Jahandar Shah sat on the throne of the Mughal Sultan after defeating his brothers, but could not hold power even for a year.
After the death of Bahadur Shah (I) in 1712, a fight broke out between his sons for the Mughal Sultanate. Eventually, Jahandar Shah got successful and sat on the throne of the Mughal Empire. Jahandar Shah was infamous for his debauchery and colorful temper. As soon as he assumed the throne of the Mughal Empire, in a way he handed over the entire power to Lal Kunwar, who was his concubine.
Jahandar Shah became a puppet of Kanij
Lal Kunwar was the daughter of Khasurat Khan, a singer in the Mughal court, who belonged to the household of Miyan Tansen. Lal Kunwar was almost twice the age of Jahandar Shah (Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah). She was famous for her beauty and dancing. R.V. was knowledgeable about Delhi and Mughal history. Smith writes in an article in 'The Hindu' that Lal Kunwar had completely subdued Jahandar Shah.
Due to debauchery, Jahandar Shah lost his power
As soon as Jahandar Shah assumed power, Lal Kunwar was given the status of his queen and given the title of 'Imtiyaz Mughal'. Most of his time was spent in the fame of Lal Kunwar. Lal Kunwar took advantage of this and first got her family members appointed as mansabs and got them jagirs from the Mughal Empire. After this, one by one, she got her relatives appointed to all the powerful posts.
Had gouged out the eyes of his sons
Coming under the control of Lal Kunwar, Jahandar Shah started committing cruelty. According to historians, Jahandar Shah's real son did not like Lal Kunwar. So she demanded Jahandar Shah gouge out the eyes of his sons and put them in prison. Jahandar Shah did the same. Another story of his cruelty is famous. Once, just for the fun of it, he drowned a boat full of people and kept laughing at the people's cries.
Jahandar Shah attended court completely naked
Jahandar Shah sometimes used to go to the court completely naked and sometimes he used to wear women's clothes and hold the court. Because of these antics of Jahandar Shah, he got the name 'Idiot Mughal King' and he came to be called the most foolish emperor of Mughal history.
Stayed on the throne for 9 months, then was brutally killed
Jahandar was able to stay on the throne of the Mughal Empire for only 9 months and his nephew Farrukhsiyar opened a front against him. After the defeat on 6 January 1713, he, along with Lal Kunwar, fled and took refuge in Delhi. Here he was imprisoned and later brutally murdered in the prison itself.
Some people claim that Jahandar Shah was murdered by Farrukhsiyar only, but there is no strong evidence of this.
