We know of the tragic end of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal king who passed away in Rangoon and was buried there after living in exile for couple of years while yearning for his home in these words, kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar, dafn ke liye / do guz zameen bhi na mili, ku-e-yaar me.
Zafar was known for his poetic excellence and finery and secular ideals — apart from his marvelous ghazals filled with pathos, the king was a composer of many geet on Indian festivals and customs. He was an old man at the time of the first war of Independence in 1857 and therefore, did not have many years to live when dispatched from Delhi to Rangoon in the sweltering summer of 1858.
While this poignant part of history with some or no understanding is known to most Indians, perhaps most would have no idea that the Burmese king was brought to India in somewhat similar circumstances, condemned by the British to live a life of exile. This happened just after three decades of the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar in a foreign land.
The Burmese king, Thibaw was an energetic young ruler who had started organising his people and was striving to provide good administration to his people. He wanted to transform the social, cultural and economic life of Burma, now Myanmar. But the worst sin he committed was to try to reform the military, an idea that was abhorrent to the British. They could not tolerate his treaty with the French and display of free streaks; let alone show of any defiance by a subjugated nation and its beleaguered monarchy.
The result was capture of the king along with the immediate members of his family and award of a sentence to live in exile beyond his homeland. The royal entourage was finally allowed to disembark at the sylvan surroundings of Ratnagiri in 1885. They initially stayed in a temporary accommodation while the construction of a house was commissioned.
The king took keen interest in supervising the building of his house which came to be known as Thibaw Palace. The Thibaw Palace is typically Burmese in architectural design and ethos, raised on Burma teak and conspicuous in its soft splendour on a red sandy hillock of Ratnagiri. It was built then at a princely sum of Rs 1,20,000. It came to be inhabited by the king, queen, their two daughters, his mother and some others.
The king passed away in exile in 1916, followed by his wife in 1920. A visit to the palace, which now houses a small museum of memorabilia of the bygone era, touches your heart. History shows how through treachery and force, King Thibaw was dispossessed by the British of his inheritance and lineage, like they did earlier with Zafar.
The British imperialism thus, marched rough shod over all resistance across the continents as country after country fell before its naval power, organised armies, newer technology and the wily statecraft practiced through deceit, treachery and divisive strategies. It is a study in contrast that a nation which had very well developed democracy at home and the recipient of Rights of Man as granted to its people by the Magna Carta, had no qualms in suppressing democratic aspirations abroad.
The markets of subjugated nations provided them economic impetus and cheap labour. Overall, this yoke of slavery proved very costly as from Africa to Asia, untold misery visited those who dared to challenge foreign rule and huge sacrifices had to be made by those fighting for freedom. To be fair, there were saner elements as well. Some British thinkers and activists of the time raised their voices against forced occupation and wanted the right of self-determination to be exercised by the subjugated nationalities. Their support did provide some feeble but desperately needed help to the freedom fighters of respective countries in organising themselves in their fight to liberate their lands from foreign occupation.