Red FORT
The administrative and fiscal structure of the Mughals declined after Aurangzeb, and the 18th century saw a degeneration of the palace. When Jahandar Shah took over the Red Fort in 1712, it had been without an emperor for 30 years. Within a year of beginning his rule, Shah was murdered and replaced by Farukhsiyar. To raise money, the silver ceiling of the Rang Mahal was replaced by copper during this period. Muhammad Shah, known as Rangila (the Colourful) for his interest in art, took over the Red Fort in 1719. In 1739, Persian emperorNadir Shah easily defeated the Mughal army, plundering the Red Fort (including thePeacock Throne). Nadir Shah returned to Persia after three months, leaving a destroyed city and a weakened Mughal empire to Muhammad Shah.[9]:09 The internal weakness of the Mughal empire made the Mughals titular heads of Delhi, and a 1752 treaty made theMarathas protectors of the throne at Delhi.[12][13] The 1758 Maratha conquest of Lahore andPeshawar[14] placed them in conflict with Ahmad Shah Durrani.[15][16] In 1760, the Marathasremoved and melted the silver ceiling of the Diwan-i-Khas to raise funds for the defence of Delhi from the armies of Ahmed Shah Durrani.[17][18] In 1761, after the Marathas lthird battle of Panipat, Delhi was raided by Ahmed Shah Durrani. Ten years later, Shah Alamascended the throne in Delhi with Maratha support.[9]:10 In 1783 the Sikh Misl Karorisinghia, led by Baghel Singh Dhaliwal, conquered Delhi and the Red Fort. The Sikhs agreed to restore Shah Alam as emperor and retreat from the fort if the Mughals would build (and protect) seven Gurudwaras in Delhi for the Sikh gurus.[19]
During the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1803, forces of British East India Companydefeated Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi; this ended Maratha rule of the city and their control of the Red Fort.[20] After the battle, the British took over the administration of Mughal territories and installed a Resident at the Red Fort.[9]:11 The last Mughal emperor to occupy the fort, Bahadur Shah II ("Zafar"), became a symbol of the 1857 rebellion against the British (in which the residents of Shahjahanbad participated).[9]:15
Despite its position as the seat of Mughal power and its defensive capabilities, the Red Fort was not defended during the 1857 uprising against the British. After the rebellion failed, Bahadur Shah II left the fort on 17 September and was apprehended by British forces. He returned to Red Fort as a prisoner of the British, was tried in 1858 and exiled to Rangoon on 7 October of that year.[21] With the end of Mughal reign, the British sanctioned the systematic plunder of valuables from the fort's palaces. All furniture was removed or destroyed; the harem apartments, servants' quarters and gardens were destroyed, and a line of stone barracks built.[22] Only the marble buildings on the east side at the imperial enclosure escaped complete destruction, but were looted and damaged. While the defensive walls and towers were relatively unharmed, more than two-thirds of the inner structures were destroyed by the British; steps were later taken byLord Curzon to repair some damage.
After Indian Independence the site experienced few changes, and the Red Fort continued to be used as a cantonment. A significant part of the fort remained under Indian Army control until 22 December 2003, when it was given to the Archaeological Survey of India for restoration.[23][24] In 2009 the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India under Supreme Court directions to revitalise the fort, was announced.[25][26][27]
