The term Salatin was used for the Mughal princes who lived in the Red Fort along with their families. Jahandar Shah (1712-13) had made them virtual prisoners; he passed a law that did not allow them to go out of the fort, perhaps in order to preserve their privileged status in the eyes of the people.

With the passage of time their number increased, as Mughal emperors and princes were in the habit of keeping large numbers of women in their harem. Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) was known to have a large harem. For months he would live in their company and not come out to hold court. Shah Alam (1760-1806) had, in his harem, more than 500 women as wives and mistresses, and had 70 sons. He was a habitual womaniser and a licentious person. His son, Akbar Shah, had by the age of 18 already married 18 women.

In 1836, the number of salatin was 795, which by 1848 increased to 2,104. All of them were bound to live in the fort. Eunuchs were given the task to frequently check their presence in their quarters. A woman was appointed to look after the women and children and inform the king about their condition. In the evening their houses were locked from outside and keys were handed over to the in-charge of the fort. Any attempt to escape was regarded as a crime. In spite of these restrictions, some of the princes escaped and took refuge in independent states where they were welcomed as royal guests.

As the emperor had limited financial resources, the families of the princes received only a small allowance. This kept them in perpetual poverty. To meet their expenses they turned towards moneylenders. When they could not repay the loan and interest, cases were filed against them in the judicial courts. For example, in 1848, Jagat Singh submitted to the emperor that Mirza Timur had taken a loan of Rs6,000 which he had not paid back. The emperor ordered the prince to pay back his loan. Bahadur Shah on May 8, 1848, wrote a letter to all princes asking them not to take any loan from moneylenders because, in case of non-payment, they had to appear before a judge at the court which was an insult to the royal family.

The allowances of the direct descendents of the emperor were more than that of the distant ones. The daily allowance of the princes of lower category was one to five rupees, but most of the time they would not even get this meagre amount as the emperor had exhausted his own funds. When they faced financial crisis, they protested by wailing and crying in order to make the emperor redress their grievances. In such a situation, the emperor had to take loan from moneylenders.

Sometimes they had to take some extreme steps, for instance on August 8, 1846, Bahadur Shah wrote a letter to the British Resident that his monthly allowance should not be sent directly to the Fort as he had come to know that the salatin were planning to loot it on its way.

Major Cunningham who visited the fort, after seeing the miserable condition of the salatin, observed that “The salatin quarter consists of an immense high wall so that nothing can overlook it. Within this are numerous mat huts in which these wretched objects live. When the gates were opened there was a rush of miserable, half-naked, starving beings who surrounded us. Some men apparently eighty years old were almost in a state of nature, who from earliest infancy had been shut up; other young men, sons of kings whose mothers had either died or were not in favour... other young children who had the space within these walls to look forward to as their world. The utmost allowed was a few blankets during the cold weather, distributed as if by the king, but in fact by a private charity of Seton.”

At one stage the East India Company tried to solve the problems of the salatin and proposed to open a college within the premises of the fort to educate them in order to appoint them in the service of the Company. The plan was dropped on the consideration that if they could not get jobs, they would create more problems for the Company.

Therefore, it was decided that they should be left where they were. W. H. Sleeman in Rambles and Reflections of an Indian Official writes “Better let them shift for themselves, and quietly sink among the crowd. They could only become rallying points for the dissatisfaction and multitude sources of disaffection everywhere doing mischief, and nowhere doing good. Let loose upon society, they everywhere disgust people by their insolence and knavery, against which we are every day required to protect the people by our interference; ... they will sink by and by into utter insignificance.”

The Revolt of 1847 changed the history of the Mughal dynasty. Two of the sons of Bahadur Shah were killed by Hudson. The youngest one, Jawan Bakht, was exiled along with the emperor. Prince Firuz, another son, took refuge in Makkah, Prince Fakhruddin was injured in 1857 and spent the rest of his life as a pauper in the city of Delhi. The last emperor died in 1852 at Rangoon.

The rest of the salatin left the fort and after wandering from one place to another finally disappeared in the crowd.
From time to time some individuals and families claim to be the descendants of the royal family, but nobody takes notice of their claim or provide them any privilege or concession. If at all they belong to the great Mughals, they have lost all glamour and glory which was associated with the family. Now, they are simply commoners.

History teaches us the lesson that those who rely on noble lineage and depend on income from inherited property for a living end up in poverty and misery.