Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c24.s4.10

v2.c24.s4.10

The plunder that Abdali carried away from India was valued by contemporary reporters differently, at 3, 4, 9 and even 12 krores of Rupees. The human booty of war included Hazrat Begam (the maiden daughter of Emperor Muhammad Shah.) This princess, on reaching her 16th year, in February 1756, had excited the passion of Alamgir II, who had shamelessly demanded her hand in marriage, but the girl had replied, “I prefer death to [such a] marriage.” And now this tender lamb was to be pounced upon by a fierce Afghan of grandfatherly age, whose two ears had been docked and nose was rotting from a leprous carbuncle. At Abdāli’s demand for her hand, there was wailing and alarm in the imperial harem. The two Dowager-empresses cried out, “We shall slay her and then kill ourselves, but we will not give her to an Afghan.” Fruitless efforts were then made to save her, by bribing Mughlāni Begam to report to Abdāli that the girl was really not handsome enough for him, and later by Alamgir II falsely swearing that she had been betrothed to a Delhi prince.