Forsaken by allDespite being the descendants of India’s last emperor, the family has received no consistent support from the wider Muslim community, whose leadership and institutions have often championed the cause of justice and heritage—but curiously not theirs. The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, a symbolic custodian of Mughal-era faith and architecture, turned deaf ears to their pleas. The Waqf Boards, with their vast landholdings and revenues, have never offered the family a home, nor even basic monthly assistance.Prominent political leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi, who often invoke the memory of past Muslim rulers in speeches, have ignored the plight of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s descendants entirely. Roshan Ara remarks bitterly, “Owaisi does politics in Aurangzeb’s name. Zafar’s family doesn’t interest him.”Equally silent have been the many Islamic charities, NGOs, and zakat fund managers who annually raise crores in the name of uplifting the poor and preserving dignity. If any family should have been symbolically and materially supported as a testament to legacy and resistance, it is this one. Their neglect of Sultana’s household raises uncomfortable questions about the real priorities of these institutions—whether their cause is truly rooted in compassion, or shaped by optics and political calculations.’Is this the price for Zafar’s resistance?’Today, Sultana Begum’s deteriorating health is matched only by the fading memory of her family’s once-sacred role in India’s history. A YouTube channel titled The Last Mughals, launched by Roshan Ara in 2019, initially gained traction and now has 170,000 subscribers. But platform policy changes and monetization rules have made it unreliable, and the ad revenue is not enough to sustain the family.Meanwhile, year after year, she has written letters to the President, the Prime Minister, and various ministries. Her appeals have largely gone unanswered. In 2006, Sultana even threatened self-immolation out of frustration, but it barely made the headlines. The silence has been consistent, and deafening.
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