6/ Similarly, Bahadur Shah Zafar is often depicted as a patriotic symbol of the 1857 rebellion, a narrative propagated by leftist scholars. However, the rebellion was not a unified “war of independence” but a coalition of disparate groups with varying objectives. Zafar’s role was more symbolic than strategic, and the narrative of Hindu-Muslim unity during the rebellion overlooks the deeper socio-political divides of the time. Such portrayals serve to romanticize figures and periods of history without addressing the complex realities.