The Sovereign, Subject and Colonial Justice

Book excerpt: This volume analyzes the trial of Bahadur Shah, a watershed moment in the 19th-century colonial history of India. The trial of Bahadur Shah raises the contentious issue of sovereignty – trial of Emperor Bahadur Shah, de jure power by de facto claimant to power, the English East India Company. There has been a lot of confusion and controversy over the trial ever since the proceedings began – its main architects could not define if it really was a juristic trial, a court of enquiry, a court-martial, or a general enquiry? This book sheds light on this event through the original, unprinted manuscript of the Trial at the end of the uprising of the 1857. It critically investigates the trial, mainly its architecture, grammar, functioning, and findings from historical, political, and juridical perspectives to determine, as far as possible, the actual position of Emperor Bahadur Shah, his strengths, and his weaknesses. Further, it examines the Rebellion of 1857, particularly in Delhi, and Bahadur Shah’s role therein. A key reading on justice in colonial history, this volume will be of interest to researchers and scholars of colonial and imperial history, modern history, political theory, and South Asia studies. It will also be of great interest to general readers interested in learning about the colonization of India by the British and its commercial arm East India Company.