Darbhanga: A slice of Mughal history lies ignored in Darbhanga, around 145km north-east of Patna. Mirza Zubairuddin Bahadur Gorgan, eldest grandson of the last Mughal king Bahadur Shah Zafar II, is buried on the south-western corner of Dighi Tank in Darbhanga. He died in Darbhanga in 1905.
He lived his last years during the Darbhanga Raj. Though his ancestors lived in luxurious palaces, Gorgan's was a life of gloom.
Following first war for Independence in 1857, Gorgan, his wife Mehrun Nissa and a son had to struggle for survival. Under extreme circumstances, he was compelled to live in Varanasi in destitution. Historian and principal of MLSM College in Darbhanga, Mushtaque Ahmed, has written in his book Aaatish-e-Pinahan in 2004 that Maharaja Rameshwar Singh went to Varanasi in 1881 and came to know about Gorgan's condition.
"Respecting the legacy of a long friendship between the Dharbhanga Raj and the Mughal empire, Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh Bahadur invited Gorgan to come and stay in Darbhanga. Gorgan could not turn down the invitation. He came to Darbhanga with his family in 1881 and lived in luxury," Mushtaque said.
Like his grandfather Bahadur Shah Zafar II, Gorgan was a poet and spent the last years of his life in Darbhanga writing poetic verses, Chamanistan-i-Sukhan and Mashnabi Durre Sahsawar. He also wrote a memoir, Mauj-i-Sultani, that chronicles his ties with the Darbhanga Raj.
"Gorgan's only son died of cholera in 1883 and a year later he lost his wife too. Gorgan tried to leave Darbhanga after his loved ones died, but was persuaded by Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh to stay on," Mushtaque said. "He lived in Darbhanga for the rest of his life, finally breathing his last in 1905. After his death, a tomb was commissioned for him by Maharaja Rameshwar Singh."
Despite this history, authorities concerned have not paid heed to the historical and archaeological importance of the tomb, said Abdul Subhan Warsi, the tomb's khadim (caretaker).