Besieged

When Delhi was besieged for five months in 1857, described as ghadar or a time of turbulence, the rebel government under Bahadur Shah Zafar mobilized resources, labour, funds, and maintained bureaucracy to resist the British.

Mahmood Farooqui's translations of Persian and Shikastah Urdu documents from the Mutiny Papers chronicle the daily struggles of courtesans, soldiers, potters, spies, faqirs, doctors, and policemen, shifting focus to the hopes, beliefs, and failures of ordinary people during the tragic end of an era.