[3][4] As the eldest son of Najib-ud-Daula, Zabita Khan had succeeded him and was invested as Mir Bakhshi (Head of the Mughal Army) by Shah Alam II on 29 December 1770.

[3] During this campaign Ghulam Kadir, aged eight to ten, was captured in Ghausgarh (near Hasanpur Luhari in today's Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh) on 14 September 1777[6] as part of Zabita Khan's family,[7][8] while his father managed to escape.

There he grew up in a "gilded cage" in the Qudsia Bagh:[9] Shah Alam II called Ghulam Kadir his son (farzand)[7] and granted him the title of Raushan-ud-Daula.

[12] As resentment against Ghulam Qadir grew in the palace, Shah Alam II sent him back to his father, Zabita Khan, who had regained the imperial favour once more and had again been established as Mir Bakhshi.

According to the historian Jadunath Sarkar, the nazir – who is said to have personally saved Ghulam Qadir's life in Ghausgarh in 1777 – intended to use him to curb Hindu influence over the Mughal emperor.

This action forced Shah Alam II to reluctantly establish him as Mir Bakhshi and regent of the Mughal empire and granting him the title amir al-umara.

[19] To consolidate his position at Shah Alam II's court, Ghulam Qadir tried to secure the support of Begum Samru, the wife of Walter Reinhardt,[20] and ruler of the principality of Sardhana, who had considerable influence at this time.

"[32] In his quest to secure Mughal treasure, Ghulam Qadir tortured the Timurid imperial family and it is said that 21 princes and princesses were killed.

[38] Then an attack was conducted by the combined forces of the Marathas, of Begum Samru and of the turned Ismail Beg, which Ghulam Qadir's Rohillas could not withstand indefinitely.

After the explosion of a powder magazine, that Ghulam Qadir saw as an omen, he abandoned Delhi Fort at 10 October 1787[39] with his remaining troops.

He reached Bamnauli (Uttar Pradesh), where he sought refuge in a house of a Brahman and offered him a reward for a horse and a guide, who could lead him to Ghausgarh.

[48] According to Jadunath Sarkar and Herbert Compton, the saddlebags of Ghulam Qadir stuffed with valuables looted from Delhi fell into the hands of Lestineau, who took them to the United Kingdom for his retirement.

[46][47] Then Mahadaji Shinde ordered his ears to be cut off, and the next days nose, tongue and upper lip were sent to the emperor in a casket.