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Why was Bahadur Shah II exiled to Rangoon after the Indian Rebellion of 1857?
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Mughal dynasty
Emperors (from left, seated) Jahangir, Akbar, and Shah Jahan are depicted with their ministers (foreground) and Prince Dara Shikoh in a watercolor from India, c. 1630ā40.
Bahadur Shah II was exiled to Rangoon because he was compelled by rebelling sepoys to accept nominal leadership during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Although he was a titular ruler who associated himself with the uprising reluctantly, his involvement made him a central figure in the eyes of the British authorities.12
After the British army recaptured Delhi in September 1857, Bahadur Shah was arrested and put on trial. While he was spared the death penalty, the British government chose to exile him and his family to Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), to effectively end the Mughal dynasty and solidify British control over India. He remained in exile until his death in 1862.1342