Dalhousie’s policy inflamed the Muslims. After losing all territories and power, the Mughul Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was receiving pension from the British and his authority was confined only to Red Fort of Delhi. Dalhousie proposed that the imperial title would be discontinued after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar and that his successor would have to vacate the palaces in the Red Fort of Delhi and move to the Qutub Sahib near Delhi.
The Mughul Emperor was a symbol of the Muslims glory in the subcontinent. The proposal hurt the sentiments of the Muslims in particular. The feelings of frustration and disaffection were aggravated by the annexation of Awadh, the premier Muslim state. That is why the rebellion assumed a popular character and became an uprising of the princes, landlords, religious leaders and peasants.