing. Therefore, it is better to take leisure by auctioning whatever is visible and in possession.
Total property worth nine lakhs
For the purpose of auctioning the immovable properties as well as silver plated beds, chandeliers and precious furnishings, the price was fixed at Rs 9 lakh. Two British companies came forward for this purchase. The auction work was completed between the second week of March 1888 and the first week of June 1888. Prince Qamar Qadr tried to stop the sale of Sultankhana and Gosain Sultani, the residences of the Emperor, on the grounds that small mosques and Imambaras were built inside them. An argument was also given for offering namaz in the mosque.
The officers did not want to postpone the auction. The government lawyer suggested that barricading should be done around the mosque. By the mid-1890s, the southern part of Sultan Khana, the Emperor’s residence, became the residence of the General Manager of the Railways. Due to the efforts of the prince, a small mosque could be saved. At present, there is a graveyard named Sibtainabad Imambara on Wajid Ali Shah Road in the name of Garden Ridge sign. There his grave is in a small room surrounded by glass and iron mesh.
The emperor had spent lavishly to collect rare indigenous and foreign animals and birds in the zoo. Photo: AI Generated
most precious zoo
Before the Emperor’s death, British agents had estimated that the most valuable of his existing possessions were probably the machinery of the Zoo and the Gas-Water Institute. By October 1887, all the animals in the zoo started dying due to lack of care and food. Rutledge, the famous animal expert of Calcutta, who had arranged for a lot of animals and birds for this zoo during the reign of the Emperor, was attached to this work on the condition of commission of ten percent of the auction amount. Along with making the list, those birds which were camping on nearby buildings also had to be brought back.
Rutledge was also entrusted with the responsibility of feeding the animals and birds to keep them alive before selling them. Rutledge was given the responsibility of keeping an eye on the large number of servants who remained, along with the responsibility of the king’s stables and his carriages.
Also read: Divorced 27 begums in one day, shocking stories from Wajid Ali Shah’s harem
Garden Ridge became deserted in a few months
It was found that birds would fetch a higher price if sold in cages rather than in flocks. Eighteen thousand pigeons and other birds were caught from the houses of Garden Ridge and transported in cages. Deers roaming in the parks were surrounded. About a hundred peacocks were caught. The Nawab of Bahawalpur and the Ambassador of Afghanistan also bought some animals. Alipore Zoo Director Ram Brahm Sanyal had bought two rhinos for Rs 2,000 and a very big rat for sixty rupees.
By February 1888, the zoo in which the Emperor had spent lavishly in collecting rare indigenous and foreign animals and birds, was deserted. Milton & Company and Prideaux, who conducted the auction, believed that due to better arrangements, the amount of thirty thousand rupees collected from the auction was quite satisfactory. Another thing is that this was not even a small part of the huge amount that the king had spent on this hobby.
Within a few months, thousands of people who were dependent in one way or the other, left for somewhere else to seek employment or continued to struggle in Calcutta. It was the most difficult time for the begums and their descendants, because they had never done any work and no king was now in charge of them.
Also read: How did the Pardhanshi Rajmata reach the British doorstep to return the power of Awadh?
