VhT.'IOM

Who Says

AKBARWas Great ?

Who SaysAkbar Was Great ?

By

P.N. OAK

HINDI SAHITYA SAPAN*m Connaught Circus. New Delhi-UOOO! &**

SonxOthtt t by the same authc

1 Some Bluink'r> of Indian Historical Research

Agra Red Fori Is A Hindu Building; World Vbdlc Heritage

4. Some Missing Chapters of World History1

O P.N. OAK

AU Rights Reserved by the Author

Publishers

Distributors

Edition

Prinleri

P.B.— Rg^25

H.B. — 1U. 300.00

Hindi Sahilya Sadan Ph, : J340064

Hindi Sabiiya Sudan

JO/90, Connaugltt Circus. New Delta- Ilouui

June 2000 .«wmGoyalEnierpnses.Shahda.a. Delta-J2Ph 2225770

CONTENTS

Page

Preface

I The Need for Reassessment

II A Chronology of Akbar's Reign

III Akbar's Vicious Environment

IV Akbar*s Barbarities

V Immorality

VI Drink and Dope Addiction

VII The So-called Marriages were

Blatant Abductions

VIII Conquests

IX The Plunder Economy

X The Chaotic Administration

XI Akbafs Military

XII Taxes

XIII Greed

XIV Personality and Nature

XV Treachery

XV! Hypocrisy

XVII Famines

XV III Fanaticism

XIX Malpractices

MI

16

52

70

120

126

139

153

166

179

192

203

208

215

224

:

244

XX Revolts Calo

\\t Buildings

XXII Din-e-IIahi

Will lustreless Gems

XXIV Scribes.

\\\ Akbar Tomb is a Hindu Palace

Bibliography

Errata

Index

Other Books by the Author

Reviews and Reactions

An Appeal to the Reader

264

282

322

m369

399

401

415

417

422

PREFAC I

In the preface to his eight-volume critical

study of mediaeval Muslim chronicles a well-known

historian, the late Sir H.M. Elliot observes thai

the history or the Muslim era in India is an

"impudent and interested fraud."

But a mere vague realization of a fraud is

not enough. It has to be fullv probed for a

proper appraisal of its gravity.

Instances are not wanting of exposed pick*

pockets dexteriously picking ihe pockets of the

very constables leading them handcuffed to lock-

ups.

Similarly Western scholars like Sir H. M.

Elliot, who have seen through the "fraud'1

have

still been duped by mediaeval Muslim claims in

many respects. I or instance they have failed to

realize that as m other spheres tall claims made

in favour of mediaeval Muslim rulers that they

founded cities and built tombs and mosques by

the hundreds are also "frauds All extant

mediaeval buildings whether forts, palaces, man*

sions, mosques or tombs are of pre-Muslim Rajput

origin. Historians, architects and archaeologists

have blundered, for example, in believing thai

Fatehpur Siku and the Red Forts at Agra and

Delhi wire founded by Mogul emperors- In m\

book titled "Taj Mahal was a Rajput Palace"* and

Its successor volume titled "The Taj Mahal

Hindu Palace/" I have already exposed the "fraud"

thai *hroudft the 'tallest' of the mediaeval monu-

ments namely ihc Taj Mahal. My other book

-Some Blunders of Indian Historical Research

also exposes some other frauds or misconcep-

tions.

The present book on Akbar is intended to

expose vet another -fraud" glibly palmed off.

namely that Akbar was a noble man and a great

long. He was neither. Historical evidence led

in this book goes to prove that far from ranking

as a man and ruler of exemplary conduct Akbar

cannot be classed even with ordinary law-abiding

and God-fearing citizens, He was a law unto

himself. On a proper assessment he turns out to

be one of the most nnmnical, cruel* crafty and

immoral rulers in world history,

Closed minds who consider all questions as

finally settled, are likely to brush aside Akbar's

appraisal in this book, as biassed. Such an attitude

is derogatory to the search for truth.

Because of a time-lag of almost 400 years this

author could have had no reason or occasion for

any personal tiff or brush with emperor Akbar*

I would have, in fact, been very happy and

grateful to Divinity had Akbar really qualified for

greatness. It would have spared millions of his

abject subjects so much misery, torture and humi-liation. And a total foreigner that he was, it

would have been a matter of universal admiration

and unique distinction for him to love as his own

children—as is fatuously claimed—millions ofpeople who had nothing in common with him inthe matter of religion, culture end nationality,

But on a careful study of historical works onAkbar I have felt that to clothe him in raimentof nobility and Divinity, putting him on a pedtal T and throwing a halo of greatness around himis doing a great disservice to logic,history,

historical research and TRUTH.Misinterpreting events, failing to size them up

in their logical context and losing sight of con-

temporary noting* about Akbar's atrocious career

and Machiavellian mental make-up, is not only

unsemantic but is an insult to human intelligence.

But that is exactly what most histories of Akbar's

reign have done. Most of them have been haunted

by the panegyric gloss of Abut Fazal's Akbarnoma.

They haven't had the courage or insight of

Western scholar* who correctly regard the Akbar-

nama to be a tissue of lies. Abul Fazal's owncontemporaries, fellow-chronicler Badayum and

Prince Salim, call him a "shameless flatterer/1

Bloehmann remarks in the preface to his transla-

tion of Abul Fazal's Akbarnama that "Abul

Fazal has far too often been accused by European

writers of nailery and even wilful concealment of

facts damaging to the reputation of his master**.

I wish to point out that in coming to my

conclusions on Akbar's place in history I have

relied solely on the evidence recorded by preced-

ing historians. My own contribution is limited only

to sifting that evidence from piles of glittering,

motivated and interested falsehoods, compiling

and mandwJtfnS " and fldcnn£ explanatory obser-

s to ruh off the fabc ploss pui on gory eW_episodes awl affairs,

findings arc of far-reaching importance

inasmuch as they fell with Hie sledge-hammer of

TRUTH a pari of the false and seductive facade

and ceiling carefully hiding the skeletons and filth

in the Akhar Clipboard ofIndian history.

Hi us would do well to lift then heads

from under the mds of myths, and have a second

look and entertain second thoughts on India's

mediaeval history, to fathom, what Sir H. M.EJli ! calls, us many 'frauds.**

rhta book does not claim to be a complete

chronological narrative of Akbar's life or reign.

It deals with Akbar's historical role with a differ-

ent The scope of this hook is limited to force-

fully impressing on all concerned that Ak bar's

image projected through official dossiers, institu-

nal literature and academic text books is totally

unwarranted and far removed from facts.

Thi> book aims at lifting the thinking on

\kbar from its traditional ruts. Incidentally it

aho achieves as 1 see it—a cohesive and rational

conciliation seemingly contradictory or

incompatible currents running through narratives

of Akbar^ reign.

Falsification of facts, glossing over of uncdify-

mg episodes and wishful interpretation of events

is bound to result in an unsatisfactory, unconvinc-

ing notch pot eh. Tim is the feeling one gels on

reading the usual run of books on Akbar.

U.vj

Pulled on one side by the traditionally djnncd-

iii juvenile notions of Akbar's fancied greatness, and

on the other by damaging facts learned through

mature, adult reading, writer aftej writer has betra-

yed confusion and contradiction in his writings on

Akbar. page after paj*e. I or instance, on page 63

of Ins book Akbar the Great, Vol. I. Professor

Ashirbadi Lul Shnvaslava hads Akbar's so-called

marriage with the daughter of the Jaipur ruler,

Bharmal, as "a significant, event in mediaeval Indian

history inasmuch as u was a voluntary affair on

both sides." And within half-a-dozen lines the

learned professor somersaults and asserts "It must

however be said that the proposal had emanated as

Bharmal was hard-pressed and wanted to save his

famih and state from ruination*"

Such confusion results from an inadequate

understanding and wrong interpretation of Akbar's

baste urges and motives.

The test of TRUTH is that it should reconcile

all seemingly incompatible contemporary evidence

into a homogenous whole, without leaving any

loose, dangling ends. This is what. I feel, 1 have

succeeded in doing in this book thereby providing

an unfailing key to the proper understanding and-

interpretation oi Akbar's actions and behaviour

in particular and of Muslim rule in India, in

general.

—Peoo

Chapter 1

THE NEED FOR REASSESSMENT

A KBAR, the third generation Mogul emperor of™- India, who lived from 1542 to 1605 AD*, has

often heen represented as a great man and a noble

king. This assessment of his personality is

thoroughly unjustified.

Had it been a mere matter of opinion or of

degree it wouldn't have mattered very much if

those who considered Akbar 'Great' chose to hail

him as such. But he was the very antithesis of

sireatness and nobility of character.

If a person donates, let us assume, Rs. 2 for a

charitable cause it would certainly be a matter of

opinion whether or not to glorify him as a generous

donor. If the donor is earning just enough for

mere subsistence his donation of even a modest

Rs. 2 - could be classified as a generous gift. On

the other hand if the donor were a millionaire a

donation or Rs, 2/- by him would have to be

classed as a ludicrously low amount. But all

said and done he would still have to be bracketed

with donors, generous or otherwise. But when

throughout a person's life he is all along engaged

in usury and extortion without ever parting with

so much as a farthing of his own, by no stretch of

imagination can he be glorified as a donor, and a

generous one at that.

Such is the case with Akbar's assessment in

Indian or world hfctoi Not a single act of his

wsi free from cruelty, treachery, craving for

wealth or lust for conquest. And yd he is cited

as an exemp!ar> iuJer and an adorable man. It is

this perversion which rankles.

Whenever such supposedly well-Settled issues

are raked up for re-consideration it is too ea$U)

assumed that the person mghtg the review must

be actuated by malice or bias. It is conveniently

forgotten that there could be something like an

ruTu.Ni re-appraisal, righteous indignation for

falsehood, and a solicitous concern for truth.

Among others who fajl to see the need for a

reappraisal are those who seem to argue that since

Akbar is dead and gone why worry about brand

g him, even assuming that he was a miscreant?

Frum a lay point of view this may be considered

to be sound advice. But on closer scrutiny it

uld be found that the suggestion is not as

simple and innocuous as it looks. It is not this

author who wants to disturb the ghost o\' Ak bar's

memory. Tor whatever it may be worth, had it beencd by universal consent to rest in oblivious

repose. Jn spile of ourselves we rind that the

ghost of Akbar 's greatness continues to be revivedand foisted on generation after generation ofschool and college students. The myth of Akbat

\

greatness is being constantly rubbed Into the mindsof the people through classroom lessons and tesi

papers and other literature. In social and govern-mental business Akbar is held alofi as an ideal

narch and a praiseworthy individual. Whenthe ghusl of his memory is thus being continually

revived and sought to be hoisted on a public

pedestal foi compelling obeisance a check-up on

whether the faith in Akbar's greatness is warranted

hv fact! becomes not only relevant but impera-

tive.

To those who seem 10 say "why rake up the

past.. .let byiinncs be bygones' wc have other

suitable replies too. The\ ought to realize that

history is nothing else but raking up the past.

Moreover, they ought to know that they or their

relations cannot get away from test papers in

history in institutional or public service cxamina-

iu>ns by scrawling a note across their answer papers

saying "Dear Mr. Examiner Since Akbar is dead

and gone why bother your own head and mine by

king me to write about his reign"* This shows

that whether we like it or not history is going to

be with us. II that is so it is ihe duty of every

right-thinking Individual lo see that all that is

written or spoken m the name of history U the

truth, the uhole truth and nothing but the truth.

The very object of teaching or studying history

is to draw appropriate lessons from tl past^ that

i avoid cast mistakes, and derive inspiration from

whatever has been glorious. This very object is

defeated if history is sought, as il vers l> flen is in

India out of mistaken notions ol secularism and

iiu-i'-communal harmony, to be blurred or glossed

over, suppressed or misrepresented,and miscons-

trued,

All knowledge is a ceaseless search far the

truth, and history is a search for the truth about a

, RM**c«*ing Aktert role should

country's P^' *^understood to be an attempt

not .therefore. **'^de '

Wnal this book tries

ifi charter ""grtjft and reign to find out

* d? "^hThad anV character* at all 10 laud,

whether Akbsr had anywe|i.known as

' nrCaPPTha;; tf be T pported with factual

SteU responsibility and willingly accept

the challenge.

Over the centuries accounts of Akbars inennv

matmc «*s of commission and omission have

b«n carefully torn to shreds and swept under His

royal carpet" Those bits are no! easy to salvage

and piece together in the blaze and glamour of the

red carpet which hides them. Attempts to salvage

them have often met with only partial success

because many vital bits have been found missing.

Piecing them together is another laborious task,

And lastly such piecing together is a thankless

task which far from bringing any reward, laurels

or patronage is frowned upon in many quarters.

1 1 ii because of such difficulties that practically

every historian has discreetly chosen to toe the

Jilional line of glorifying Akbar, as the best

part of academic valour and called it a day,

A few Western scholars, well-intentioned andhavl he courage of their conviction, because

free people, no doubt, possessed theimpartial^ lo attempt an honest appraisal but

unfoiiunaich Jacked Ihc intuition and insight

and fathom the alfoi Musliminvaders innate and inicnsc hatred for the Indian

5

people and the invaders' inimitable capacity to

destroy all ancient records and implant their ownspurious versions in Indian history. Even those

like Sir IT.M- Elliot who had the insight to detect

the perversion and falsification as an "impudent

and interested fraud" could not fathom it* depth

and trace its ramifications.

In India the term 'historian' is very often

abused. All those who earn money through teach-

ing or administering history by virtue of their

employment in a school, college, university or the

archaeological and archives departments or by

writing books on history do not qualify to be

termed historians/ The real test is whether history

is in a person's blood and bones, whether he is

constantly pondering over Us missing links and

inconsistencies, whether he is striving to find new

evidence to fill up the blanks, and whether in so

doing he is bringing to bear on history a fresh.

uninhibited, original outlook not wedded to any

dogma or creed ? Such a yearning naturally

presupposes a little out-of-the-way love for and

identification with the country and the people

whose history is being investigated, and not a mere

mercenary connection with the teaching or adminis-

tering of history.

Incidentally this principle automatically ex

plains why the Turks, Arabs. Afghans, Abyssinian*.

Mongols, Uzbeks, Kazaks and Iranians who invad-

ed and occupied India for over a thousand years

had no scruples in falsifying India's history. They

had no love lost for India, Us euliurr or people

XfiT.COM

The> came and stayed to exploit it ro its utmost,

They were lifa n'ts and the assertions made n,

their chronicles ha\e to he handled verj carefully.

Bui wh»\ we find is just the opposite. MediaevalMuslim

.I r ik I which a discerning historian

like Sir H.M. Elliot was constrained to term as

'impudent and interested frauds/' have been treat-

ed is >,icrosanei source materials for piecing to-

gether India's history.

A student of Indian history is likely to ask in

despair that if earlier Hindu records have beenburnt or otherwise destroyed by the Muslim

aders. and if the chronicles written by theinvaders themselves are nol to be believed in whatremains as the source for the reconstruction ofIndian history ? Fortunately we don't have tothrow our hands up in despair. Those very falsi-fied chronicles contain all the evidence wc need toreconstruct history on the chassis of truth.

This leads us to the great importance of thelaw of evidence for historical research. A clearunderstanding of how evidence is sjfted gradedand pieced together in a court of law is essentialtor historical study,

dead bod, ymg unc |a ,med „„ , „»«

«niurie» by human mgenuilv goes Into t

«nd o„ (]„ hody sa ;

J no in vest iga i j4

Lind is noticed

«*• A, fc ttmc tSSJ" * «*"

In the victim's back. Here logic tells the investi-

gator thai since no man can Fatally siab himself

in the back the note is a fake and that it is a clear

ISC of murder This gives us one very important

law of judicial investigation which is very useful

to historical research. Thnt law is that whenever

circumstantial evidence conflicts with a so-called

document The document is a clear forgery. Here

the word 'document* should include not only

writings on parchment but stone and copperplate

inscriptions and all other written record. This

very important law of evidence should alert the

student of history from putting implicit faith in

any inscrip! ion or writing. It should also enable

him to prefer circumstantial evidence and reject

the conflicting wrfting. If this important law is

kept in view many Muslim inscriptions and other

writings in India will be easily detected to be

motivated forgeries.

At some places though the inscribers or

writers themselves have made no claims scholars of

Indian history have committed the grave error

of connecting ihc writing with the creation of

the monument, Thus, for instance Akbar's

inscription on the Buland Darwaza (gateway) at

Fatehpur Sikn, recording his victory over the

Deccan. has been unwarremedly interpreted by

historian after historian to imply that Akbar

erected the lofty Stone galewu\ to comme-

morate his victory over the Deccan. This

speculation could never lead to an} decisive

conclusion since the very assumption that the

inscription on it commemorates the creation of

aHi

_nc Here the historian needs to

tea common human felting to

rec*Jfctfrba'

name or other legend n picnic

«****feirtoric

buffdifigs Akbar'* mscrip.

*^ 0f T, BtrtandDanvLiz^ arc only a royal

lion* «»

^ia»oo

bolt]

SL^frtH «nimonhuman weakness He wrote

Sories on the slate of an earlier Hindu* '. v, 11If h also records in his hook

Sri'

»rThc Great Mogul" that Akbar used

to

V incent

„tbar the

^ve masons and carvers at his command to

i\t the /rsenptions he desired,

Intfoducins a slight variation in the example

3^ abo%e we Shalt explain to the reader how a

even though genome would not be

to justif\ an event Let us assume that the

person whose body is found lying unclaimed had

urted from his home with a genuine note written

xai signed by himself saying that he was going out

commit suicide which need not be investigated,

£ven in such a case if the man has died of a stab

»ound in the back it can clearly be inferred thai

though the man left his house with the intention ofcommiittmi suicide, before he could carry out his

resolve he was intercepted and murdered. In this

very curiously the 'suicide document' is

nne and yet the death is not suicide butmurder. This gives us another valuable law of

dence thai a document may be genuine but itsconnection with the event could be spurious. In

i°o the circumstantial evidence will becrucial.

The Indian Criminal Procedure Code lays down

9

very valuable guidelines on how confessions* arc to

be appraised as. evidence. That code Specifically

enjoins upon a magistrate to impress upon a sus-

pect thai he is under no obligation to make a

confession but if lie made a confession or record i

anj statement U would be definitely used against

him but never in his favour. Muslim chronicles arc

in the nature of 'confessions.* and it is left to the

appraiser, the historian to feel free to use it the

way he likes. It would not lie in anybody's mouth

to insist that those chronicles should either be

wholly believed or wholly rejected. This is never

done. Evidence is never a package deal.

In the two instances we have mentioned above

the so-called suicide notes are absolutely useless as

evidence to shield the arraigned murderer. Yei

those notes won't be thrown away as trash. They

are very valuable evidence in the hands of the

prosecution to trace the other accomplices and the

circumstances of the murder.

It will thus be seen that while a written record

can prove very valuable in bringing the crime home

to the wrong-doer it can seldom if ever be used in

his defence In Indian history on the contrary the

written word has been taken to be gospel truth

without bothering to confront or corroborate it

with circumstantial evidence. It is this primary

slip in the proper evaluation of evidence that has

led to many irrational, irreconcilable, absurd and

anomalous conclusions in Indian history.

The general rule of worldly caution respeel

in the law of evidence, is that ma confession he

10

anv voluntary statement! ihc 0M*»>" <> b,,m»l to

*,i

rthing 10 iavc his ow n rinn * Inch need noi

tMrcTed.BuiifiMhc count or thai statemenl

he has allowed some Innts lo Tail which implicate

him thev can certainly be used 10 Incriminate him,

and will be regaled and made use or as very

strong evidence.

arryinjr our discussion a step further we shall

now point "out. Hits rime in favour of the suspect

or accused, that ai times even a clear confession is

dmissihlc as evidence to incriminate the accused.

ilce .. hypothetical cast In which a long-

married Hindu couple is sitting in the drawing

room of their home. A visitor happens CO come and

the conversation develops into a violent quarrel in

which the host murders the visitor. As a good

Hindu wife who always prefers to nrc-deceasc her

husband the wife helps the husband to abscond and

tell* the police that he murdered ihe visitor In

such case though the wife is apparently the

murderer yet B court of law trying her would no!

place much reliance even on her own incriminating

confession In such a case the judge will have at

the back of his mind ihe possibility of a Hindu wife

impersonating for her husband as the real criminal,

It will also consider the faci that a Hindu wife is

not prone to commit murders, She is noi generally

invoked in violent quarrels with outsiders; shegenerally handle murder-weapons; that a

man won't generally murder a man. etc. etc.Thin ihc court will be very chary in using even n

dcarcut confession .is e\ iderice of ihc crime,

These instances should suffice to convince a

it

historian that as a man of the world he i it lull

liberty to vise his discration .md will i wept-

m^or rejecting the who i oi my pan >i evidence

i mi i i fi can never lie in the mouth of the

iiapect "i accused or a partisan witness to instil

il,,i i the judge, appraiser oi historian accept or

reject the whole evidence. In a conn ol law all

evidence |l properly silted ll is never treated

as a package, Sometimes valuable hints from

[I arc taken while the rest is rejected I

trash. At Othet times the whole statement

used ruthlessly to confront and contradict the

accused at every stage but never in his favour.

If, therefore, in ihe subsequent pages of this

book the reader finds lis sometimes quoting a

partisan chronicler like Abu I Fazal or Badayuni lo

bring home to Akbar his manv misdeeds, and at

(hers we refuse Lo accept ai their face value the

assertions of (hose chroniclers we do so on very

sound ground* explained above. In fact not using

such discretion and cautio winnow, select, -aft

and appraise all ihe evidence would amount to

committing tile greatest academic folly and grave

injustice in Ihe field of academic teaming, and in

the search for Truth

Alter having explained the importance of the

law or evidence in historical research we shall now

turn to ihe other equally important requirement

namely logic I or instance, to anybody who asserts

that Akbar was great and noble we would like to

put U fewquestions. The first question i* that il

ihc present 20th ccntuT) parliamentary democrat

13

evolved vcrv ^dually from mediaeval «£"*>*/«d if emperor Aurangwb who died .n 1707 AD,

i hii^E " NVC been very barbarous and

ZSFE* could h& great grander Akbar who

Reeded Aurangzeb by over 100 years be described

alTc very epitome of all virtues? And .fat all

*kbar was such an ideal man whai made his son

grandsons and great grandsons turn out to be virtual

beasts? The second question we would like to pose

is thai when princes born and bred in a country's

own ancient tradition very seldom blossom into

jdeal rulers how could Akbar. alien in parentage.

religion, culture and mentality develop an inordi-

nate love for the Indian people? And if he

developed such a love did he merge or identify

himself wth the religion, language and culture of

the vast majority of the people he ruled over? The

third question we should like to pose is that can a

drunkard and a drug-addict who is illiterate and whoswallows principality after Indian principality for no

ostensible reason except self-aggrandizement be a

man with noble motives? Fourthly we should like to

ask that if an invading gang of dacoits claims

that it looked after the children of a village with ten*

der filial care better than their slaughtered parents

could, will any man endowed with reason pay any

heed to that claim? Likewise when histories claim

thai Akbar who killed or conquered one Indian

ruler after another did so only to lavish more loving

care on the Indian people than those slaughtered

or conquered Indian rulers ever could one mustat once di*mi*i Mich a claim as nonsensical.

Anoiuvi easy tally to assess Akbar** role in

13

history If* afforded by Ins relations with Rana

Pratap. Both sverc sworn deadly enemies of one

another. If then Rana Pratap is to be admitted as

a patriotic, brave, and righteous son of ihc soil who

fought, back-to-lhc-watl to save Hindusthan from

cign domination, does it noi follow that Akbar

WBS an alien villain who wanted to murder Rana

Pr&tap like many others, for self-aggrandizement

and for cnsalving Hindudom?

Wc thus sec how logic alone is enough to

debunk and expose spurious claims in history-

Armed with Uw and the law or evidence when we

studv accounts of Akbar's reign we come across

staggering proof to corroborate to the hilt our

surmise that as the great grandfather of Aurangzeb

Akbar was even worse than the former. For a

proper studv and understanding of history, there-

Tore, it is not so much documents as logic and the

lav, of evidence which are indispensable. Logic and

the law of evidence enable us to locate the needle

of truth in a haystack of false writings.

H LvJ»| seen how an accurate reconstruction of

histon is "possible from even falsified records we

would like to indicate how a reappraisal of Akbar s

role assumes considerable importance.

Firstly such a reappraisal is necessar> in the

interest ot truth, to put the record of history

straight.

Secondly requirements of logic compel us to

debunk absurd and illogical conclusions from

available evidence of Akbar'a reign.

XhT.l-jM—

14

Tr nidi wrong conclusions We allowed to

persist tliQ viilK the rationality of man. and make

j,,„, |tfl &CCCp1 and put up with similar illogi-

,.il deductions in all fields of knowledge and

education*

i ii If Akbar is to be accepted a$ great

and noble Rana pratap. Rani Durgawati and a

Other Hindu princes and princesses would

have to be classed as villains who wanton))

opposed the 'great and noble' Akbar.

Fourthly the presumption of Akbar's greatness

.i mounts to saying that an alien could love and

nurture his Hindu subjects better than their own

rulers

Fifthly, it would connote that an illiterate

monarch who had all the vices on earth could still

very loving, considerate and efficient.

Sixthly, it leads to the absurdity that though

Akbar's ancestors and descendants were all very

cruel yet he alone was almost a saint, an angel and

an ideal man.

If Akbar was so noble how did his sons,

grandsons and great grandsons turn out to be

\icioui sadists? How were all of Akbar's Muslimcourtiers and generals vicious and cruel?

Such anomalies and contradictions which

follow from the assumptions of Akbar's greatness

Hid nobility if thiust down the throat of genera-

lion* of students, they will permanently impair andbenumb students* rationalism and make them

IS

prone to pi am Ml} , readymade conclusion*

without questioning. Tins is whal has actually

happened In India in the field of history. False

nolens of secularism and Hindu-Muslim amity

have permanently incapacitated and precluded

students and scholars, teachers and professors,

authors and orators from prying deeper into true

history. Such terror which prevents any free ques-

tioning and cross-examination of long-standing

dogmas and shibboleths is unacademic The late

American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had

said that to be able to find the truth, one must

feci free to search for it. A student or teacher of

Indian history has never felt free to piy into true

Indian history. His inquiring faculty has been

deadened and his voice has been gagged so that he

may accept unquestioning!) all that is dinned into

his cars even if it be illogical and unscientific. The

pathetic belief in Akbar's nobility also makes

nonsense of the Law of Evidence.

A reappraisal of Akbar's role thus assumes

great importance not only for a correct understand-

ing of dial sordid chapter but also for academics

in general.

Our two earlier books: The Taj Mahal is a

Hindu Palace; and Some Blunders of Indian

Historical Research, have attempted cleaning some

other parts of the Augean Stables of history

It is hoped that this book would prove to be

yet another beacon in reconstructing history so

thai its other chapters may be equally purified by

climirtlMmL' the dross of falsehood contaminating

them.

A CHRONOLOGY OF AKBAR'S REIGN

4 chronoloeical survey of the main events of

A ^kbar's reign is ncccssar) before we proceed to

discuss his roles as man and king to evaluate his

Place in historv. It may. however, be stated that

the \anous dates given hereunder are all approxi-

mate Though there have been ever so many

chroniclers who have recorded the events of the

lives and reigns of mediaeval Muslim rulers,

counters and princes yet they differ hopelessly on

the dates and events they narrate since they were

mamlv concerned with eking out a soft living m

those dangerous and turbulent times by humouring

their patrons, by recording and reading out to

them concocted, flattering panegyrics in callous

disregard of accuracy or truth.

1 Thursday, November 23, 1542: Akbar was born

at Umarkot in Sind where his father Humayun.

having been defeated by Sher Shah, and made to

flee leasing his crown and throne in India, had

sought the hospitality of the local Hindu chieftain

Rana Virisal alias Rana Prasad- Akbar's name ai

I Vincent Smith *uy? an page 10 of his book "Akbar-

TneGrcal Mogul" thai many Persian and English author*

write the name erroneously a-> Amarkol. In FaCl it <* Vincent

Smith who ii wrong. The original name could only be Amarkol.

After Muslim occupation it must have been chanted WUmarkot io make il appear Muslim in origin*

n

birth2 was Badruddin 11 (meaning 'The full moon of

religion"* Mohammad Akbar. The adjective

"Afcbar" means "very great" or "senior."

March 1546: Akbar was circumcised. Circum-

cision tnay have, over the centuries come to We

regarded as a sacred and indispensable Muslim

religious rite but it owes its origin to necessities of

desert hygiene. Since Islam had Us birth in the

Arabian desert where people could not wash them-

selves for months citcumcision was found as a way

out of complaints of phymosis. Circumcision owes

Its origin, therefore, to the needs tfMhygiene in waterless deserts, and cannot have an>

religious significance. In countries like indta where

water is plenty and a daily bath is enjoined as a

necessity, circumcision becomes irrelevant even for

physic^ well-being, much more so for spmtual

bliss.

Monday January 27. I5S6: Akbar's father

Humayun died in Delhi, His^«*»£*fall from a staircase of a building inside the Puuiu

QUa on Frtday, January 24. He was earned, about

*"

Akbamama gives the date if Oclobci U On P-S*^Sunduv instead or Thursday and Akbar *>

hirtndai

hack from November 23 to October IS.

onmuaUj referred WiWplM

Akb#r,fi

,i',

18

• ,hic nalace He was buried inW"*-. r:!,^ believed ,„MaT

dlei his deaih. The palace in,

which

l,c,K I:

.

-«he Hindu Shako Chakr.

cmflow in the centre depicted on all sides.

Akba .hcrHumayun. therefore lived and

d.cd in $ usurped Hindu palace

at ihc time of hit father s death in Delhi,

Akbar (then 13 years and two months old) was m

the Gurudaspur district of the Punjab at Kalanaur,

accompanied b> h is guardian Behram Khan, engaged

in military operations against Sikandar Sur.

For about a fortnight the news of Humayun's

death was either suppressed or the courtiers look

time to pro claim young Akbar king.

February //. 1556: Akbar was proclaimed king

ui Delhi in absentia Three days later thai is on

February 14. 1556, Akbar was formally enthroned

in K the plinth o! an ancient Hindu

\mccnt Smith is mistaken in observing

page : r his book! that -the ornamental

and subsidiary buildings subsequently

acted and visited mast than once by Akbart disappeared Such canards of Akbar having

fabulous buildings and townships whichmysteriously disappeared without lea\

trace have been gullibly believed in andrepeated by historians like Vincent Smith.

mat ion is thai Akbar was proclaimedthe rums

, f a.iuent Hindu buildings

19

where Akbar had encamped. Those hmld.ngs hadbeen ruined through successive Muslim onslaught*from ihe beginning of (he 8th century A.D.

November S, 1556. Akbar won the battle ofPantpat against the Hindu warrior Hemu, makingAkbar the master of the Delhi-Agra- Fatehpur Sikriregion. On page 29 of his hook Vincent Smith saysProbably Hemu would have won but for tI,

accident that he was struck in the eye by an arrowwhich pierced his brain and rendered him unconscious. His army scattered and made no furtherresistance Hemu's elephant (led to the jungle."

The date of Akbar's first marriage is unknown.According to the practice of marrying the paternaluncle's daughter Akbar was married to RuqaiyaBegum the daughter of his uncle Hindal. He wasbethrothed to her in November 1551.

Early I Akbar was married to AbdullaKhan's daughter. This was Akbar \ secondmarriage. His guardian Behram Khan had frownedon this match. This was probahtv the beginning ofthe feud between Akbar and hi* guardian BehramKhan which ended in the laiter's assassination.

May 1557: Sikandar Sur surrendered after a

long siege of Mankot h was during this campaignthat Behram Khun, the guardian of Akbar a asbeihroihcd to Akbar's lather's sisieis daughterStilima Begum Obviously Akbar had his eye onher because this betrothal so angered him that heordered the royal elephants to be •.lauipcdcd into

Behram Khan's tent.

«^h« later at .tiillundur Behratn KhanAfC

:icTtsah^Bee,m and agam the

»»t pi-imcorepeated to frighten Bchram

elephant ««"l« e£im m tadication of havhtg

£Ufl !U-M|* envy uJ roy3 ,,re.

. *~ in Aera later aeain Akbar madeAfter reiiirn to ^gr*1 ,avvi •" . , ,

,n elephant the mstrumem of bullying ht. iruard.an

Bchram IChan.

,tffl 4 /> **kbar removed his seat of govern*

fr.m Aura to Fatehpur Sikri. This clearly

rve Tat Fatehr- Silii existed before Akbar.

ffe reason for the change is given by the Muslim

hronicler Ferishta. He says* that Akbar s nurse

bam Anaga accidentally overheard that it was

S S£ design to imprton Akba. Scared

bv this and no longer considering himself safe in

^ra '-was the cause which determined Akbar to

Asra" This shows that all talk and belief that

Akbar moved to Fatehpur Sikri just for the heck of

burin. Me had to quit Agra because he felt

himieir insecure there. That he could move at short

notice to Fatehpur Sikri with bag, baggage retinue,

the entire court, a harem of 5000 women and a

menaceric of 1.000 wild animals shows that

Fatehpur Sikri was a captured township composed

of all the buildings that we see now in it. and some

more It is. therefore, a great blunder of history

p 121. vol H Hisiorj of ihe Rise ol the Mahomedai*

Power in R four volume*) nil the year A D, 1612, I

Mummed Ratlin FtfMlM, iroruliilcd Trom the original Pen

John Bri^s. I0fifl reprint, published by S Dey

Snambttar St reel. Calcutta-

1

59A

21

to assert or believe that Akbar built FatehpurSikri

January 1561 : Behram Khan was assassinated

at Siddhapur Pultun In Gujarat. He was obviously

murdered by assassins sent by Akbar since for

three years earlier Akhar had vigorously hounded

him out of office, stripped him of all power, inflicted

several defeats on him in open battles and finally

exiled him. Ultimately he was cornered and

murdered. Soon after his murder his wife accom-

panied by her thiec-ycar-old son, who later became

Abdur Rahim IChan Khanan, was brought to

Akbar's harem and forced to play wife to him.

March 29, 1561: Akbar** generals Adham Khan

and Pir Mohammad defeated Baz Bahadur the

ruler of Mandavgad at Sangrur near Dewas in

central India. Great atrocities were committed in

this campaign by Akbar "s generals.

April 27\ 1561: Akbar left Agra post haste

because he was informed that Adham IChan had

been holding back the women of Baz Bahadur's

harem, and choice spoil.

June 4, 1561. Akbar relumed to Agra after

seizing the women and adding them to his own

harem and appropriating the captured booty.

June 1561: Ak bur himself led an attack against

ihc people of eight villages in Etah district (Sakit

Pargana). In Parokh village a house was set on fire

and about a thousand Hindus were burnt to

death-

sar.wM

22

r , f<A/ *kh.ir undertook an ex*

(( Kfrm Zaman Ah Kuli khan)

H \,s brother Babadut Khan, who were n

, remade to surrender. Jto was the first

*S rcoli agains. Akbar by his o*u courtiei*

slo be followed by revolts galore by Hlmosl

,11 of Akbar's male relations and subordinates

\r. protest and disgust or Akbar's lechery, irca-

chery. usun Mid cunning-

January 14. 1562', Akbar fcfl Agra ostensibly

to visit saint Ifflamuddiii GhistTs shrmc in Aimer.

Obviousl) ftkbar's visits to that shrine were con-

temporary ruses His ieal intention was to reduce

e and patriotic Rajput rajas to submission

cmc after the othet Some years later when this

object was achieved he Mopped going to Ajmcr.

This first sally of his hi Rajasthan was to com-

plete the humiliation and submission ot the Jaipur

ruler. Raja Bharmal and compel htm to sunender

his daughter for Akbar % harem. Earlier Bharmal

subjected to cruel and devastating raids by

\\t-j.\'- general Sharfuddm, and three Jaipur

princes were held in captivity! under pain of tor-

turous death unless Bharmal consented lo surrender

his daughter for Akbar*s harem, and grandson

Manvingh and son Raja Bhagwandas to reside In

perpetual tutelage at Akbar's Court as hostages 10

ensure the Jaipur Hindu royal family's permanent

iithinisw Whs blatant i-.-i ol kidnapping a

ii;i been mnusiiliablv and atrociously

glorified in Indian history us a scry noble gesture

23

of forging inter-communal marital tics, We ihall

deal with this matter in greater detail in a subse-

quent chapter.

March 1562; A D : Baz Bahadur, the ruler of

Mand avgad. finally surrendered and agreed to be a

minor courtier at Akbar's eourt.

May 16, 1562 : A senior nobleman and tela-

i ion of Akbar bearing the name Sbamsuddin Atga

Khan was murdered outside Akbar** bed-chamber

by Adham Khan who had led Akbar's army in the

Sangrur battle. Authorities differ on the date

thisincident as on other important dales. The

Tabakat-i-Akbari chronicle written by Nizamuddin

attributes this gruesome murder to the succeeding

year Some others place it as late as 1565 A,D.

Adham Khan was punished by being thrown from

live second storey of the palace apartments it. the

Port in Agra. Being only hall dead, he was again

hauled up and hurled down a second time.

1562 A D : Akbar asked for a petty sum

Rs. IgfromKhwajaJahanthe treasure! 1 he lattei

replied that the treasury was absolutely empty and

even that petty amount was not available

1162 A. D : Munim Khan die Chief Minister

ol Akbar rebelled and fled He W&S captured

at Sarwat in Saharanpu. district and rcinsi

He was the second grandee of Akbar's cou,

rebel against \kbar

Novemi , IS&\ Shariuddm the ^^who had terroraed and hounded the Jaipur ratal

Bharmal in eaung his Rajput prideiifldsu

24

hi* daughter to AH*W* harem was another

ubar's court to revolt. An arms was

bi,i*I l«m and he was hounded away first to

Oujerataitd then u Mecca.

\ ftw days later Abu I Mali, another senior

courtier, declared WW on Akbar. Like everyone

efce around Akbar he was of such a bcastfo nature

that Bl K.ihul he married a princess and murdered

his mother-in-law

>3 A.D, : Akbar is said to have been tiger-

hunting5al Mathura. References to 'hunting

1

in

Muslim chronicles arc not to be taken literally

\cr> often they mean hunting down Rajput rulers.

It is common knowledge that military operation*

are b closel) guarded secret. Accordingly hunting

expeditions of Muslim monarchs were mere con-

temporary ruses to throw I he people off their

guard This Mathura 'hunting* enln in Muslimchronicles, therefore, only proves that Akbar wasat Mathura on one of those missions to destrov

Hindu places of pilgrimage Ancient Mathura hasbeen razed to the ground in successive Muslim

bus Some of these were by Akbar. It will

awn later that he visited every ma ior centreof Hindu pilgrimage to similarly destrov thoseplace

January 12. 1564 : A poisoned arrow wasshot at Akbar with a view to assassinate him while

QtMOgfe on page 47 o! Vincent Smith's booktiic Great Moguf apiiv records thai "i.gcrv have

•«r> ntiir Mnihura lor inan> u year." What wasAkfcar buuttuji then

25

he was passing alongside the Parana Qila in Delhi

his way from the Nizamuddin shrine lo the RedFoil (The Red Fort in Delhi is a very ancient

building and was not built by Shahjahan as is

mistakenly asserted), This attempt on Akbar's

life was made because he was nosing about to

abduct good-looking vvives, mothers, sisicrs anddaughters from many families,

March IS64 : Akbar is said to have abolished

the .liziya tax which was levied by Muslim sultans

on Hindus for the preceding 800 years. This

abolition is \ hoax as we will describe later. Akbaris also believed to have forbidden the enslavement

of prisoners of war in 1562 and abolished

the tax on Hindu pilgrims in 1563. It will be

pointed out later that these are canards andmotivated myths blindly believed in by writers of

history books without undertaking any investiga-

tion.

1564 A.D. : Khwaja Muazzam (maternal uncle

of Akbar, being half brother of the queen

mother Hamida Banu Begam) became ihe

fifth courtier to revolt against Akbar, He was

then sent a prisoner to a dungeon in Gwalior fort

where he became mentally deranged and died.

Sepiember 1 564 : Akbar forced Mi rza Muba-rak Shah, ruler i f Khandesh to surrender his

daughter for Aklnu's harem. This again was nomarriage but abduction since the poor, helpless girl

was seized and carried away to Akbar's court by the

principal eunuch Ait mad Khan.

I

CJ vhdulla Khan Uzbek who was

r ,nhe Vfalwa region became the

;r^er to revolt agai^Akba,

Akbar is Mid to have ordered

fed Nagarchain to be bu.lt ..ear

fi/ : seen mile, to the south of Agra

met ol the fine buildings and magnificent

^dem, he * said to have ordered, can be found

jnvwh is is yet another hoax Akbar did

mid even a single building. All buildings,

gardens 01 gateways ascribed to

urn usurped or eonquered by him from

India Hindu niiei

Kii flman. a leading courtier

rebelled against Akbar. He thus became the

>c%emh leading figure of Akbars court to revolt.

1564 dun Nabi appointed to look after

royal grants 10 fakirs and other indigent persons,

proved to be rapacious and unwon]

ordered his general A saf Khan1 ravage Ram Durgawati's kingdom with a viewannex her excellently governed principality and

that beautiful queen for his own harem.

Lmtinl56i Twin 50ns Hasan and Husatnar. Chough Akbar had a host

romclcrs swarming around h.m the

7a a,h

* nwl,,w of «* '*** has Hit been

2 [h

Thc IW,ns dlcd *«•«« a month of

27

fitf Hajl Begum itllasBega Bet'umchildless senior widow of Humayun o

lefiI

liiruHN- to Mecca but ordered the

const rucl inn of Humtiyun's tomb in the mcwhile. The I o n 1

1

' is said to have been completed

when she returned three years laier.

11n

: rosier mother. Hi** own moth lama

was Hamida Banu Bcgam This buiidh of

Humayun "s tomb by a childless widow is another

canard Humayun ties ruined m the cellai I a

captured Rajput palace

1365 : vkhiii is said to h J

rebuilding (after demolish ins thc earlier fort) the

Red Fort in Agra. Another \ersion says that as

early as 1561-1563 Akbar had started raising some

buildings in thc fort. Bin rding U ishta

what the chronicles call "the fort" was the ancient

wall surrounding Agra at) \kbar have

ordered a few repairs to the cltj wall battered at

places during successive Muslim invasions Hminor repair work hai> been fraudulently magnified

and misrepresented by erring hi

building of the Hindu Red Fort in That

Akbai could start building a whole oFNagar«

chain, his foster mother could order .1 palatial

tomb for thc deceased monarch if u ma 1

u 11 ind

thai at the same time Akbar could thc

demolition and rebuild if :he Red Fort in Agra

while engaged in h war against RaniI fawati

id faced with rebellions bv main oftljs court*!

is absurd in the extreme.

1565*66 1 A saf Khan the general who had

...tft kingdom was another

, U.n, The Ranis realm stood

h"< "°2iLoS against his erstwhile,

firr/r/Jtf;Ubar's brother Mohammad Hakim,

.,„ invaded the Punjab. Akbar arrived

;; hie n February 1567 to stem his brother,

vtf^ While at Lahore Akbar organized a

Ind hunt. AH g^e «, thin a circumference or

10 miles was killed- Akbar enjoyed the murder-

ous sport for five days using the sword, lance.

m nd lasso.

Taking advantage of Ak bar's absence from

the Delhi-Agra-Fatchpur Sikri region a host of

his relations classed as Mirzas and holding high

ranks at Akbar's court revolted against him. Akbar

had, therefore, to hurriedly leave Lahore to return

to Agra

April 1567 : On his way back while Akbarwas campjng at Thancshwar in the Punjab twosects of priests called Kurus and Purus complainedto htm about a dispute between them regardingthe sharing of the offerings made at the local

Hindu -shrine by an unending stream of pilgrims.Akbar had them lined up armed with swords,sticks and daggers and made them annihilate oneanother. To ensure that both sides got killedhe kept reinforcing the weaker side with a bandof fid fanatic Muslims and saw to ii that boththe pries! iy factions numbering about S00 were

29

wined out. Almost ill chroniclers unanimously

record that Akbar thoroughly enjoyed the 'spirt*

May 1567: Khan Zamau and Ins brother Baha-

dur who had been in open revolt for over two

years were defeated and killed. Several other

adherents of the rebel leaders were executed bv

being trampled to death by elephants.

May-June 1567 Akbar ravaged India's richest

and most famous Hindu pilgrim centres namely

\llahabad and Benaras fVaranasi). People fled

in terror as Akbars armies ran amuck.

July 18\ 1567 i Akbar returned to his capital

Agra from his 'Operation ravage'.

At about the same time another revolt led by

yet another courtier named Iskandar Khan was

suppressed. He was another important courtier

to revolt besides the other uncountable Mirzas.

September 1567 : Akbar began preparations

to invade Chittor. On October 20, Akbar formed

his camp extending for 10 miles to the north-east

ofthe Chittor Mil.

February 23. 1568: Brave Rajput women burnt

themselves in amass pyre to escape molestation

at the hands of Akbar* s barbarous Muslim hordes.

The next morning Akbar rode into the fortress

and ordered a general massacre in which 30,000

were slaughtered. Many thousands were taken

prisoner to be turned into slaves. The holy threads

of those slaughtered, weighed 74£ raaunds.

U,Akhm returned to Agra,

The Miffli uuaiu rose in revolt

frfejiarv JJ»* Ranihambhore fort, a strong.

loMoriliuonaf.hc-nu.uJiancl.ui was

bTccd l« *W Swrjan had tn surrender the

I

within 3i monU

fogim/i* kalanjur fort (in Buiula dis-

trict)r possession of Raja Ramehand of

B ,

1

,' Rewa) was besieged and captured'

„ (he famous singei was surrendered by

Ram Ramehand to AU'i.ir along with a huge

ransom The Raja was given a jagirnear Allahabad

and msi! isial.

August 30, 1569 Salim (the future emperor

Jahangirj was bom of the daughter of Raja Bhar-

f Amber, whom Akbar had kidnapped from

SaraW

A daughter Khanam Sultan

,Akl l

I on Daniyal was born of a

n September 10. 1572. at Aimer, in

Sheikh Daniyal believed to be ,,

were at least two other daughters

was allowed to mar*ano Begun, who d.ed unmarried dur-

!" The daughters are rarely

me» were illiterate non-cniitie*

confined in the solitary recesses of the burqn

during mediaeval Muslim rule.

April 1570 : Akbar is *aid to have inspected

the newly built mausoleum of his father emperor

I hi m ay

n

ii, On pace 74 of his book Vincent Smith

n look eight or nine years to build. Mirak

Mtrza Ghiyas was the architect This is a canard.

Humayun lies buried in a captured Hindu palace

in which he lived.

JutteS, J570 A concubine bore to Akbar a

son named Murad and nicknamed Pahadi being

born on the Fatehpur Sikn hillock,

September 137Q \kbai it said to have

arranged for the enlargement of the fort and the

erection of many handsome buildings in Aimer. The

work is said to have been completed in three years.

Ajai-Meru is a very ancient Hindu town and all

lu historic extant buildings there exist from be-

fore the I2lh century Hindu emperor Prilhviraj's

lime 1 1 may be remembered that this* •* the

precise period when Akbar is said to have launch-

ed even the building of Fatehpur Sikri while

engaged in incessant wars and suppressing many-

re volts.

August IS71 Akbar came and stayed in

Fatehpur Sikri says Vincenl Smith on page

his book. This proves thai majestic and magnifi-

cent monuments which we see m our own das

Fatehpur Sikri existed even in Akbar s time and

the assertion that he founded that townshio is i

canard.

J2

Mnmn v '-*"-'

Raaft Prattpihc iramortti

son of India wfc iucccssfillly defied Akbar 's might

In t 1oi«diaw« war of attrition was enthroned at

Gl i 16 miles north-west ol Udaipur The

forma! coronation took place a little later at

kumbhalmir fort.

Juh A. 1? Akbar set out from Fatehpur

Sikri on one of his life-long wars of aggression It

may be noted here that Fatehpur Sikri was ihc

place from which he starts though fraudulent

Muslim chronicles would have the reader believe

that Fatehpur Sikri was a township built by Akbar

and that it was completed only in 1583 A.D.

Sirohi the headquarters of the Deora sect of

the Chauhan clan was stormed and taken. Onehundred and fifty Rajputs deliberately sacrificed

their live* in a futile attempt at resistance Sirohi

was famous for the excellence of its sword blades.

.Sovember \"2: Muzaffar Shah 111 the alien

Muslim sultan of Gujarat was captured and his

kingdom annexed. His followers were orderedto be trampled to death by elephants.

At Cambay Akbar saw the sea for the first

time.

Khan-i-Azam. fMirza Aziz Koka) foster brotherwa :» appoi

n

I e d g i i e rnor of Gujera t

.

The Mirzas led by Ibrahim Husain were inrevolt. Sural was one of their centres. RajaBhagwandas and his adopted son Raja Mansingh

Akbar in this campaign. Bhu "wandfls'Siot killed. It, recognition of

33

Ihc service that Bhayvvandas rendered to the alien

mi march an empty honour conferred on him was

ihc grant of a banner and kettle drums never be-

fore bestowed on a Hindu.

February 26. 1 573 Smut rebels capitulated.

The commandant Ham/.aban was punished by the

excision of his tongue. He was a general in Akbar's

father's service.

[jfrtl IS, 1 573: -\kbar leaves Ajmer and

arrives in Fatehpur Sikri on June 3.

August 23 % 1573: Akbar had to leave for

Gujcrat to quell a rebellion led by Mohammad

Hussain, an irrepressible Mirza,

Sep!. 2, /57JT The battle of Ahmcdabad was

fought- A pyramid of more than 2,000 slain heads

was raised.

Monday, Oct, 5, 1573 : Akbar returned to

Fatehpur Sikri.

1571-1574 : Akbar in concert with Todarmal

issued a proclamation for the compulsory branding

of all horses so thai any and every person owning

such a horse automatically became a royal slave

bound to be on duty whenever ordered.

October 2. 1573 : The three rnnces were

circumcised at Fatehpur Sikri.

1574 A D. • Abul Fazal the fawning chronicler

of Akbar;s court presented himself for the first

lim e before Akbar but did not create much of an

impression-

June \5, 1574: Akbar embarked on a river

vovftce to conquer Bihar prince During At

SvKtion wwwl vessels foundered off Etawa.

L^U off AllahabadAfter 26 days' travel Akbar

!L,lCd B.nnris where he halted for 1

1

iyt.

At this time news arrived nf the capture of Bhukkar

tfcsv 111 Sind

March ,\ I57S Tukaroi battle was fought with

Oi, iter ofparts of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.

The prisoners laken were massacred and their

ids were piled up to constitute eight sley-hj

minarets,

April 12, 1575 . Muniin Khan the general

accepted the formal submission of Daud and left

him m possession of Orissa,

74-1575: Gujerat suffered from severe pesti-

lence and famine,

October 1575 Akbar's wife Saliina Sultan

Begum (widow of fie hram Khan), his father's sister

Gulbadan Begum and Akbar's mother (some say

I- mother'J Hamida Bano Begum left on a pilgri-

mage of Mecca They were detained in Surat byPortuguese for about a year The group retur

cd in I5&2 Guibadan Begum who is supposed to

have written her memoirs has left no record of herexperience as a pilgrim. It could be, therefore, thatthe mem that go in her name are a concoc-tion.

A lar^c party of male pilgrims under thecharge of a leader was also sent The novel and

ui i continued for five orm The l ;roi issued a general order that

35

anyone could go on pilgrimage at State expense

(p. % Vincent Smith's book "Akbar the Great

Mogul"),

nrza Aziz Koka, Akbar\ foster brother

revolted and was subjected to house-confinement

in Agra. He is said to have resented the compul-

sory branding-of-horses regulation. Bui there

could be many other reasons besides, such as

Akbar* s licentiousness In helping himself with

others' women Though we have already lost

count, since almost all of Akbar's relations and

generals revolted against him, we may tentatively

class Aziz Koka as the 1 1th eminent person of

Akbar's court who turned a rebel.

July 12, 1576: Daud the Afghan ruler

of Bengal was killed in a battle and his kingdom

came to an end. The battle was fought near

Rajmahal an ancient capital of Hindu Bengal.

Those ruins are wrongly attributed 10 subse-

quent Muslim rulers, In fact the ancient Hindu

buildings are in ruins precisely because of repeat

cd Muslim assaults.

1572-1597 : The titanic struggle between Rana

Praiap the immortal hero of Hindudom and the

aggressive Akbar lasted for a quarter of a century.

Ultimately it was Akbar who withdrew from the

struggle white Pratap emerged triumphant and

invincible though with a reduced realm.

June 1570 : The famous battle of Haldighat

was fought, It was in this battle that Rana Pratap's

charger rested his raised front legs on the temple

of Jahangir's elephant and as the redoubtable

36

, . . forward lo kill Jchangir with a blow

fSfgtS *haneir hid bchind thc P0Qr

oaboui who gol killed.

jfemfer tf« ! A comet with a long tail**

d in the sky and remained visible for a

long time

1*77 A. 0, Raja Todar Mai arrived from

Gujerat with a party of rebel prisoners. They were

executed.

1578 AD. : Akbar suffered from an epileptic fit

tough some fawning chroniclers prefer to term it

us j si range spiritual trance. His temper became

profoundly melancholic.

1579 A, D. : A Zoroastrian theologian, Dastur

vjchcrjee Rana who had become acquainted with

Akbar during the siege of Sural in 1573, and tookpart in some debates at Fatehpur Sikri in 1578

went home early in 1579.

End of June !579 : Akbar displaced the regularpreacher at thc chief mosque in Fatehpur Sikri toemphasize his position as both the spiritual andtemporal head of his realm.

November 1579; A mission of Portuguese

minionaries left Goa and reached Fatehpur Sikrion February 28. 1580. They presented Akbar witha Bible which he returned at a much later date.

About this time Akbar becoming alarmed''despread resentment aroused bv

'novations adopted a policy of calculated^ncent Smith's book, page 130).

On his way back from Ajmer he caused a lofty

37

tent to be furnished as a travelling mosque inwhich he ostentatiously prayed five times a dayas a pious Muslim should

September 1, 1579 Akbar issued the infallibility

decree declaring himself the absolute temporaland spiritual head in his realm. Within a week heleft for what turned oui to be his last visit to

Ajmer. ostensibly to Khwaja Moinuddjn Chisti's

tomb. The promulgation of this decree has givenrise to the belief in Akbar having founded a newreligion called Din-e-Ilahi.

January 1580 : Influential chiefs in Bengalrevolted against Akbar. The revolt was brought

under control only in 1584.

Mirza Mohammad Hakim, younger half

brother ruling in Kabul threatened invasion.

February 8, 1581 : Akbar left Fatehpur Sikri for

India's north-west frontier. Shah Mansur, Akbar's

finance minister was in league with the potential

invader. He thus became the 12th important

courtier to revolt. He was hanged by a tree at

Shahbad, midway between Thanc<ihwar and

Ambala. Abul Fazal himself acted as the hangman.

August 0, 1581 : Akbar entered Kabul while

his half-brother Mohammad Hakim the ruler tied.

Akbar started on his return journey after only a

six-day stay.

January 17, 1582 : Ak bar's step mother died.

Since her return from Mecca she is said to have

spent most of her time first in the construction and

n

, . ^-nflcenicnt of her husband Hurnayun's*'" '", "llT™r*aie««rnt on page 391-92. Vol.

,

SrKS&iNhrivastava's book "Akbarthe

^..j,, variance with other reports that cons-

SJ had started before she .eft,

f58l-$2 4 A large number of Sheikhs

e^ed"mostly to Kandahar and exchanged for

horses, to be enslaved.

March 1582 : Masum Khan Farhankhudi, an-

other important co iirticr to revolt against Akbar,

was murdered one night while on his way from

ihe palace in Fatehpur Sikn despite his having

sought and got the protection or Akbar's mother,

1582 AM. : Hirvijaya Sun, a Jain monk stayed

at Akbar's court for some days.

/5lh April 1582. Daman, a Portuguese posses-

sion was invaded by Akbar's forces. A similar

treacherous attack on Diu was foiled.

The debates on religion which had com-

menced in 1575 came lo an end in 1582 A.D.

About this time Sayyad Muzaffar accompani-

ed by Father Monserrate was asked to proceed on

an embassy to Europe. This was Akbar's way of

getting rid of Sayyad Muzaffar. He deserted andconcealed himself in the Deccan.

August f 1582 Two Christian youths weremurdered in Sural because they refused to acceptlilanL A ransom of 1.000 gold coins offeredfor the relca&c of the Christian youths was refused.

Augtist 1582 : Akbar veiled a house wheicabout 20 newly born children, purchased fromtheir mothers, had been brought up in absoluteisolation since 1578 under the care of dumb nurse*

This was a sadist and whimsical experiment wh"I

completely ruined the lives of all those innoc

children.

October 15. 1582 : The six-mile long and

two-mile broad lake at Fatehpur Sikri burst.

Akbar who was at the time engrossed in a birth-

day party with some courtiers, had a narrow

escape from drowning. This hurst made the lake

go dry. The township having been deprived of

its source of water Akbar had to leave it for good

in 1585. having found it impossible to live there

any more.

Aitimad Khan, another important courtier

to revolt, conspired against Akbar with the rebels

in Gujerat. He was imprisoned. On expressing

repentance he was appointed governor of Gujerat.

Early 158J : Jesuit priest Aquaviva left

Fatehpur Sikri having obtained Akbar*:; permis-

sion to leave, with great difficulty He .it

the court for over three years.

September 1583 : Mu?affar Shah, ex-king

Gujerat captured Ahmedabad and proclaimed

himself king, from J irj 1584 onwards he

was successively defeated at Surkhei and Nandcd

and later forced lo retreat into the sandy wastes

of Ktltch. He continued to he rebellious ur

1591-92 when he was captured, He is then report-

40

td I0 have eommftted-cidc * **«•« hi,

,J^bl> on a, errand. But hard!y h.d

couri than he is said to

SrSi!*f **-* of his death his

^ffi d?o have reached the spotJ? Akbar W to have reached (he spot

ccratcd all her relatives ostensibly to save the

5£um from tannine herself on her husband s

pyrCi This is obviously a hoax. This is yet an-

,.. r episode of Akbar murdering a Hindu prince

i

r | g j

,. ik- to his harem.

OmherS, 1583: Aicbai celebrated Id-ul-Fitr.

B po atch on the day Raja Birbar was

thrown n bis hoi Akbar is said to have

gractousi) breathed on him and revived him. This

pail; of the many make-believe acts of Akbar

nting to show off some of his vaunted miracu-

lou spiritual powers.

iter / \kbar is said to have built

the Mlaliahad fori ind founded a city around it.

\nd li urtiersare also said to have buiU man-ns in the city, The fort and Prayag city are

of immemorial antiquity Crediting them toMtbai i| of the juvenile naivete with whichbland a* m fraudulent Muslim chronicles

been allowed to disfigure and disgrace textbooki of Indian history whli u questioning-™

RajaRaroChandfaorBhathaWa4ra^dl

:

M Muslim armK...,,i he third

41

nine and he was forced to submit by paying

personal humiliating homage. Earlier, in 1563 he

had to pay a big ransom and surrender the musician

Tunsen. The latter bitterly we pi when virtually

dragged away to the Muslim court in Delhi

A great famine raged in Akbar's termor

in 1583.

1584 A.O. A new era known as the Divine

Era was started with retrospective effect beginning

March It. 1556. the first Muslim New Years day

afier Akbar's accession. This was a part of Akbar

attempt to assert Ins unfettered sovereignty and

claim to divinity

Daswant a young handsome Hindu painter

lircdoflhe lechery and treachery at the Mogul

court ended his life by stabbing himself with a

dagger.

July I ^ 1584*. Ghtti Khan Bads foi. a

,cai favourite at Akbar's court, died at Ayodhya.

Some of the ancient temples in \yodhya inctudi

the one where he lies buried were converted to

mosque-, and tombs by him,

February ft (SSS ! Prince Salim, (the future

emperor Jahan.m was married to Manbau the

sister of Raia M.msmgh. From her he had WQ

3Shen A daughter ftdW Begum died

August 6. 1587, died on January 29 l«22 W2 ,r.cc imprisoned along with his mother ,n

Ml'Lb d H.s'o-called tomb m KhUSfU B*.

s.n-'LruinedHnuliM iuk-uI w.r

to?S3 « KhU^S prison and UUer as hi,

42

, .nnarenilv murdered in 1604 in

^S^-^,K. Pnnoc Sa ,,m .

m tSSS: Akbar sent an army toD

uler Yusuf Khan, and his son

iTkJ* court, had Bed in panic. Two o her

In sen to conquer the two mountain

gtnesofS^nondBaJaut.

ThcRa ashliniya Afghans led by Bayazid fought

,00th and nu.l against Akbar's invading forces,

January 22. I5S6 . Birbar was ordered to join

ihc expedition against the Yusufzai Afghans. Zain

Kh a commander of Ak bar's forces apparent]}

claims.false credit in Muslim chronicles to have

built the Lhakdara fort in I he hilly north-west

frontier. Birbai was slain in this campaign. His

original name was Muhcsh Das. He was born

about 1528 A.D. m a poor Brahmin family of the

Bhaua chin, in Kalpi town.

A second expedition to subdue the irrepressi-

ble Yusufzats was sent soon after tinder Raia

Todarmar* command.

But this only incited all the other Afghan

tribes in the region to relenM ly resist Akbar'spredator) forces. Maniingh, then a I Kabul, wasordered to join the campaign with his forces. Hefell ill for a month and was sured for not beingable to cniili the Afghan tribes. Many tribesmenwere slaughtered those taken prisoner were

«i. The chronicle, Akba.rnaijtaliaudulc credits Zain Khun with having built

a scries of forts in this

continued even beyond

43

area. This tribal

1600 A.D.

re 1

February 22\ 1586 : Raja Bhagwan Das signed

a treaty with the Kashmir ruler Yusuf Khan. Akhar

upbraiding Bhagwandas refused tc honour the

treaty. Bhagwandas deeply hurt, apparently be-

cause of Akbar's faithlessness, stabbed himself.

This shows how, contrary to the general belief,

every Hindu connected with Akbar's court came

to grief*

October 6, 1586 : Akbar's forces led by Qasim

Khan entered Srinagar, capital of Kashmir, and

indulged in plunder, repression and torture. Yaqub

and his father Yusuf Khan continued to har

the enemy by guerrilla warfare.

July !589 : Yaqub surrendered. Yusuf Khan

was released after Kashmir was annexed. The

latter was made a minor courtier by Akbar and

sent to fight in Orissa.

During his prolonged stay in Lahore Akbar's

forces indulging in desecrating and ravaging sortves

against defenceless Hindus coerced a number of

Hindu rulers of the neighbourhood to sue fOl

peace. Those surrendering to blackmail included:

RajaBidhi Chand of Nagarkot. Parashurani '

Jammu. Basu of Mau. Anuradha of Ja.swal. lUia

Tila of Kahlur. Pratap of Mankot and a number

of other principalities*

It is said, at this time Yaqub of Kashmir

was done to death by Akbar by sending to him a

44

„ *l rrthtt the wearing of which

proved fetil

r A /592: Litlk and Great Tibet

Tr accept Aktar-i suzennrm. All

mteUi daughter for iahangrr s harem Tl„

SV «*«*' to Lahore and dumped ,„

Eft ««* * ,hc MusI,m r

das.

/W-/55J? A.D. People were reduced to

penury and destitution in a vast region.

June tf J5# The daughter of Rai Singh,

ruler of Bikaner. was brought to Lahore to be

added to Satim (future emperor Jehangir) s harem

though he had been married many times earlier.

November 16. 1586 . Raja Basu of Man alias

irpur was subdued a second time. Ak bar's

repressive and treacherous behaviour had so

alienated his officials that He decided hereafter to

appoini two governors to each of his twelve

provinces so that out of sheer rivalry they may

keepfindin fault with one another and carry tale*

Akbar so that he may keep both in check by

i

iiirj one against the other.

Early 158? Akbar promulgated a usurious

ordinance undo ftich every visitor io court was

to present to the sovereign according to his status

or cold fins equal in number to the years

ins Bjj

Juh 1 ioiUrmal vt tabbed al

night Btsailant who bore him a grudge

43

because of "lodarmal's usurious regulations at

Akbar's henchman,

\ugust 6, 158? : Akbar' a first grandson prince

Khusru was born to Manbai, the Jaipur princess

and jehangir. He led a life of dissipation and

u volt and was done to death m captivii iter.

Manbai was given the Muslim name of Shah

Begum.

May 30, 1588 : Akbar's third son Daniyal

was married to the daughter of Sultan Khwaja.

August 1588: Prince Murad became the father

of a son named Sultan Rustam,

April 26, 1589 : The famous court musician

Tansen died at Lahore after being Forced to entert-

ain the court for 27 years. His body first buried in

Lahore is said to have been carried to Ovsaliorlater.

April 28 /> Akbar set out on his first

visit' to Kashmir Burhanuddin was despatched

againsi the Dcccan kingdom of Ahmednaear

Burhanuddin returned unsuccessful.

June 5. 1589 - Akbar reached Srinagar and

Itved for 36 days in the palace of Kashmir's erst-

while rulers. During (he trek to Kashmir Akbar

refused to see his son prince Salim. The latter

mprehend.ng vengeance from Akbar .vmained

confined to his own tent. Rulers of Little and

Great Tibet frightened out of their wits because

Of Akbar'* proximity and an apprehension ol fear-

ful raids sent him a large ransom.

Orlober S> P&9 ! Akbar reached Kabul and

XhT.-IOM

4h

i ilicre for 48 days. While there he received

I darma|\ Icticr of resignation. Todarmal went

uid lived m retirement In Hirdwrar but was later

retail"

Novembei 9, 1589 : Todarmal died in Lahore.

\.*M-mlur 14, / Raja Bhagwandas who

Caught ' while pariKipaimg in TodarmaPt

ncrul suffered from vomiting and strangury and

d Hi sistCl was Akbar's wife Jodh Bai>

Akbar launched an invasion against Sindhv

Kandab and Sibi (north-east of Quetta ln

Baluchistan) und captured a large chunk of terri-

tory.

end of 1588 A.D. : A campaign was launched

against the Afghan ruler of Grissa. Its conquest

was completed in 1592.

1 lie Orivsa public rose in revolt against Akbar's

upjnestfi tit were soon suppressed

ic principality of Cooch Behar ruled by a

Hindu king. Ukshmi Narayan. was ravaged and

he was forced to submit.

July 22. 15 Akbar set out on his second

vit.it to Kashmir to quell a local revolt. The

rebel Yadgar's head was presented to Akhn be

he reached the Kashmir capital. Akbar

reached Snnagar on Oct. 7, 1592 and stayed for

25 days.

Akbar's foster brother Vln

\nf Koka Med from the court ostensibly to visit

There he was robbed of a large part of

4T

his wealth by Muslim priests of ihe Kaba. Finding

life intolerable even there, he reluctantly returned.

August 5, IS 1/J Sheikh Mubarak, tether of

\hul Faizi the poet and Abut Fazal, the chronicler,

died at the age of 88.

October 5, 1393 \ The poet Faizi died at

Lahore suffering from dropsy, vomiting blood,

breathing difficulty and swollen hands and feet.

October JO. 1595 Hakim Humara, superin-

tendent of Akbar's kitchen, reckoned among the

nine eminent people of Akbar's. court, died,

April L 1597 : Akbar set out on his third

visit to Kashmir. Relations between Akbar and

prince Salim (Jahangir) were so strained even

during this trip that the prince dare not call

on his father. A severe famine raged in the vale

of Kashmir from May 'November 1597

compelling people to ftce their homes The

Hindu state of Cooch Behar ruled by LaWuni

Narayan was ravaged and subdued.

May 3, 159? A nearby ruler, Raghava De\

(cousin of Lakshmi Narayan) was similarly harass-

ed and subdued.

November o, 15% ;After over 13 years' stay

in ihe Punjab Akbar left for Agra to pay more

attention to the subjugation oftheDcecau king-

doms.

May 2' 1599 : Prince Murad died while in a

state of coma because of excessive drinking and

drugging, at Dihbadi, about 20 kos from Daulata-

I

„ks of I he Poonia ri vcr'

Akbar scnt

!fie Decean.

t h f- The Jesuit prieart Francis Jerome

Xtvfcr requested the emperor at Agra that since

i enough Persian^ ^pentjittcdto

Mdrct: discourses \ k bar snubbed htm by

Byme thai permission given to htm to speak a bom

>wn reijgi ti was freedom enough.

September 16. 1599 : Akbar left Agra osten-

an hunting expedition but in reality to

pressurize prince Damyal to find time from his

lewd life to conduct ihc Decern campaign more

vigorous

Jag.il Singh of the Jaipur royal family who was

to lead .in expedition against Bengal died about

this time due to excesshe drinking and melancholia

beCBi >ftlic life of abject slavery and dissolution

he had to lead in the Mogul court.

February 1600 A large army was sent to

besiege fort Ashirgarh. The fort was taken through

treachery.

My 1600 Chand Bibi the Muslim queenAhmednagar was done to death through

intrigue.

August 19. 1600 Ahmednager fort and cii\

we aptured. Two earlier attempts, in 1586 andflopped. Burhanul Mulk of Ahmed-

nagar\

of Chand Bibi) who died in April

49

1595 wan notorious for making broads he

JlOnOUl of ihc fi 1 1

1

m '

i 18 of his officers. In the siege

Of ^hmednagat by A k bar's forces, which beganon December 18. 1595 under Shahbaz Khan, the

commander of Akbar\ forces, the people or

Mim in m were molested and iheir property waslooted,

1 he Mugals plundered neighbouring town

Mungi Pat tan. A treaty was negotiated on

February 23, 15%. Berai had to be ceded lo the

Mugals in return for recognition to Bahadur as

the feudatory ruler of Ahmednagar. The exasperated

people of Ahmednagar plundered Mogul baggage

when they began withdrawal on March 20, 1596.

August I, 1601 Akbar arrived on a flying

visit at Fatchpur Sikri and stayed for 11 days.

Jehangir, now over 31 years and S months old

was in open revolt, From the age of -0 onwards

he developed an over-increasing hatred lot Ins

father Akbar. On July 8. 158'? when Akbar suffer-

ed from a severe colic he moaned in a state of

delirium thai he suspected his son Jchapgil to have

administered souk poison tfl him. He also sus-

pected Hakim Humam (reputed lo be one of the

nine jewels of Akbar's court) lo have letted the

poisoning. On May 16, 1597 while staying, in

Rajouri (a pari of Kashmir) Jehangifs body-guard

had fought a skirmish with M>me of Afcbai

(roups commanded by Khwajaei Faleultah To

assuage Jehungir lest he become more dangerous

and uncontrollable ttbar ordered Fateultal

tongue to be cm Early In 1598 when Akbar

udered him to lead an expedition lo furun

50

rrmnsoxanla) Mangif refused point-blank, to.

ho end of 1599 laking advantage of Akbar*tabsence in Hie Deccan Salim < Jehangir) marches

rcpidlv from Aimer to Agra and then to Allahabad

tvherthescl liimsclf upas an independent ruler.

August v. 1602 : Abu! Fazal was ambushed

and murdered at Jehamnrs instigation, about 35

miles from Gwaiter between I he villages of Saraj

Burki and Anlri,

February ? 1603 : Akbar 's fathers sister

Gulbadan Begum died in her 82nd year.

She has written her memoirs of her brother

emperor Humayun's reign.

October 1603 : Prince Salim asked to marchagamst Rana Amar Singh (son of the late RanaPratap) proceeded some distance and returned

under pretence of inadequate troops and equip-

ment.

<>4 A.D> : An expedition was sent out againsi

Bit Singh Dto. the chief of Orchha who hadorganized the ambush againsi Ahul Fazal. AkbaAarmy was, howevet. effectively repulsed.

Jehangir** wife Manbai was murdered thoughvhe is stated u have commuted suicide.

Hiding his bed chamber attendant doz-ing when he stepped in for a siesta, was soexasperated that he ordered the man to be thrown

the par,,,- ,-i Agra fori and dashed topieces.

Wjj i| such a sadist that he had a newstoyed nKvc, a page castrared and a domestic

servant beaten death

51

iugust 21, 1604 : Akbar set out For Allahabad

to subdue his rebellious son but was forced to

inrn back midway having received news of his

mother's illness.

August 29, 1604 Akbar's mother ManamMakani died at the age or 77,

nemher 9, 1604 : Jehangir (Salim) arrived

m Agra on the pretext of paying a condolence

visit. His companion Raja Basil of Mau and

Pathankot was made a scapegoat and was pUl

under arrest But the Raja escaped to his princi-

pality. Later Jchangir too was put under house

arrest and spanked,

March II, 1605 : Prince Daniyal who refused

to return to Agra from the Deccan despite repeated

summons from emperor Akbar died, of excessive

drinking and drugging.

Septerilbei 22. 1605 : Akbar fell ill in the

palace at Sikaiulru,

October 15, 1605 Akbar died at m In it the

age of 63 after having n tgfl I 4S years, months

and 3 days. He bad rtw son and three

daughters. Two of hifi sons had died. Two

daughters: Shah/ad (Khanam Sultan) md Shukrun-

mssu Begum had been married, The third, Aram

Begum died a spinster during Jehangir** rule.

AKBAR S VICIOUS ENVIRONMENT

Ail of Attn* ancestors were barbarous and

vicion And so were his descendants even down

to his Steal grandson Aurangzeb and others

downrh; Akbar himself and h.sconiemp,n,.

n^ were links m that chain. As we shall see m

the succeeding chapters the tyranny and torture

and treachery and horror that Akbar and his

generals practised knew no limits.

Bom and brought up in an illiterate and

h.irbarou?, atmosphere which was further fouled

by inordinate womanizing and by extreme drink

and drug addiction. Akbar could not have been

the paragon of virtue that he is made of. And ir

heat all were to be a freak virtuoso his sons,

grandsons and great grandsons would not have

been the degenerate sadists that they turned out to

be. This ib sheer logic. And the conclusions we

ch through logic find full corroboration in

account*, if Ak bar's reign.

fortunately India having been under alien

le Tor over a thousand years, a i iditti n to write

1 lit communal or political expediency,under Govtrnraenl patronage has become so

ongly entrenched that writing an unvarnishedstraightforward account of India's past is

considered a sacrilege, It j&, therefore, that Indian

•ounda in haphazard dogmatic, slipshod,*urd and anomalous conclusions and concepts

svhicli crumb* n the nHgtitew prodding win. i igfcand the law or evident Thi

I 11 totteredmyth of Akbar's greatness and nobility is one such.Obviously a Muslim Akbat has been artificially

boosted as .- jjreal and noble ruler to provide acommunal counterbalance to the name of theHindu emperoi Ashok whu [s often hailed m worldliterature for his piety.

Akbar was descended on the paternal side

from Tamerlain. and on the maternal side fromChengiz Khan two of the world's greatest marau-ders who made the earrfr quail under their feet.

Justice J. M. Shelat observes1 Akbar'* "grandfather

Babur was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh, the king

of Fargana, a small principality on the eastern

border of Persi i Umar Sheikh's fathei was

Abu Said, a great grandson of Timur. The first

wife of Umar Sheikh and the mother of Babur.

Qutlug Nigar JChanum was the second daughter or

Yunas Khan, a direct descendant of Chagtai Knm.the second son or the great Mongol Chengiz Khun.

Akbar's grandfather Babur was dreaded like

a man-eater and people used to llee in terror in his

wake. It will be shown in a bsequern chapter of

this book that Akbar himself was rated by his

contemporaries as no better than a panther on the

prowl, and people lied at his approach.

About Babur Mr. Shelat says- "Babur took

the city iDipalpur) putting the entire garrison to

t. Page t, Alto, by J. M. Shelat,

Vidyu Bliiovan, Chowpaty. Bomb.n.

2 Pags 6, ibid

l%4, Rtinratiyi

54

the sword 'Bahur's *ani!unrd.„bcst rhe cnemv

jnd , t1terror m Ibrahim (Lodt)'s forces

,di,nni: ihc former's .

i

e towards Delhi)|Hit

them III «0 rhe sword" ..« Then he quotes Babur:

,s ihe hot season when we came io Agra. All

the inhabitants had run away iti terror. Neither

grain for ourselves nor corn for our horses was t

be had, The villagers, out of hostility and hatred for

us had taken to thieving and highway robbery

B\ the labours of several years. ..by deadly slang]),

fcr. we beat these masses of enemies

Describing the demonaic pleasure which Babur

u*ed 10 deri\ c by raising towers of heads of the

people he used to slaughter C I Tod writes11

that

after defeating Rana Sanga at Fathchpur Sikrl

•triumphal pyramids were raised of the heads of

the slain, and on a hillock which overlooked the

Id of battle, a tower of skulls was erected; andthe conqueror Babur assumed the title of Ghazi."

r ' account of Asaf Khan's banquet quot-ed by Vincent Smith says" "Intemperance was the

besetting sin of the Timuroid royal family, as it

s of many other Muslim ruling families. Baburwas an elegant toper

'

On his own confession Babur was also a sodo-From all accounts, therefore, Babur, the

P»B5 k, Shclut't tank. ibid.

*£ H\ Shelur quotes Babur'* Memoirs, RoutlcdgeA KCftfl Paul Ltd . London.

F*gt 10. ibid

* P*^ 24. t. AnoaU „nd ,„

**'

'-J. m two voli

*** 294, vinccm Smith''. Akbar the Great Mogu

I '" |C1 l,f ^e Mogul dynasty R„d gran, lather iI Akbar was no better than hoodlum

I Bar

b " r

'Vm " Nkmo

jrs ^ntain many confe*

Kions of he barbarism that he practised. re are,KwextT,ci,:"^Vctook a number of pHsoneifalter The battle against the Tambol) whose heads I

ordered to be struck off Thiv was mv first battle •

Orders were given for beheading such of them.

\fghans who surrendered in the battle betweenKobai find Hangti)as had been brought in alive,andam'naret was erected of their heads "> (AtHangu too my troops) cut off a hundred or 200heads ol refractory Afghans. Here il was erecteda minaret of heads." The Sanger (fortification orthe Kivi tribe), was taken. A general massacreensued. A pile of heads was formed m the Bannucoimiiv. 1

'

Such persons (of my urray}as had notrepaired to their posts had their noses slit." Thenemy troops provoked us to tight...A minaret of

skulls was erected of these Afghan " The expedi-tion of Bajour being thus terminated to myentire satisfaction...! gave orders for the erect

i

ofa pillar * f >kull» mi a rising ground, 1 *I sent

Ihe army under the command of Hindu Beg to

plunder Panjkora. Before they reached Panjkoraihe inhabitants had fled.

1 " the inhabitants of

Memoir ol /ctmuddin Miliummud Babur. I r;i related byJohn Lcyden and William Erskloe and annotated and revised

Sir Lucas King, two vols.. Humphrey Milford. OxfordUniversity Presi 1921

B P I IK. Vol. 1 9 P. a 10, p

" P - \2. P 239 12. Vol II. p. 38.

'•>• 1*. »3. 15. p. 85. 16. P. 149.

p i

56

. w who resisted were put to the sword, thcir^' Children were earned mto cap llV|lJ

;

;;i; e rpUi> Plundered" Ibrahim Ud?I,A,-re repulsed and Lahore baz*r

aS! 33A burned" When, fir*

:;^;;;^ratherewasa.tron, mutual dislike

wd hostility between my people and the men of

th The peasantry and soldiers of the conn-

Z abided and (led from my men. Afterwards

e?cmvhere except only in Delhi and Agra the m

habftants refused to submit or obey," When I

came to Agra, it was the hot season All «hc

Inhabitants had fled from terror The villagers, out

of hostility and hatred to us, had taken to rebellion.

thieving and robbery. The roads became impass-

able.30 Kasimi who had proceeded at this time

with a Hgbt force towards Bavaria had cut off and

brought away several heads 21 Mulla Turk Ah

was instructed to see that everything possible was

done to plunder and ruin Mewat. Similar orders

were given to Maghfur Diwan to proceed to

ravage and desolate some of the bordering and

remoter districts, ruining the country and carrying

off the inhabitants into captivity."

Coming down the line we find that Akbar's

father Humayun was perhaps even more cruel and

degenerate than Babur because while Rabur had to

sweat and toil and shed his own blood for plunder

and ravage, his son Humayun was heir to a vast

kingdom, and unearned richer

Vincent Smith observes-*: "Humayun was a

3 P. 151. IK. P 246.

20, P m P 279.

22. P. 9. Akbar ibe Great Mogul, ibid.

19. P. 247,

57

slave to the opium h il Humayun Will

highwayman and extortion! Vinoenl Smith

quotes 1' Humayun'a faithful servant Jauhar to my

thai when Akbar was born "The discrowned king

being in extreme poverty, was puzzled how to

celebrate (the occasion), The king i hen ordered

(Jauhar io bring the articles given in trust to hifC

on winch I (Jauhar) went and brought 20Q

Shahrtikhts (silver coins), a silver bracelet, and a

pod of musk. The two former he ordered me to

give back 10 the owners from whom they had been

taken..." Tins proves that sometime before the

birth of pnnce Akbar his father Humayun had

commuted a dacoity and robbed somebody of at

least 2 50 silver coins and ;» silver bracelet Happy

that he had got a son and fearing that his robbc

may entail a curse on the infant. Humayun

ordered the robbed ai tides to be restored to their

owners.

As was common among Muslim rulers in India

Humavun was engaged m deadly combat with his

own brothers to grab bis deceased father s throne.

After repeated battles when Humayun captured his

elder brother Kamran he subjected the alter

to brutal torture. Vincent Smith says* -Kamran..,

pressed >o hanl .hud been obliged to di.gu.se

himsetfasawoman (but was captured and) ws

rendered to Humayun. Humayun decided that itS Buffiec to blind hint The beat and mos

detailed account is left by Jauhar. His narrative

ges the im pression dm Humayun felt little

23. P It of Vlnceol SmiUVs book, ibid.

24, P. 19, ffeW

II

58

fa hfi brother** rtifferings...One ,»r, he

tling on (Kami**) knees, (He) wa8

culled .1.1 of the leni and fl lancet was thrust mto

.Some (lemon) mice and sail was piu

lt After some time he was put on

horsebnc* His family was not molested by

Humayun

ne may well imagine the cruelty and torture

Thai Humayun was capable of inflicting on others

when he subjected his own brother to such torture.

id the reference to the small mercy that he did

no molest his brother's wives shows that Humayun

used in molest all women he could lay his hands

on throughout his life.

And who knows whether he actually desisted

from molesting his brother's wives when he did

not spare his brother. The assertion may be mere

flatter

Emperor Babur himself appraising his eldest

wn Humayun (the father of Akbar, as a potential

murderer of his brothers) beseeched- htm on June

27, 1529, not to murder his brothers if he became

king. Young Humayun "s going berserk helped by

immense wealth and a phalanx of hoodlums is testi-

fied to by Babur himself in his Memoirs, Babur

Humayun had repaired to Delhi and there

opened several of the houses which contained

treasure md taken possession by force of the

H P. 20 ibid.

26 f». 231, Crescent in India, b> S.R. Sharuui, Hind

b Ltd., Bombay- 1. 1966,

17. P J15, Vol. II, Babur't Meinour ibm

contents. [ certainly never expected such conductfrom hjm, and being extremely huri, I wrote .ind

sent him ome letters containin the severalreprehension/

Humayun was io tyrannical and overbearing

thiii he imposed a humiliating rite to be observed

by all (hose over whom he ruled The chronicler

Badayuni notes:- 'When he ( Humayun > arrived

ai Agra he imposed upon the populace a new self-

invented form of salutation, and wished ihem to

kiss the ground {before him),"

Vincent Smith asserts-' thai "Humayun was a

stave of the opium habit." Mr. Shelat observes30

that in Agra "Kamran suddenly took til and

suspected that he had been poisoned b> Babur's

wives at Humayun's instanci m After spending

about a year in Badakshan Humayun showed

characteristic laxity towards duty and suddenly

returned to India without the permission of his

father, deserting his post. Displeased at Lhe con-

duct Babur sent him to his jagir in Sumbhal *

After l lie capture of Champa ner in Gujerat

28 F 573. Vol. 1, Miiiititkli.ibul Tawuriklt by Abdul

QwHi ibu Muluk Shall alias AI Badayool, trnmlaied Iii»

IgmAlFertl nd edited by George SLA (tonkins primed

i ,ihc Aiintic Sociclv Of Bengal. Cilcuu.t. Bupnsl Minion

Press, mi P 9. Akbu il.c Greut Mogul, by Vinccnl A. Smith.

2nd edition, revised Indian repnni 1958, S. Chnnd &. Co.,

30 «' 32, Akbui. by J.M. Shelat. Bh«T»tiyi Vfdyi

Bhuwftfl, 1964, Bombay.

31 i 20, ibid

32 P. 24, ibid.

H!

.nng.uHl indolence as he did

on iumeniv! occasions

\khaibrother Humayun was a kchcrous

profligate sadtsl and an incorrigible

jrug iddici and a torturer is apparent

\iu following extracts from Mr. Shctofs

On Ins return 10 Agra Humayun took t

drive B« of opium- Public business was

,when the Moguls entered the fort

huimrlRumy Khan inflicted barbarous penalty on

ihc garrison in which Humayun acquiesced. The

hands of no less than 300 Afghan artillery men

Rumy Khan was appointed commander

but was poisoned by jealous chiefs.** Jn Gaur

Humayun unaccountably shut himself up for a

considerable time in his harem and abandoned

himself to every kind of indulgence and luxury.3"

The reasons for the dissatisfaction amongst the

igainst Humayun were obvious. By 1538 the

character of Humayun. his indolence, his excessive

addiction to opium and his slothful ways had he-

me notorious ..Finding two of his brothers

iHindal and Kamrani ready to stab him in the

Humayun decided to cut his wa> back (from

Bengal) to Agra ."'

Thirty-three year-old Humayun taking 14-year-

nida Banu as a wife was a virtual rape of a

mi irl. Humayun then was a desperate outlaw

and fugitive, expelled from India and living

33 p. U, AJtbw, ibid.

34 P, 27. Ihid

35 l> 1H, Ibid

3fc P. 29, ibid

61

iacoity in the sandy waste* of Sind In the«circuin itai Humayun came to >cc hi-> brother

(I lindali. In Hindal\ harem Humayun saw MamidaBanu. daughter of VI ir Baba Dost who was

HmdaPs religion!* guide. Humayun was ihen 33

while llamida Banu was hardly 14. HumayunSougilt her hand. The girl herself was opposed to

marrying Humayun. Hindal also opposed the

match. At last in September 1541, Humayun

married her giving two lacs of rupees in dowry-'

Obviously Humayun purchased Baba Do&t\

daughter by threats and bribing him with some-

body's stolen money.

Having noted thai all of Akbar's ancestors

from his rather Humayun upward to Chengiz Khan

and Tamerlaia were the mosl cruel barbarians.

sadists and drink and drug-addict-. WK AaKlJlQ*

5C that all his descendants too were equally

let i«

. i .'US, cruel and misbehaved.

li may be argued thai Akbar himself was

noble b< 'me freak though born in a barbarous

lineage, . nd that he could not help his *&being first-rate sadism no, could he be expectedto

«en anv moderating influence on hj™*^Even accepting this for argument s sake Akbar

11 son Lang* . cruelt> rt**™^phenomenal. Mr. Shelat says? ^'f™^khansir) gave himself to excessive use of opium

Sta tomt and under their "^J££llictctl barbarous punishmeiU. He hadto^flayed alive m his presence and he ordered the

37. I "p. 30, •1 7. 'bid

3S. P, 359 ibid.

*3

rationoma* lervanl with whom

(

CTl 'II love.

md noble hjs

hi,

H.J Urttti been greai »nu u^ic SOn

tan* would not have been keen on murdering

Bm Jehangil made several attempts 10 murder

. vn cuheT Akbar. Referring to one such

Smiih -i

"A * early as 1591. when

s suffering Tor a time from stomach-ache

he expressed suspicion that his eldest

K-»n (Jebnngir) had poisoned him." This episode

iT is much of Jehangir's villainy as of Akbar's

ns the most hated person of his times

Not having succeeded in poisoning his father

\fcbar Jehangir wanted to capture and kill Akbar.

Mr. Smith records-*": (In view of Jehangir's

Vkb-ir relumed to Agra probably early

>' rSalim while in rebellion sought

:he support of the Portuguese and their animuni-

don against his father)..,J Abul Fazal was

»hli a lance and promptly decapitated,

His head was sent to Allahabad, where Salim

re. Lh unholy joy and treated it with shame-

.It...*' The elder prince, when safely estab-

hed with his court at Allahabad, far removed

parental supervision, abandoned himself

out restraint to his favourite vices, consumingor ind Ntrong drink to nidi an extent that his

m SmithVAktowr die Great Mogul".39

64

» asked to ukc charge of the royal armyj n tne

I himself -<« the rime ofdCpar.

tore * Durine- May 1580 to May 1598 Akbar]K,d

become alienated from Salmi, and ihc seed

of rebellion was n in the prince's mind., The

older he grew the more fond he became of sexual

indulgence, of drill* ^d olher youthful follies,

\1 though he had a large harem he had in June 1596

fallen violent 1\ in love with Zainkhan Koka's

daughter, li nun be that the story of the prince's

early love for Mihirunnisa (future Nurjahan) and

foiarkali wen- not without substance. 60 When he was

lent with the expedition against the Rana of Mewar

from self-indulgence, wine-drinking and bad com-

pany (Salim) spent much time in Ajmer, Taking

advantage of Akbar's absence Salim decided on

n rebellion, He marched rapidly from Ajmer

ards Agra, confiscating more than a crore

nh of cash :md effects of Shahbazkhan Kambu. 51

On return to Allahabad Salim had relapsed into

.*!d habit of drink and self-indulgence.

Surrounded by unworthy companions he imbibed

excessive love of flattery, He had Tor years been

familiar with these vice?, but he carried them

to excess He became addicted to wine at all hours

to such extent that it ceased to intoxicate him.

So he began taking opium m addition to wine.

He started drinkti a the age of 1 H and at this

period he look sometimes as many as 21) cups of

double ilcd spin! Undei the double intoxi-

cation o! i id upturn he sometimes inflicted

49 i<

mill

51 Y I

f>5

capital punishment for ordinary offences. One day

,n a fit of drunkenness he had a news-vwiter, whoseemed to have reported the prince's indulgence

,n excessive drink, to Akbar, horribly flayed alive

in his presence, He castrated a page, and had a

domestic servant beaten to death"

Not only Akbar's son Jehangir even Akbar's

grandson Shahjahan who happened to be emperor

after Jehangir, was a degenerate barbarian like all

his ancestors upto Chengiz Khan and Tamerlain

and beyond.

Maulvi Moinuddin Ahmad writes11 'European

historians have sometimes charged Shahjahan with

bigotry traced to the fountainhead of narrow-

mindedness in (his wife) Mumtaz."

E,B. Havell notes52 "The Jesuits were bitterly

persecuted by Shahjahan, Only a short lime before

her death Mumtaz Mahal, who was a relentless

enemy of the Christians, had instigated Shahjahan

to attack the Portuguese settlement in Hoogly."

Another historical work records" Many

times did Shahjahan invite the monks and seen

priests to become Mobommadans (but when they

repudiated his overtures) Shahjahan was greatly

51 px The Taj and Its Environments, bv Mm

Mainudditi Ahmad. 2nd edition, printed by R. G. B.nsal &

Co., 339 Kasmrat Bftiar, Agra.

« p ,041 The 19th Century & After. d Mom

RevlefJTid i l>™ «*> r V,U- * " llCd

be T,j & lu Designer*, by E. B. HavelL

53. Pp. VHMX, The Traction* of the Archaeological

Society of Argn, Jun. lo June 1878.

,„,

in d and then and then ordered ihc priests

be ncd the next iU\\ by the tori u re then u /u'nst the worst outJaws, that of being trampu

kecne slates*4 "'Shahjahan surpassed all th.

Mogul emperors in autocratic pride and was Mi

lirvt of I hem l« safeguard I he I h rone by murderingall possible rivals, " According to Roe whoknew Shahjahan personally, his nature was un.

bending and mingled with extreme pride, and con-tempt of all."

Shahja ban's own official court chronicleertfi* 'It had been hrought to the notice of

His M( ;. q\ HKit during the late reign many idol

temples had been begun, but remained unfinishedm Bauaras, the great stronghold of infidelity, Theinfidels were now desirous of completing them. HisMajesty, the defender of faith, gave orders that at

Einaras and throughout all his dominions in ever>ce. all temples I hat had been begun should be

cast down. It was now reported from the provinceof Allahabad thai 76 temples had been destroyedin ihe district of Banaras."

In connection with the conquest of Daulaiabadslated in the same chronicle" "Kasim Khan

ECeene'l Handbook for Visitors to Agra Si ll

Neighbour!.,i

| tr , Handbgok of Hindustan rewrittenand brought up-to-date by E A Duncan)

55 P. 155. ibid.

?y. Ihc Badihuhnamn, by Mulla Abdul HnmidLaden

57, P 46 ibid

157

Bnd Kambu brought 400 Christian prisoner* mateBad female, young and old. with the idoh of thtwarship to the presence of the fahh-dcfendingemperor. He ordered that the principle* of theMuhammadan religion be explained to them mdthey be called upon to adopt it A few embracedthe faith but the majority in perversity and well-ness rejected the proposal. These were distributedamong the amirs who were directed to keep thesedespicable wretches in rigorous confinement. Soii came to pass that many of them passed fromprison to hell. Such of their idols as were the

likeness of the Prophets were thrown into theJumna, the rest were broken to pieces." Like

Jehangir's Shahjahan's whole reign is full of the

most cruel dealings. Shahjaban's son Aurangzebwho succeeded htm as emperor is a byword for ext-

reme fanaticism, cruelty and treachery. Aurangzebdied a bare 261 years ago (in 1707 A.D.). If he could

be extremely cruel and barbarous how much morecruel and barbarous would his great grand father

Akbar have been ! So, no matter how manygenerations above or below Akbar we probe wefind them a long line of barbarians, Akbar was

but a link in that chain He was not the least

different from others of his lineage. Had he been

noble his descendants at least should have been

good, noble, well-behaved and universally loved

and respected individuals. This is ^heer logic. Onewho has not read accounts of the reign of Akbar

but has heard of the cruelty of hts ancestors and

descendants would at once see through the bluff of

Akbar's nobility.

Before referring to Akbar's own cruelties and

:-m

torbnrii i

we shall see what the , dar(J

;:

*"« * JS »** Akb*

w r wielding wpnaw power, been ^nle Ins contemporaries would not have bee*

|l(lmmir hemrus crimes In fact ijw

would luivc been ier\ cukured and well behaved

k„i jn realit) the? *«« " cruel ^ wo], es and

liven,

w-Thc mother of Chungiz Khan, the iai«

rCTun . f Gujerai, at this time (1573) preferred a

10 Akbar that Joojhar Khan Hub?

had put her son to death

Abul Mali, a senior courtier** vho fled to-

wards Kabul wrote to Mah Ghck (a lady fr-

Akbar's o%n foster brother's royal family; reca

ing earlier friendly tigs with Huraayun (father of

Akbar), She welcomed him and gave her daughter

Fakhrunnisa in marriage to him. Later finding his

mother-in-law an obstacle in his way he himself

killed her with n dagger'

•"Akbar's own uncle Kamran "disgraced him-

self by inflicting on his opponents the most fiendish

tortures, not sparing even v. omen and children."

The instances quoted above should suffice to

convince the reader that the whole environment

before, after or during Akbar's reign reeked *

58. P. 147. Hi*tor> of the Ri* of tommadaji ?ov&in India till it D 1612. iraniLited rh* orifiail

Pcismr I .hamnud %mkm Fed Brttfs. «*1!, published b> S. Dc > bitlr Street. Cakrcpf [filed 190-

59. P U. M 3 S cut's book. ibid.

60. P. 18 Vmm book, ibid

inurden massacres, rape and plqnd

half-3-«ni did not make even die

I diflercncc to the pattern or standard*

:diae\al behaviour. Had Akbar been grevi knd

ik posterity would noticed a et

change m life before Akb_ d that durinz or

after bis reign. Srnce even hu great grandson

rangzeb was the very embodiment of exuehy

sheer logic should tell u\ that Akbar far from

being virtuou* must ha%e been a deeply bated

person worthy to be the great grandfather

igzeb and cert more barbarous than the

latter because Akbar was Auraugzeb* senior by

100 years in an age woes cruelty and brutality lost

tber nd edge ste-4 . . er a ong

period.

In the next cbaptc bafl narrate Akbar

x p rod his genera i other oft, cruelties,

and thereby prove -t the conclusions we

reach by logic and world:. iotn are fully borne

out by hi Absurd and dlogkal dogmas like

Akbar's fancied nobility base been embedded in

Indian hi writers and teachers

have beer iuousry ' -i to avoid making use

of logic a e law of evidence from consMera

of political expediency m a mulenrum of ahen

role. Through long babit the legal and logical

faculties of scholars of Indian history, of the

traditional school, b ±Hen into such duuse that

they express surprise if told that logic and the law

of evidence murf be used as supreme touchstones

.-si the >f dogmas o iocuments

records, chronicles, inscriptions and aidueoJogt-

cal finds.

1

frflT.COM

Chapirr IV

AKBAR'S BARBARITIES

In no a\ wasAkbflf less cruel than

his ancestors, descendants or contemporaries.|j

anything his crafty, scheming and treacherous

jure and the unlimited power that he wielded

over a vast region qualifies him to be considered

one of the foremost tyrants and sadists in world

history, leave aside India's alone.

Col Tod asserts 1 "Generations of martial

races (The Rajputs or Kshatriyas) were cut off byhis sword, and lustres rolled away ere his conquestswere sufficiently confirmed. He was long ranked

J] Siiahbuddin, Alia (Allauddm) and otherinstrument* of destruction, and with every just

claim: and like these he constructed a Mumbarj Ipit or platform of Islamite preachers) for the

Komi from th« altarl Of tklirwju tthe deity ofthe Rajput warriors i."

Communa lists or those seeking academic orother patronage under alien regimes in India havetended to mention Akbar, in and out of contexi.atcompaiablc in nobility of character and greal-

i of heart with the ancient Indian king Ashok.Debunking this view Vincent Smith justifiabi

bv

Vol1, \nnal»and Antiquities of Rajiutthait.

Tod, in two volumes, reprinted 1957.tW*c £ kccw fail Lid,. BriKidws) House, 68-74 Carta

L*ne, Lopdua S-'

71

observes3 "Akbar would have laughed at the

remorse fell by Ashok I r the miseries caused bythe conquest of Killing* and would have utterly

condemned his great predecessor's decision toabstain from all further wars of aggression/*

How the whole of Akbar's life was onesickening tale of cruelty, torture inflicted onthose whom he disliked, and treachery, may benoted from the following extracts from accounts

written by a number of scholars.

Vincent Smith says* "Kamran's only son(who was Akbar's cousin) was privately executed at

Gwalior in 1565—bv the order of Akbar. who thus

set an evil example, imitated on a large scale by

his descendants Shahjahan and Aurangzeb/*

The above observation makes it clear that the

consummate villainy of emperor Shahjahan (Akbar's

grandson) and of emperor Aurangzeb (Akbar's

great grandson) were not their original traits but

a precious heritage handed down by Akbar.

Sadism was a prominent, permanent and

consistent trait of Akbar's mental makeup. It

manifested itself throughout his life from early

childhood to his very last moments.

On November 5, 1556 when Akbar was a

mere stripling of less than 14 years of age he

slashed the neck of his Hindu adversary, Hemu,

brought before him unconscious and bleeding.

Vincent Smith describing this incident after the

2. Pp. 50-51 , Akbar The Great Mogul, by Vincent

Smith. Jbid.

3. P. 20, ibid.

72

****** f^z°n

H:mr::«

EKX" «M0W which P,erccd hisbn,,

^d Mdc- M fttfthw rcsisiance. Heniu s clepha

^thfcd Wo tta jungle W" brou-hl b** andA

aar. Akbar smote Herau on the neck with his

i-caing corpse. Hemu's head was sent tom

The bystanders also plunged their swords

bleeding corpse. Hemu's head was sent to

ad to be exposed and his trunk was gibbeted

2t one of the gate? of Delhi. The official story, that

a magnanimous sentiment of unwillingness to strike

helpless prisoner already half-dead compelled

\kbar to refuse to obey his guardian (Benram

n s instructions to strike a semi-conscious

enemy), seems to be the late invention of courth

Elaucfers.' I Ins last observation of Smith under

flatterers have from time to time

falsified history by varnishing their patrons' beastly

deed*, needs to be carefully no Led by alt students

of mediaeval Muslim chronicles.

Akbar's victorious forces pushing south from

Panipat after thai great victory J "marched straight

to Delhi, which opened its gates to Akbar, who

made his entry m state. Agra also passed into his

possession, In accordance with the ghastly custom

mc$, a tower was built with the heads of

Immense treasures were taken with the

famil lemu whose aged father was executed/'

mem Smith's book, ibid.

5. p, 29. .bid.

7.1

After defeating Baz, Bahadur the sultan

Malwa at Sangrur near Dcvvas in Central India.

I Ku s generals Adham Khan and Peer

Mohammad disgraced themselves and their

sovereign (Akbar) by disgusting cruelties, of which

Badayuni was a horrified witness. They had the

capn brought before them and troop after troop

of them put to death, so that their blood flowed

river upon river. Peer Mohammad cracked brutal

jests, and when remonstrance was offered replied *in

one single night all ihese captives have been taken,

what can be done with them/ Even Sayyids and

learned Sheikhs who came out to meet him with

Korans in their hands were slain and burnt/

After the battle Adham Khan who was for a

lime appointed governor of Malwa was recalled

and Peer Mohammad was appointed in his place/

"In conferring such an important trust on a man

so unworthy Akbar committed a grievous error,

peer Mohammad attacked Burhanpur and Bijagadh,

perpetrating a general, massacre at the latter

fortress. As Badayuni observes, he practised to the

utmost the code of Chengiz Khan, massacring or

enslavinc all the inhabitants of Burhanpur and

Asirgadh, and destroying many towns and villages

to the south of the Narmada (river)."

Adham Khan W*8 laier ordered to be thrown

over the parapet of Agra fort and dashed to pieces

for murdering a courtier called Alga Khan. Refer r

ing lo this Smith says* "Adham Khan was thrown

6,

u

w*lk>M fct'in toBc

!

ne*?.

ly ha,fkilled

'•' H'lH^r.g him up^hi* toam» dashed out. The horrid

Uhani khan hi "" being dashed ouifc

produced in one of the Akbarnama

^ I

South Kensington/'

VVae* hkbu l''

|cd ttn attack aS»«nst tJu

eight villages in Etah district (Sakit

in Paronkh village 8 house was set on

thousand rebels consumed.'*

v extraordinary incident winch occurred

"i while the royal camp was at

famous Hindu place of pilgrimage,

tb of Delhi, throws a rather unpleasant

Akbar - character. The sanyasis who

L the holy lank were divided into two

\boJ Faial calls Kurs and Purii,

ader of the latter complained to the kin|

aeKurshad unjustly occupied the accustom-

place of the Puris, who were tim-

ed from collecting tlie pilgrims* alms. (They

ranted permission to decide the issue by

riiL- fight began with swords,

were discarded for bows and

hese again for stones. Akbar seeing

re outnumbered gave the signal to

>re savage followers to help the

The reinforcements enabled the

he Kur-, mio headlong llight The

ued and a number of 'th<

^n* to annihilation!. The chronicler

I» *«L 10 Pp. 56.57. .bid.

IS

•icuimiMs adds that(Akb«r)wai highly delightedwith this sport. The other historians cell utihatHi. numbers onriuially engaged were two or three

hundred oft one tide and SOU on the other,

that with the reinforcements the total came to

about a UQOQ The author of the Tabaqnt agrees

with Ahul Fa/at that 'the emperor greatly enjoyed

ihc sight'. It is disappointing to find that a manlike Akbar could encourage such sanguinary

sport.'"

This incident throws a lurid light on Akbai

tastes and motives. A- I fanatic Muslim it gave

him great pleasure to see that two faction* of the

hated Hindus slaughtered one another That he

derived immense pleasure from two groups of menstabbing and stoning one another only speaks tot

Akbar's very sadist mind

(hat people of his time used to regard Akbar's

approach with the same terror is thai of a man-eater

on the prowl, is clear from the two crowded Hindu

pilgrim centres, Banaras and Prayag [Allahabad \

getting deserted on Akbar's visit there. Vincent

Smith says 11 "Akbar then marched to Prayttg and

Banaras, which were plundered because the people

were rash enough to close their gates/' Obviously

people who are generally eager to see royalt> and

pay homage would run have barricaded doors or

run away after locking their homes unless they

panicked from the rape and rapine that Akba

phalanx of hoodlums spread in its wake wherever

they went for hall a century, in India

I

It. P. SH.ibid.

76

Otic mstii M mafjimad Mu-ak of \u

ispeotoJ confidant of Khan Zaman (who "JJ5revolted against Akbirj waa tortured for rv

5$sivc Jays on Hie execution ground, e-,^

day tie was trussed up in a wooden framellntj

placed before one ofthe elephants The etephaw.

caught lijm in his irunk and squeezed him and

flung him from one side \o I he other. As a clear

;n for his execution was not given the elephant

played with him. IbulFszat idates this horrid

barbarity without a word of censure."

The terrible mass immolation by fire preferred

N Rajput women and infants to escape rape,

humiliation and molestation by Akbar's army men

after the capture of Chitior fori, testifies to the

brutality that was practised during Akbar's reign,

\ incent Smith observes" "The Jauhar sacrifice

completed before the final capture was on a large

scale The fires were kindled in three distinct

places. Nine queens, five princesses, their daughters

as well as two infant sons, and alt the chieftains'

families who happened not to be away on their

estates perished either in the flames or in the

assault. During the course of the following morn-

ing when Akbar made lus entry 8,000 Rajputs

vowed to death sold their lives as dearly as possible

and perished to a man. Akbar exasperated by the

obstinate resistance offered to his arms treated the

garrison and town with merciless severity. The 8,000

strong Rajput garrison having been zealously helped

during the siege by 4u.in.ni peasants, the emperor

12.

1 3,

P. 5b. ibid

P.HibM.

77

,.i. i d a general mussacrc. whicft n ;uli d in '*»

death ol <ii/"'i" M ihv were made prisonci

i In November 1572 whea Akbar approached

Ahfjicdubad the fugitive king* Muzjiflat Shan v.

found hiding in a cornfield i brought in. Certain

i

imp followers having Insolently plundered his

effects, Akbar sel an example of stern justice b>

ordering tht offenderaiabe ir.tmpled to death bv

elephants."

An insight into the working of Akbar's illite-

rate mind is offered by the punishment he met

,.iii too senior courtier called Ham-2aban. This

courtier had been in revolt at Sural in Cujerat

province. He" pturcd on February 26, 1573.

Since the word Hanwaban signifies 'one true to

his tongue (word) h barbarously punished

Pv m,, excision of his tongue."

In 1573 A.D '""Husain Kuli Khan (Khan

Julian) waited on Akbar with his prisoners, The

eves of Masud Husam Mirza had been sewn up

The other 300 prisoners were drawn up before

Akbar with the skins of asses, hogs and doc,

drawn over their face* Some of them were

executed with various ingenous tortures.. ....It is

disgusting to find a man like Akbar sanctioning

such barbarities which he inherited from his

Tatar ancestors. The severities practised did not

finally extirpate the Mirza trouble, which soon

broke out again In Gujeiat"

•'-The battle of Ahmedabad was fought on

P. 79, Ibid 13.

16. I* H2 ibid I"

i' si, IbEd

p, B6, th d

78

September I. 157*. In accordance with the ^Jmc custom of [hc rimcs

'a Pyramid was

byf,,

with the head* of the rebels, more than :,O0Qln

number"

»**Thc heads of Ihc Afghan leaders ki|| c<1

were thrown into a boat and forwarded to Daud

lihe Afchan ruler of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) 1 *

to warn him of the fate which awaited him »«on

March 3. 1^75 the battle decisive was fought with

Daud's forces at Tukaroi....Munim Khan follow

ing the barbarous fashion of the times massacred

his prisoners, whose heads were sufficiently num.

erous to furnish eight sky-high minarets/'

'"Another battle against Daud was fought on

Thursday. July 12 near RajmahaL Daudt a

prisoner * overcome with thirst asked for water.

They filled his slipper with water and brought it to

him- To behead him they look two chops at his

:k without success.They stuffed his head with

straw and anointed it with perfumes, and gave II

in charge to Sayid Khan, The latter met Akbar at

village Birar and cast down Daud's head in the

courtyard. Daud's headless trunk was gibbeted at

Tanda/'

81 In or about 1603 A. D. Akbar, who was

used to retire to his room in the afternoon for

rest happened to emerge earlier than was

expected and at first could not find any of his

servants,,. When he came near the throne and

couch he saw a hapless lamplighter coiled up like

a snake, in a careless death-like sleep close to the

P. «. IN* 19. |> 92, Ibid

f K»» ibi* 21. p. H7, ibid.

79

royal couch Enraged at the sighl he ordered hinv

to be thrown from the tnwt-r, and he was dashedinto a thousand pieces"

""Sheikh Abdun Nabi the laic Sadar and hisopponent Makhdumul Mulk were sent into exile

under the pretext of pilgrimage to Mecca. Bothwere allowed to return. Makhdumul Mulk died

at Ahmedabad in 1582 leaving great riches andvaluable books, which were all confiscated His

sons several times suffered torture and were

reduced to abject poverty Two years later AbdunNabi was murdered presumably in pursuance

of secret orders from the emperor".

""Special cases of severity to individuals

fin Bihar and Bengal) increased the ill-feeling, and

it is said that the officials added fuel to the fire

by their greed for money'

****Akbar never felt any scruple about ordering

the private, informal execution or assassination of

opponents who could not be executed publicly"

•'"Notwithstanding the fine phrases about

general tolerance which occupy so large a space in

the writings of Abu I Fazl and the sayings of Akbar,

many acts of fierce intolerance were committed..

In the years 1581-82 a large number of Sheikhs

and fakirs, apparently those who resisted innova-

tion, were exiled, mostly to Kandahar, and ex*

changed lor horses, presumably being enslaved*1

A young handsome Hindu painter named

Yashwant (mis spelled by Muslim chroniclers as

22. P. I JO, ibid 23. t», 132. ibid.

24. P. 135, ibid 23 P. 159. ibid.

80

DHiv iboed himscli u> death,from

melancholia becat^ I the foul almospheu 2

Akbar's conn recking with sodomy, doping, drug*,

drinking and prostitution.

Raja Bi one of Akbar's most senior

cout her-in-law, and general also stabbed

himself in dfogus* because he found life in Akbar's

court intolerable, humiliating, degrading and

vicious The official explanation is that he and

DaswandJi stabbed themselves in fits of insanity

All such acts in protest against the regime in

power are always dubbed 'insane.1

Historians must

not. therefore, take such official versions at their

face value.

Vincent Smith says20 "Wheeler asserts that

Akbar kept a poisoner in pay" whose duty it was

to poison people at Akbar's orders. ..The sentences

on convicts were of the appalling kind. The modes

of execution included.. .impalement, trampling I

elephants, crucifixion, beheading, hanging and

Otto Babur had ordered (flaying) without

scruple As minor penalties mutilation and whipp*

ing of great severity were common);, ordered

records of proceedings civil or criminal were

kept. Persons acting as judges thought fit to follow

Koranic rules. Akbar encouraged trial by ordeal.

The horrors of an execution ground are realistically

depicted in one of the contemporary illustrations to

the Akbarnama at South Kensington".

"(Akbar) showed severity in his treatment

of the garrison of Chittor and in the tortures

inflicted on the fol ire ofthe Mintas." Though

lb. P. 250, 27, P. 251. ibid.

at

Vincent Smith mentions but two epi ,,,,1,i in ,vhjch

Akbar acted with groat tyranny and cruelty yet everycampaign of Akbar whether agafotl a political rival

or a rebel was attended by brutal severitj andthere is no reason why any ,> nc shoul I bt sj -led

,,,.,,. Smith add "li improbable thai his(Ak

clemency, when shown, often was die| by

policy rat Iter then by sentiment "'

Smith says28: "He (Akbar) was truly as the

Jesuit author calls him 'the terror ofthe East,1and

he had been spoiled to i certain extent bj more

than four decades of autocraey It is possible he

was feared rather than loved. The dread of him

even at an earlier time was so potent that he fell

himself free to flout and insult the most Miered

feelings of his subjects. At the end of l SSI his

personal ascendancy was established so firmly thai

he could venture to do what he pleased. He used

the liberty to do some outrageous things-*

•"Tfie horrid punishment of mutilation which

js prescribed by the Koran, was used freely. Neither

Akbar nor Abul Fazal had any regard for the

judicial formalities of oaths and witnesses. The

Faujdar was expected to reduce rebels, always

numerous and whenever necessary to use his troops

against recalcitrant villagers in order to enforce

payment of government dues,"

Col. Tod me ia pecutiai instance of

Akbar's despotism and illiterate coercion He

2 P. 251. ibid

28, P. 256, II

29. P 27... Ibid

Ki ,„t, \khar command

On Jofi hjs head ,nd beard

, n

.^ compliance, the royal bj.rbew»**" '_„ of mc mandate Bui when thej

.

.the Mad- in «*,

^ t0W of manhood, they were rep,

flnd contumely. Tta < ten*.

SraSof^howasoneofAkbarsgcncah and,

, pTnrjan the ex-chiaf of Ramhambhoi

,on iaggravated i his crime of resistance and

the royal eai thai the outrage upon

the barbers Was accompanied wi expression

to the memory of the departed princess,

har forgetting his vassal's gallant services

mmanded ihut Rao Bhoj sh< aid be pinioned and

fo deprived of his Mooch (moustache). The

to their arms. The camp was thro

into tumult, and would soon have presented a

wild wcenc of hi odshed had not the emperor,

repenting of liis folly, repaired to the

fioondi quarters in person"

The Rajputs a* a community did not have

•»n> fl for such of their women who had

mend their lives a* deienues in Muslim haremi^'u

're. deeply resented having to

sha tl,cir beards and moustache, which were

their cherished symbols of manly valour, foi

io had fallen from grace and acceptedthe statu i Muslim whore instead of beingnwried in the traditional I, ok style and custom to-a

bv ,V '' "• Annuls and Anuqmiic* ol '

Rjjiislnafl>d> u. Col. lnm\

f vxt, ibid.

S3

brflveRajpat. Akbai'sorder w» therefor, partteti-

jortygalling to the proud Rajput The luj

|M L.,,

,j Vkbar himself not wanting to lost n one

opportunity of humiliating the pride of the R

yjed this occasion toI \m those who we -vu

sen ienl to him. to shed their beards and mou

and shave off their heads The Rajputs who as

orthodox Hindus would otherwise have willingly

shaven off couriered it particularly humiliating

to shed their hair in homage to one who had l

their proud tradition down.

Killing and massacring others was regarded

i Lime and diversion by a bereaved Akbar.

Could there exist a more sinister kind of sadism \

The chronicler Fenshta notes u Prince Murad

Mir/a Falling dangerously ill (May 1599) was buried

at Shapoor. The corpse was afterwards removed

to Agra, and laid by the side of Humayuu, the

prince's grandfather. The king's grief ibr the death

of his son increased his desire for conquering the

Deccan, as a means of diverting his mind.'

An account of the horrid cruelties thai \kbar

perpetrated on the defenders of Chit tor fort is

31. P 171, Vol. 11. Hi« ' Malionwdsin Power bl

India, till the year A.D 1612 IMisted Bromine anginal

Italian of Mahomed K^im Feriihto bl John Bri lafoni

volumes. Published bs S 11 J9-A ffluunbasu Stn

Calcutta «i.

InddentaSlythU point* ti ihi ;'

,jn*s

Snm u Delhi being u Like W h '

l,roved

boo* titled Sonic Blunder ol Indian 1

Uuii wlmi j* pointed oul m the mausoleum of Hu >i,Q

Delhi is an aneleai Hhdu polo*

84

* mi 1»*M 105-109 ofMl SheLn\honkK

aiiitoronJ :4. 1 5r>&

yjedw order ofg^ml *«*« ™rou8,,

H V the invaders roamed m the strcct

Ji£*N The numb, killed wfi fc

mcir tiered threads alone weighed7<t

of rt seers each' A wounded [\iUll

S^TtJicGDvindshyam alias Kumbha*!^

Zlk wm trampled to death b) ikbar s 0Wn

3a '

A ^ irl from Sf0DO fig,nm£ RttJ»>u«v

re inside th« fori about 40.0(H) peasant,

i SCI lllg . The order for genera]

master* *a* rM withdrawn umtl about 30,000 cif

ihcio were put to till, though the struggle was

Neither the temsi] hoj the towers escaped

1Jlt,i,

| of the invaders. When everything

U ar started on February 2s, 1568 on a

pilgrimage a Ajmer." This is like the proverbial

bberTeJIi g Lhe rosary aftei the robber

j

*Husain Quli Khan came with 300 prisoners

cap 1'

i luring Ins battle with Ibrahim Mirza

! Punjab, Among them was Masud Kusain

eyes were sewed up while the rcsl

were hrought in cow skins from which (even) the

bona had not been taken away. A few of these

pf' ordered to be released but the rest

death by various ingenious tortures,

da; J Khan arrived from Multan

presented Ibrahim** head. The punishment!o i he rebels were barbaric and cruel.

J-M SlicJi i

| ubli lied b) Bhnraiip

Bi n bay, 1964.I'p I2H36, mi

85

"In the campaign against (he rebels in Gutaat-lhe heads or Mohammad Husun and Ikhtiyai

were sent to be hung and displayed on -the gates

of Agra and Rilehpur. Following the custom of the

Timurids, Akbar had a pyramid made of the heads

of the rebels who had perished that day."

"•It would not be unreasonable to think that

I he two Rajput generals (Bhagwanoas and Man-Singh deputed hy Akbar to assist Shahbaz Khanagainst Rana Pratap) were abruptly dismissed by

him because they showed their opposition to the

methods of barbarity and brutality Shahbaz pro-

posed to use to achieve his object of capturing the

Sisodia hero."

The weird fear that Akbar inspired in all those

subservient to him is well illustrated by the inci-

dent narrated by Badayuni. lie says?- 'When at

the very Lime of the accession. Abul Mali fled from

Lahore, Pchlwan Gul Guz. Ins keeper, committed

suicide through fear of the emperor's anger"

^"Whcii the second day after the victory, the

emperor came to Pampat, he had a minaret built

of the heads of Lhe slain.'"

34, P. 141. ibid.

35 P 1 77, ibid.

36. P. 4. Vol IK Muntbkhtbul raaaiik*, bj Abui Qadir

Ibn Muluk Shall alias A I Dadayum tmailflM from the oriiina!

Persian and ulucd b\ George S.A. Ranking, printed for «"

Asiatic Society or Bengal, Baptist Mission I'r itetjun,

1838.

37. v. io, ibid-

yham Khan .md Peer Mohammad,cnc>ai>). Badayuni sty*

soiier. On the day of the victory

bdbre lhcmi and troop after troop of

thcnTpiit 10 dent)., so that ihcir blood flowed r.ver

ur,onri>crand Peer Mohammad with a smile on

his fcce said in N 'Wbal a planue or a strong neck

fm has and a river of blood has flowed

ri .1 (When I conveyed to liim my abhorrance)

Peer Mohammad replied4

ln one single night all

these captives Jiavc oeen taken, what is to be done

n? And the same night these plundering

marauder ing slowed away their Mohammadancapme*;. cons jsting of the wives of Shaikhs and

Savvids. and learned men, and nobles, in their

bov J saddte-bags brought them to Ujjain.

And the Sayyids and Sheikhs of that place camehim with their Qtirans in their hands,

arnmad put them all to death andBrat llicm Adham Khan sent the whole account

of tin victory to die court/*

*•*« those Peer Mohammad, who, afterKhan went to court, possessed absolute

collected a great force and led ii

Ski ^ >T V* ****** ***-» andnc.Kiaughtcr Then he turned towards

gi

pi ictisudKhandeNh Bifid was not content unless he»* ^mos' the code of Chengfc Rhanjng and mwkmg prisoners ufali u.c mhahu.-mts ofBnrhanpni and Asheergadh and then crosstnu therfver Narmada he raised the conflict lo the vervheavens and utterly destroyed many towns andvill il'c Mid sue pi everything clean and cleat

Aktar'a maternal uncle Khwaja Muazzarahaving murdered his own wife Akbar ""first hadhim mauled with kicks and sticks, and then gavehim several duckings, and packed him off toGsvalior (where he died),"'

*» In the year 971 A. H "the emperor hadMiiv;

i

Muqim of Isfahan together with McerYaqub of Kashmir put to death on the charge

being Shias. The two (had) brought to court the

daughter of Husaiit Khan a<* a sort of present

This is an instance o[ Akhar's lechery, with which

shall deal later in an independent chapter

' Husam Quit Khan came from the Punjab

and brought with him Masud Husain Mirza with

eyes blindfolded and a number of other prisoners

of the followers of the Mirza to Path pur. They

numbered nearly 300 and he brought them priso-

ner* before the emperor with the skins of asses

hog* and dogs drawn over their faces. Some of them

were put to death In various ingenious tortures

Said Khan came from Multan to pa) homage 'o

the emperor and bronchi with him the head of

Ji lJ

125, IW «. I' 163 Arid

9*

tfm "M,Ji.m Riisaio wliich lie had disseve^

ir death nns became(|)e

I,

, j vkh.u mcvl to he whence, ., ^^In V H, 980 when Ihe town and lemp1c or

V( „ l: «re savagely attacked and captured fe

Uibar'samn hi- ^° through their zeal and

excessiw hatred of Jtfotatr) filled their shoes wm,

,.u wo j i,i slaughtered cows and men) and spia .

j H on ile doors and walls of the temple

r'i iubiTc waj of murdering in cold blood

unwanted people is illustrated by the end of \\nMtii/yiii Mulk .ind Mulla Mohammad Yazdi.

These two arrived at Finvabad," The emperor

sent word that ihey be separated from their guards,

put into a boat and Liken by way of the Jamna to

GwalioT, A It erw a rd> fie sent another order thai

they be done away with. So they put them in a

ho 11and when they were in deep water, ordered

the iMors to swamp the boat...After some days QaziVakubcame from Bengal and the emperor sent

him to follow the other two.„Attd one by onehe sent all the WulJas against whom he had

'JMCfoa [ »nihilatfbn,„Haji Ibrahim was| Ranthamhhnr. There in diet] The} found

Wi Strangled) with long Strip! I cloth.'*

satiate his idle illiterate curio h \kbaricd the live* ol ., ml infants purchased

aniiwrcBtedawaj il.cehu.tel trom their indigent and

i

fi

4 * [ ' MS, «bid

, !H ihers. I need rtoi hc xireNv,>,« „«c only Hindus, One ma gft

hose unfortunate moihere. rhe chrnSS

ftuni state, -AtthMim, fabo*^'

£ A . H- Jthey brought a man to court whn hJ,

p . [)0r my t race of the orifices of the ear. t..

of lh j s he heard everything that wai said I,,

Iirr to verify the circumstances of this case anorder w >l- , " r "" ~——•••«««» m mis case an

ofdcrwas issued that several suckling infants

should be kept in a seclud I place fur from habil

(|i.

in , Whcrc they should not hear i WOrd spoke

Mil-disciplined nurses were to be placed over them

, v |,u were to refrain from giving Litem an) instruc-

tion in speaking- To carry out this order about

twenty sucklings were taken from their mother

ror a consideration in money, and were placed in

8J3 empty house which got the name of Dumb

House"' After three or four years rh'_-\ all turned

oul dumb since they were brought up In a world

of silence where no human voice w; [lowed to

Tall on Their ears"'. Many of them soon died, ddd^

Badayuni Akbar should take the cake foi invent*

ingihis rare piece of cruelty which perhaps no

oilier monarch in the world may have ever thought

or or could have executed with such immaculate

and ruthless efficiency,

1,1

Sheikh Outubuddin ofMcsot was sent into

<* 10 Bhakkar (in Smd) together with oih

fuqn. pherc bodied." obviously from 'I" 1

'

^nger. being left high and dr> In a sandy dewrt.

*$ I* 29(). ibiJ 40 r

•mmhwofSheiicIi* and faqta Wcre'" h *&\5*# *** "' f^ mLllu,r

- whir*

I ^^cL„gcd

for horses.' Obvlou^

AkK,tJrunioMmiJmsm

bartering awaythe

,|,an mC? i'l i in evclu"! for beasts of burden.

men llC ulSllK*-*-1 ,M

The Harrtu:f^„Xn^ as a mail who rated nil religion*

0rrally nounic

|fhisTr: , u,d by another similar e*lccls

tf-About thi* timc ,hc cnlPemr cami"^

Sheikhs known as llahii. They had fa»

' "2S similar lo those of th, laws „*^r^mtnland the Past of Islam. His

SZ whether they repented of*.

: v A. his command they were set to Bhakkar

0imli| , lljr4iul wee given to merchants to

Zwg* for Turkish coto"These .nsiances sh,

thai Akbai used the towns and markets ol Bhakkar

MdQandahara, 'clearing houses' for unwanted

people by filing them as slaves.

""Sheikh Bmta grandson of Khwuja Mui-

nuddin he banished to Bhakkar because when he

returned from Mecca he didn't do obeisance to the

emperor in the prescribed manner.-. .The grands

of Sheikh Adhan who were some or the grea

Sheikhs o! lannpur, with their wives and fomiliei

he icnl to Ajmci and gave them a fixed pr*

ii ,i,-,. nc) ol them died and some were hvinj

m poverty/' The w*rds "fixed provision' W

I Ml]

'. ibid

91

„bvinusly a euphemism for starvina thevThese examples eliou thai Akbar ca„ih

Akbar had no scruple* m toning ever aman to a mob of hooligans to he killed Heased rim.method to b„ .-, about the death ofSheikh Abclun ^buBadayuni the chronicler r

-The Sheikh came to Faihpur (in the year 9^A. H.) and made use of some rude language Theemperor unable to restrain his p in struck himin the face. Then (on the plea thai he had notreturned the sum orRs. 7,000 loaned to lum for thepilgrimage to Mecca) he was handed over as aprisoner to Raja Todarmal and for some lime likea defaulting tax-gatherer, they imprisoned him Inthe counting house of the orifice, and one nightmnh strangled him/*

il A courtier Haji Ibrahim ofSirhind was simi-larly stripped of all power and wealth and sent io

Ranthambhor fort, obviously to be tortured todeath.

Akbar banished Quzi la la I Multam to theDcccan w thinking "it likely ilu.i the rulers of thatpart would put the Qa/i to death with varsbiu tor-

tures" but his wishful thinkimj was noi fulfilled

^eeauset lie Dcccani Muslim niters are stated to

have rewarded liim, Perhaps they were happyshelter Muslims hostile CO Akbar whom they hated.

3t) p 321. ibid 51 p W Ibid 52 P SS. ihfd

92

We shall see in fl Imw (chapter thai AkharY

inch vaunted 'marriage* said to have been 11

, lou

j foj cornmunaJ Integration and harmony wq^mji outrageous kidnappings brought about

wi: niis Tin- most publicized .imong

these pseudo-marriages was the one in which Akbar

lifted BharmaTs daughter with the force of u\.

Thai on this occasion he was noi

proceeding as a happy, loving, smiling bride-

groom should bin like a lecherous, frowning

man-lifter Is proved b) a footnotij T1

D' AshirbadilaJ Shrivastava's book saying "The

marriage did not take place at Deosa as Vincenl

Smith asserts, p op fe ofDeosa and othei places

on Ak bar's route fled away on his approach."

Akbar's cruelty towards the Hindu women kid-

napped and shut up in his harem may be judged

the fact that the daughter of Raja Bhurmal of

Amber i Jaipur i was allowed by him only once, as

small mercy, to visit her lather's hou Dr.

Shrivastava observes: ' The emperor's Hinduqueen, the Amber princess, was permitted to pay

a visit to her parents at Amber so as to be present

01 the mourning ceremony for her brother Bhup.ii

was unusual courtes That means that the

women in Akbar's harem were treated as though

life-convicts kept in close confinement.

forever forbidden from biting anybodj

bar ttie Great, b) f'r Ashlrbadl

>v«u»*u, Strive Ul A@;irwa1 & Co (PJLi*l

publhbctn.

W.P 14). ,1,

n

hi the outside world inclu,i lna lh(.;

.„,d neai relation*.lcw Parental home

Akbar. a fanatic Muslim and apsedto usurp Hindu hou. ^lUH,^-hatCr .

m .,ke them over to Cliristiai t T-r"*10111 and

Dl Shrivastava says **"a notable h- 5 tothl8

claimed a few houses thai had b,„.mdu fan%

«fatberSto P ^^mZ£ZV^led Christian converts, Xavier succeeded 4

rr '

Akbar's orders from Agra and i„eI o"u

1 ' "^in the possession of die I ahore !,

mamed

^^ ^ndu f^ly mf^r^ ^ ^ZJtthe preai satisfaction of PinheJro.'

1 aS? Io

y 406 of Dr. ShrivastavH's btok^hnhe.ro and Jus colleagues in .he church wereaccused of eatmg human fl,s „. of kidnappmg chl£dren, and oi killing young men. An attempt wasalso made to poison the fathers through the coitus-sion of a domestic servant On the X'mas day ofK.iH) PiJtheico was able to report the baptism of 39people, One of the men converted wu» Polada(may be Prahladj, a physician belonging to a res-[Actable Brahmin famijj

"

A person's nature can often b< feed up try his

tastes, Akbar derived immense pleasure andrelaxation in gory fights between men and lu i

Monserratc J,i

narrates how when Akbar invited the

Jesuit fathers to see a gladiatorial contest, they

" Plied i.i.ii M,.-, ,

,

-1 1

1.. i in .i ( L.mph r, ii wasabsotti-

'' 107, ibid.

56 P 61, Fnthcr Moasei • "Common i«J

94

v to the Christian discipline and mwu^ or even lo look on at^lerfetcncc on some occasions

in lhfi

ntmg Hindu widows from burni*.

dnrti flu W« ofJJ*

dcad hwbandsis

produced a> evidence ol Akbar s so-called progrcs.

jj xs in wanting u> abolish that custom.

This

a nriSfcpieseniatioii Akbar interfered only when

u anted to drag the unhappy women to his own

harem. Far Groin wanting to abolish the Sat i cus

torn Akbar treated it a> a gala spectacle at which

mviied foreigners for -and ringside view from

ih cony, 'lo a;e records that ""Thekinc ordered the pries ts to be summoned to see an

instance of this < custom of Sari). They went in

^nce ofwhat was to take place but when they

and out, die) plainly indicated by their saddened

feces how cruel and savage they felt that crime to

Finally Rudolf publicly reprimanded the Ki

-showing openly by hi*; presence there that he

approved of such a revolting crime, and for

sur it by his weighty judgment and explicit

This is emphatic evidence that far

acting to itop Sati Akbar treated it as consi-

derable Fun.

Once an officer commanded by Akbar to findout a iuitabic place where the Indus could be ford-

turned saying there was no suitable spot"he king a<kcd him il he lad gone to the placerated. When he Icarm he had not gone that far,

thc kln£ orated him to be seized, dragged to the

- ib.u 58. P. 83, ibid.

95

place to which he had told him to no , J

p ,, ,n ne on an inflated baR of ox hil ^ ,

Und

ehed upon the river. Al^^^e ?UB "

.locked to the riverside to see th Jan' "?y

,

middle of the „ver at the mercy ol'the curr,

... ^Pn^ niiplonng pardon with JS£cries, and trying to move the king to mercv \he was earned past the royal pavilion, the kinggave order, tor htm to be rescued from the riverentered in the inventor.es as royal property, expos!ed lor sale in all the bazars and finally auctionedas a slave. He was bought by one of his friendsfor 80 pieces of gold, which were paid into thcroyal treasury". So besides punishing an erringOfficer mercilessly the usurious Akbar also mademoney in the bargain by trading him as astave, and earning some money for his treasury

Monserrate narrates how 3» *«pn emergingfrom the Gaybar {Khybar) pass and reaching theplain the king had several villages near the coasburnt, because their inhabitants had refused himgrain and supplies on the way up." Shrewd as hewas he did not retaliate on his way out lest his armybe pounced upon in ihe narrow confines of the

mountain pass or its retreat be cut off when it

wanted to return to India.

Monserrate found that w "princes sentenced

to imprisonment are sent to the jail at Goateris

i

l

156, ibid111

I* 21 1, ibid.

90

vhcre thej rot a\va v

,; %btc offender* b handed'*Z

*?*££* 'foipu.w^mcnt. hut ,hc ba.e-bom

<f"< ...Tim latier official isequi.

^Tvcn in the palace and bd ithe king whh

of pumslunent such as lcathei

Lhjtf bow-strings fitted with sharp spikes

SSSti .lock of wood used I or pound.

Lthcmoifiials'sWesor erasnmg to pieces his

dull snd scourges in which arc tied a number of

'mall balls studded with sharp bronze nails, (This

Jau . apon must. I think, be the one called by

tbt ancient! tlu scorpion). Various kinds of

chains, manacles, handcuffs and other irons are

huns up, n one or the great palace gateways,

which is guarded In the chief executioner"

Quite ahead of their times in realizing the

value of mobile exhibits mediaeval Muslim ruler*

in India used to rig oui display* of weird skeletons

and mangled, stuffed bodies to terrorize their sub-

's into" submission. Akbar was no exception.

It Beg was looked upon by Akbar as the chief

igato liv'hrain Khan's rebellion. Wall Beg

died of wounds received in battle (Akbar) ordered

head be cut off, which was (then) sent all

over Hmdusthan (for display) When it was bro*

to Elawa Bahadur Khan killed the loot soldiers

thai carried ji

h Am-i-Akburi, b) Abul Fw/n\ Allan".

cd Uom i he out? idJ Periian by M. BUwhmann.ood edition, BaUiotbeca InUica icrles published by

H">ji Sialic Souei. ,,r uengul.

Chapter V

IMMORALITY

Contemporary Muslim and European records

prove that Akbar had an inordinate lust for

women. In fact one of the chief motives of h

wars of aggression against various rulers was to

appropriate their harems. If the defeated adver*

saries were Muslims Akbar appropriated their

teeming harems. If they were Hindus he compelled

them under pain of cruel reprisals to surrender

their sisters and daughters or other females.

Besides that Akbar had various other modes

of acquiring comely women for his harem namely

through obliging visitors or generals by way of

gratification for the emperors pleasure or as a sop

to his anger, by direct interference with or trespass

into the marital privacy of his subjects at his will

and pleasure; by swooping on Hindu women

about to go Sati (i.e. burn themselves on the pyre

of then deceased husbands) and carrying them off

to his harem, and also by capturing en masse the

women of vanquished troops.

One may well imagine the lot of these helpless

women retained in hordes to be at the beck and

call of the emperor's lecherous pleasure when even

the 1 'imperial consorts selected to accompany

their lord were carried by she-elephants and shut

up in decorated ' To them life meant only

~T P. 267. Vincent Snurh'- Akbar the Great Mogul

ibid.

98

a dumb. N&MMfa existence covered inside the

birnp until dfecovttfcd hy the emperor.

Referring *0 contemporary Jesuit testimony

Smith say* "The... experience of the first Jesuit

mission under Aquavit in 1582 proves, beyond

possibility of doubt that at that time.. Akbar

habitually drank hard. The good father had

boldly dared to reprove the emperor sharply for

his licentious relations, with women. Akbar instead

of resenting the priest's audacity, blushingly excus-

ed himself." Since Akbar inherited his drink

addiction from all his forefathers the reproof by a

Jesuit father could make no dent in Akbar's obses-

sion.

Smith narrates a murderous attack on Akbar

provoked by his wanting to abduct other people's

wives . "Early in January 1564," says Smith

-Akbar moved to Delhi. On the llth he was

returning from a visit to the Nizamuddin shrine

when a man standing on the balcony (of a inadrasa)

discharged an arrow which injured Akbar in the

shoulder. The assailant was a slave (i.e. a Hindu)

named Fulad. Akbar seems to have discouraged

attempts io ascertain Fulad "s accomplices. He was

then engaged in a scheme for marrying certain

ladies belonging to Delhi families, and had

compelled one sheikh to divorce his wife in his

favour. The attempted assassination put an end

to these discreditable proceedings, and probably

was prompted by the resentment at the royal

invasion of the honour of families. Akbar through-

2. P. hi, ibid 3 P. 47, ibid.

99

olil his life allowed himself ample latitude in thematter of wn Utd concubines/'

Akbar's inordinate obsession for more and moreand always different women is best illustrated by hisconduct after his general Adham Khan had defeated

Uaz Bahadur, the debaucherous Muslim ruler ofjVfalwa. at Sangrur near Dewas in Central India.

Akbar was informed in his capital Agra that

Adham Khan was retaining with him all the

women of Baz Bahadur's harem. Nineteen-year-

old Akbar incensed at the thought that the

.women who should have been in his harem were

after all usurped by his general 1'•left Agra on

April 27. 1561 Maham Anaga (the high priestess

of Akbar's harem and the mother of AdhamKhan, apprehensive of Akbar's cruel revenge on

her miscreant son) sent swift courtiers to warn

her son (about Akbar*s departure), His submission

was accepted only when his nmthcr (Maham Anaga

who quickly followed the emperor) came. (But.

the villain that he was) he secretly stole two special

beauties. (Akbar delayed his return to Agra until

those two damsels were also surrendered). Mahamperceived that if these two women were introduced

to His Majesty her son's treachery would be

revealed. She, therefore, caused the two innocent

ones to be put to death (saying that the "dead tell

no tales) The Khedive (Akbar) overlooked it and

regarded the done as not done. Abul Fazal who

records that atrocious deed was not ashamed to

praise the wisdom and perspicocity rf the guilty

woman." This and other lavish praise that Abul

4. Pp. 37,38, ibid.

100

1*2,1 often l«s«W on Ibis woman can only be

2Swe by Mi being made the fccherou in-,,,,,.

aary of the mans lurcm women thai M ah,m

Amiga controlled.

a young Akbar, uir to nn emP |fe at th«

icndei' 14, having a targe arm) ol ruffians

md barbarians at his command, a possessor o|

hnmens plundered wealth and a harem increasing

bv leaps and bounds everyday, was bound to be a

kj person And SO he was. Smith says

•Abut Fazal never tires or repeating thai Akbar

daring his early years remained behind a veil "if

during his youthful years Akbar remained almost

wholly in the arms end taps of the harem women.

the time that he spent with women In the rest or

his lift was only stightly less.

After stripping his guardian and minister

Behram Khan f 11 power, and ultimately murder-

ing hun Akbai was governed entirety by strumpets.

Smith notes Akbai shook off the tutelage oi

Behram khan only to bi Eng himself under the influ-

ence of the monstrous regiment or unscrupulous

women. He was subject to the petticoat govern-

ment of the worsi kind apparently taking no

interest in the business of government which he

towed Mnham Amiga to control. She V

onworth) of the trust reposed in hei

Hie wli of this woman, Mftham Anaga li

nui been properly appraised. She was a pimp atw

a pander for Akbai and Influential courtiers diS-

bursi i Ii tiicm the largesse of harem beauties oi

5. 1'. 31. ibid 6 Pp 25, zi>. ibid.

101

m according to their ranks, i„fluence 0I

rcivc power. We have already recounted how«nc did not scruple in murdering two Hindu women

jUS r to save her son from Akbar's wrath.

Dealing with \khar's craving for womenBadayuni says It was at that place (Mathura)

that His Majesty's intention of connecting himself

by marriage (sic) with the nobles of Delhi was

firstbroached and qawwats and eunuchs were

sent into the harems for the purpose of selecting

daughters of the nobles and investigating their

conditions. And a great terror fell upon the ci1

Abdul Wasj's was a wonderfully beautiful and

charming wife without a peer: One day the eyes

of the emperor felt upon her. It Is a law of the

Mogul emperors thai iT the emperor cast Ins eyes

«a iiJi desire on any woman, the husband is bound

to divorce her and the virtuous (sic) lady entered

the imperial harem/ This passage makes it clear

that Akbar subjected all women in his realm to

his close scrutiny either personally or through his

henchmen, who were under otders to subject these

omen to a close personal physical check as

potent u.l whetstone* f. r -Xklw'slittt. One can

well ima'gine the horror of a situation when tnightj

officials of a despot, bacfc d up with fierce-looking,

srmed-to-the teeth barbarians enter the dark,

innermost curtained-oft recesses of even house

with the specific objed of carrying off the beai

toofanj age and an; ttutus for tlie emperor

i

sexual gratification.

r|. v. ,,, v.,,i II .., mukhtta '•*• ' k:i b"m^

Qiitlu BiidtiN.im. Ibftl

10

Manv WOm*n or their ciders were bound uwe burnt themselves with fir. or acid to ^^heir face* ugly and unattract.ve to the ro

abductors, many may have bribed the royal agenfc

h ad hoc sexual gratificat ion to esc; perma%*;„« ;« tfc# rmnemr's Gilded capfrt

in.

A kbar'» saying:-Had I been w,Sc earlier

I wouldllUVC taken no woman from my own kingdom mnhave .-- -«« **,j wwn g(l0

wrael-o. fornv .object, :irc „, me £« *»

in < ren. Such sanciimnniAH. «_.j i

abductors* many may n«^ ^.^ •- -?a» agcntu <"' T «• c k 1 mc ,n me place

iifh ad hoc sexual gratification to escape perma. of children. Such sanctimonious and hypocr..,-

;;,t detention in the emperor's gilded cages and *> humb"&T yl^"'"8 aCCOlims ofWs

reemmc harem; many may have been stripped rtto written by genunexmg chroniclers should notit-*. limit. __ ... -„ r— .« r»«.i _i.. L.* n/4tvink lilt: reader in n f*n~«n~. . .teeming mm."-. ..—-. - irvU

nude to ascertain whether their form and physical

allure was worth) of an emperor who could drag

any WOimMJ to his harem with the force of h»

11S m a vast empiic This was yet another

reason vUiy Akbar was a terror and people used

to flee in his wake. People dreaded him not only

for his plunder of their wealth, not only his T orturc

and maiming their persons but the lifting or then

women-folk whether wives, mothers, sisters or

daughters.

Contemporary records also indicate that

Akbar used his "large stock of female beauties

whether confined to his harem, prisons or serais,

not only for his own gratification but also to

exchange them with others or bestow them

gratification on visitors or courtiers. Smith says*

"Grimson's statement that Akbar had confined

himself to one wife, and distributed his other

consorts among the courtiers is not directly con-

firmed from other sources, (Akbar) may have

promised to do so or even asserted thai he had

made the sacrifice, but it does not follow that he

actually kept such a promise or told the exact

nth/' Ain-i-Akbari Vol, III. p. 398 quotes

P U$, Vincent Smftll Akbai the Grcul Mosul/'

myI'

£il 111*---- ----b m,vvvu 1 1|3

reign written by genunexmg chroniclers shouldhoodwink the reader in a correct appraisal r

Akbar's role in history.

The free traffic in women that was in vogue in

Akbar's reign for offer as gratification to AkbaiOfficers, courtiers, or himself is illustrated byBadayuni. He says;" "In this year (A.H. 971) the

emperor had Mirza Muqim of Isfahan together

with Hr Yaqub of Kashmir put to death on a

charge of being Shiaha. The two (had) brought

to court the daughter of Hu&ain Khan as a sort of

a present,' This indicates that anybody could

lift anybody's daughter, sister or wife in Akbar's

reign and gift her away or detain her in his ownhouse.

Women wrested from their men folk by mass

raids on localities or towns or after vanquishing a

hostile force in battle were mercilessly handled as

sexual cargo and then dumped in town to eke out

a living as prostitutes. It was. therefore, that the

number of these helpless women increased every-

day in geometrical progression. Badayuni says™

"Prostitutes of th«" imperial dominions had

gathered together in gitalin such swarms

as to defy counting oc numbering- (Akbar) ap-

0. P. 128, Vol. n BsdtyimiYchniifclft

10, P 3U.il

pointed a keeper, and B deputy and a secretaryf0r

Zir quarter SO that anyone who wished to^m with the* people or take them to his hou^

Z|M With the connivance of the imperial office*

Tate connection with any of them tha he pleased.

But he did not permit any man to lake dancing

mrls to his house at night without conforming

ho certain) conditions. But if anyone wished to

have a virgin, if the petitioner was a well known

courtier, he sen! a petition [through) the deputy

nd obtained permission from court. Nevertheless

in spite Of the rules all the libertines carried or,

hese affair* under assumed names, and so.

drunkenness and debauchery led to many acts of

bloodshed. And however many were brought o

punishment another troop of delinquents would

strut arrogantly past the inspector of thai depart-

ment And a number of well known prostitutes

Jcbar) called privately before him, and inquired

(from them) who had seduced them.".

Muslim rule reduced Hindustan to a great

brothel and Akbar the king or Muslim kings

gloried in being the king and chief patron of this

vast brothel

One of the main stipulations in treaties forced

en vanquished foes was to surrender such of UN*

men as Akbar or his officials wanted. By «"

method' 1 Akbar had introduced a whole host

the daughters of eminent Hinu Rajahs into n»

harem"

instance of how day-in-and-day-out

1) f :n, ibid.

105

numbers of women wreMcd from defeated foes

were subjected to rap, and prostitution is men.tionedbyBaduyunlwho -ZamKhanKokaand Asaf Khan who had been appointed to punish

the Afghans of Swat and Bajur, and to extirpate

JaUal h the Roth oat, killed many of them and, tptured the wlvc? and family il Jaltalah and his

brother Waliftdat Ali with their relatives and

breiheren to the numbers of near 14,0 and sent

litem roc mi And of the rest oj these prisoncia

who can take account!" Itwa tht i j drafts

of women were despatched to Akbafs court

herded and hounded, who tvere used for free

distribution among the vicious men who thronged

Aktuir's court, and lo occasional visitors The

wretched condition ol these women used as prey

by sex-wolves would beggar description. They

were subjected to uninhibited molestation, starva-

tion or undei -nourishment, filthy apartments* in-

suits, menial duties slavery and imprisonment in

solitary celts of the burqa coming as close as the very

tip of their noses

i -< Akbar) was unable to give up his polygam-

ous habits, and no importance need be attached

lo the baz ir gossip of the time that he once intend-

ed to distribute his wives among the grand,,*,

says the editor of an historical work. He is not

quite right. The bazar gossip in substantially true.

12. P. 401. UiUlayum'* Muuiuklnibui r*«nrikl>i ibid

... il,,. r<immentarv. of Fill

Milturd

106

\nd vet there is no apparent contradictionbet-

ween Die I It must he clearly understood t„al

\\ ad no specific number of wives He regard,

cd the whole realm as In fattm. All conquered

OT wrttted women W found sufficiently attractive

mpereir were transferred for being pan of

ii

iKia-m. This constantly swelling stockf

women he used for his own sexual gratification

well as of those whom he wanted to favour.

This recoi i lit- two statements that Akbar

polygamous as well as he used to distribute

his wives (namely the women that were at his

mctcv in the harem with whom he may or may not

have' actually cohabited) to his courtiers. Such

distribution did not make even a whit of a

difference to Akbar's over-married status because

Ij, s slock of harem women was being constantly

replenished to over-flowing and bursting by

overcrowding.

Alluding to their frequent discussions about

the relative merits of Christianity and Islam, with

Akbar's courtiers Monserrate states how one of his

colleagt ' "Rudoir cast in their teeth the fact

that their precious prophet in one passage (which

quoted) permitted the practice of unnatural and

oS mi liable vice (namely sodomy). When this fact

was discovered, the Musalmans reddened with

ahum*

Despite Akbar's overtly professed friendliness

10wards the Portuguese his generals often swooped

upon the latter. Referring to one such incident

107

Monscrrate Males- -In addition to this quarrelthere was another regarding a ship captured bythe PorlugiK Tile Mongols basely sent epic's

into the district of Damanas (Daman) under apretence Of friendship and when a Portuguese fleet

under Jacobus Lopczius Coutigi, > lying at the

mouth of the Taphtus1 fcpti) river ihej suddenly

attacked out of an ambush laid at night Ninesailors were captured, dragged in triumph to Surat,

cruelly treated and on the next day executed for

they had refused to become Mu^lmans eventhough promised riches, honours and beautiful

and noble wives. The Mongols regarded this as a

very generous offer. Their heads were brought 10

the King at r-aiiepuraio (Fatehpur Sikri). Akbarpretended he had never heard of what had

happened,"

The 'wives* promised to neo-converts weninvariably Hindu women enslaved and kept

in reserve for prostitution and rape. Thewere rounded up after every battle or raid on

peaceful Hindu localities. The word 'noble* is used

in this case to describe those women only because

they were lo be used as bait for neo^converts.

Usually Hindu women are invariably described in

Muslim chronicles as whores, strumpets, slaves

and dancing girls.

Non-molestation of the women of captured or

vanquished foes was an act of special grace, big

mercy and a rare exception. This is illustrated in

the campaign undertaken to suppress the revolt of

Masum Farankhudi. He was forced to leave his

15. P. 167, ibid.

14. P. 60. tbid.

rrensow and family in the Tort of Ayodhya. Akbafi

SSVwibo Khan occupied th. for. and lhe

Ucbar mercifully ordered him not to moles,

the "fam.lv and dependent, of the rebel And

pararoly this was no small mercy.

Wc h-ve alreadv noted in an earlier chapter

that Akbar fur from wanting to stop the custom of

Sau {sorrowim* Hindu widows burning themselves

on their husbands' pyre, treated those mourn-

ful occasions as gala performances and grand

spectacles to regale himself, his Muslim courtiers

and foreigner!;. The few instances in which he is

said to have interfered ware to take away the

widow ! us own harem, We quote two instances:

»""The daughter of Rai Raisingh was wedded

to Bir Bhadra* the son of Raja Ramchandra of

Pinna. When Ramchandra died Akbar sent his

son to Panna to ascend the throne. When ncaring

the capi.al Bir Bhadru fell from the palanquin

and died. His widou declared her intention to be

a Sati. Akbar intervened," This, therefore, is not

a mere abduction of a Salt but seems to be accom-

panied by a pre-med Rated murder. Bir Bhadra hav-

ing been ut Akbar's court Akbar must have seen his

wife and have had an eye on her The incident has

many suspicious details. How should Bir Bhadrafall from r Janquin before he reached his cap)

d lUt all he fell from the palanquin throughaccident how did that L\\ from a few feel prove so

fatal kill him then and there?

M.Vol. J, Akbar The Great, bv Dr AihirbadiU1 Shliv:.vl,»\.i ibid.

I? P- 347, Shctat'i "Akbar," ibid.

if.'4.*

Another instance in which Akhar intervened

jlsuspiciously similai to the one mentioned c

it-Raia Bhagwandas's cousin Jamratl sent on dui

lh the eastern provinces, rode hard -j,

urgent orders, and died near Chausa from the

effects of the heat and over-exertion. His v. -,

daughtei of Udai Singh imade preparations 10 »o

Satil- Akbar rode to the Spot...and stopped

The relatives were granted tlieir lives and mcrimprisoned. The exact location and date oft 1 1>.

incident are not stated. Abul Fazal's narrative as

usual is lacking in clearness and precision/"

Discerning students of history must not take

such garbled versons at their face value specially

when Abul FazaJ is universally dubbed to be a

shameless flatterer" They must examine and

analyse them as detectives do. This is a precious

rule of historical methodology. Reconstructing

the above garbled and truncated version one finds

thai Jaimnil was in excellent health smoB I;

deputed on a mission. He must have died soon

after he parted from his near unddejt i-

nid colleagues at court That that be

must have been given a fake order prcceed

on a mission and was pounced upon and killed

ss scon as he was defenceless and unaware,

Akbar was obviously kept fully inform-..I

<f

the developmenl Thai Akbar rode out imme-

diately in person to the exact spot shows that

JaimulJ died very close to Akbar's palace. It

indicates that AJcbai knew the exact spot because

the murder was pre-m dilated and hirelings had

'* P 163, "Akbnr the Grctl Mogul", iW*

110

fcprtpan , SatUt is said. Akbar rode U ||

£«**** He is .;..* to Have reached there

j tjH nicfc of t.mc riding like a herorrori,

Line l.Tc.rv romance, as though from behind q

cc curtain. He did not (nisi any detachment of

myorpolkc nor could he entrust the task to

any officer under him. And since the widow's

relatives obviously resented this blatant abduction

Akbar i<, said to have arrested them and thrown

them into dungeons The episode ends abruptly

there vnihoul mentioning what happened to the

hero of the stage-managed -how namely Akbar 01

ihe bereaved widow After all her relations who

had accompanied her to the cremation ground had

been safely tucked out ofthewayby being im-

prisoned whom could Akbar send the poor.

unattended widow to Naturally very' reluctantly

poor Akbar had to give her shelter and protection

ic) in his own harem. Akbar's so-called preven-

tion of Sati ultimately reveals cases of murder of

the husband and abduction of the wire.

From Ihe above two instances we can deduce

Akbar's devious modus operandi of obtaining for

himself the wives of those of his courtiers, whom

he coveted. With this new insight students of

tory may scan other simitar suspicious happen-

ings.

After Durgawaii was killed white battling

with Akbar's invading forces a terrible jauhffl

I iituary mass suicide by tire by Hindu womenwho considered this mode of death preferable to

cruel molestation and humiliation at the hands of

tit

Akbar"s soldiers) followed a* usual." "The twowomcn left alive. Kaniuluvaii lister of Rani Dunnmti) and the daughter of the Raja ©i Purangad(daughter-in-law of The deceased warrior queen

>

were sent lo Agra to enter Akbar's harem." FanaticMuslim authors add that though Ditrgawati'i sonnir Narayan had been married to the daughter of

the Raja of Purangadh yet the marriage wa* notconsummated. This is obviously a bluff meant

lo insinuate thai Akbar admitted lo his harem ont>

virgins. If it was not so represented it was suppos-

ed to detract from a 'proud' Muslim monarch'sreputation. The fanatic qazis, courtiers and Akbarhimself would, therefore, tell the obliging scribes

to record that the apparently married woman was

to all intents and purposes a virtual virgin.

Akbar's court chronicler Abul Fazul known for

his extreme nailery of his royal patron, tries lo

glorify even Akbar's womanizing as a burdensome

duty graciously and condescending!} undertaken

lo sci an example to the world. Abut Fazal says20

"His Majesty is a great friend of good order and

propriety m business. Through order the world

becomes a meadow of truth and reality; and that

which is but external receives through it u spiritual

meaning. For this reason, the large number of

women— a vexatious question even for great

statesmen—furnished His Majesty with an oppor-

tunity to display his wisdom, and to rise from the

low t, i of worldly dependence to the eminence

15. P 90, 91 , SMat's "Akbar," ibid-

20. Ai» 15, Ain-k-Akbur', hy Abul F<waJ. ibid.

112

»f Berfeci Iteedom The Imperial palace £md

,MS „ n typical example ofsycophant humbug

winch is followed in an equally preposterous

^ mth «he princes ,, ll.mh.Mhan and of

treountnes;amlsecurcUn these lies or ha*

Zmv U,c peace of the *orloV Akbar * raid, on

Hmdu kingdom were meant to abduct the prmce,,

m of devout and pious Hindu riders or his own

&«»*** fa drink und ^f df™T*, murder and massacre. I-lmdu rulers rather

nrefcrred to burn their women than have them

fall imo Akbar* hands. Abu! Fazal's remark that

Akbars kidnapping raids brought about world

unity and pence, amounts to adding insult to

iniurv It is not for nothing that be .s called a

shamelessflatterer.*1

Describing Akbar's harem Abu! Fazaj says21

»»His MajestJ has made a laigc enclosure with fine

buildings mside, where he reposes. Thougli there

axe dim,, iii/n 5.000 women he has given to each

a separate apartment He has also divided them

into sections, and keeps them attentive to the

duties Several chaste (Sic) women have been

pointed as darogah- and superintendents over

cai Edion, and one has been selected for duties

or a writer,

\hu! Fteol'i i rtion that each one ofta*

mi vm vena suite of rooms- in a large en-

closure li r despicable lie. Nowhere in l» Ji:'

II. ibid.

dd we hnd ruins or AkbMr\ times com „ m „„ s m \

lUites of rooms.

Akbvai lust for women m prodtoioui

thu i L v, n courtiers wives were not safe Badayum^yjM -Whenever Begamv ,„ m Mr , W1 ve» orother women desire to be presented ifaj Rrsi nutlfj

their wish and wait for a reply. Those eligible arepermitted lo enter the harem, Some women of rankobtain permission to remain there for a wholemonth. Notwithstanding the great number orfaithful guards, His Majesty does not dispense

with his own vigilance.,.."

Scrutinizing the above passage we would like

to ask : what married woman would yearn to be

molested by Akbar? Could there be so many women,all wives of courtiers, who would io yearn to enter

Akbar's harem, as to indefatigably pilot their

applications for special entry into Akbar's harem.

from pillar lo post? Was the admittance lo Akbar's

harem a matter of such rare privilege for the wives

of courtiers that they should consider it a rare

honour to be away from their own husbands.

homes and children for cohabitation with Akbar

The words "those (found) eligible" only mean :

women whom Akbar found sufficiently attractive so

as to feel impelled to drag them to his own harem.

The phrase "obtain permission to rem im i uu for

a whole month" means that Akbar ihed to detain

his courtiers' wives (and of course daughters and

listers) if he enjoyed their company, at least

mom 11 But here it need not be added thai the

month's limit Is mennigless. ifAkbar could have

others' wives fbi a month what prevented him

from detaining them longer or even permanently ,

n- Ain is, Atn-j-Akbari, ibid.

114

The last sentence ihai thou.ch there were p|cnty

faithful guards Akbar remained vigilantonly

mean* that these women r obviously Wteit*

; meir homo by force and detained underdire

threats. Such seemingly innocuous passages|lldc

a Vc ,-iJstcr meaning Mid reveal tin.- most >avagc

and ledterous conditions prevailing during Akbar\

icicn.

\kbar also took great interest in maintaining

:,• brothels close to his palace, and found timcta

.tccounl of how many of the prost itutes were

v,f_i and also id talk to them. A bul Fazal r*.

counts :

:im His Majesty (hasj established a wineshop

nearthe palace. The prostitutes of I he realm who had

collected could scarcely be counted, so large was

ihcir number, (Their locality was called Shaiian-

puia or DeviTs Ville), The dancing girls used to

be taken home by courtiers. If any well known

courtiers wanted to have a virgin they would first

ha\e Hi* Nlnjirstys permission. In the same way

boys prostituted themselves, and drunkenness and

. >rance soon led to bloodshed. - - His Majesty

hiiroelf called some of the principal prostitutes and

asked them who had deprived them of their

virginity?**

In Muslim chronicles the word " H prostitutes"

many a time connotes Hindu women who were

dragged into slavery and prostitution after their

husbands and brothers were killed in Muslim raids.

The above passage reveals the most shockingcivic life thai existed in Akbar's times. It speak

p 276, Am -Akban. ibid.

115

fsodomy, prostitution, drunken brawh and mur-

derous assaults. That there should be a regular

jlourisfafaS sodomle icrvfce on a very large scale

nlustbe considered a rare, unique, unparalleled

embellishment' of Akbar's reign.

Sodomy was a 'precious* heritage of Akbar's

ovm family Akbar's grandfather Babur has, mnis memoirs, given a lengthy description of his

sodomte infatuation for a male sweetheart while

n ,s mother used to coax him out of his reluctance

to go to his own wife with whom Babur was not

on good terms His son Humayun. also had picked

handsome lads always at hand. Akbar himself

maintained a whole regiment of catamites near his

palace as Abu I Fazal mentions.

Ii was not uncommon during Akbar's time for

courtiers to have male sweethearts in their retinue.

About one such Abul Fazal says14 "In the 12th

year it was reported that Muzaffar loved a boy

named Qutb. Akbar had the boy forcibly removed,

whereupon MuzafTar assumed the garb of a fakir,

and went into the forest. Akbar was thus obliged

to recall him. and restored the belovc-i

Another instance reminiscent of Muslim society

of mediaeval times is of* 'Adil Shah iwhoj was

murdered in 988 A. H. by a young handsome

eunuch whom he a- tempted to use for an immoral

purpose. Thekim known for his mania for

boys and unnatural crimes. He obtained with some

M I\ 374, ibid.

25. P. 520. ibid.

116

mnMMO***"* han^-u eunuch, ^torid^Bcdiir.waw^ slabbed by the elde,

of the v. the W attempi of satisfy^[li(

£Statt d«i, Tim nuhca.es that sclec,

handsome boys WW preoons commodity under

mcdiac*al Muslim rule to ** covctuousty sought,

cutml or presented for the perverse grat.hcatbn

superior*, along with women, wine and wealth

v number of such instances of'sodomy prevj*.

I on a wry Aide scale may be quoted from

Muslim chronicles.

,ia\ mentions yet another instance *

•Shah Qui' M.«hram-i-Baharlu was passionately

iched to a dancing boy of the name of Qabul

Khan and as the Emperor had the boy forcibly

removed. Shah Quli dressed as jogi went

into the foreslv Bcbram traced him with mucn

trouble and brought him back, when the boy was

restored to him. The emperor from goodwill

towards htm. admitted him to his fcmal apartments.

After the first time he had been allowed to enter

the harem, he went home and had his testicles re-

moved, Maharam means owq admitted to the harem.

He died at Agra in luTO A.H. At Narnaul where he

chiefly lived he erected many splendid buildings

and dug large tanks

The above passage is a curious blend of chican*

ery and fraud. No one would voluntarily castrate

i passage only indicates that Akbar

used to compulforily castrate those unfortunate

maleswhom he chose tokeepa watch over his harem.

26, V W, ibid.

117

This is •» new high in cruelty, lechery ^d lortatt

And to sav thal iK ca^ntted catamite raised mj)ms|0tl N and dug large tanks i* the hemht of

tameless academic audacity .md fraudulent eon*

coction. This is how ancient Hindu buildings h*been ascribed to various Muslims by cheats and

forgers posing to be chronicle-writers

Another form of lechery practised by Akbar

in his own grand, royal style of cruelty and

repression was to force his subjects to parade

their women for him to fool with exclusively.

Qj1 tTod mentions this unique institution

conceived by Akbar s inventive genius. Tod

states:27 "The Noroza or "New Year's Day*' is not

Mew Year's Day but a festival especially instituted

by Akbar. and to which he gave the epithet

Khusroz, a day of pleasure, held on the 9th day

(No-roza). following the chief festival of each

month The Khusroz was chiefly marked by a

fair held within the precincts of the court, attend-

ed onlv by females. The merchants wives exposed

,he manufactures of every clime and ihc ladies of

the court were the purchasers. His Maiesiv W also

there in disguise by which means U learns the

value of merchandise, and hears whan of

the state of the empire and the character of fce

officers of the government.' T^TTlrFazal thus softens down the unha lowed pu P

of this day; but posterity ennot admit that the

Hmu». 68-74 i uur Lane, Icadoa.E.c

118

fiffit UNr was to obtain these results amidst i nc

posh* on of the dames of Mam or the mixed

Bhakaofthefairof Rajasthan, these ninth day

fan tc markets in which Rajput honour Wa|

bartered and to which the brave Prithviraj makes

illusion {in the poem that he composed andj s

alleged to have sent to rekindle Rana Pratap's fiagg.

ing spirit of dogged resistance to Akbar's aggres.

sive onslaughts) There is not a shadow of

doubt that many of the noblest of the race (of

Rajputs) were dishonoured on the No-roza t and

the chivalrous Prithviraj was only preserved from

being of the number by the high courage and virtue

of his wife, a princess of Mewar and a daughter of

the founder of the Suktawats. On one of these cele-

brations of the Khusroz the monarch of ttie Moguls

was simck with the beamy of the daughter of

Mewar and lie singled her out from amidst the

united fair of Hind as the object of his passion. It

is not improbable that an ungenerous feeling

united with that already impure, to despoil the

Stadias of their honour through a princess of

their house under the protection of the sovereign.On retiring from the fair she found herself

entangled amidst the labyrinth of apartments bywhich egress was purposely ordained, when Akbarbtood before her. But instead of acquiescence, shercw a poinard from her corset and held it to his

breast, dictating and making him repeal the oathenunciation of the infamy to all her race. Rae

ngh. the elder brother of the princely bard hadso fortunate. Hh wife wanted either

or virtue to withstand the regal tempter,returned to their dwelling in the desert

H9

despoiled of her chastity hm loaded with k*. .

^Dde. tramping to the tinkling sound r J*laments ofgoidand gcm 5 on .*

"

sol LWhere, my brother, is the moustache on ,hCy hpr

Above is just a random sampling of Akbargross venery It is enough to convince an impar-tial reader thai Akbar s whole career «w a ZLof uninhibited licentiousness mduteed in JEbarbaric abandon backed with the brutal forea huge army of hoodlums rampaging over a vnsiempire.

\\

DRINK \M> OQ¥B ADDICTION

UKir in incorrigible addict or strong

spirituous liquors and stuping drugs. Unull,.

heavy with the burden of brutal crimes

niltif up from da} today has to find an escape

in stupefaction. This addiction was Akbar's

cimi>' ancestral hcrimge. The entire aimos.

often in aIikIi McbUT was brought up reeked with

inu stupefying drugs, murderous plots

i,, . r*plots and womanizing.

Smiti quotes Terry's account of Asaf Khan's

i to saj'

MHis sovereign (Akbar)* asis

i, had no scruples on the subject, and

less heavily, generally more during

the greater part of his lire.'' Smith adds "Intem-

perance mis the besetting sin of the Ttmuroid

ii was of many other Muslim

families Babur (Akbar** paternal grand-

fatlu iantJcgani roper. Humayun (Akhar's

her) made liimtclf stupid with opium. Akbar

permiiU'd him .elf die practice of both vices. Some

d freaks in which he indulged while

u»d mi e influence of liquor have been narrated

COJil rafy chronicles) The evil example set

followed only too faithfully

inccs and nobles. Akbar's two younger

wns died m jarlj manhood from chronic atchol-

neenl Smith'* *Akhnr the Great Moi I

121

jsnlt nnd their elder brother was saved from the

juime Tate by a strong constitution, not by vh\\n

The biographies of the nobles recorded by Bloch-tnann record surprising number of deaths due tointemperance. One of the most conspicuous vic-

tims of thai vice was Mirza Jani Beg of Sind. whodrank himself to death in the Deccan soon after

the fall of Asirgarh. Another noble of high rank(Shahba? Khan, No. 57) used to drink a terrible

mixture of wine, hemp and two forms of opium.

Many other examples might be cited."

Smith records- how when Akbar "had drunk

more than was good for him he performed various

pad freaks. At Agra he galloped the elephant

'Hawai*, across the bridge of boats, and at Sural

tried to ftghi his sword. He specially fancied a very

heady toddy. As an alternative at that period

(1510) he used to take a spiced infusion of opium.

He followed the practice of his family for many

generations in consuming both strong drink and

various preparations of opium sometimes to

excess."*

s,*Thc Jesuit testimony concern tog the ex-

perience of the first mission under Aquavtva in

1582 proves, beyond the possibility of doubt, that

at that time, some nine years after the fall of Sural

Akbar habitually drank hard. The good father had

boldly dared to reprove the emperor sharply for Ins

licentious relations with women, Akbar instead

resenting the priest's audacity, blushingly excused

2

3,

l

f

?44, ibid.

P. 82. ibid.

1*3

If, and even aoq^l t° wMue the flesh| v

,

• r several d. The abstinence was,l0|

extended to Include lienor. Be went to such excess

in di g that the merit ol fasti ig was lost «,

demerit of inebriation. Sometimes Akbar seci*.

ed to forge! Padre Rudolfo altogether, allowing

long intervals <o elapse without summoning in,

Even if he did »m lie the priest to say something

about God. he had hardly begun before Akbar

fell asleep, the reason beini* that he made too

much use sometimes of arrack, an extremely heady

palm « inc. and sometimes of post, a similar pre*

paration of opium, diluted and modified by

various admixtures of spices. His bad example in

the matter of inebriety was followed only too

faithfully b> his three son* who attained manhood.

Two of them. Murad and Dan iyal, died from the

effects of their chronic intemperance, and Salim

never freed himself from the vice altogether."

*A "queer story narrated by Abul Fazal (says)

there was (once) a select drinking party. The talk

lumed upon the disregard for life shown by the

heroes of Hindusthan. It was said that two Rajputs

would run from opposite sides against the point of

a double-headed spear, held by third parties 40

that the points would transfix both of the rivals

and come out at their backs. (Hearing this) Akbar

had the hilt of his sword fixed in the wall and

announced that he would rush against it. PMansiit-li kicked down Ihe sword and doing so cut

his sovereign's hard Akbar promptly knocked

* t*. Ml.ibia

123

dom Mansingh and squeezed him hard S , ,,j

MnzalTar had Co twist Akbar\ hand to rclcas, hi

hold on Mansingh1

! throat. Akbar must have bshockingly drunk/'

'-Although the uncritical panefiymts of Akbar

make no mcnl ion of his drunken bouts, and hispublished sayings include phrases condemnatory ofexcess in wine, it is certain that for many years hekepi up the family tradition and often drank morethan he ecu Id carry. Jchangir remarks My fatherwhether in his cups or sober moments alway calledme Shekhu Baba'. The phrase clearly implied thatthe writer's father was not seldom in his cups."

With his usual cunning Akbar's chronicler tries

to gloss over Akbar's failings. Abul Fazal says'

that Akbar "does not drink much, but pays muchattention to (the Abdar Khanaj matters. Both at

home and on travels he drinks Ganges water.**

Probably Abul Fazal means that strong liquors

passing down Akbar's throat became transformed

into sacred Ganges water or that to offset the

cflTccts of drinks and dopes Akbar washed themdow.i with Ganga water. Probably the reference to

Ganga water is meant only to hoodwink Akbar's

Hindu subjects who formed a vast majority.

7 *•Whenever His Majesty wishes to take wine,

opium or kuknar (he calls the latter subras" i.e

the quintessence of all dop and drinks) the

servants place before him the stands of fruit.*J

u

5, P. H2 ibid. 6. P. 57, Ain^Akbari, by Abul PaulAll 11mi, translated by H. Blochmnnn, ibid.

7, P. 69, ibid.

124

E.thcrAkbar should have been an idiot to all^

his servants to taj fruits before him when he asked

vine and dope or the servant >h"u|d have

been given ihc authority to override Akbafi

commands and like slcrn governesses they must be

compelhnc him to accept fruit in place or wine and

drugs. A third alternative which seems more pro-

table isthftt 'fruit' is the flatterer Abut Fazat'&code

word for the dreaded liquors and drugs that his

imperial master habitually consumed.

Father Monserraic a Jesuil priest who was at

^kbars court, says' Akbar quenches his thirst

with po*f or wafer. When he has drunk immode-

rately of pi si he sinks back stupified and

shaking."'

Akbar's preference for drunkards like him is

illustrated by a contemporary chronicler Badayuni

who says1 "His Majesty appointed Qa2t Abdus

Sami as Qazi-ul-Quzat who used to play chess for

a wafer, and to give great odds. His cup-draining

was notorious!} a congenital habit, and in his sect

briber) and corruption were considered as a duly

for the moment."

Chronicler Ferishi a observes:"1 "Ai this time

(1582 ADl the king was taken dangerously ill of a

P, 199, Monserraic'* Commentary, ibid.

P 324, Badayuni, ibid

10. P. I5fj. \u] II Hivtory of the Rise of the Mobam*dan Pr.vktr in Itidtu. till ihc year A D. 1612 " translated from

original Fenian of Mahommed Kasim Ferishta. by John

i&. puWiihcdhy S, Dcj S9-A SI1an.ba7.ar Street. Calcutta-*'

taeprintcd Calcutta, 19 •i6 A D.|

125

bow el-complain I; and as His Majesty had adopted

the habit Of eating opium, as Hoomayun. bis

father had done before him, people became appre

naive on lus account

Even a common man is considered bad anddangerous company n he is a drunkard and a drug-

ftddicJ If Ilk* Akbai he u backed by a ferocious

army ^ barbarians who have the potential of

mowing down all opposition one may well in

the menace he is 10 humanity at large. Akbar's

reign was. therefore, one of the darkest periods of

Indian history, when a targe pan of India was

Mibjccl 10 his drunken despotism and mischief.

A Sanskrit adage say

s

Youth, wealth, power and intemperance

Each singly ma> spell ruin

Imagine the havoc when they all combine.

Akbar's reign well illustrates the truth of that

maxim.

Chapter Vlf

TUF SO C U I FD M VRRIAGES WEREm vi VNTIBDACTIONS

\kbar*s much turned marital adventures

often rhapsoditally described as lyrical symphon-

icr-communal Harmon) and lofty essays in

salesmanship were nothing but blatant abductions.

\Ve have already noted in an earlier chapter

ho* Sheikh Abdul Wasi was highhandedly bereft

of his attractive and alluring wife. History does

i find trace of Abdul W a^i after he was robbed

his wife. In ill probability he was murdered by

one of Akbar's own hirelings.

Even AkburS own guardian the elderly Behram

Khan met with the >ame late because Akbarhad an

e>con bis wife Sahma Sultan Begum. This lady was

Akbat ' srUefs daughter. Depriving her

husband Behram Khan of all power and position at

court and later murdering him only to grab his wife

for his <»wn harem was a heinous crime on Akbar's

part. It was also very ungrateful because it was

Behram Khan * ho had chaperoned minor Akbar

to his throne stcerii kbars career through a

number of formidable challenges.

Dr. A.L. ShfivMSU \ys l thai as early as 1557,

when Akbar was only 15 years old. Behram Khan

suspected a conspiracy against him when one day

l. P. 41. Vol. I, Akbar the Great, ibid.

127

lin the way back from Mankot the royit elephantsmpeded into ailing Behram Khan's tern. Tf

w8 <. Akbar'J way of displaying his royal angerlichram Khan who got married to Salirna

atJullundur w hen ihc army was on its *ay fromMankot I in Jummu territory) to Lahore. There*

cr Behram Khan was systematically hounded.

Many more times Akbar's elephants stampeded

mto Bcliram Khan's tent Probably Akbar's

intention w have Behram Khan trampled to

death. Gradual l> stripped of all power Behram

Khan was overthrown in open combat, exiled,

chased to Paitan and murdered. Partisan

contemporary accounts have often tried to show

i hat Behram Khan was murdered by an Afghan

who bore him a private grudge Such accounts,

written by court flatterers, could never be expected

to indict Akbar of Behram Khan'* murder when

v were subservient to a wily and ferocious

Akbar who wielded despotic power. That it was

Akbar who caused Behram Khan's murder is

apparent from the fact that Behram Khan tt

hounded from the very day that he was engaged to

Salirna Sultan, At the time of hi-, murder he was

not alone but was accompanied by a large group of

adherents. Soon after he was murdered his wife

Salima Sultan, whom Akbar had long coveted, was

speedily sent to Akbar\ harem along with her four

car-old son Abdur Rahim who later rose to be

Khan Khun. Stripping the highest loyal servant

ofthc crown of all his power and then ot h.shfc:

aiyofbis wife because of a 1 5-year-old Mbars

.on for Behram Khan's legally wedded wile

Wa "> a ghastly crime.

I2fl

India* I - s have :,lso nccn stained *>y a basc

falsehood aboul \Uur\ so-called marriage Wit|,

Jaipur* Hindu royal brails This marriage ha*

hc, M paraded as a shining example ofjmcr_

mnHJii.il integration brought about by Akbii,

statesmanship.

fhis episode is emphatic proof of how the

oommunallsl and politician have falsified Indian

tory to bolstei their own imaginary theories.

Most histories state that while 19-year-old

Akh ts on his way from Agra to Ajmer to pay

homage at the shrine of ihe tomb of Sheikh MomChisti, and white he was passing through

Sambhar, an elderly brave and proud Rajput ruler

Bharmal of Jaipur hurried thither and offered his

daughter in man This is an atrocious false-

hood. Even on the face of it it is absurd. Anyone

who knows the spirit and tradition of the mediaeval

Rajputs but does not know anything of history

old r•> ui this version eu spurious. Thai a

leading member of a community who preferred lo

burn their women in a mass bonfire rather than sec

their honour and chastity defiled by alien marauders

should hasten to willingly and voluntarily surren-

der hi* daughter to Akbar, is a base calumm

against the fair name of proud Rajasthan. The

real story is very heart-rending. But it has been

carci oppressed and its bits have been very

swept under Akbar's bed-chamber

carpet

,

An account of what made Bharmal swall

his Rajput pride and surrender his beloved daughter

139

w Akbax's harem may be gleaned from Dr A LSiKJvasiav's book1 Bharmal, the ruler of Jaipur

wa» reduced to humiliating submission by Shar-

fuddn^ a commander or Akbar's forces, throughrepeated terror and horror raids on Bharmal'sprincipality- In these raids he succeeded in captur-

ing and holding as hostages three Rajput princes :

K hangar, Rajsingh and Jagannaih. They wereincarcerated at Sambhar and apparently threatened

pjth torturous death. It was to redeem those three

princes that the chastity of Bharmal's daughter was

sacrificed at Akbar's harem door. In ordinary

circumstances even the nail of a Rajput damsel's

toe or finger, as they say, was never exposed to

the lecherous gaze of a foreigner, and a marauder

at that.

Dr. Shrivastava observes : "The Kachwaha

chief (Bharmal) faced extinction and hence in a

helpless condition sought the intercession of and an

alliance with Akbar.'" That was the reason why.

soon after the Rajput damsel was surrendered the

three princes were released. That was why the

transaction took place at a wayside place and not

at Bharmal's capital or at Akbar's capital either.

It was too shameful and heart-rending a surrender

Tor Bharmal lo enact in his own bmneUW tu in the

heart of the glorious Rajasthan and in the midst ol

his own kith and kin. It was considered most

shameful and worse than perdition for a Rajput

have to surrender his daughter lo a Muslim.

n^7.63 of Dr. A. L.*»^*£SEGreat/ Vol. t contain an «*>«* ol tTlc

wrongly described a> marriage.

130

wns therefore, 116 fun tor Bharmal to talcc ftat

il decision It ww worse than death foi;|

,! Rajput. But he felt he had no alternative.

Po him the choice was to allow Ins three princes

,, |U red to death and later sec the whole of

Ins realm 1 tfd waste with similar atrocities or i

for an abject peace \\ losing his daughter,

Hli,1 n 1 wrhc could not apparently steel his Kear|

B$ Immortal Rtma Praia p. preferred i he meek

alK ,, ol Shameful surrender, to a brave, fiahl-

iiil! resistance

Akbar left the very nest da\ for Agra with

the sunendcred ?ir) euphemistically called the

•bride" Thai is to say there were no marriage

festivities, In those days royal wedding rejoicings

and feasts lasted (or months. Why did this one

end in a da:-

,1 1, euphemistically described as a huge

doik ;y consisting of thousands of horses with gold

saddles, elephants, jewellery and cash, was nothing

but .! ransom.

Dr. Shrivastava has also mentioned that tin

1 ofDcosaand the surrounding region had

fkd in A Khar's ival Thai proves that Akbar was

dreaded like a tiger on the prowl and was not

'.loomed as a smiling royal bridegroom.

•Near Ranlhumbhor BharmaTs sons, grandsons

d other relatives were introduced to Akbar,

Dr. Shnvastava. Tins means that they were

nut present DJ the so-called wedding. Il was but

natural thai they should not be present at the

humiliating tuficndcr of their princess. Had it

bcen a wedding they would nil nave been nre^nt,a Sambhar.

An other due i that Bharmal negotiated this

dca | of surrendering his- nfoi seeming the

release of the three princes, through n Muslimnamed Chagtai Khan. Had it been a wcddinRajpul ruler would never emptoj a Muslim as Thego-between.

Soon after BharmaIs surrender had beenobtained Akbar directed Sharfuddin to similarly

ravage another Rajpul prinaipaUty—Merta All

accounts which describe this transaction as a wedd-

ing, are therefore, gross concoctions. Tliough

Akbar didn't much care he couldn't have had any

objection to glorify this shameful surrender as a

marriage So far as Bharmal was concerned it was

but natural that he would wish this abject surren-

der painted as a voluntary wedding. But it is for

posterity to scan the circumstances and refuse to be

hoodwinked by political concoctions.

Dr. Shrivastava who believes that the wedding

(sic) of Akbar with Bhunnal's daughter was "cele-

brated in the most admirable manner" (p, 62 of

his book) lakes a somersault and says in a footnote

on page 1 13 "No mediaeval Hindu, howevei low

in social status, liked U marriage with a Muslim.

though of royal blood, as in Hindu eyes the mere

touch of a Muslim was defilement or pollution,"

While encamped at Mandavgadh Aklnn simi-

larly -demanded the hand of the daughter of

3. P. 11 3. Vol. 1, Akb;ir the Great, by &* StarivasuM.

ibid.

132

Mjrm Mubarak Shah, ruler of Khandesh.ft*

;vasl ,\uimad Khan, the principal cu llUch

uid entered Akbar's harem in September 1564.-

Phis again is dcarij not a marriage becausethe

vm brought and dumped in Akbar s harem by

Ktary general who humiliated the Khandesh

ruler with the force o( arms.

'•Akbar married (sic) the daughter of Kalian,

brother ofKatyanmal Kalyanmal was the ruler

Bikaner His SOB Raisingh was taken into

service but K ilyamna] being too Tat to ride a horse

was allowed 10 return to Bikaner.*'

This too was no wedding but an abject surrcn«

der. In none of these so-called marriages'* is the dau-

ghter's name ever mentioned because her chastity

a mere chattel to be bartered away on surrender

lo save despoliation or the entire realm at the hands

of ravaging Muslim armies, Had the ruler of

Bikaner. kalyanmal been really taken into service

by Akbar as a mark of special favour, allowing him

10 return to Bikaner wouldn't have arisen The fact

that he was "allowed** to return shows that he was

forced lo buy his freedom by surrendering lit*

brother's daughter and also throwing in a large

I T-om into the bargain. In this case it is clear that

he muht not have had a daughter of his own, at

least one marriageable. Had he one he would

e been forced to surrender his own daughter to

Akbar m addition to his brother's,

"Jaisalmfr't (ruler) Rawal Mar Raj gave I

'4

his daughter in marriage to Akbar" says Dr. AJ*

*. * 5. Pp. 120-127, Akbar the Great, ibid.

133

sflnvastava significantly adding •Raja Bhagwandmi sent to Bikaner lo bring the princes to theroyal camp It may be noted that in each one l

these called weddings Akbar's generalmume.pa darogans rounding up straycows. equipp-ed with the lassos or military detachments, used todrag the poor helpless princess to Akbar's haremfrom the unwilling and sorrowing bosoms of theirparents.

The brave Bidhichand ruler or Kangra aliasNagarkot when reduced to submission remitted,besides other valuables, five maund» of gold "buthe did not fulfil the other terms such as sending of

a dola to Akbar's harem and acknowledging Mugalsuzerainty.*

1 A footnote quotes chronicler Badayunithat 'the Mugals riddled with arrows the goldenumbrella over the image of Goddess Jwalamukhi,

stew 200 black cows maintained by the temple for

worship, and filling their shoes with the slaughtered

cows' blood splashed the floor and walls of the

temple with it," That despite such atrocities and

having been made to pay a heavv ransom Bidhi-

chand refused to surrender the women of his family

shows how high the Rajputs held the ho uir of their

women and how tow mean Akbar's behaviour was

in collecting in his harem women wrested with

military force from his subdued adversaries,

Rawal Pratap the ruler o\' Banswara and

Ravvul Askaian of Dungarpur were persuaded to

wait on Akbar. " says7 Dr. Shrivastuva. 'They

k Pp 143 144, ibid

7- Pp. 21 J- 15, Vol. I, Akbar (he Giwtfi 'bid.

became his vushls. Akbar 'married" the daug j lle

Hu- ivniMrpur ruler The negotiations We^iducted bj Lon Karftn and Birbnr, who brounhr

the l«d> to ftfcbar** camp.when the latter was oi

return jourrus Ii Fatehpm Sikrj

f lie ,ih,nc pass ige is a typical example of howva i ncl ly Indian histories have been written

Hie words persuaded to wait on Akbar" cleari*

means thai t hey w e re toiced and humiljated th roUgj.

si How complete their htimfliiition w,

is proved by the surrender of the Dungarpurjgluer. That U was no marriage is clear from the

i thai Lin: Karati and Bsrbar dragged the help,

less girl firm the protective custody of her help],

father and dumped her in Akkir's harem while he1 Falehpur Sikri. Dishonouring

Rajput princesses and molesting them had becomea prtn< icnet of Akbar's rule and life. By a

eniclfam) »hi\ insult and humiliation has beendfied a* a magnanimous gesture of Akbar. Such

partiality and blatant falsehoods are perhaps un-paralleled elsewhere in world literature and acade-mic text books

Sheikh Abdun Nahi who objected to Akbar'*numerous marriages1 was exiled to Mecca against

Mil. On return to India in 1583 he died in

ncious circumsmm obviousl) murdered bj

a- fanatic Muslim Abdun Nabi did nol

Mcbar'i taking Hindu girls. His protestr»>t Akbar invadim

. „ the privacy ofMilium femiUe I He. har of Abdul Wasi!

r'<' 231 132 [bill.

155

Akbar not only forced his subdued focs lft

Bjtder then women to his own harem bur ah,vtirretide

for his* s°ns and other relations AJi ofLlJIie nw— ;

- -- -"« »wuruy propo*.

ed the marriage of his daughter with Prince Salim

The lady was brought to Lahore and the tnarnane,,lS performed on January I, ]592."

The above passage again shows that Little

Tibet was threatened with total destruction by

ravage unless the ruler agreed to send his daughter

l0 prince SaJim's harem. Likewise on 10 -June 2fi

j586 in Lahore Prince Salim's second marriage ,

performed with the daughter of Rai Singh of

Bikaner ' To call this a 'marriage 1

is hypocrisy.

It was 'held' in distant Lahore and not at Bikaner

because the ruler of Bikaner was obviously ashamed

of having to surrender his daughter to an alien

maraudar. He dare not* celebrate any marriage

isic) of his daughter with a Muslim potentate in

his capital Tor fear of public obloquy.

The chronicler Ferishta describes how the daugh-

ter of the Bijapur ruler was kidnapped for Akbar's

son Daniyal. In 1600 A. D. n "Ibrahim Adil

Shall of Bijapur sent an ambassador to conciliate

Akbar and consented (sic) to give his daughter in

marriage to his son Prince Daniyal Mirea AMogul noble named Weer Jam dtiddin Husain

Anjoe, was accordingly despatched to escort the

wide from Bijapur In June 1604 Meer Jarnaluddin

9 P. 354, (bid.111 Pp 354-357. Akbar I he Great, ibid

u - Pp 173-174, Vol it, Brifigi" tmiwbUlofl ol Ffemwi

chronicle,, ibid.

iv;

Mu>ain„u%ai „ returned villi the royal bride ind,h

down iifc) He delivered the you

S^ftfttam whett lha uurtuib were cc duarcu

S«S magnificence (sic n which M*r

nuluddm H«fefl Pro-**»* Kim the k,ng«

\ L , ,On April 8, Ifi05 Dttnipl died in Burhanpur

owing to excess of drinking."

H is mpurenl from the a hove description that

,,

g ipur ruin . daughter was kidnapped under

duress The celebrations were not of the marriage

but of the successful abduction or another's gin.

Her name did not matter and therfore is not men*

honed Danival died within a few months of the

poor hapless girl *s abduction. Left to himself the

Bijapur ruler would not have given his daughter to

depraved drunkard sprawled on the brink of his

grave,

Mr. Shclat mentions two weddings (sic) of

prince Salim With Hindu princesses. He says 11

On February 2, 1584 the marriage of Prince

Salim ii lithe daughter of Raja Bhagwandas was

Unrated at Lahore with crear pomp. In June

1586 the wedding of Rai Singh's daughter with

S ilim was celebrated at the house of Bhagwandas."

The learned author has been mistaken to

thinking that the celebrations were for the marriage

Tii.it they were no marriages but abductions 15

apparent from the fact that the girl's name iflnot

mentioned, and that ihc was brought to distattl

Lahore. The celebrations were to gloat over the

12. P. 19&, WdMf.bj I, m Shfllat ibid,

137

subjugation. In the latter case Rai Sfngh'f daughter

was brought to Hhaawandas's house in Lahore

from her unwilling parents in distant Rajasthan

aTld then handed over to Jehangir. Bhagwaada**s

family had since the days or his father Bhar-

malrolled up and drowned its Rajput pride

ynd allowed to be lifted as many women assuccessors liked. For thcm

t

some consolation to sec other

rulers similarly humbled andthat view Bhagwandas and his

Akbar and his

therefore, it was

brother Rajput

humiliated. With

adopted son Mansingh were frequent agents for

Akbar and his sons to abduct Rajput princesses.

It was on one such occasion that Rai Raisingh's

daughter was made over for Jehangir *s harem from

Bhagwandas's Lahore home.

Badayuni says 1* **Salim in his 16th year

married the daughter of Raja Bhagwandas. The

Raja gave as his daughter's dowry several strings

of horses and boys and girls of Abyssinia, India

and Circassia, and all sorts of golden vessels iet

with jewels, and jewels and utensils of gold, and

vessels of silver and all sorts of stuffs, the quantity

of which is beyond computation. And to each one

of the Amirs, who were present, according to their

station and rank, he gave Persian. Turkish and

Arabian horses with golden saddles '

This description should serve as a sample of

the lavish ransom that subdued Rajput rulers were

required to surrender along with their beloved

daughters and sisters to alien invaders. To describe

13- P, 352, Vol, U Muntnkhabui

Itadayum. ibid.

Txiwjrikh, by Al

138

it as dowry is a iravesty of truth. Who would want

to five wall brought up, beautiful daughterst

-

t |i L ho were drunkards, drug-addicts, masscrers

rod to i of Hiiidusand llindustrun ' Even the

very Rajputs who allowed themselves 10 be ulti-

mately subdued and humiliated did so afterstiff

resistance and burning of their women en massefti

ho;[ It was only when their flagging spirits

seemed to wither awaj and wraps under unending

and colossal Muslim atrocities that they decided to

submit and purchase a semblance of peace at any

cost.

Indian histories have no right to twist Tacts,

warp the truth and give a wedding-wash to blatant

abductions, and thereby rub galling insult into the

tries inflicted on the brave Rajputs by alien

invaders in wars of attrition.

Histories must be impartial The historian

must not assume the role of a politician or of the

politician's handmaid to twist truth or varnish

dastardly acts. The reader expects the historian to

properly investigate the truth and present it with-

out adding any gloss of his own Current Indian

historical texts, generally speaking, do not fulfil

this roie,

Administrators or politicians, may add their

m homilies or footnotes when presenting hisio "-'

fact* to their audiences but the histories as

ChdP!2J"-

ust state only the truth, the whole truth a"*1

nhmg b

marria]

lied

nothing but the truth. In the case of the so-cam*

marn of Akbar and his sons the plain J

that they were all blatant .inductions.

( OMH EST*

tt has been mistakenl) asserted or insmuat

jn average Indian historical text books that Akbar"s

conquests were intended to wipe oat smaller

principalities into which India was divided only to

weld them into one strong, united, homogenou

nation. Such an assertion prc-Supposes that Akbar

was an Indian and that he was bubbling over with

patriotic fervour and innate love fur the future of

India and the overwhelming majority of her

citizens, the Hindus. Both these assumptions being

wron<» the conclusion derived from them is also

unwarranted.

Akbar was not an Indian either in thought,

mind, body or deed. He was an absolute alien, .in

aggressor and an aggrandlzcr whose conquests were

meant to ruthlessly mow down the Indian people

and their culture for self-glorification at the cost i

the people's lives, property and honour.

Vincent Smith rightly observes 1 that "Akbar

was a foreigner in India. He had not a dr»p*'f

Indian blood in his veins. He was a direct descen-

dant in the seventh generation from Tamerlain {on

his father's side). He was descended through

Baburs mother, the daughter of Yunus Khan,

Grand Khan of the Moguls, from Chagatui.

second son of Cbingii Khan, the Mongol icourga

. 7TAkiw the Gtc* MoB i»J bj vin«nl Snriih. ibid

of Asia mPersian"

MO

rhc 13th century, .His mother was

Ui

B> descent, therefore, Afcbui was an absolute

alien U is then .ireued thai though not in Indian

by descent Akbar was an Indian by Choice because

and two of his ancestors and his descendants

made India iheir home. Many readers arc taken

in and misled for the whole of then lives by such

cant. Had Akhar really merged his identity,

language, culture and religion with that of

the majority of the Indians namely Hindus, he

could certainly have been entitled to be deemed a

naturalized Indian. If retaining his own separate

religion and culture he would have devoted his life

to the welfare of the Hindus he could still have

been deemed deserving of gratitude. But Akbar's

whole life was spent in humiliating, insulting,

massacring and fleecing his subjects. As such he

cannot be deemed to be even a naturalized or

domiciled citizen. His mere physical residence in

India is no criterion for identifying him as an

Indian If a gang of dacoits successfully defies the

residents of a village aud continues to plunder Ihem

by using some village dwellings as their base of

Hon can they be deemed to be residents of

that village? If an intruder occupies two rooms

of a house and kidnaps the housc*owncr*s daughters

can he be deemed to be the son-in-law in residence

of his victim-host ? Likewise India was an unwill-

|mg victim-host to Akbar and his descendants.

Till the very end none of them ever considered

India as their home or Hindus as their hrethcren

They always regarded Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria,

Afefciwislhan and Abyssinia heir father-lands

SJccaand Medina as their shrines and the majo'

ril>, n f the Indians as their dire enema- They

considered massacring of the Hindus and the ravag-

irlgDr their homes as their pious duly Could

those who sported such ideal, md ideologies be

BveT regarded as Indians even though they had

nliH le India their home? Making India their horns

or operating base made mailers worse, They could

thereby perpetuate their depredations with greater

cas,e from closer quarters and as an incessant

routine. It is not, therefore, physical presence or

length of residence in a country which is the soul

of citizenship but love for the soil, affection for

the people and dedication to the service of both.

Far from having any of these qualities Akbar was

a menace to India and Indians from every aspect

and his death was regarded as a good riddance not

only by the people at large but by Akbar's own

ion Jchangtr and by all his courtiers.

Since Akbar was not an Indian it is no wonder

that he subjugated Indian rulers with ruthless

cruelty and systematic relenllcssncss, Vinceni

Smith says2 "In reality a more aggressive king never

existed. The ruling passion of Akbar was ambition.

His whok- reign was dedicated to conquest... His

attack* were aimed at destroying the independence

of every slate,.,The people of Gondwana were

happier under Rani Durgawati than under Asif

Khan< Akbar's general)

1" Conirar. opinions ex-

pressed by Mallcson and Von Noer. Smith dismiss-

es as "untrue" and "nonsense."

2. P. 251, ibid.

I«

,

142

"AkbarV luM Tor dominion was never sat

He longed with intense fervour 10 extend bis ruj

overall the nations and kingdoms lying within the

' Ml is not necessary to adduce any particular

incident as supplying a motive Tor the attack onRana <Prat3pf. who is represented by Abul Fazai

(Akbar's self-appointed court chronicler) as deserv-

ing of chastisement by reason of hi* alleged arro-

gance, presumption, disobedience, deceit, anddissimulai His patriotism was his offence,

e campaign of 1576 was intended to destroy the

Rana. and crush finally his pretensions to stand

outside of the empire. The emperor desired the

death of the Rana and the absorption of his

territory. The Rana while fully prepared to

sacrifice Jus life if necessary* was resolved that his

blood should never be contaminated b> admixture

tth that of the foreigner, and that his country

should remain a land of free men. After muchtribulation lie succeeded and Akbar failed.'

A af Rbun |l), governor of Kara and the

eastern provinces, having subdued the Raja of

Raima in Bundclkhami was directed by Akbar to

turn his arrnie.1 against Gondwana The count rj

was then nn 1 564) governed by a gallant lady RamDurgawati. who 15 years previously had become

regent Tor her minor &on Although he had nowattained manhood, and was recognized as the lavv-

3.

* Pp 1Q64J, .hid

59.51, ibid

143

fu! Raja Mnthnttsd to rule the kmsdom TheRiinl «ii princess of the famous Chandcl dvna*t,f Mahoba, which had been one of the great" pow*

er5 of India 500 yean ago. Her impoverishedfather had been obliged to lower hi* pride and rive

his daughter to the wealth) Gond Raja, far inferior

in .I position. She proved worthy of her

noble ancestry and erned her adopted countrylV ,ih courage and capacity dome great things' asAbul Fazal remark dint of far-seeing abilities.

(She fought battles) with Baz Bahadur and Mianas,and was always victorious. She had 20.000 goodcavalry with her in battles and LOGO famous eleph-

ants. The treasures of the Rajas of those countries

fell into her hands. She was a good shot with gun

and arrow, and continually went a-hunting and

shot animals of the chase with her gun. It

her custom that when she heard that u tiger had

made his appearance, she did not drink water till

she had shot him. She earned out many useful

public works in different parts of the kingdom and

deserved I van the hearts of her people. Her name

is still remembered and revered. Akbar's attack

on a princess ol' a character so noble was mere

aggression, wholly unprovoked and devoid of all

justification other than the lust of conquest and

plunder. M rs,. Bevcridge is quite right when she

declares that Akbar was a strong and >tout annexa-

tionist before whose sun the modest star of Lord

Dalhnusie pales. Having men and money he went

to work and took trad after tract' (A. S. Beverid§

"» von Noer, vol 1, p. vu").

"Akbar would have laughed at the remorse

144

fettty Ksdka Tor ihc miseries caused by Ihe con-

quest of Kalinga, and would have utterly conde-

mned his great predecessors decision to abstain

from all further wars of aggression.*'

Smith dismisses as "sentimental rubbish"

Count %on Noefi belief that Akbar's conquests

were intended to achieve the greal goal of welding

the lesser suites into a great empire Smith adds6

-Akbar's annexations were the result of ordinary

kingly ambition supported by adequate power.

The attack, devoid of moral justification, on the

excellent government of Rani Durgawati was made

on the principle which determined the subsequent

annexations of Kashmir, Ahmednagar and other

kingdoms. Akbar felt no scruples about initiating

a war, and once he had begun a quarrel he hit hard

and without mercy, His proceedings were much

the same as those of other able, ambitious and

ruthless kings"

Akbar's entire reign is a horror drama of his

barbaric hordes haunting, chasing and hacking

down one principality after another to ^lake his

iMrst for despotic power over as large a portion

of the earth a* possible

Immediately after his general, Sharfuddin had

completed his assignment of compelling Bharmal

the ruler of the Jaipur (Amber) kingdom to swallow

his Rajput pride and surrender his daughter to the

harem of the alien Muslim. Akbar put him on the

ob to reduce Mcrta (in the former Jodhpur Stale)

noihcr stronghold of Hindu freedom.

t F.Slibi

14?

Akbar's intolertwcc of any limitations on hnom despotism may be Scen fo his lfcachcrmji

overthrow of his own loyal guardian Behram

Khan.He even went to the extent of having

jKiirani Khan murdered. To add insult to brim

,1Cusurped Behram Khan's wife and made Behram

|tlian*syoung child subservient to himself,

Baz Bahadur, the ruler of Malwa, was subdued

and forced to serve as an ordinary subaltern mAkbar's armies.

Rani Durgawati's kingdom was overrun. Shecommitted suicide on the battlefield, while her

jister and daughter-in-law were dragged to Akbar's

harem.

Rana Pratap, the immortal hero who madehis mother's milk resplendent by his dogged resis-

tance to Akbar's repeated attacks and who kept the

flag of Hindudom flying in the face of relentless

Muslim onslaughts was many-a-time reduced to

desperation and destitution just because Akbar'slust for reducing everybody to abject submission

was unquenchable.

The principalities which were hacked by

Akbar's imperial sword in an incessant orgy of

mass massacres, plunder, rape, arson, ravage,

woman-lifting, carrying away of men into slavery,

a"d desecration of temples to be turned into

mosques, included Chittor. Ranthambhor. Kaiinjar,

Gujcrat, Bengal, Bihar. Orissa, Kashmir Khandesh,

Ahmednagar, Ashcergadh, Banswada, Dongarpur,

leaner, Jodhpur. Jaisalmer, Sirohi, Kabul. Nagar-' and Boondi.

146

An indication of the sexual and monetary

n hii Uctmrused to extract from subdued

chief; i in 1} be had from the terms of the treaty

.-<ncludcd with Rai Snrjtui Hftdft, chief of Boondj.

This ruler was made to surrender fort Runthambhor

coaxing and cajoling him into submission. Hecould therefore ask for some special exemptions,

These terms were" I. The chiefs of Boondii -.ild be exempted from that custom degrading t

1 Rajput, of sending a dola to the royal harem.

2 Exemption from the Jiziya or poll tax. 3. Thechiefs of Boondi should not be compelled to cross

the Attock, 4. The vassals of Boondi should be

exempted from sending their wives or female

relatives to hold a stall in the Meena Bazar at

the palace on the festival of Noroza. 5. They

should have the privilege of entering the Diwan-t-

Am completely armed. 6. Their sacred edifices

should be respected 7. They should never be

placed under the command of a Hindu leader.

Their horses should not be branded, with

the imperial dagh. 9. They should be allowed to

beat the naqqaras or kettle drums in the streets

of the capital as far as the Lai Darwaja and that

they should not be commanded to make the pros-

tration on entering the presence, 10. Boondishould be to the Hadas what Delhi was to the king

who should guarantee them from any change of

capital.

Analysing the above conditions is very reveal-

fhc fizsl condition shows that Akbar used to

J82-3K3, Vol ft, Annuls and Antiqaitic* of

JUjuihnn Col, hd, [bid

147

c0efl*vanquished leaders to send their women to

h)Sharem. If the vanquished leaders were

Mohammedans all their harem women had auto-

ntaticalJy to join the victor's harem. If the vanqui-

sjlC(Ifoe was a Hindu, Akbar and his pedecessoi

E,ndsuccessors made him surrender choice women

of his family to the imperial Muslim harem. This

was greatly resented by the Hindu chiefs because

therewas a world of difference between the kind

of life they led and the Muslims led. While Muslim

life used to be steeped in murder, massacre,

treachery, plots and counterplots, opium and drug-

addiction, drunken revelries and illiterate barbar*

ism the Hindu chiefs used to lead a holy, clean,

god-fearing life.

Indian historians have been tutored to believe

thai the Dola system was a marriage. It was far from

that, It was a blatant usurpation and kidnapping

under duress. That is why it was all completed

within a day. The term Dola' though singular must

not be interpreted to signify only one palanquin

with only one woman seated in it. It was used as a

collective noun indicating that the Muslim victor

could dictate to the vanquished as to which women

he would have for himself, his sons and courtiers.

It would be a travesty of truth to call this heart-

rending abduction anything akin to a holy marriage

where a woman is graciously given and respectfully

received. She is given all protection and honour.

She is allowed freedom and sumptuous allowances

Hindu women taken to Muslim harems were,RH

ever silenced in the curtained off recesses,

v°icc was for ever stilled. They were not even

148

permitted generally ever to visit their parentalhomes or to retain any connections with i|lc

erstwhile Hindu relatives. In a harem teeming i#ui

conqured women they could hardly expect i

receive even a square meal much lesstoilet

facilities. Recently even in our own timesthe

pitiable condition of the late Nizam's harem womencame to fight Their plight was so desperate

thai

they would not get even a thimbtcfull of oil for

their hairdo which used to be infested with lice.| n

most cases they continued to be hated and looked

upon with contempt by the other harem colleagues,

by the Muslim sovereign and by his retinue Some*times they were also murdered and poisoned as

happened in the case of Jehangir's wife Manbai the

Jaipur princess. Even her own brothers' high

position at Ak bar's court could be or no avail to

save her life, \1any-a time women in the severe*

ign's harem used to be gifted away to other Muslim

couniers as vehicles for their amour as is evidenced

by European accounts of Akbar's time. All talk,

there h re, of Ak bar having forged marital relations

with Hindu chieftains for a lofty and laudable

purpose is baseless.

The second condition of the Ranthambhor

treaty reveals that the notion that Akbar had abo-

lished the hateful Jiziya tax is false. We shall see

later that ever) important Hindu personage coming

to Akbar" 1. court had to beg for remission of the

Jiriya tax * In each case Akbar is stated to have

ostensibly ordered a magnanimous exemption. But

his orders were not meant to be carried out. They

were meant, even if the few recorded Instances of

149

ihe sanctum of such exemption hc r™.please the visitor and send him LnLlnJ JU" Wc

Pd outside the court. W|,c™ h"S3 yC°n,enl *

U bothered. It „ ^m^^^lcitizen, and the chieftainh^S Buondl

for long from the Jiziya, BecameTontT*'ened that conditions acrced to h« »h. n—«

ndiremained exempte it oftei

agreed to by the Muslinusuallj only to effect a subjugation. Once thsubjugation was accomplished the cond.t.ons wcr^all thrown overboard and the vanquished soon*found themselves reduced to utter servitude.

The exemption asked from compulsion tocross the Indus Cat Altock) is often inerpreted asHindu reluctance or orthodox objection to leavethe boundaries of Hindusthan. This is a misinter-pretation. Hindu religion not only puts no res-triction on crossing the boundaries or the country,it positively encourages and demands conquests ofits brave sons -the Kshatriyas. The Boondi chief's

demand or exemption from being made to gobeyond India's borders was to ensure that hedid not become a pawn and a slave for Muslim'-•"iiqu, -,i'. in distant regions only to frengthei]

their domain and stranglehold on Hndusthan.Moreover, a Hindu chieftain did not want to lose

his life io enhance Muslim prowess, in a distant

land. Even if he expected to come back alive hcwas not sure that on return his women, children

and other relatives would be safe. Mahabat Khanan erstwhile Rajput though a Muslim convert

found that while he was fighting in Kabul for

tehangir his wives and children were summarilylumed out of their residence because aceommodn-

3M

156

(ion had to be found for Prince Parwez, Afnjjj

of such highhandedness and abduction and pilia„e

a Hindu chieftain was averse to leaving his family

and serving in a distant place for a Muslim.[„

going to distant Muslim countries with Muslimarmies he also ran the risk of being himself

converted to Islam under duress and threats of

toriure. For all such reasons Hindus disliked

crossing the Indus as henchmen of Muslims.

The condition that Boondi chieftains be exempt-

ed from sending their women to the Meena Bazar

proves that all courtiers and chieftains subservient

to Akbar were compelled to send their most beaun-

ful wives, daughters and sisters to that annual

festival where Akbar was free to play with their

chastity and womanly virtue.

The condition that Boondi chiefs be allowed

to enter the royal palace fully armed indicates that

Hindus were disarmed while en ten rig Muslim

palace precincts. This entailed the risk of the

Hindus being treacherously pounced upon and

murdered or held prisoner or hostage and made to

agree to degrading conditions. In Muslim history

such cases were very frequent.

The stipulation that the sacred edifices of the

Boondi kingdom may not be desecrated clearly

shows that during Akbar's limes Hindu religious

shrines and temples used to be freely turned into

mosques or Muslim serais or stables or brothel*

V\hen Badayuni complains that Akbar turned

mosques into stables or appointed Hindu door-

keepers he only means that the Hindu mansions

151

*tidtemples which Muslim tronn* ,*

ques in the first flush of vjc orytere Tat "2J,

different Muslim use. As a practka anf P";ous monarch Akbar could iiot^SJ^SHindu buildings being turned into mosques H,^„icd them for-other use. Historians have nS-understood and misinterpreted this particularremark of Badayuni. As a fanatic Muslim hefcsired that most captured buildings, especiallyHindu temples and shrines should automatically beused as mosques. Akbar could not allow lofty

Hindu temples and mansions to be all convertedinto mosques when he needed them for other tem-poral use. Akbar was as fanatic a Muslim asBadayuni. He would never dream of converting

any erstwhile genuine mosque into a serai orbrothel.

The Boondi demand that their horses should

not be branded with the royal mark shows that

every citizen who owned a horse was made to havehis horse branded with the imperial mark. This

was a very hateful practice. It at once reduced

each single individual to royal serfdom. In times

of war, and wars were endemic during Muslim rule

in India, every individual who owned a branded

horse could be coerced and forced to die fighting

for the alien Muslim monarch This ancient Muslim

practice was continued by Akbar with his own

cial vigour and rigour. Thus branding a horse

amounted vistually to branding every man as a

''c of the court.

The demand that Boondi chiefs be allowed to

bcat their drums to announce their approach to the

152

palace was lo ensure that their royal privjwwere not snatched away.

The stipulation that Boondi ought to continueto be their capital was to ensure that they won't bcuprooted from their ancient moorings where ihev

niainkd reSpCCl and allegiance from their ownsubjects, into totally strange surroundings where

they would soon be reduced to total serfdom of

and dependence on the Muslim sovereign*

If the Ramhambhor treaty is thus intelligently

analyzed it reveals the various ingenious ways in

which even during Akbar's times all vanquished

chiefs were in no time reduced to non-entities so

that the Muslim monarch could make free use of

Hindu women, wealth and territory. Akbar's

conquests were, therefore, not meant to weld

India into one kingdom or nation but to subjugate

everybody to his despotic rule, Vincent Smith's

remark that* ''Akbar's annexations were the result

of kingly ambition supported by adequate power"

is apt and displays real historical acumen, talent

and insight.

I. P. 51, Akbar the Great Mogul, ibid.

THE PLUNDR ECONOMY

Books on mediaeval Indian history often

contain elaborate descriptions of what they call the

avenue administration of rulers like RaziyaAllauddin Khilji. Ferozshah Tughlak. Sher Shah

or Akbar All such descriptions are fictitious. Theyare either based on genuine misunderstanding or

are motivated communal propaganda. They are all

attempts to bypass the truth, and reveal a menta-

lity which does not have the courage to face andexpress the stark truth.

Without exception the reign of every Muslim

ruler in India from Mohammad bin Kasim onwards

until the end of Mogul rule in 1858 AD. had norevenue administration as such. Theirs were all

plunder economies based on multiple usurious andSpurious taxes, bribes in cash and kind at every

stage, confiscations, acquisitions of all his property

on the death of any noble even if he had heirs, and

frequent military swoops for organized dacuity and

plunder under imperial auspices.

A revenue system to be valid, legal and res-

pectable presupposes that the revenues are used for

Public welfare : to provide essential services, to

ensure security for the citizen, and to maintain

peace and order. It also presupposes that taxes and0Incr levies are based on some principles such as a

Jttlaln percentage of incomes, fixed periods at

Wflich such taxes are to be paid, and provision of

154

judical remedies if anyone is unjustly taxed, None,,, these critet .1 eve* governed the extortions tj ndcr

\|» t in H rule which pass for revenue administra

Thai such usurious conditions should L-Xh|

under Muslim rule was inevitable considering

human nature. Ft could not have been otherwise.

cause i he rulers and their retinues were not

vcrablc to the local people and they had no

i

,. I

., the country's soil They deemed themselves

|je answerable only to the Koran, They all

looked upon Mecca and Medina as their poles.

They hated the Indian people. They never called

them Hindus They always referred to the local

people with some invective like infidels, scound-

rels, slaves, thieves, reptiles and robbers. When

this was their ordinary outlook is it not plausible

that they regarded the Hindus to be fit only to be

mulcted and squeezed? Indian histories have fought

shy ofadmitting this truth.

Another point worth considering is that in the

accounts of Muslim reigns we find the sovereign

ajwdvs engaged in incessant warfare against his

n kith and kin, against rebellious generals and

against the Hindus. This warfare involved the

plunder and ravage of the local population by both

tenders and at times several contenders as

happened in the case of Dara, Shuja, Aurang/ b

and Murad fighting against one another. Such

regimes could sustain themselves only by plunder.

Fauci accounts of Muslim rulers or tavadctf

like Akbar, Fcrozshah Tughlak, Shcr Shah or

155

Tl„ncrlaiTi having built serais and roads all *| n 22pmp at short distance, are absolutely baseless*

They are descriptions plag.arized from what ind ?,o*n Kshatnya rulers used to do for their people

|f a„ thc claims of ruler after Muslim ruler havLestablished serais, charitable homes and resting

places were true we should have found almost anunbroken series of such buildings on both sides of

all highways. But there is not even one such. Eventhe trees which earlier Hindu rulers had planted to

make highways shady and comfortable for thc

traveller were uprooted for the invaders* need for

fuel, boats, staffs, scaffolding, ladders, mangonels

and other uses.

Paper-setters and examiners in Indian media*

cval history, therefore, do great disservice to the

cause of truth, to the student community and to

the lay public in asking the students to write about

the so-called reforms, public welfare schemes,

revenue administrations or principles of administra-

tion of a Jehangir, Akbar, Sher Shah, MohammadTughlak or JFerozshah. They would do better if

instead they asked students to write about howShivaji and Rana Pratap ruled their kingdoms

despite the ravage caused by incessant Muslim

onslaughts; how they marshalled their resources and

w«n the love and respect of their people despite

'heir having been constrained to ask their people

10sacrifice more and more in defence of the

m°lherland during a millcnium of chaos and

rampage caused by alien invaders. History teachers

aadscholars can ask such questions m good

c°nseience only about indigenous Hindu rulers.

XAT.COM.

116

Akbar is supposed to be the best or the lot Soif wc prove thai even his administration was based00 nothing but systematic plunder of his subjectswe shall have dealt a death blow to the notion thatMuslim regimes in India had even a semblance ofan administration or that they were concernedabout public welfare.

Even a fanatic Muslim chronicler like Badayuni

who wa* in the pay of Akbar says' "The emperor

(Akbari made Mulla Mujdi ofSirhind (formerly)

warrant-writer to Islim Shah, the Receiver-General

of revenues And Samsher Khan he made Superra

tcndcnl of the Exchequer. And these through

the vilencss of their birth perpetrated all sorts

of oppression and tyranny.. .and so annoyed the

soldiery that they compelled Masum Khan to

revolt "

In ihe above passage the word "revenues" h

to be understood to mean the amounts extorted

ih terror and torture under all sorts of pretexts

or by regular military raids on the populace.

Badayum also observes- "In this year (AH. 987)

Qazi Ali of Baghdad who had been appointed in

spite of Sheikh Abdun Nabi to look into the ad-

ministration of Madad-i-Maash lands, and their

encroachment brought these holders of land grants

court and cut off most of their lands and left

them precious little,"

Recounting how Abdun Nabi was arraigned on

a false charge of withholding an amount which m

I R, 274, Vol II, Bad»)uni*4 chronicle.

2. Pp 2B2-W. ibid

157

Men fi'vcn lo him for lhc pilBninnRe to M^

ft!nl yf JHeikh Abdun Na^nTe^

F,thpurand made use of some rude |ailgU8w

Theemperor was unable to restrain his oas<i*n£ struck him in the face. Then with a v^wto

make him settle his account of about Rs 7 000which the emperor had given him when he set off

for Mecca he was handed over as prisoner to RaiaTodarmat and for some time like a defaulting ias.

gatherer, they imprisoned him in the countinghouse of the office, and one night a mob strangled

him.1 '

•In990 A.M." "says Badayum "Sayyid MirPath Ullah...came to

^Fathpur. He was honoured

with the post of Sadar whose only duty waserasure, in order that he might confiscate the lands

of the poor."

In 991 A.H. Akbar1 "issued a general order

that every person from the highest to the lowest

should bring him a present"

fl In the year 982 A, H. Akbar "gave orders

that the holders of grant lands should not be let

ofFby the Kroris of each pargana unless they bro-

ught the firmans in which their grants, subsistence

allowances and pensions were described, 10 the

Sadar for inspection and verification. For this fl

large number of people from the extreme east of

India to as far west as Bhakkar (on the Indus) cameto court. Jf any of them had a powerful protector

3 P< 321, ibid.

4 - P- 325 ibid.*• **. 332, ibid,* P> 20?. ibid.

du

c '

m one of the Amirs or near friends of His Ma'be could manage to get his affair settled, but iut2/'had to bnbe Sayyad Abdur Rasul. the Sbeft^.

1'

head man . or make presents to his chamberfe?door keepers and sweepers in order to get 7J2

anket oat of the mire. nless, however, j|?hid strong recommendations or had recourse

t

bribery, the> »ere utterl) mined. Many of theAmahs (land grant holders; without obtaining their

object died from the heat caused by the crowdingof multitudes. Though a report of this came i©the ears of His Majesty, no one dared to take these

unfortunate people before the emperor."

All the parganas of the country whether drror irrigated, whether in towns or hills, in deserts

and jungles, by rivers, reservoirs or wells ware ail

to be measured and every such piece of land ai

upon cultivation would produce one crore of

Tankas was to be divided off and placed under the

charge of an officer to be called Krori. Security

was taken from each one of these officers A great

portion of the country was laid waste through the

rapacity of the Kroris, the wives and children

of the subjects were sold and scattered abroad

and everything was thrown into confusion.

But the Kroris were brought to account by

Raja Todarmal. and many good men died from

the severe beatings whicn were administered, and

from the tortures of the rack and pincers. So manydied from the protracted confinement in the prisons

of the revenue authorities, that there was no need

of the executioner or swordsman, and no one cared

i 192

IS

|a find them grave* or gnve doth^n* wholejritO with tne exception cf thoie b^ ^

^^^diatciy from the crown. *aj held by the \mn%„ j,gir. and as ihey were wicked and rebdSeus^d spent Urge sums on their stores ar.d *orkjfeopi

j amassed wealth, they had no leave to look

after the troops or take interest m the people. In

joine cases cf emergency they came themselves wanson* of their sh tod |ul attend* he

jcene of war but of really useful soldiers there were

none-"Carefully analysed the above passafe reveals

mat the much vaunted revenue system invented

the stooge of a Todarmal for his overlord Akbar.

was a most ruthless machinery for extracting *

last farthing from the people at the peril cf flogg-

ings and torturous death, requiring them to fell

their wives and childem. This is what is lauded in

Indian histories as a wonderful revenue administ-

ration of Todarmal. and is sought to be rapturously

«axed upon by history students, scholars and

professors. No knowledge of history is required to

debunk the claim that it was a wonderfully public

welfare-oriented scheme. Had it been so it would

have been adopted by a free India jmmediatery after

British rule lapsed- This is sheer r t loreover an

alien monarch gulping one Hindu kingdom ar

another by waging ruthless wars was not itching to

usher d. en magnanimous administration. Indian

historv that is being taught in schools and colleges

m India and other parts of the world, thus makes

nonsense of all logic It also benumbs the thinking

Power of readers of I^nd reduces history to

«bsurditie«.

160

The B»slC hieli handedness of this si n jstcr

scheme w&a that all land in the domain of Akba r

whether fallow, litigated, mifrrlgated, desert,fertile

| mountainous, eroded, ravine or occupied by

a stream, river or lake was divided into standard

pieces of uniform acre-age, This itself was atrocious

To add to the gall of such a division was the

assumption that each of those areas must yield h,

ihe crown one crore rupees revenue. Whether it

actually yielded that much even to the cultivator

or owner Akbar didn't brother. Moreover it must

be realized that a cultivator could remit one crore

rupees as annual revenue only if he made at leasi

four crorcs. To expect him to produce that muchwhatever the quality of land and through famine or

drought was another very sinister assumption.

The third sinister aspect of the scheme was

that middle-men extortionists called Kroris (because

they were supposed to procure for the crown a crore

rupees each as revenue) had been appolned to tap

that much amount from the public tit any cost.

This completely shut off the peasantry from the

crown. The latter was not concerned with the state

of the land or Us crop, The administration extracted

one crore rupees as revenue from every Krori.

Naturally the Krori must extract at least Rs. 2 crore

to be able to pay one crore to the crown under all

eventualities and to save a substantial amount as

hi* own wages. Thus what was ostensibly one crore

rupees revenue turned out to be in actual practice

a levy of at least two crore rupees per annum. Onecan well imagine this burden when it is realized

that even the one crore revenue yield per plot of

m

I.tvPcs

of land was an atrocious assumption, On4

of that to devise a system of extortion whichPlUj

compel the cultivator to part with at least

^ 2 crore was the very limit of cruelty. To panRS

| Us. 2 crore per year the cultivator would have

realize at least Rs. B crore from his holding.

Whether he could earn even a fraction of thai

JJfount is doubtful-

In extorting one crore rupees for the crown

plot the Krori had to maintain a band of

odiums vvho could mulct two crorcs from the

citizenry- In the alternative the barbarous soldiery

of the crown was put at the disposal of the lCrori

lo help him extort that much amount.

The last sinister characteristic was that the

amount once fixed was screwed out of a tormented

public with extreme severity which broke up homes

and families either by torture to death or by being

scattered for sale as slaves.

A more demonaic system couldn't exist any-

where in the world. And yet Akbar is atrociously

hoisted as an ideal monarch-a virtual demi-god,

Todarmal was deeply hated for permitting

himself to be an imperial stooge, and setting up this

devilish system based on every inch of ground ana

every person in the domain. It is no wonder there-

fore that there is at least one attempt to assassinate

him, on record

When Gujerat was conquered Todarmal was

Promptly despatched thither to quickly iintrociutc

«* same extortionist system there That such a

mtm was introduced immediately after that pro-

|fi2

vincc had beef) ravaged nnd impoverished by, vv

tartaric Muslim irfflte contending- to overpov^

each other, underlines the extreme cruelty of t|lc

impt^itiurt. rodannal was presented a sword bvAkbar • u hen Todarmal brought with him a clean

balance sheeJ of Hie accounts of Gujerat"* Siu>

Jayimi. The clean balance sheet means that the

wn was reimbursed to the last pic and perhapsalso given a large profit for its devastating campaignof unabashed conquest and plunder of Gujerai.

Such atrocious regimes could obviously be sus-

tained only by liberally parcelling out the plunderedmoney to the barbarians extracting it lest they

turn against the sovereign himself. Under Muslimrule, therefore, it was all a plunder to squandereconomy, leaving the crown always almosibankrupt. In Akbar's case it is said that at least onone occasion" when he asked his treasurer toproduce Rs. J 8 the latter couldn't produce eventhat paltry sum.

Vincent Smith observes 3" "Abul Fazaj as usualattributes much virtue to the reform, Badayuni, onthe other hand, gives on account quite different

and presumably nearer the truth than Abul Fail'scourtly phrases I fear n , s mic , Juu t ,lc ncwsystem of revenue »dministration must be regardedas a grievous failure resulting m shocking oppre*ssion of the helpless peasantry and cruel punishmentof the local oppressors, The ordinary histories

8. % ibid.

",olt. Vincent Smith** "Akoai the Grcjt

Mogul"

10. Vp, W-I00t ibjd.

163

lAt so much praise on the revr.n... ,

of ihcimperial administration generally, thai it

atartlingu» 'ead a «*«* w severe (as Badayuni\,

Although Badayuni had hi, personal grlc'

aq;ijlis i both Akbar and Todarmal, and wasembittered by the most rancorous bigotry, it i s notpossible I think, to disregard his testimony m this

matter as being merely the malicious invention of

adisappointed cmriier and exasperated fanatic Hemy be fairly described in those terms but bisstatements of fact, when they can be checked fromother sources, seem to be usually correct/ 1

Vincent Smith is slightly mistaken in calling

the system a failure becasue it resulted in so muchcruelty. The fact on the other hand was that it wasb signal success because its very purpose was to

extract the utmost from the populace at any cost,

which it did with ruthless efficiency.

Dr. Shrivastava observes 1 K *'After his momen-

tous success (against Uzbeks, Junc9, 1567, when Ba-hadur and Khan Zamart had been captured and putto death under elephant's feet) Akbar paid a visit to

Allahabad and thence went to Banaras, which wasplundered as the people of the city had the audacityto close their gates against the emperor. FromBonaras he went to Jaunpur and thence to KaraWanikpur weeding out principal partisans of the

Uzbeks."

We have seen earlier that the people of DeosaQad other town? in Rajusthan had fled in Akbar's

ll' Pp. 108-10, Akbar, the Great, voU. ibid.

IM :*<

wake. Now we sec that residents of Banaras

Allahabad) also barricading themselvesagain*

Akbar** advent This is enough to indicate that wher.

ever Akbar went his barbaric hordes spread terror

raping women, looting homes, desecrating Hindu sJi.

lines, burning buildings and plundering the popula-

lion, Why else will the people barricade or flee their

homes. The populace usually goes out of its way t

pay homage to even common place or slightly tyran-

nical sovereigns. People are generally prone to wet-

come royally and consider it a great honour. If then

people fled in terror from Akbar it is clear that they

regarded him worse than a horde of man-eaters. This

in itself is enough indication that far from being a

noble monarch and a great man f Akbar was one of

the worst tyrants of history. Even if there had been

no other evidence in history about Akbar" s tyranny

except the two sentences noting how people took

to flight or shut themselves up in their homes trem-

bling in terror, that is enough proof of his being

the world's most cruel monarch. It is a wonder

and pity thai literary mushrooms should sprout

wild in India in the name of profound histories or

treatises ironically praising a sadist Akbar sky high

as though he was an archangel

After killing Durgawati in battle 1 * 4*Asaf Khan(Akbar's general in the aggression against Rani

Durgawati; proceeded to Chouragadh. and took it

by storm. The Rani's son was trodden to death

Independently of the jewels, the images of gold and

silver and other valuables, no fewer than a 100 jars

of gold coin s also fell into the hands of the con-

12 Pp 133-144 vol It, Fcrishta't chronicle, ibid

^ Of all this boot> Asaf Khan presented to

lc king only a small part and of a 1000 elephantsvv|]ich he took he sent only 300 indifferent animals

w the king, and none of the jewels."'

In what way did Akbar's aggressive attacks onHindu and Muslim kingdoms differ from ordinarydacoities except in their gigantic scale backed byimperial might ! While gangs of dacoits swoopon ordinary homes Abkar's terror-force swoopedon rich kingdoms. The treasures he plunderedthroughout his life from the citizenry in general andfrom rich kings, queens and the aristocracy, makesthe Arabian Nights treasures in tales like 'Alibaba

and the Forty Thieves* pale into insignificance.

Chapter X

THE CHAOTIC ADMINISTRATION

Tha is no administration as such to talk ofduring A k bar's reign. It was a free-for-all andDice a style of wrestling "catch as catch can*' wajthe general rule. It was a melee of lawlessness

whimsicalities, sadistic tortures, cruelties, unending

aggressive wars, interminable revolts, plunder cam.

paigns conducted by Akbar himself on his ownsubjects, mass conversions, extortions under duress,

massacres, corruption and briber)', woman-lifting,

dacoity and robbery on highways, desecration of

Hindu shrines and murders galore even in the

environs of Akbar's court.

Vincent Smith notes 1 'The whole administra-

tion was absolutely persona] despotic, directed to

the stringent collection of a heavy assessment, the

provision of numerous military forces, and the

maintenance of imperfect public order in a rough

and ready fashion under the sanction of ferocious

punishments inflicted arbitrarily by local despots,

The penalties in ordinary use included impale-

ment, trampling h\ elephants, beheading, amputa-

tion of the right hand and severe flogging. Bui

i here was no effective law to hinder the infliction

of ma Tud forms of punishment accord-

ing loth price of the official ,."

'"The history of India n the Muhammedart

I P 277. Akbar ilie great Mogul, ibid,

279. .bid

167

fJ0dmust necessarily be a chronicle of kin«

IpV md conquestf. rather than or rational andial

evolution.

a-When we try to picture the effect of (Akbar's)

qualities on the people whom he conquered and

governed, and seek to decide whether or not they

were happier or prosperous under his rule than

under that cf many other despots. , . . it is not

casy to draw even an outline sketch. The record

fcpainfully defective. We hardly hear anything

definite in the histories about the common people

or their mode of life, Information about the

actual working of the revenue administration, a

matter all important to the Indian peasant is al-

most wholly lacking, and the record of the state

of education, agriculture and commerce is extreme-

ly meagre."

In view of his remarks mentioned above we

wonder on what grounds did Vincent Smith title

his book as tfAkbar, the Great Mogul'". On what

grounds does he use the adjective 'great*?

As Smith aptly notes there is no record to

show that Akbar's rule was public-welfare-oriented.

Had his rule been really enlightened as is super-

ficially claimed there would have been immense

evidence.

On the other hand it is our view that hood-

v-»nked by the hullabaloo of Akbar's presumed

'greatness* raised bv a long line of court flatterers,

-mmunalists and history-writers even oiscernmg

2*kW like Smith confine themselves merely to a

* P. 280, it

o-Btffve assert.on thai thm is no evidencelo

m! that the people or the country benefitted

frol ., *UwN role. We quite agree that there\ %

COT [om of evidence to that effect, But what

about the overwhelming evidence that Abkar's

was a sadistic, torturous, murderous and plunder-

some regime? This evidence would not have

escaped the notice of history writers and teachers

.id they not been reduced to a state of hypnotic

slumber and insensitivity by the hue and cry about

Alt bar's so-called greatness,

*"The whole framework of the government

was military. A local governor was not bound by

am rules of either substantive law or procedure

He was the representative of the imperial autocrat

and as such could do much as he pleased within

his jurisdiction. Ordinarily the subjects had to

make the best of the treatment which their local

rulers thought fit to give them. The officers whodid not much embezzle were few."

"sAbul Fazal admits that 'throughout the

whole extent of Hindusthan, where at all times so

many enlightened monarchs have reigned one-

sixth of the produce was exacted; in the Turkish

empire, Iran and Turan-a fifth, a sixth and 10th

respectively/ But Akbar asked for one-third i.e.

to say, double the Indian and Persian proportion.Abu I Fazal seems to think that the abolition of a

host of miscellaneous cesses and imposts justified

the doubling of the government share of the pro-

4. Pp. 267-268, tbid

5, Pp. 274-275, ibid

169

But it is impossible to doubt thai \n practice

nyonr.ose imposts and cesses continued to be

fleeted, and as Oldham drily remarks ,n a note

•most, if not all, of these taxes were subsequently

reVivcd.'. . . The assessment unquestionably was

severe . . *

^ases of hardship must have been

numerous. ..*

The fanatic and discriminatory nature of

Akbar's rule is at once bared by the above remarks.

While in Muslim lands the sovereign look as little

as a 10th of the farm produce in India Akbar

extorted a third part. He was sworn to reduce

Hindus to destitution as a fanatic Muslim.

•• *The horrid punishment of mutilation, which

is prescribed by the Koran , was used freely. . .

.

Neither Akbar nor Abul Fazal had any regard for

the judicial formalities of oaths and witnesses. .

.

The Faujdar was expected to reduce rebels, always

numerous, and whenever necessary to use his

troops against recalcitrant villagers in order to

enforce payment of government dues.

Historians are often prone to swear by Abul

Fazal-s Ain-i-Akbari to eulogise Akbar's reign as

very enlightened. Vincent Smith rightly cautions

such gullible writers and teachers of history that

Uie Ain-i-Akbari is a tissue of lies. He observesT"A reader glancing hastily at the Ain-i-Akbari or

Institutes of Akbar*, and seeing the elaborate

statistical tables might suppose (that the) work

contains ample material for an economic history

^description of the country under his master.

5P 276, ibid,

7- Pp. 280-86, ibid.

hf

170

But closer *tud\ wW SOOIJ dispel the illusion.The

iim> subject of -Regulation regarding Educ*

ticn.' (Book ii, Ain 25), for instance, is di,m ,,*d

with a fe* perfunctory words intimating thatthe

boys should be taught reading and writing.. , ^

section is dosed by the baseless assertionthat

nhese regulations shed a new light on schools, and

can a bright lustre over Muslim schools. The

curriculum recommended obviously has no relation

to the fact No school in India or elsewhere has

ever attempted to work such a programme The

author simply desired to lay another morsel of

flattery at the altar of Akbar's shrine

Historians would do well to heed those wise

words. The Ain-i-Akbar from beginning to end,

is an imaginative account. The whole chronicle

was manufactured by the flatterer of an Abul

Fazal at his desk as the wrote it from day to day.

He quotes no authorities and his observations are

all self-contradictory and confusing.

*The onl> remedies available to the orthodox

against the impious or latitudinsrifin king were

rebellion (when he disregarded Koranic precepts

i

or assassination, both operations being extremely

dangerous to attempt, A really strong king could

defy Koranic law as far as he thought fit. Akbar

did so in greater or lev- degree throughout most

of his reign, and earned his defiance to The utmost

lengths during the last 23 years of his life. Hii

action endangered his throne i.» 15** J but when he

had surmounted that cr he was able for the rest

Pp : ibid

171

of his time to do what he pleased. A monarch in

ch a position lay under no obligation to have acouncil *>f ministers at all. . Nolhing required

^c autocrat to maintain any particular number of^n.sters or to have a council of am particular

form- •LaUr m lhere.»S« Me) officers numbered

about 160*'. - Their appointment, retention,

promotion and dismissal depended solely on the

arbitrary will of the sovereign. The emperoryarded himself as the heir of all his subjects and

ruthlessly seized the entire property of every

deceased official whose family had to make a freih

start contingent on the goodwill of the emperor."

• The systematic assessment of the empire

for which Akbar and Todarmal are given so much

credii was primanh intended to increase the

imperial revenue Akbar was a hard-headed man of

business, not a sentimental philanthropist, and his

whole policy was directed principally to the ac-

quisition of power and riches. All the arrange-

ments about jagirs r branding, etc. were devised

for the one purpose namely, the enhancement of

the power, glory and riches of the crown. We do

not know anything substantial about the actual

effect of his administrative measures on the welfare

and happiness of the common people. Certainly

they did not prevent the occurrences of one of

the most terrible famines on record which deso-

lated northern India late in the reign, from 1595 to

1598. The enormous hoards (of treasure that

Akbar had collected and kept in six cities) Lhen

la!< 'die in the treasure vaults'"

9- Pp. 253-255, ibid.

172

»**AI1 office-holders, as • ru!$, did their k..

to cheat the government" cs*

w*l! must be dearly undcrsiood that the octgvcuiion of I he imperial orders was extreme?*

imperfect from first to last, all sorts of evasion^

and frauds being continually practised with can.stderable success Akbar was well aware that hemust wink at a good deal of attempted deception"

Smith's observation above is fully justified,it

however, needs a little amplification. Akbar wasruthless enough not to wink where his own interests

were involved His 'winking' at the non-compliance

of some orders was a sheer make-believe. As the

supreme pontiff of a cruel and wicked system

there was a tacit understanding between Akbar

and his henchmen thai he would pass certain orders

for mere window-dressing, to throw like a tempt-

ing dry crumb at the Hindus but that those orders

were not meant to be carried out.

Dr. Shrivastava notes that "Akbar appointed

an eunuch named Bahlul Malik. Djwan of reserved

(crown i lands, exalting him to the title of Aitimad

Khan. The emperor sanctioned new rules for the

collection of revenues which were enforced some-

time in September 1562. Unfortun ndy no indica-

tion is given by any contemporary writers regard-

ing these new regulations. Abul Fazal contents

himself by saying thai *the revenues which were

the foundation of sovereignty and the basis o»

the dominion, and the source of military strength,

10 P. 265, ibid

I ] P 102. ibid

175

^cfCp«t upon (a proper) footing." Badayuni add*

thfllgreat economy, unknown before, w l, effected

|nexpenditure.

Thc "new* revenue rules are a clear hoax since

^ne of the contemporary writers mention what

thcywere. While Dr. Shrivastva bewails of the

"unfortunate*1 lapse of contemporary writers it is

most unfortunate that he himself gullibly believes

in such a hoax. If rules are said to have been

framed but court historians arc silent as to what

(ney were the conclusion is clear that no rules

were made. On the other hand the reference to

economies proves that the new system enforced by

the eunuch of an Aitimad Khan was to tighten the

noose of repression, oppression and extortion

round thc necks of subjects and at the same time

introduce the greatest thrift where the question

of rewarding or compensating anyone for his

services arose.

That those fancied regulations were new

methods of imperial robbery leading to the impo-

verishment of the helpless subjects is borne out

by a footnote by Blochmann. He says w -Akbar

after the death of Shamsuddin Mohammad Atgah

Khan, his foster father, commenced to look into

matters of finance, and finding the revenue depart-

ment a den of thieves, he appointed Uimad Khan

lo remodel the finances. In 1565, he conveyed the

daughter of Miran Mubarak, king of Khandesh

(1535-1566) to Akbar's harem- When tn 1578

"ii^MTAin-i.AkbAri by Abul tout^^SgjgFrom thc original Persian by H. Blochmann. hid.

theca Indica series, Calcutta.

174

Akbar'v presence WM required in the Punjab\\m

Khan desired "in him. In order to c^uin^contingent, he collected bli rents and outstanding

as u appears wfeft much harshne This] Ctl ^

a conspiracy against his life. In the same year i.

was murdered by Maqsud Alt,

When we find that each one of Akbar's so-

called revenue-administrators were sought to be

murdered (since Todarmal loo was sought to be

murdered) the cruelty and repression of their levies

and the torturous nature of their extortions m^well be imagined. In the case of Itimad Khan

what could one expect from a mere eunuch whoroped id royal princesses for Akbar's harem as

though the> were cattle for the slaughter house

Todarmal too carried out similar functions. So

these so-called revenue ministers turn out to be

procurers oi women for Akbar. When they could

stoop so low as to be imperial panders what kind

of revenue regulation* can one expect from them!

An instance of what kind of men or rather

eunuchs used to be in Akbar's confidance is graphi-

cally described by Abul Fazal himself. He says

1J-Shah Quli Mahram-Baliaralu was passionately

attached to a dancing boy of the name Qabul Khan,

and as the emperor had the boy forcibly removed,

Shah Quli dressed as a Jogi went into the forests

Bchrum traced him with much trouble and brought

him back where the boy was restored to him- ••

The emperor from goodwill towards him, admit-

ted hmi to his female apartments. After the firs

173

1J. P- 387, ibid

he had been allowed to entef the harem he"«,! home and had hi* testes removed. m*W*

s one admitted to the harem. He dto^tJ^i»I010A.R AtNan.au! where he ehfefll

sd he erected many splendid building anVdul]3rge tanks. 5

Akbar's court reeked with such eunuchs andsodomites who were given despotic authority overhelpless subjects. It js also clear that Shah Qulj

must have mishaved in the tempting harem andtherefore was compelled by Akbar to have his

lesiicles removed. Who would otherwise volunteer

to have his testicles removed especially if he is as

lecherous as Shah Quli. The reader may also

note the building bluff. How could a mean," cring-

ing, indigent eunuch build splendid buildings anddig wells in Narnaul! This graphically illustrates

Jiow earlier Hindu buildings and wells have been

unashamedly ascribed to one or other Muslim.

An idea of the worthless men through whomAkbar carried on his disreputable administration

may be had from another instance noted by Abul

Faz.il. He tells us " J

-Ismail Quli Khan brother

of Khan Jahan kepi 1200 women and was so

jealous that whenever be went to court, he put

his seal over the strings attached to their night

drawers. Resenting this and other annoyances

they made a conspiracy and poisoned him/'

Describing the stabbing of Itimad Khan. AbuJ

Fazal says ,5"Maqsud Ali who killed liitnad Khan

14, P. 388, ibid.

15. P, 473, ibid.

m 1 71

is slid to nave ocen mino in one eye. w^vplamcd to litmad his miserable condition" h*

master retorted by saying 'someone sho

urine' in his blind eyes, (Infuriated by this

Maqsud stabbed him on the spot. Accord in

Put

remark)

rdinp I

another account he was stabbed by Maqsud \X-gelling up from the bed." The filthy

lanuuacethat Akbar's courtiers used and the despicablecircumstances of their death throw a lurid light 0nthe tyranny, torture and moral degradation that

formed the foundation of Akbar's rule. It is also

significant that no one took any notice of even

courtiers* murders. How else can the different

versions of Itimad Khan's death in his own house

or in the court, be explained. It hardly mattered

to anybody if such mean men were murdered.

In fact all rejoiced at the good riddance because

every courtier was a tyrant for his harem women,

his prolific progem and his subordinates.

Blochmann quotes a footnote from page 290

ofTarikh-i-Firozshahi to illustrate the status of

Hindus under Muslim rule. The note says 1*

"When the collector of the Diwan asks them (the

Hindus) to pay the tax, they must pay it with all

humility and submission. And if the collector

wishes to spit into their mouths, they should open

their mouths without the slightest fear of contami-

nation so that the collector may do so. In this

state (with their mouths wide open) they should

stand before the collector. The object of such

humiliation and spitting into their mouths is to

prove the obedience of infidel subjects under

;„£,.*..

- - viiu,mpi io lake rcli-

«~- G°t

hlm,

S

o,r °rd

t

CrS

r

US1

l0dcSpi5clheni'^says (Sur.9.29) 'out of hand while they arc

"duced low'. To treat the Hindu contemptuously

£ 9religions duly, because they are the greatest enc

16. P. 247, ibid.

protectionand to promote the glory of hlanij the

[ruerettpon, and to show contempt to fate fch.

« sapd ow li contemptuously

the greatest enc-

jjes of Mustafa (Mohammad) because Mustafa,

regarding the killing and plundering of Hindus,

and making slaves of them, has ordered (that)

they must either accept Islam or be killed, or be

made slaves, and their property must be

plundered. . ,

"

Royal Muslim practice of admitting men to

own harems only after castration or rendering

them impotent seems lo have been widely

practised, since Abul Fazal describing Itimad Khan

of Gujerat tells us that l7"He was originally a

Hindu, servant of Sultan Mahmud. King of Guj-

erat. Being trusted by his master he was allowed

to enter the harem. Ills said from gratitude, he

used to eat camphor, and thus rendered himself

impotent/*

There are many contradictions in the above

passage. If the sultan trusted Itimad Khan and

allowed him into the harem, the question of his

rendering himself impotent should not have arisen.

If the intention was that he should consort with

some harem beauties as a special favour of the

monarch, impotencv was a disqualification, it B

was u question or appointing him for some sup-

ervisory duties, who would put a man m charge cm

u.mingand tempting \mem when women uoaw

". P. 418, ibid.

XhT.COM

I

mhe safely jippoimed. This only p. that Muslimsovereigns used to castrate or of henvise cmascu|

at

individuals whose misfortune it was to be chosen tosuperintend the harem. In this respect too Akbarwas no better than other Muslim sovereigns.

| ncj>

dentally it may also be noted how adverse inferences

emerge from fraudulent, flattering Muslim chroni*

clcs t which try to twist the truth in favour of their

base patrons and to the detrement of the wrongedindividual.

In the list of grandees at Akbar's court A bill

Fazal lists Jagannath, son of Raja Bihara Mull of

Jiapur, as the 69th grandee, adding that lSi*he was

an hostage in the hands of Sharfuddin (grandee,

No. P).*' We have already seen earlier that Bihara

Mull agreed to surrender the virtue and chastity

of his daughter gulping his Rajput pride because

three princes namely Raj Singh, Jagannath

and Khanear had been held hostage by Akbar'sGeneral Sharfuddin on paid of torturous death, at

Sambhar, unless Bihara Mull agreed to humble

himself by surrendering his daughter for the royal

harem and in addition pay a huge ransom. This

shameful transaction has been unashamedly descri-

bed by all historians as a rare honour that Akbardid by condescending to marry a Hindu princess out

of lofty motives of communal integration, friend-

ship, amity, understanding, etc. etc. It need not be

added, therefore, thatAkbar's other marriages too,

even with Muslim girls, were blatant abductions.

All the above details should convince the

reader that Akbar's was one of the most atrocious

_gnd chaotic rule in world history.

«. P.i21,Ain-i.Akharif ibid.

<r XI

AKBAR'S MILITARY

Like his civil administration Akbar's military

to0 was a loose band of barbaric hooligans whoUsed to be collected in teeming swarms at the beat

of the drum and later let loose uncared for, Thesoldiery used to be worked up to a feverish fanatic

pitch by their commanders when an attack wasimminent on an adversary, The generals and their

troopers perpetrated horrid barbarities and sent

heads of dreaded decapitated opponents as veritable

bouquets for Akbar's delight, or the slaughtered

heads and bodies used to be piled up in tall towers

for the delight and self-congratulations of the sol-

diery for the rich toll they had taken of the enemy.

Thus in addition to Akbar's revenue officials

loose bands of army stragglers, deserters, part time

employees, rebels, imposters, pseudo-fakirs, cheats,

robbers, dacoits, and hoodlums used to be on

rampage throughout Akbar's rule tormenting the

public, desecrating their shrines, looting their

wealth, kidnapping their women and converting

tticm to Islam under dire threats,

Vincent Smith observes 1 "Akbar's military or-

ganization was intrinsically weak, although it was

^ better than that of his happy-go-lucky neigh-

bours His army would not have stood for

Jjjn^m against the better kinds of European troops.

JSjcverjiis officers ventured to attack the Por-

L Pp. 265-66. Akbar I he Great Mogul, Ibid

COM

ISO181

cy failed disastrously. Al_ .# emperor ordered Maniingh to proceed ,,

J have mad. short Corl ^ > dW"2 ° f^ rand K"^atmer {thereui

tuguese settlements th

dcr the Great woukAkbar's mightiest host If Akbar had the mjsr0rtune 10 encounter lhc Marathu light horse

ft ]

possible that he might net have fared much better

than his great grandson did. Akbar'smtlitarv

administration had in it the seeds of decay andFailure,"

Smith quotes Akbar to say thai - a monarchshvuld be ever intent on conquest.*

1

That being

Akbar's stofi an it is no wonder that by hook orcrook he humbkd everybody on whom he could

thro* his military net.

The army's slogan was to kill any Hindu even

if he was fighting on Akbar's side, because a Hindukilled was considered a gain for Islam. The chro-

nicler Badayuni who was himself a soldier in

Akbar's arm> which battled with Rana Pratap in

the famous field of Haldighat. reveals this when he

says"-. I asked the commander Asaf Khan-ll (he

is different from AsafKJian- 1 who fought against

Rani Durgawaiij a& to how to distinguish foe from

friend when the Rajputs on our side had got mixed

up with the Rajputs in the enemy's army and was

assured in reply thai I could do no wrong even if

1 shot anywhere because on whichever side they

may be killed it will be a gain to Islam."

By quoting his own example Badayuni typifies

a every soldier of Akbar's army thirsted for the

blood of th Hindus. Badavuu* says4 "In 984 AM.

2. P. 251, ibid

3 F 23"?, Vol 11. Biidiiyuni'* chronicle, ibid.

4. Pp 23304, ibid

ruled by Kana kije. aim RHna Pralap)i £"flighting

against the mfidels kindled in mybw^applied to the emperor through Nakib Khan

L, first he(Nakib Khan) made objections, and 5,iS"

: l(ilHindu (i.e. Mansmgh) had not been the leader

of thisarmy. I should myseir have been the first to

masked permission to join It l'| represented

(cmgetting an audience with Akbar) that [ had a

^ji strong desire to lake part in a holy war (i. e.

v , nton massacre of Hindus). I have the presurnp-

im to desire to dye these black mustachios and

beard in blood through loyalty to Your Majesty's

person...and when I put out my hand towards the

touch in order to kiss his foot, he withdrew it; but

jus! as I was going out of the audience chamber lie

called me back, and filling both his hands presented

me with a sum of 50 Ashrafis and bid me farewell...

'"War was declared because Rana Kika hadrefused to send his royal elephnat to Akbar as a

mark cf submission."

This atrocious demand of Akbar wanting Rana

to surrender his elephant just for

nothing except the whim of Akbar to humble him,

'he thin end of the wedge. If that had been

conceded demands of a huge ransom, personal

Prosuatjori and surrendering of the beauties of his

fanty ^d (jf hjs courIicrv families for Akbar's

""'Cm would have inevitably followed.

-^J^cnbinji how Rana Pratap baitm-d mid

5' p- 235, ibid.

18?

ihittered the Muslim army Badayuni tells us th-even in their cowardly Right Akbar's soldiers us*dto justify their action with reference to proph*Mohammad. Badayuni says* -'Kazi Khan (woundtin his thumbs being no longer able to hold his ownrecited the saying •flight from overwhelming oddsis one of the traditions of the prophet* and fbn .

wed his men (in their retreat)...

"Mansingh exhibited such intrepidity as sur-

passes all imagination. And that day through thegeneralship of Mansingh the meaning of this fine

line of Mulla Shiri became known :—'A Hindu* ields the sword of Islam

1 ."

Badayuni describes how when he7"returned

to Fatehpur Sikri with Rana Pratap's elephant the

emperor was exceedingly pleased and putting forth

his hand to a heap of Ashrafis presented me 96

Ashrafis/'

Badayuni's account gees to indicate that notraining, discipline or drill was needed in Akbar's

time to join his army. All and sundry Muslimswho thirsted to attain salvation by taking part in

the massacre of Hindus* and such Hindus as were

ready to abet that slaughter could merrily pull out

their own bows and arrows, spears and swordshatchets and staffs and sally out for unbridled ram-

page, as easily as a woodcutter slinging an axe on

his shoulder goes out to the forest to hack wood.

Dr. Shrivaviava notes that the7 "Mugal army

blundered Dungarpur territory when its Sisodia

*. Pp. 243-47, ibid.

7, P, 145. Akbar the Git ai, Vol I. ibid.

183

0]er A,k»rafi refused to break with Rana PralBp „

vk!lill used to compel prominent andi n(Wn

,

persons to be Ins rcci ultfng *%mt BmJ v ,

'

factors to produce army contingentsIt t B mo.

ment'*notice. Dr. Shnvaoavt dewibes how

L, ple were compelled to maintain a fixed number

'f horses*camels, elephants etc. and bring them for

[faction at fixed periods.

Akbar was a sadist, since according to the

ehtonfclcr Ferishta* Akbar undertook the conquest

tlf the Dcccan as a diversion being grieved on the

dn of his son Murad Mirza. Petishta says

-Prince Murad Mirza falling dangeroush ill (May

1599) was buried at Shapoor. The corpse was

ufterwards removed to Agra, and laid by the side

rf Humayun, the prince's grandfather. The King's

grief for the death of his son increased his desire

for conquering the Deccan, as a means of diverting

his mind.!T

The above passage is revealing in two respects.

It gives us an insight into Akbar's cruel nature

which sought to drown his grief over the death of

Ins son in the flood of the blood of the ruUrt and

itic populace of the Deccan.

Secondly it exposes the hoax or the so-called

rTutnayun tomb in Delhi If according ta Ferishta

Humayun lies buried in Agra and his grandson

Murad is buried the c alongside, his fancied tomb

"> Delhi is u fake just intended to keep a Hindu

Nation falling into Hindu hands because of the

*• 'V 177-78, ibid.

' Pp. 170-71. Vol. tt 1 irishu'i qhroawB.

QfiWWQf.

T84

Hindis pathetic fear of deiecrating a tombsimilar faftana oJ a fake grave in BhujiaicH ^iit.ir Pradesh has been brought to jjgnt

"]

Ac"' titled fa** tf«f % *sN in which the v?rftMr Biharilal Shnsiri points out how thc fan<7'

tomb of Salar Masud I he nephew of Mohammrt

Ghuzni in Bhainch, is a usurped ancient Hindtemple called Baladitya. Salar Mahraud runnin!away from the field of battle pursued bv king Suhei-

dc climbed a tree where he was surprised andkilled. Sometime later when that region came under

Muslim occupation the Baladitya Hindu shrine

was desecrated by burying some Muslims in it and

renaming it as Balay Miya's tomb.

Father Monserrate, a Jesuit priest who was ai

Akbar's court from March 4, 1580 to April 1582

contrasts Hindu administration with Muslim

administration saying 11 "Brachmanae (Brahmins

ie Hindus) govern liberally through a senate and

council of the common people; but the Musalmans

have no council or senators, everytiling being

decided by the arbitrary will of the governor

appointed by the king,"

The roads were infested on all sides -by

robbers. Musalmans are easily induced to put

Christians (and Hindus of course) to death/'

Monserrate iclts us how Akbar held some pTP-

K IV 7 <,i the Hindi weekly ari^PP daied Apr

19t>H, S:uv„<k>hlk Pratimdhi Sabhu. RamliW 8roU,w

New i leihJ.

1 1 P 219, Monurritc't *Commcniariut."

IV 1*6. ibsd.

T85

dnenl individuals respoi .,,.,, Io

,rar , contingent! whenever m^L J£

Jgndeeimwrn used o as,,^^,Wa ^L, pf underlines and thus it was curried 7

svs,em of contractors and sub-contrartoHchiriSa|lh providing troops just for thc emperi , -skin,

P , d moment's notice. If anyone failed to C!lTry ou ,

theemperor's order he wastortnrcd to death his knhan(| kin were sold as staves or taken hostage and hi*prope/l) was confiscated. Under duress, therefore

, Lch individual was ultimately coerced into joining

ihc army and present himself for military dutyequipping himself many a time, at his own cosi.

Monserrate says 13There are 45,000 cavalry.

5/ino elephants and many thousand infantry, paid

directly from the royal treasun. In addition to

ihcsc there are troops whose command is inherited

by their chief officers from father to son, like an

hereditary estate: these troops consisting of cavalry,

Infantry and elephant detachments, are paid by

their commanding officers out of the revenuesI

the provinces which they hold from the king 1

government of such (conquered) territories is vested

11 H'.ibles on condition that they pay some stated

tribute to the royal treasury. These nobles distri-

buted in their turn cities, townships and villas

the king grams each noble a district large enoughto enable him it^ maintain due state and dignity to

support properly his share of the military forces.....

JJtc cities and lands in the empire belong ti the

.gjjjUndthc whole army obeys lum as comma

li Pp 80-90, ibid

wder-in-eh.cf. \et iumi of the troops have their

pes nd Officers to whom they arc attached I*an hen ry allegiance. This fact suprn a ,

y

i Miitf \mi nnnnrlunitv Irir r«n«hM•• mi

4 cau*e and opportunity for conspiracy

treason *

Al arm:?* sustained themselves by plunder-

ing the r is which they traversed. Such plundervusht in from da\-to-da> and the loot ws cheap price to the soldiery. The Comments-

us notes l, The army began to advance on Febru>

an 8, 1581 (in the campaign agatnsi Mirza n| Inn

pc $1 few days the army seemed remarkably

small- However, it increased so rapidly that it

n seemed to hide the earth. It extended over

th. readtfa of a mile and half covering the fields

id filling the woods with a crowding multitude

The priest iMonserrate who was with the armyi

tonished (because he was unaware that it

was procured under duress by open plunder to be

sold to Akbar's hordes at a price i by the cheapness

of the grain amongst so great a multitude, especially

nsidenng the number of elephants. This was

achieved by the careful skill and foresight of the

king himself. For he despatched agent> chosen

for their diligence, to the neighbouring cities and

towr ti instructions to bniri m provisions from

all sides and he unced to the merchants (who

tmded up in i Rett fctiuyj who brought

maize, pulse and all manner of provisions

and other mi the camp* that if »te>

ell at cheap rates he would exemnl them

.m impost* and taxes | litis is not as in.u .ua

? r 7740. ibid.

„***•* v

^ft

adi^^reat.ThCvkne.*w Akbar used to mulct peopltfer.W.£

,m and making mem sell their W|Vci

^ ir l,iC

\fLd T idl lbeit B**«

rt^wawa) prices Akhar k how to terrcrize

orture them to extract from them their earn-recovering all joms of bogus

levies).When he advanced beyond the frontier

0fhisempire (Le. when \kbar was an ag

the king'sforesight and carefulness wa teen in the

M-ay in which he sent heralds to announce to the

inhabitants of the country (in such a waj thai aewa

•be announcement may be carried far and '.vie

i po one would be harmed or ieported who did

not take up . rms. that, if they would bring supplies

he camp they should be made to pay no imposts,

but should be free to sell as they liked...But that

if they disobeyed him the »uld be heawlv

punished. All of them terrified as they were

hi* huge army there were no high prices and no

bcl of provisions , en in a hostile country."

Monserrate's testimony proves how Akbar's

army collected the merchants under dire litre

i made them pari with their al ludicrous

res U can well be imagined that i ' -uch

circumstances goods could even be freely looted.

lew transactions which did take place at cheap

:s were mere and sheer exceptions. Thu& e\

Jhile the army we. d in a campaign -\khar

^ 'l paj its own wa People were also forced

b> conversion or by dire threats to join the air

** mvade nciohbourim'I

ona. Those forced to

m ™ their turn plundered the regions through

ndu

V?

188

which I hey passed, from sheer ocoessny u> sa|-

ihcir needs, now that they were torn from thhomes, families, native moorings, their culnreligion end friends. They were thus turned SS\wust eiimin.jls overnight from the peaceful,

|aw°

abiding and god-fearing citizens they had beeonly a day before.

In accounts of Akbar's rekm one often comesacross terms like Do Hazari and Pach Hazari, Theynever meant that the persons concerned commanded

it many troops. The terms conferred, on the indi-

viduals so honoured, a certain status allowing him

entry to the court and a right to stand in rows

assigned to those ranks. The status was also

accompanied with land grants suitable to the rank.

which made the recipients virtual sovereigns in

i he areas allotted to them. Blcchmann cautions

the reader that15 *"A commander of 5,000 was not

necessarily at the head of a contingent of 5,000...

Contingents of Mansabdars, which formed the

greater part of the army, were mustered at stated

times and paid from the general or local treasuries

Akbar had much trouble with these musters as

faudulent practices were quite common."1

Badayuni referring to the utter chaos and

tvrannv at such musters says 1" "The whole country

with tie exception of Khalisa (cmwn) lands was

held by the Amirs as jagir: and as they were^

wickeu

and rebellious, and spent large sums on their store

and workshops, and amassed wealth, they had n

Pp. 251-352, Am-t-Akb.ui. ibid.

t0. P. WO. Vo« If, Buddy urn'* chronicle ibid.

ISO

.|H!ilSe

look .iter^troopiortekelritet-.,

LIn cases of emergency.

,hcv

^Jves with some of Nr slaves and' .v?™

"

teIldanistotlu --:, fUie war; but really usef'efS there were none...The Amirs PU( L,t

leir own ^™"ts and m0Untcd itllCnda|)K

L soldiers' clothes....Whcn a new emergency dr

m mustered as many borrowed* soldier* as w'

ired Hence while the income and expenditurejequuw—— .- •- « vApL-nauurc

,| ie Mansabaar remained tn status quo dust fe||

into the platter of the helpless soldier so much so

mi he was no longer fit for anything.*'

What greater indictment could there be than

above of the utter misery of the life of the

common man during Akbar's rule, whether he was

a soldier or a civilian.

Justice Shetat rightly observes that17 'Notwith-

standing the several striking conquests that Akbar

achieved, the army under him cannot by any means

be called efficient."

Akbar's and in fact other Muslims' success mIndia was due to the ruthless method* of total war

that they adopted. Among Hindu* when one king

invaded the other's domain tliev did not harm flu

oupuiace. The two armies mel race to too and

ided the issue in open combat. The Muslim

invader had an altogether different and savage

tpproach, Muslim armies used to be on the ram-

'' aN along the way. Thus before they rci

|

llc citadel of their victim the) used tobttratil

!^V| Pleads, occup) all temples and turn them

,7, p- 327, Akbnr(by i. M Sliclul, iWd

190

,nio mosques, enslave entire townships and force

^niil duties, acting as guides or bringing provi^

Zm »"^acrc multitudes, convert thousands BBd

nco-co.ncr«s force them 10 fight for h\mLiitsl their own erstwhile compatriots Such

forcible and ruthless methods of recruitment swe-

ted flic tank* of the Muslim imader* while ai the

same nme leaving none who would help the Hindu

earrison with supplies. The Hindu garrison wait,

Sue inside the city walls or fortress found that the

people in the entire region outside, who constituted

their very kith and kin had been converted to Islam,

all their property was looted, their homesteads

were burnt, their women and children were kidnap-

ped and their shrines were converted into mosques.

Thus even before the soldier was called upon to

fight he found that there wa> nothing left to fight for.

Ifany spirit was still left in him after witnessing this

al mischief there was practically no one left

who would bring him provisions. That starved him

into a desperate last ditch stand or surrender. In

addition the enemy's ranks swelled out of all pro-

portions through military service forced on multi-

tudes of nco-converts. It was these ruthless

iods which led to the inroad ofMuslim invaders

into Hmdusthan. Readers of Indian history who

do not ponder on this often wonder what made

mighty Hindu rulers and their devoted armies

knueklc under the undisciplined hordes of the alien

Muslims. Given these methods of total war any

adiog force could bring its victims to submi*

m. Had the Hindus retaliated with hke

measures tooth for tooth and eye for eve

191

hvreadily

accepting back into their fold HinduWis ro Islam, by'Converting th, invadi

ynrilms ihcmsees to Hinduism, massacring whole

Lltiiudcsand burning all ilicir belongings their"

s n0 reason why they should not have succeeded"

pUtting U sl * P to iL3slu» invasions. But ihc

Hindus like the B urbons neither learnt anytnii

,,n their enemies nor forgot any of their orthodox

practices. Far from converting any of the alien

invaders the Hindus in their orthodoxy Wouldn't

even admit their own forcibly converted co-rcli-

pioaists back into Hinduism. This made the neo*

converts more bitter and they swore to wreak

vengeance on their erstwhile co-religionists. Alltlu

factors led to the subjugation of Hiniusthan by the

Muslims- And yet ii must be recorded to the glory

eflhe Hindus, their fighting spirit, their morale, and

their bravery that in spite of such heavy odds and

self-imposed handicaps they waged a tight against

wove after wave-of invasions for i.ooo long years.

This feat is unparalleled in win Id histor All other

regions from Africa to Indonesia which came under

the rampant and rampaging Muslim sword were

reduced to complete submission and conversion

while Hinduism did flourish after its millemum of

Iravatl and trial, in the form o\' the resurgent

Rajput, Maratha and Sikh forces.

History has, therefore, a lesson thai in tinu

i the side which resiles from retaliating til for

^cannot escape enslavement.

Chapter MI

TAXES

h would be wrong to imagine tliat Akbar ha.mv fixed system oJ taxation namely specific levies

specific times This holds good Tor the em ire

DO r-lonc Musi tin rule in India, Even if

there was a semblance of any such they were lost

l maze and haze of additional and arbitrary adhoc extor lions made ai will by officials or importersand impersonators under dire threats. Even theusual levies would more often than not be increas-

ed considerably at the whim and mood of the

official concerned. Sometimes while the Muslimscoutd get themselves exonerated partly or wholly

i'u ini- the partisan officials or by appealing to

their sense of Islamic fraternity, that loss was madegood by higher extortions from Hindus. At limc^

even a wily or cringing Hindu could also avoid

payment of the taxes in whole or part by humour-' or bribing the sax-collector. Hut such instances

re vcrj rare and at times they entailed consider*

lo of property and honour to the

Hindu subject inasmuch as lie had even to bribe

the officials by providing Jhem with some hapless

men for their ban nrm

When armies were on the march there was nO

hmn to these extortions* Though the extortions

may have (escribed as taxation they were

Utile short oi lotesalc plunder. It is also on

record i hat v, hei er Akbar wanted lo repair die

maed

Fort at Agra (since the notion that he built «

Unt Hindu lownship of Fatehpur Sikri (which

JJB was not bu.it by Akbar) he used to impose|Jl(loru,l levies on the subjects. Thus the poor

Subjectswere made to sustain a regime which

iidWP*d their wome". sold them as slaves, us-

(irped their shrines and plundered their propertyBy no stretch of imagination

lilOlwi'l".• -*-««* moves, US-

|irped their shrines and plundered their property

jay in and day out. By no stretch of imagination

coUidsuch extortions be exactly commensurate

with the cost estimates of the repair work. The

Llniounts extorted under pretext of carrying out

repairs to usurped Hindu townships and buildings

were usually much in excess of the most liberal

estimates for actual repairs plus generous embezzle-

ment

It is against such a background that Akbar's

io-called tax-system must be studied, First and

foremost was the hated Jiziya. Eversince Muslim

sunders set foot on Indian soil from about

the beginning of the 8th century they imposed ern

lite Hindus living in the territories under then

control a heavy levy called the Jiziya which v.

extracted with much cruelty, The levy was based

on the doctrine that since the sovereign was i

Muslim his kingdom was a Muslim kingdom. All

those who were non-Muslims were suffered to I

by the Muslim sovereign only if they agreed to pay

11 heavy tax foi the sustenance of a hosi to mmfaarjglchold. This lax was considered to bfl vtT>'

air^ious hecaase u was based on an ironical pan

£»*• TJie Hindu, were supposed to pay the

l"ro«gh their nose foi the 'protection' (sic) wnicn

fifiT.'

I i.

a Muslim sovereign 'graciously' (sic) providedf

them lest he exercise Ins religious prerogative Vmassacre them en masse. But actually I he 'proicHOW1 Was a fiction. The Hindus were all alon*subjected 10 humiliations, extortions. m a .

,

|

torture, kidnapping of their women and childrenburning and breaking up of their homes, a riHwholesale plunder. To add insult to injury thevwere made to pay for being allowed just to live" tobe mulcted.

This obnoxious lev) is described by both ofAk bar's chroniclers Badayuni and Abul Fazal ashaving been magnanimously abolished by Akbarbecause of his fancied greater tolerance of Hindus.European writers and other evidence indicate that

Akbar continued to extract the Jiziya with

traditional severity and rigour.

We have already noticed earlier that in tin

treaty of Ranthambhor Rai Surjan the Hindu ruler

of Bundt fell the need to ask for exemption from

the Jtziya as a special concession and favour. Had

the Jiziya been abolished he would not have

mentioned it.

Dr. Srivastava describing the Jain monkHirvijaya Sun's stay at Akbar's court (frorn June

7 r 1583 for two years) notes that1 "Akbar issued

orders confirming the abolition oftheJi/i |nd

the pilgrims' lax both for the Hindus and Jain> in

Gujtrat and Kathiawar. When (anoihci Jain

divine; Shanii (came lo court j in 1 587, Akfau

granted him a farman, again confirming the aboli-

tion of the Jiziya and prohibiting animal liaughw

i«i

Thc above passage needs closer examination^rds -issued orders confirming abolition of

I P 2'»5, A -ur the Grem. ibid.

m WO,MO — -——'*""»niung abolition of.

ivll- clearly mean that I he original order,

jf anv1

; a dead letter and the Ji«ya continued to be

ted.Had a decree ocen really issued abolfeh-

.

|flthe Jiziya Akbar was ruthless enough to have

s;cn that it was earned out. So the conciij s

LlAkbar never ordered the abolition of the

jkiya.Mentions to the contrary in Muslim

chronicles must be dismissed as mere fulsome

Battery and window-dressing to project the fancied

magnanimity of Akbar towards the Hindus who

formed a vast majority of his subjects. Had Akbar

really passed that decree Hirvijay Sun would not

have been given any ' 'confirmation/' Even after

that ''confirmation" was given it couldn't have

stopped the extraction of the Jiziya when even the

imaginary original decree did not work. Again

the other Jain monk Shantivijaya who visited

Akbar's court in 1587 (i.e. two years after Hirvijaya's

departure) is again handed a royal order "again

confirming the abolition of thc Jiziya and also an

animal-slaughter- ban'' thrown in for good measure.

The hypocrisy and dishonesty of these so-

called abolitions and bans should be immediately

apparent to the reader from the above pnssage.

^en if Akbar passed any such orders they wci

^vcr meant to be carried out. They were only a

J°«rt!y make-believe, an empty formality intended

*« gullible to swallow and to send the distraught

^apparently happy at the deceptively persuasive

J»8ntinim ltV'

o( Ml , Pmperor only to find to m*

""Win on return to his own province that Akbar >

196

ncd order was never tnteeti seriously bv any

member ©fhiS adifmifetruti It didn't make Ule

least difference to the collectors of the Jiziya.

Justice J.M. Shclat observes* "In theory

Islamic jurisprudence doc* not recognr/c anoa«

Muslim as u citizen of LlW Slate. The Muslim

jurists, therefore. g*vc such subjects a qualified

Status bv imposing certain disabilities and fines for

beme suffered to exist in the state.. In India the

problem was accentuated by the fuel thai the mMuslim population formed an overwhelming majo-

rity. Since it was impossible to destroy such a

vast number of subjects, the ruling class subjected

them to several inequities and disqualifications,

thus casing their conscience There were laws of

blasphemy which subjected the non-Muslims- to

ihe whims of the Mvllu The bigoted manner in

which ^omc of the Mullns applied the laws of

blasphemy is illustrated by the case of Bodhan a

Brahmin of Kaithan, who was beheaded during the

reign of Sikandar Lcdi for a mere assertion that

Hinduism and Islam weie both real The Jiliya

was B heavy tax, The next was the pilgrim tax

Since even the village fans were taxed, this impost

seems to have been almost universal Though the

payment of these taxes w; s intended to ensure fre

exercise of religion to non-Muslins the freedom

was nonetheless, limited to private worship

Hindus were not a] d to build new temple* °

even to repair old

"When fresh territory was conquered, there

jT~5 AM» • I.M Shelat. Baan* s

Bin* an, Biimhufc. 196?

run

1 97

bc a wave of destruction of tcrrrplc* as

lh pari was destn yed by Ferozeshah

hl'H-CvCT l" peaC*ful ,imes

«a ruler like

idafLodi in a spurt of frenzied rclig'tositv

S

'^,ddesecrate and destory temples and salve h<$

ftn8

.»Babur confined the stamp duty to the Hindus

cOne of his chiefs Hindu Beg converted a

'rt3e at Sambal into a mosque. Sheikh Zain. his

*Hir desecrated a great many temples atChanden

\ 5 28 29 Mir Bagi destroyed a famous temple at

Avodhya under his orders and built a mosque in

its place (Sri Ram Sharmas Religious Policies of

the MogulEmperors/* P 9).

-Sher Shah's attack on Maldeo of Jodhpur

was partly political and partly due to a desire to

convert the temples there into mosques, \ temple

converted by him into a mosque is still exunt m

Jodhpur known as Shcr Shahi mosque. His trea-

chery towards Puranmal was explained as under-

taken to exterminate an infidel His successor

Islam Shah brought the state under the complei

domination of the Malta..* (Attart) commander

Bavaml convened an ancient temple at Bcnaras

into a mosque."

Smith also calls off the bluff of the abolition

or tlu- .lima, by remarking in a footnote in

mention of the abolition of the Ji/«ya and uu.

P%im tax at the instance of the Sun. mJMd'seiplc proves rhat the general orders issuj"

*i reign for the cessation of tho- W» l > !,ja

Kl-" tailj obeyed/1

'V 120-21. Akbar the Grout MOB"*',|m5

T98

WewouJdliko t- amplify Smith's undcrsia aing of Ibc aisc. The sso-i

I I orders werei

make-believe and were never intended to be"^

plied With according to a tacit understand"**

between Akbar and Ms official! Secondly Smiilremark thai "they were never Tully carried our'

1'*

not justified. The orders remained un implementedin their totality.

About the other taxes Smith notes 1that "Abu]

Fazal is rather obscure in his description, becausehe seems to say that 'a tenth of the total of tenyears was fixed as the annual assessment/ andthen to state that as regards the last five years ofthe period above-named the superior crops weretaken into account in each year, and the year ofthe most abundant harvest accepted'. If the best

year was taken as the standard, the assessment

must have been severe.*' The reader must not,

therefore, place any credence in Muslim chronicles.

Their statements were intended to be mere court

flattery, dnd before they are accepted at their face

value they should be subjected to the closest scru-

tiny. Usually their assertions themselves contain

enough contradictions and vague, tortuous, anoma-

lous statements wrhich should shatter their claims

Mr. Shelal obscrses 5 "The upper strata of Uic

administration was on the Turko-Persian model."

(That shows how it was alien i"The peasants

were generally antipathic to the collector mainly

because they derived no benefit from the si i

Even the functions of the police had to be per*

4. Pp. 135.36. rbid.

5 P 31S-I7, Akbar. by J. M Shelal. ibid-

199

formedby the *'&*&* Yeniseives. They aUo r«H

(hc id system or assessment the Batai *£advantageous to them inasmuch as they could

my a pari ol the actual rather lhan ant,cipaiedP>

XrThe local revenue officers were on the

^ legreedy and corrupt and were not %\ow in

BjtBCtinSal1 sorts of unauthorized imposts from the

iier .Their corruption found its roots m the

pernicious custom, which prevailed throughout the

I

>gUlperiod of ottering costly presents to the

ruler and the higher officers, who in their turn took

presents from their subordinate staff... Bribery still

flourished on a large scale."

Dr. Shrivastava saysfi "At the beginning of 1587

Akbar promulgated an ordinance according to

which everyone who was presented at court had to

contribute according to his circumstances, as many

duns or rupees or mohurs (gold coins) as he was

old in years." This again was an atrocious levy.

It effectively discouraged anyone from approaching

the sovereign with complaints of torture, tyranny or

extortion. Because such a visit entailed paying an-

other tax for a royal audience. Even after such a call

'II that the visitor could expect, if Akbar was in a

good mood, at best, was to come back armed with

i deceptive order of the exemption sought after,

**fch no official took seriously When, therefore.

Dr Shrivastava quotes Abui Fazul's Aklwnai

I IH, pp. 4*0-94 and 533-34) that the levy *as

' on wells, reservoirs, serais, gardens and oil

b for the benefit of the public, we cannot help

^rmgai the pathetic guHibiluv ofwritew WW

6" PP J54-57, Akbar ihc Grc.it. iW*L

200

l,jm whose writings have substituted factual history

by wishful accounts.

Badavuni s»> - "In accordance with established

custom Akbar is weighed twice a year, on his solar

and lunar birthdays against cold, silver and otiie T

precious things which are given to the Brahmins of

Hind and 10 others." This is a typical piece showing

how Muslim chroniclers bedecked t lie cruel regimes

of their patrons with the frills of enlightened Hindu

rule. It was the Hindu monarchs who had them-

setves weighed against precious metals and treasure

distribute that to the Brahmins and the indigent.

How could a Muslim sovereign who extracted the

Jiziya to allow the Hindus just to exist, ever commit

i he sacrilege of distributing to them a largesse.

All that is to be understood, from the above custom,

is that this was yet another cruel levy. Far from

giving anything to the Hindus Akbar expected

them to contribute treasure equal to his weight at

least twice a year. This treasure was obviously

appropriated to the royal treasury. Another

conclusion from Badayuni's vague statement, could

be that at least twice a year Akbar had himself

wetgl cd first in gold, then in silver, then in other

precious things lie gems). One may well imagine

how much he earned at least twice a year by this

stratagem,

"*ln 971", says Badayuni **thc project of build-

ing the fortress of Agra was conceived, and its

citadel which had before been of bricks, he had

buill of hewn stone and he ordered a tax of lltfce

P. 85, Btfbyuni't chronicle, ibid.

I* 74, ibid.

?f.|

rl of corn on every jarib of land in the dfotffci-

thuseven for such works Akbar called for special

lflxes inaddition to the usual extortions. How

could such a monarch spend anything on public

welfare.The above statement also exposes how

historianafter gullible historian has been led to

believe thai Akbar constructed Agra Fort. Badayuni

clearly states that the utmost that Akbar did was

toprovide a stone pitching to the wall surround v..

\Uia fort and Agra town That stone pitching too,

if any* was done at public cost. But in our view

even the claim of stone pitching is false. What

Akbur sought as a pretext for levying another

usurious tax was some minor repairs to the fort

and town wall.

Badayuni specifically states" "At this time

(983 ATL) Sheikh Abdun Nabi and Makhdum-ul-

Mulk were ordered to examine and decide the amo-

unt of tax to be levied on Hindus, and firmans

were issued in all directions". This gives the lie to

ike usual claim that Akbar made no discrimination

against the Hindus. It also proves that far from

passing any orders abolishing any discriminatory

taxes Akbar took care to issue specific orders "in

nil directions" to see that there was no laxity or

doubt about the extractions to be obtained from

Hindus exclusively with all severity.

" ,0No son or daughter of tbfi common people

^ to be married until they had gone to the off.ee

tfU* chief of police, and been seen by his BgCf

;md 'li, corrcc , agpof hoih panics had been f*

'k 2ii, Badoyuai'j uhramcle, I

"' f 405, Ibid.

cora-]

202

vcstigated. In this swq B host of profitsperquisites surpassing all computation, gues-^imagination, found their way ml ^ i ncof those in office, especially certain ,!|

officers and effete KJianhngs and other vil

oppressors."

This was a marriage ta\. Bui besides the

money pan of it, which itself was a great burdenon the populace, the manner of extraction of

\\

exposed Ak bar's Hindu subjects to illimitable

indignity, dishonour, humiliation and immorality.

The reference to the determination of age of the

parties to the marriage could mean a nude medical

examination and appraisal by profane and corrupt

officials. It could also have led to the abduction

of handsome girls and boys for prostitution or

sodomy. Obtaining permission for a marriage

from a corrupt and lecherous administration obvi-

ously meant heavily bribing them with perhaps

women for prostitution and wealth and costly

presents,

A review of Akbar's taxation policy, therefore,

shows that any excuse was good enough for him lo

mulct his subjects. These included repairs to

fortifications, marriage tax, Jiziya, pilgrim lax,

court-audience tax. weigh ing-the-sovereign UtXi

wholesale confiscations of all property of any

ject dying, military campaign-tax, and open

plunder. This too does not speak of any greatnett

m Akbar. On the other hand it only confirm*

that he was one of the most tyrannical monarch*

in world history.

XIU

GREED

, n Spitc of his very large domain, arbitrary and

curious levies and wholesale plunder, Akbar'sphenomenal greed for money led him to various

other ingenious modes of collecting money.

Akbar used to earn money by selling as slaves

prisoners taken after a battle or raid Bidayuni

recounts that around 989 A. H l -the emperor

captured a sect of Sheikhs, who called themselves

'disciples'. His Majesty asked them whether they

repented of their vanities. At his command they

were sent to Bhakkar and Qand a liar and vveregi

to merchants lo exchange for Turkish colts,*1

Akbar also earned money by confiscation of

the property o[ his deceased subjects. Badayuni

illustrates it by pointing out thai- -Makhdum-uUMulk died at Ahmedahad and in the year 99Q QaziAh was scot from Falhpur to ascertain what proper*1 he had left. Several boxes full of ingots of gold

1 discovered in his sepulchre where he had

wd litem to be buried as corpses. And the'' u|ll » which lay open to the eves of the world was

as none but the creator could ascertain. All

ingots of gold were placed in the public

^umjjvh£|s sons l(lcr being some tune on the

** of distress fell at last into the most abject

poverty "

,'* -08, Vol. II, Bwtoyunfi chronicle, ibid.

V 321, ,bid.

AkKu also Issued1 o "general order Hint Cvcrvpen i

Own Uie Itighwi to ihc lowest slum id bringlurn R prevail

'

•In \ H 99° Sheikh Ibrahim Chisti <bn thii

of Sheikh Saliffi ChJsti) died at Fathpur. A sum ofRetort- of ready money together with elephants

and horses and other chattels were appropriated by

the imperial treasury and the remainder became the

ponton of his enemies who were his sons and hfe

igcnts. And since he was noted and notorious for

iand vice was accursed "base of disposi-

tion and vile Sheikh,"

fi"Shahbaz Khan Kambu kept in confinement

for three years had paid a fine (ransom) of seven

lacs of rupees, was set free and appointed to man-

age the affairs of Mahva and be vakil to Mn/.i

Shahrukh.*'

Thus a prisoner could overnight become a

governor. And since Akbar knew that such gover-

nors made enough money by usury and extortion

in the regions assigned to them, he took the precau-

tion of extracting a huge sum in advance, in

addition he naturally expected the usual costly

presenis and the annual tribute,

Akbar did not spare even his own mother's

property from confiscation. Smith notes11 "Akbar S

mother only 15 years older than him died on or

about August 29. 1604. Her body was taken to

3. ?p 3J2-2-, ibid

4. P. 381 bid.

5. Pp 401-2, .hid.

6. Pp 229-30. Akbar the Great Mugul, ibid

nplli? andlaid by the side of her husband m, lfri

pvhlim -he-hail outlived by 48 yearJX5^'j |,e to the notion that Akbar and other

SJlimi used to build lofty and palatial t(1mbs

U those who died were buried in usurped Hindu

Visions and temples) The deceased left ,„ her

house a large treasure and a will directing that j|

;, ml,|dbcdivvied among her male descendants.

Mtbarwas too fond or money to withstand the

tempting annexation of her wealth, the whole or

which he appropriated without regard to The terms

ithe will (Footnote, Du Jarric, iii. \\w'•*He was rather penurious and retentive of

money/' says Monscrrate.

Though an emperor possessing fabulous treas-

ure and the power to ask for anything' "Akbar

himself was a nader and did not disdain to earn

commen ial profit/1

""He also derives much revenue from the

hoarded fortunes of the great nobles, which by law

and custom all come to the king, on their owners'

death, in addition there are spoils of conquered

kings and chieftains whose treasure is seized* and

tlic great levies exacted, and gifts received from

tlie inhabitants of the newly subdued districts in

every part or his dominions. These gifts and levies

to so large as to ruin outright many of his new

Subjects. He also engages in Trading on hi lOtfjj

account and thus increases his wealth to no small

7- P. 252, ibid.

*• I' 29S, ibid9- Pp. 207-jmm, \i (

„i>cniUc"»CDmmcniArtu».ibid.

COM :oh ZO ,

r

dt i' gerly exploits every sourc>

profit. Moreover he illows no bankers or mochangers in his empuv The piwrm,,,,, *.

businessIthe royal treasuries nn

nc enormous k IIlkl,

ifies) brings ulc ki Jgreat profit The government officers arc pmcj

ilver or copper accordJng to their rank. Th«it comes aboul thai those who are paid in one tvnorcein need to change some of it into anotherSuch means of increasing wealth may be thouehi

sc (bu! nothing was loo base for Akbar) Thereis h law also that no horse may be sold without theIcing's knowledge 01 that of his agents, Zeladinus

c. Jalaluddin Akbar) is sparing and tenacious ofhis wealth and has thus become the richest oriental

king for at least 700 years. He has sacks of coppermoney publicly piled up (into a heap 10 ft wideand 3Gfcft. high. Each sack holds aboui 4000 coppercoins (Footnote : The Fathers of the third mission

record that once they found the king busy counting

a large sum of gold coins of many different values

which he had ordered to mint. Behind him were

some 150 plates-full of them, and a good numberof bags. (Counting money) is his chief distraction

everyday when he has retired. When the money has

been counted and put in bags he has it put amongtreasures which arc very great/*

According to Monserrate, the contemporary

Jesuit, therefore, Akbar far outrival led the fabulous

king Midas, in the avaricious pleasure he used to

derive from playing with and counting and recount-

ing bis treasure in the dark cellars where his

hoards were stored.

Akbar accumulated that vast treasure by sell-

%*****•*". r '-nmng eambl '«8 booth'' by- „..:nn of the oronerrv rtr - . «Dv

ration oi me property of every deccajj(>

through compulsory prcsems d™

J everybody coming to court, by havfoX *ff^ed against bullion, jewellery and gcm^l™rice a year, through various usurious levies extras

l6d byflogging and torture

?, by robbing valuable

1[iirTl the dead and wounded on battlefields, through

outrightplunder or vast regions and crowded loca-

lilies,through conquests of rich and prosperous

I; inadonis, through heavy ransoms and reparations

jiid a number or other modes that human Ingenuity

and cruelty could devise.

As a result of such extortions and a parsimon-

ious nature Akbar had collected a large hoard. 10

\i Akbars death in 1605 the cash in Agra fort

exceeded 20,000,000 pounds sterling, It can hardly

have been less ihan 15*000,000 in J 600 A. D

10. p-2^, Akbar the Great Mogul, i

Chapter XW

PERSONALITY AND NATURE

In appearance Akbar was ugly and ungainly,

By nature he was cruel, treacherous, and an itlite-

rate sadist according to contemporary records.

The editors introduction to Monscn n,

Commcniarius states l42n the long line oflndian

sovereigns the lowering personalities of Ashoka and

Akbar (because of his dread|Maud high above the

re TJu\ iiu> be compared, and with profit,

Akbar** greed for conquest and glory and hiv La.

of sincerity form a marked contrast to Ashoka's

paternal rule, genuine self-control and spiritual

ambition. Ak bar's war*, were those of a true des-

cendant of Tirnur. and had all the gruesome

associations which this fact implies.

The old notion that Akbar was a near approxi-

mation to Plato's philosopher king has been elic-

ited by modern researches. His character with

its mixture o\ ambition and cunning has now been

laid bare. He has been rightly compared to a pike

in a pond preying upon his weaker neighbour*

He was so close and self-contained with twists of

words and deeds, so divergent one from the other,

and at most tiroes so contradictory, thai even by

much seeking one could not find a clue to Hi*

oughts

Akbn unable to give up hJ i

J

habits, for no importance need be attached it> l|ic

209

- ruossip of the time that he once intend,.,. ,**$ bis wives among his grandee"- *

l°

l4lf0 prevent the great nobles from becoming

HOW*-*?kin

?fiUmm°n

*l

COUrl'-«dtfItt

U many imperious commands, as though ih

verc his slaves/ no'-s Monserrate, *

s.'Zcladinus (Akbar) has broad shoulders

jepewhat bandy legs well suited for horsemanship,

!nd a light-brown complexion. He carries his

head bent towards the right shoulder, His fore-

head is broad and open, his eyes so bright and

Hashing that they seem like a sea shimmering in the

sunlight. His eyelashes are very long. His eye-

brows are not strongly marked. His nose is

straight and small, though not insignificant. His

nostrils are widely open as if in derision. Between

the left nostril and the upper lip there is a mole.

He shaves his beard but wears a moustache like

that of a Turkish youth who has not yet attained

manhood. He does not cut his hair (He wears)

a turban into which he gathers up his hair. He

limps in his left leg. though indeed he has never

received any injury there. His body is Mite too

ihin nor too stout. He is somewhat or a moros

disposition. He is specially remarkable

love of keeping great crowds of people aroundm•"* »n his sight ; and thus it comes about ha

t

lu

court is always thronged with multitude, of men*

** type, though especially "l*jtZwl»om he commands to come from '"ur r

1||l! reside at court for a certain period eacn .

I- Pp790-924Commentariui. ibid

L Pp. 196-200. ibid.

>;at.-:om

mWhen he goes outside his palace,

|u j. .,and followed to these nt*hu< ' " "n.i,,

and followed b} these nobles and* aiJ^mti^0W* The, have to goon Ite ST?**them a nod to indicate that they may JgL*'He wears garments beauiifuHy emh,jngokl m*mmim cloak cnmc , 1^^

far as the knees and his boot, cover hi,y

,

a*

completely. Ife wears gold ornaments *££***jewellery. He is fond of carrying a

P|^ and

fd and dagger. He fa never withoutS^always surrounded even within his private! »

JS.b0d> g,]ard of aboul 20 men varkJJ

'•His table is very sumptuous generally consist-mg of more than 40 courses served in great dishesThese arc broughl into the royal dining hallcovered and wrapped in linen clothes, which aretied up and sealed by the cook, for fear of poison.They are carried by youths to the door ofthcdining hall, other servants marching ahead andmaster of the household following. Here they are

taken over by eunuchs, who hand them to the

serving grls who wait on the royal table. He is

accustomed to dine in private, except on the

occasions of a public banquet. He rarely drinks

wine but quenches his thrist by 'post' or water.

When he has drunk immoderately of 'post* he

sinks back stupefied and shaking. He dines alone

reclining on an ordinary couch, which is covered

tth silken rugs and cushions stuffed with the fine

down of some foreign plants."

3'*Zcladinus receives foreigners and stranger*

211

3. Pp. 204-5. ibid.

. -vetf different manner to that which k

"Low* countrymen and subordinate, V*Ues with marked courtesy andfck,«

!

cl"* However he into to** 1**BRfcMi viceroy of Arabia Felix, Jj*^ «*£«, so ungraciously that*^ Jjg£ m a cloud of smoke. For the chief ambassador

tt,aS put in irons and banished for a longp.^Uhorc while his attendants made g0Od lheif

escapesecretly... Zeladinus behaves so sternly to.

wards the nobles who are under his proud sway

,hat each one of them believes himself to be re-

garded not only as a contemptihle creature but as

the very lowest and meanest of mankind. For

instance these nobles, if they commit offences, are

punished more severely and relentlessly than the

rest of the people, even those of the meanest

degree.'*

*"He is entirely unable to read or write."

•"Zeladinus has about 20 Hindu chieftains as

ministers and counsellors. They are devoted to

him and are very wise and reliable. They are

always with him and arc admitted to the inner-

most parts of the palace, which is a privilege not

allowed even to the Mongol nobles,*1

That Akbar allowed only Hindu nobles to the

'nnermost apartments of the palace musl not he

^interpreted and misunderstood to connote

1 'N'ty in Akbar's nature. He did so purely rom i

laments of his own safet) and that ol his treasure

J P. 201, ibid.

* P. 203, jbid.

212

and harem. His faith in Hindus is alsohanded compliment to thai community whiclwhen compelled to submit to any tyrant tl

*^treachery and torture still remained

niHhfifl

1

?its subjugator out of a sheer BOd*fearinn mJPcomu us nature and an innate stupidity offovMl

even a cruet and misbehavine «u"'

*. * .' *» u^pu;e Muslims into confident »«*

a left.

serving even a

Akbar did not takexcept

when Hindu localities were to be raided jJdlooted, because he could not trust them \vjthh,harem, with his palace treasure and with his ownperson

Dr, Shrivastav writes "-Akbar was a truant

child, and did not sit down to read and write. Sohe remained illiterate all his life. Akbar himself

admits that one need not be ashamed of being un-

lettered. He says 'the prophets were all illiterate.

Believers should, therefore, retain one of their sons

in that condition." This remark of Akbar is

characteristic of his illiterate stupidity.

7"Akbar was a strange compound of reason

and superstition ... It is too much to affirm that

Akbar was always above board in the matter of

state-craft and in his dealings with his rivals and

enemies He was moreover sensitive to a point of

honour in his relations with those Indian rulers,

who declined to render him personal homage or

made delay in doing so.*' Dr. Shrivastav 's weak-

ness of fancying goodness even in sheer evil makes

hin all evidence and record only a i"»l

rebuke about A i. ictcr.

I f, , I I ||

:. Ibid.

7. I1

;-I I, ibid.

213

fycn Badayuni, a fanatic Musi irT1 , nr,

Statesiy** e°od luck overca™ all cnemi« ?W

a.m.Krsofso.d.e.swercno,"^.^

i»Akin to his habitual control over a natamiw

Solenttemper was the artfulness with wtjich he

n5 wont to conceal h.s thoughts arid real pUrp08,'

,Hc never/ says Bartolt, 'gave anybody the chance

t0understand rightly his innermost scntimenti ot

w know what fauh or rcl -ions lie held by, but kwhatever way he could best serve his own interests.

he used to feed one party or the other with the

hope of gaining him to himself, humouring each

de with fair words, and protesting that he had no

other object with his doubts than to seek and And

out by the guidance of their wise answers the simple

truth then hidden from him. And in all business

this was the characteristic of king Akbar a man

ipparentl\ free from rnystcr} and guile, bi Iwiuesi

and candid as could be imagined—but in reality

so closed and self-contained, with twists of woids

and deed so divergent one from the other, and

most times so contradictory that even by much

seeking one could not find the clue to his though

ilius it often happened ihul iperson comparing

nim today with what he was yesterday, could

no resemblance, and even an attentive observ

Jtor lung and familiar intercourse with Mknew no more of him on the last day \m ™

"•"~PM94-20O. Vol, II. hadaafnae.j[*j

9 P. 24%, Akbar the Great Mosul. ibul.

XftT.COM

214

k!KWn OriMst.- That admirably wom iofrcfonol AkK,r\ peculiar mind hStaTffl dcs*

cal Mudcm to understand io sonich,slor <-

torinous diplomacy and perfidious J£TL*»on so oral occasions marked the emperor' r

ich

eeedftigsemperor's Po| llJCa

,

TREACHERY

Thc frank appraisal of Akbar's C]iaracipr ,

mt honest writers quoted m the last cha 17..

iHvborne out by

_his dealings throughout h

rcicn.His slaiecrau was crafty and treachery w

tweapon Akbar used as frequently as any other ht

his armoury

Smith notes that 1 uAkbar*s policy with regard

to the Portuguese was tortuous and perfidious. At

the very moment when thc missionaries were appro-

aching his court in response to the friendly invita-

l|pn addressed to the viceroy he had organized an

army to capture the European ports because the

Portuguese never allowed imperial ships to proceed

to Mecca without a pass. Gulbadan Begum had to

buy the pass ceding village Bulsarto the Portuguese

in 1575. After her return she directed that it be

retaken. "A party of young men was attacked and

nine Portuguese were taken prisoner. They were

brought to Surat and executed for refusing to

stauze. Their stout-hearted leader Duarte

Perayra de Lacerda deserves to be commemorated

bV name. Their heads were sent to Fatehpur Siin

bu t Akbar pretended not to see them,"

The above passage has many *^**£Went of history. Firstly it show. W £•t

M°N women had the same combination otm^.devilryand treachery as their male counter*^

1

fc 145. Akbar the Great Mogul. ib&

Si

216

Then Dfesque names should not prove nir vfefous natures. Secondly it niav I

J Ud

that Akbar was as fanatic a Muslim as ant "T'*and [hat during bis reign too torturing and wE?people who refused ro be converted emtim. *

K^ T|lW"hichis believed to have been completed ™. J1585 existed even in early 1580 wh« ihe firstJ^Mission had arrived. They saw us lowers and

"es '' ,

pel from | distance. This should awaken the retearchcr to the realization that Fatehpur Sikri is anancjem Hindu township. What Akbar did wasmerely to transfer his seat of government to it

instead of allowing those buildings to be wastedon Sheikh Salim Chisii and his band of fakirs.

Smith again notes 2 -The fathers were disgus-ted at the clear evidence of the duplicity of Akbar,who pretended a desire for the friendship of theking of Spain, to whom Portugal was then subject,

while actually ordering hostilities against the Por-tuguese. Their Jesuit superiors had sent urgentletters requiring the missionaries to return.. .The

missionaries themselves were eager to go, being

wholly unable to accept Akbar's denial of the facts

about war"

Smith observes3 that "Prince (Murad). a drun-

ken scamp, was filled with overweening pride

and arrogance (when commanding a Mogul army

along with Khan Khana Abdur Rahim). Badayum

in his accustomed ill-natured way observes ihnt

217

Pp 196-204. Akbar ihc Great Mogul. Ibid.

kHfsHighness (Murad) in thesc fau ,K ,

JJJrioitt rather (Akbar)'."MI" »»<»«ed hii

Asirgarh, a strong fortress wa* r^Akbar through treachery Smuh ob^^w by

lhcI6lh century Asirgarh was reckoned 1

'"ln

lenders of the world. The summit o?^«*space about 60 acres in extent, was amolv L \ a

Sth ««• <11 is "bout 12 mile, aeS^**

fBurhanpur).

l> duc "Mb

•Two divergent and apparentlyirreconcilable

accounts of the manner in which Akbar ultimate vattained his purpose are on record. The official

historians aver that the surrender of Asirgarh wasdue to an outbreak of deadly pestilence. TheJesuit version, based on unpublished letters of

Jerome Xavier, who was in attendance on Akbar,

states that possession of the fortress was gained by

wholesale bribery of the officers of the garrison,

and that earlier Miran Bahadur, the king. WWlured into Akbar*s camp and made prisoner by an

act of shameful perfidy. The tale of alleged fatal

pestilence...seems to be mostly invention. Akbar

did iioi disdain to tise the weapons of subterfuge

and want of faith.

41Akbar occupied Burhanpur on March 31. 1600

without opposition and took up his abode in the

Palace of old rulers. (This should alert historian

t,la i Tar from building any structures at Fatehpur

8H Ajmcr and other places Akbar occ«p^

Peaces of earlier Hindu lulersj. On April 9

^'ved under the walls of Asirgarh. Akbar iMjW ^s estimated at 200,000 men. The emperor

218

resolved *o rely on those arts or intrigue **AHi which he excelled. He, therefore iJl ,

gUi,c

Miran Bahadur to come out for Vn ' ng

taring on his own royal head thai the^would be allowed to return in peace Tk T ''"

accordingly came out wearing a scarf- 8signifying submission, Akbar sitting motioni!*

**statue. As Miran Bahadur dK*,^andwasadvancing... a Mogul officer caunhr l

'

by the head and threw him'down frrc^ttperform complete prostration (Sijda)^a ceremnon which Akbar laid much stress,"

cerc™°*y

th. rn rb3r "^ h '"

in t0 Send ordcr* '" writing totoe fort s garrison to surrender When he refusedhe was detamed by force. When the K fnSAbyssinian commandant heard the news he sent

his son Mukarrab Khan to Akbar. When Akbarasked him whether his father (the command""was wtllmg to surrender, he gave a spirited

kk"^'nstantly ordered the youth to be

stabbed....The Abyssinian commander then sayingthat he might never behold the face of a king sofaithless, taking a scarf in his hand and addressingthe garrison asking them to defend the placestrangled himself

The siege continued. Akbar asked Xavier toarrange for getting some Portuguese engines of war.Xavier refused on the pretext of its being un-Chris-tian. rite real reason was that the Portuguese hadonly a short period before concluded a treaty withMiran Bahadur. There were also some Portugueseulficcrs in the garrison who had advised MiranBahadur against believing in Akbar's pledge.

219

.•The free speech of Xavier .rrit

i3n to such a degree.- says gj «b* N,

foamed with rage, and gave order.>*"! "*«

he

on of the fathers from the imperial^ **"*||idr

instant return to Goa. XavLrCCand

colleagues, therefore, withdrewBut <J,ti,

andhil

f some friends they did not quit the W7 advicc

tater found Akbar to have cooled down)/-(and

Akbar was now i„ a fix. Jn spite of\» u .

broken his pledged word there was no sm r ?fort surrendering. Time was precious bcL* Lelder son, Jehangir was then in active reblirreigning at Allahabad as an independent S'He was thus forced to use his only remainjweapon -bribery. The capitulation took effect

on January 17, 1601 nearly 101 months after thepreparations for the siege had begun.

When the gates of Asirgarh were opened the

population was found to be like that ofa city, and theinhabitants were so numerous that there was a con-tinuous throng of people coming out for a weekSome of them had suffered from weakness of sight

and paralysis of the lower extremities. "Theassertion of Abul Fazal that 25,000 persons perished

If.

a P^ilence is now seen to be an undoubted lieM story of the deadly pestilence i$ an invention

fended to conceal the discreditable means adop-

^by Akbar to gam possession of the greatest

r* Jn India. The official authors

1stories give a

^rposely muddled traveslv f the fa*

as

,

cr of the commandants son is represented a

|d

uicide. and other clearly false statements are

e which it would be tedious to specify here/

220

The captive king and his family \verc Crtt-

in the fort of Gwalior.' LOnfi

nei|

The student of Indian history would be con the safe side if he presumes all eases or ,i]\Q!!]\suicide as murders in Mogul history. Jehansr

•

wife was murdered in cold blood by Akbar •». \

Jehangir in collusion, Daswandh I he young Huidupainter also died a suspicious death, Rajputcourtiers whose wives Akbar coveted weremurdered. Bertram Khan was murdered. Suchinstances could be multiplied

Smith notes that "even in an Asiatic country in

the year 1600 perfidy such as Akbar practised wasfelt to be discreditable, Abu I Fazal and Faizi...

Sirhandi agree in hiding their master's treachery.

On many occasions Akbar showed himself to be

crafty and insincere when dealing with affairs of

state."

Even an ardent admirer of Akbar, Dr. Shri-

vastav is constrained to admit of Akbar's perfidy

in subduing Kashmir. Akbar had sent an expedi-

tion against Kashmir under &hagwanda$.j

Bhagwandas made peace with Yusuf Khan of

Kashmir on February 22, 1586. The conditions

were: I. The ruler would deliver the land under

the saffron crop, the duty on shawls and the nm

to the imperial treasury and would acknowledge

Akbar's suzerainty, and 2. That he would temW

in charge of his principality On the promise

safe conduct Bhagwandas took Yusuf Khan<_

court arriving there on March 28, 1 586. But Akoar

221

4. Pp. 950-353, Vol. Akbar the Great, ibid

^expedition to task. Bhagw^ '**« *ily

forbidden the court and Y^uf** ^Po-

2* surveillance. Akbar then ' *"» pi a , LlJ

Son- BlK,,wandasfeelin8Br:: v^r^

Louse of his pledged word for Yu r J"^^ty stabbed himself The expedit^y^liUhoa- on June 28, 1586 Yaqab^im U p his father as lost assumed the title of «k J

Email and prepared to defend his count™ ' akOctober 6, Qasim Khan's forces entered the caZf Kashmir, Snnagar and read the proctamZ'

in Akbar's name. "Qasim Khan's policy f ~rossion and reprisals kept the Kashmir rebclhor

alive for a few years more, and Yaqub by his

guerrilla tactics attempted to create diversion

among the Mogul troops, Mirza Yusuf Khansucceeded Qasim Khan. Yaqub surrendered in July

1589. He was kept in custody. Later he was

granted a jagir in Bihar. Yusuf Khan was released

liter Kashmir was annexed. Yusuf was made a

mansabdar of 500 and was given a jagir in Bihar.

He fought in Orissa (for Akbar) under Mansingh

The Kashmir episode leaves a bad taste, and is a

blot on Akbar's character. He disregarded the

plighted word of a favourite general. The petty

iagir granted to him (Yusuf) was derogatory to

one who had hecn a sovereign of a flourishing

state/'

Another instance of Akbar's i readier? concerns

the Hindu kingdom of Bhatha (modern R<

"^ramajit, a boy of tendet age who w* m5

- Pp. 382-3, Vol. J, Akbar ibe Greit,

m*miaa

grandson of the ate Raja Ranichandra ro„ ,allegiance to Akbar. Consequently Zt

PUdi^dan army under Rut Tipurdas was depute?

m IS9«

mar. tnL .a^iilst

(When the garrison could not be made f rtycars

-

by force of arms, it was) agreed i G allow? r

S

h^render

ng ruler Vtamajit togoto AkbarW, T?°"'great noble came to Bandhu and Laran L^ fa

of life and restoration of the stated fi^a safe conduct back to Bandhu. The wTrkn ^urally expected that they would (then) be p7jtto mam possession of the fort. But Akbir i„T- 5that the fort must be firstev^W^CSit would be restored to the young ruler The

The Mugals who had occupied the country cut offsupplies which caused some distress to the besiegedMoreover, Tipurdas seemed to have been able tocorrupt some members of the garrison, for AbulFazal writes that liberality was made the key fordelivering up the fort,' The siege lasted for eightmonths and 20 days. For want of supplies the fortcapitulated on July 8, 1597. The fort was evacuatedand a great deal of plunder was obtained. It wasnot restored to Raja Vikramajit, In April 1601

Duryodhan, another grandson of the late Rani-chandra, was recognized as Raja, and the fort of

Bandhu was made over to him. Bhartichand was

appointed the Raja's guardian."

*"U is too much to affirm that Akbar was

always above board in the matter of statecraft

and in his dealings with his rivals and enemies.

6. Pp. Sli-Kibid.

223

» ilionSwith those Indian ruler^v^T'

tfcfhim personal homage or mZ*^n

« This exaggerated wnsiiiven *

r

by

mdeclinein-

J*.This exaggerated

sensitiven^M £f» h,Mh failure to win over Rana Pr^ ***««»

nlfshirea.ment towards Raja RamchSJ*

f.«

|isri(lJtcd a period of incessant activity of!8

ipaigns with only small intervals of peace*'

imU dexienously he won the cooperation#port (sic) of the Rajput rulers in RajasthLTvpaying them off against one another is a st

°

deserves to be told in one separate volume,"

HYPOCRISY

Despite some, imaginary sanctimonious sayingi

of Akbar recorded by flatterers like Abul Fazaj

Akbar's seemingly innocuous actions were invari-

ably characterised by hypocrisy

Vincent Smith observes that Akbar "stoppedwithout ever reaching the point of definitely be-

coming a Zoroastrian. He acted in the same waywith regard to Hinduism, Jainism and Christianity,

He went so far in each religion that different

people bad reasonable ground for affirming himto be a Zoroastrian, Hindu, Jain or Christian*'—

-About this nme (1580 A. D„), becomingalarmed at the widespread resentment aroused by

innovations, Akbar adopted a policy of

calculated hypocrisy. When on his way back fromAjmer he caused a lofty tent to be furnished as a

travelling mosque, in which he ostensibly prayedfive limes a day as a pious Muslim should do

A little later he carried his hypocrisy still further.

A cedaj Mir Abu Turab had returned from

Mecca bringing with him a stone supposed to bear

an impression of the prophet's foot. Akbar know-ing well that the thing was not genuine went c«*

in person to meet if

;

*. Aktw Uk Great Mogul, ibid.P. 130. ibid.

^the reader will not t :i j| Ul

. -the inconsistency between th* •*

JjRation ,cdby^>nd^

U)mat

»lponf

,d be interfered with on account or{^anyone was 10 be allowed io

*

..-« ^ pi i«d f3> If. Hmdtt ',JW\0Vt

,v.th a Mu.saJnian;

and entered the MuI!she sh<

lin he pleased. ^IftHmS "*

Musalman. and entered the I

.-ould he taken hy fnrw *£-

md and restored loher family."

While Smith rightlj, points out the mutual in-

consistency or the scvei i regulation* tt»d to

have been issued by Akbar m wish to emphasis

lhat no such regulations were ever proclaimed.

They were all a hypocritic make-believe concocted

and recorded by inventive flatterers like Abul Fin]

lo beguile the tedium of a weani miskid

Ihe public, hum* ur s lie sovereign with unctuous

flattery and obtain irnmnral gratifications for inv

ing pious prevarications Had they been reilly

promulgated \kktr himself, his sons, and courtiers

should have been the first to be deproed of the

hundreds of Hindu women that were being c=

ndcdupto be dumped in the *Though Akbar possessed innumerabie Hindu girts

«s hk harem he had a lecherous eye on Raaj

^rgawaii, Since she died fighting. MAai

• i iily to mu ' only mih her a**

frughter~iii-Iaw. The> were promptly

»* harem. Far frum restoring aov *<>*&* ™

husband Akbar used to tear awa) *««

™* ilwir homes and hufbam H.ig««r

^fuddin. Asaf Khan. Adham Kb" aa*

X P IM. -bid

326

common Muslim soldiVrv used t„ m ...

Mncmonioui humbu* of c e ,'ICVc »i£

»o intersperse the *iri™;of .heir p«5 C„S 5ftS*Jf.^^-iMnciimoniiB utterances and fended ,* .™a«tl»rjold game of Muslim^^ t^r*1 » S

Jehangtr and a h„, of otherf

' »* Shab,

the most horrid and heinou S&T™*massacre, torture and rape are all fSL**?credned u Itn having mercifuHv cons ruetedr^'serais, rest houses, alms houses shadv i J"ks»- booths and the like S'oS^?Ii is nme every reader and scholar Jr^ory a.vakes to rhis realization. To rT^hsuch sanct.raon.ous hypocrisy in the face of over"

wftelmine incriminating evidence would he puerileand pathetic.F

Smith quotes Xavier, a Jesuit priest at Akbarscourt, thaL AJcbar used to pose as a prophet' 'wishing it to be understood thai he worksmiracles through healing the sick by meansof the water in which he washes his feet. (Fool-

note : Badayuni record* that if other than Hinduscame and wished to become disciples at arty

sacrifice His Majesty reproved or punished them.VThis testimony by a Jesuit visitor and a Muslim

counici clearly pruve* ih.it Akbar's tyrrany over

the Hindus included pouring down their throats

A \\ 1*0. jluj.

227

40 in which he had washedbig fc,i

w Badayuni this dirty and humilm Acc<"*

was specially reserved by Ak^f* Privily1

,;, could stoop so low an illu*****

L,have forced worse indignhiw on h* ^T

*

y

iccts.mW™

•Mkbar was not influencedmerely h

,dledual

curiosity and religious sent irncn.Vent

stowed unprecedented personal favour. «,lrcVCred

(Jesuit) lathers accredited to his counHl. Was a crafty and tortuous

politician h c

Itways cherished the hope of destroving*hc

Portuguese dominion (but) the rebellion of

eldest son and the death of the younger prince!

put a slop to all his ambitions He openly avowed

his designs with his intimates."

I One of the sayings of Akbar fabricated by his

chroniclers is ""were it not for the lhiui=.ht ofiht

difficulty of sustenance. I would prohibit menfrom eating meat. The reason why I do not

together abandon it myself is that many others

might willingly forego it likewise and be thus cast

wo despondency/1

The hypocrisy of the above meaningless con*

Action is apparent.

"'Akbar's actions at times gave substantial

r 'mnds for the reproach thnthewasno «-

10 be regarded as a God on earth (FootflCM

Ip

- '90. ibid.

\* 2tt, fold.P 255, ibrd.

tfft il.nt.rvr. I.n/h .1- ITOnSl ' d by Blochmannmured to write the old-fashioned

proMraiion

if no advantage to thee ra \kbnr and

see God (Am. Vol I page '!

Badayuni says ' Vfter a Htm the ut|Cs -

1ne

only one. the tbsohite, the Perfect Man became

commonly applied to the emperor."'

B.idawmi. a fanatic Muslim notes" with re,

pentance thai ficroptcd like others to curry fiivou r

with Akbar b> idolizing htm) he had his new-booi

son blessed In VkKn instead of by Qazis and

Mullas, only to find thai his Bon died within six

mom i

Akbar tried ail along to project himself as

a prophet, a perfect man and God himself "On

'"Friday* June 26. 15 9 te [polluted the pulpit mthe grand Jami Mosque of Faiehpur Sikri and

recited Khmba...According to Badayuni Akbar

stammered and trembled while reading it and had

to be ed descend the pulpit. It was believed

by some that the emperor was inspired by an

ulterior motive" which was to impose himself on

hishelpl subjects as emperor, prophet and God

all rolled into one,

t<11On September 8,1579 Akbar set on, what

proved to be his last pilgrimage to the Khwaja

shrine at Ajmer This was within a week ol tW

promulgation or the so-called infallibility decfl

» P 266, lluiljniim' ll elflj, IbMibid

10 P 24',,, AM,„f the Great, ibid.

11 r MS, ibid.

Vet hi, had lost faith ,

»*rfcalming the public.^ « »

**5led Abdun Nabi and Mto£Z*frig£- At Sambhar. on hU^^***JtrfShuhbo. M,an to proeec;;:;:;-^

,-,i..r."

Here Dr. Shnvastava admits ih at Akh,

jst trip to Ajmer was jusi to hoodwink hi, vwu'lC(y This is only partly true. Had !S*

,, lcd to lull ranatic Muslims into thebelief n!

k himself was a devout Muslim he need QOt

hive gone to faraway Ajmer. In his capital itself he

could have visited some other shrine or recited ihe

Koran five times a day. His real motive was never

to perform any pilgrimage to the Chtsti tomb mAimer. He had never any faith in or respect i, M

anybody. A

k

bars trips to Ajmer re i

organize ruthless campaigns against the gallant

Hindu kings of Rajaslhan mustered under the

inspiring leadership of Rana Pratap. Ever since

Akbar decided to discontinue his atrocious, all des-

troying inroads into Raiasthan he ceased going to

Ajmer, What is usu; liy described a* hunting ex-

pedition or , |ii i i i w as nothing but a run

nable I he Muslims swoop on Hindu areas un-

announced, Such ruses ire always spi

vssive wars. The reader should, therefore.

I"i' believing any more Ucbart « tllhcr

Maslim rulers' religious pretentions

Dr. Shnvastava who had carlkr stated ttaJ

^ijselfAkbar had lost faith in Wan

SRJtt^Qn Octobw 8, 1583 Ak ha r

celebrate

J

13 P. 323, Akbat the GfW, '"'d

ftpT.COW

230

Jdul Pltf hv holdmc a banquet. \i a p »

I3jrh.il Tell from his horse. Akbar went t*^

Raja and graciously relieved him hy his I

° ^)K

ing." ' nK*%

From the above passage it is quite clear it,Aktw (Kid never ceased to be a fanatic M,J"

N^jMiidly his pretensions to prophet-],,, ,

,

spiritual powers were another irksome so.ir""

Ins mth) (>rannies on his subjects \ve halready seen how he compelled Hindus to 1Z

ttfcSh-watcr, Similarly he used to blow h-liquor-smelling and dope-laden foul breath 7other peoples' drinking water or face. The* Ln< ictim dared not remonstrate lest he be seiuT*the gallows and his women be molested' Hetherefore meekly put up with Akbar's filthy anticsand feigned to derive great benefit from it Thasatisfied Akbar's vanity. I„ this hoax that hepractised on his hapless victims Akbar takes thecake among all Muslim rulers' malpractices. PoorBirba had to suffer the added humiliation of hav-mg Akbars fou] breath blown on his injured face.TTi.s literally amounted to adding insult to injury.

,a"Akbar was stern to his nobles and vassalsso that none dared lift his head too high. He waspleased to accept their presents though often withprudent dissimulation he pretended not to seethem.

I5Until 1579 Akbar used to pay regular visits.

otlce cvery year, and sometimes even twice

(3.

14.

f>. 5U3 -Akbar the Great'P- 504, rbid

ibid.

23|

hcSh rine of SheikhMoinuddinchk,-

||smi]Q cry then was «Ya Muin^l

° r AJJmcr.

thenjH',

|ie Kl-w»ja." When , „.„,» *£ ^

nni

80 t0 Ajmot

twice a

hat Akhar»;-.i ,0n wobvim,.once

or

dcar iymeans that Akbar used t

merelyto wage battle against the

VlOUj,

RujpuU.objcCtwas not spintual solace throughTT H|*

but dealing death and destruction on hi ft"*8*" destruction on ih* iiBe

f„ this deadly game the name of Moinidd in r^lis used as a convenient decoj l0 hide Z 7u"

1

motive of his move out of the capital to djiSAjmer in Rajasthan. Uft™H1 is sometimes said that Akbafs conduct

in matters of religious belief and worship wasguided by political expediency.- This is a clear

admission of Akbafs rank hypocrisy. We onlywish that it be brought to the fore not "some-limes" but always in talking or writing aboutAkbar.

""He would cure the ailing children by look-

ing at them or giving them water over which he

had breathed. He would have people believe

^ performs miracles, healing the sick with the

water with which he washes his feet. Many young

Women pay vows to him te get their children cured

J[.

,ha * they may have children. And if tolhmBs come to pass they bring him offerings, as to

lf"ta, whtoh though they may be of little worth.

*rcwillingly received and highly valued by him

\l £ 506. Akbur the Great, ibid..

"' p 61, -Payne, Akbar and Hie • u'

^uKcd

P»8e 5JI. Akbar the Great. V I

'

lb,J

£33

Europoun visitors to Akbar\ court have oft c ,

misunderstood and therefore creduloutlj ,„'

represented dealing* at Ubat \ court. To get at the

real import of i heir notfogs one has i<» understandthe contemporary atmosphere. All these Western

Motors had practically no knowledge of the court

language and, therefore, had to depend on super.

rkial DbsetvatioQS or motivated Muffs u»d brain-

washing by sycophant Muslim courtiers. We know

from experience thai a foreign visitor whose con-

tacts are restricted to cabinet circles goes back

and ^ the praises of his royal hosts. Those

who ect the opportunity to know the people and

listen to their talcs of misery would paint a dif-

ferent picture. Thus. European visitors to Ak bar's

court laboured under a double disadvantage namely

oflanguage and contacis. Hence readers of their

memoirs must be extra cautious in properly inter-

preting their notings.

We. fully accept that Akbar used to be surroun*

ded by throngs of men. women and children. But

the observation that they came to seek spiritual

bliss for themselves or their children or to be

blessed with children is incorrect.

The crowd around Akbar was always of a

mixed sort. The throng included courtiers body

guards, menial servants, cringing scribes, prisoners.

European or Indian visitors, si.me mere idle gazers

and thc common men, women and children.

These la .(-mentioned common people didn \

come to Akbar for fun or spiritual solace bill l°r

temporal relief from A kbar's tyra mi ical and whim-

23*

atariordert and thc rapacity nfiw nm

ft rd ror I00° yca" b> «fci

had been a common practice f0r

*rm%

;nen to rush to the tyrant o****? £?*B|ld ,ay their children at his feet in a h;a .!

itna bitl lo TOfkft

]ijs ,K:ar , so that he may call a halt to the gi

committed by his barbaric, greedy , Iul lewd horde

Those who could escape rape, plunder and maaic"

p; fled in terror to seek some relief from Ak

That scene of multitudes thronging hit-own

day and night in abject subjection sobbing, wailing

artd pathetically imploring the voverign to have

mercy on them and their darling children bid at

his feel in complete surrender and humiliating sub-

mission was misunderstood by the Jesuits ignorant

of Persian and Hindi as signifying people's yentu

lug to obtain spiritual bliss from Akbar.

Such a scene immensely gratified Ak> It

satisfied his vanity. The *feer of absolute power

over such masses of mortals to make or mar their

fortunes exhilarated him. He felt greatly elated

*hen thronging crowds looked up to him in pathe-

tic submission as the one and only

and arbiter of their destiny. His cruel Maje

Akbar would then 'graciouly" break into his untie

of 'comforting' them by asking them to drink hi.

filthy wash-water or foul-breath-blownwarn

The descriptions of an Akbar or a Jcftu

Wing in the palace-window at >unsel Q

jnd ^plicated by crowds of tag"^ to be understood „, this light W nea

'

tors refer to such scenes their de*'.r

234

properly understood and interpreted[ n lh

iof what we know of A k bar's character a !h

XVII

he

light of .

domes Earlier historians have all failed to erathis aspect of the throngs that kept hanging around.11 A k bar's door.

FAMINES

Interminable revolts, reprisalsi na

reprisals, burning and sou*****^JS"*"massacre characterised the 1,000-year, long m uJZrule in India. W tth their civic life shattered ,h r

Homes battered and Uicir family life reduced to ashambles the citizenry had to run for its life Thosewho escaped massacre had to remain m hiding

in

forests and mountainous country. Such turmoil led

to frequent famines. Akbar's reign was no excep-

tion. His tenure too was marked by some of the

most horrid famines in human history giving a he

to claims that Akbar's was a benevolent rule. His

regime being as atrocious as that of any oiler

sultan or Badshah, if not mote, it was bound to

result in severe famines,

Vincent Smith writes 1 that in -the famines of

l555-5< i be capital (Delhi) was devastated and the

mortality was enormous. The historian Badayuni

with his own eyes witnessed the fact that men

their own kind, and the appearance of famished

sufferers was so hideous thai one could scarcely

look upon them . . The whole country was

^sert. a„d no husbandsmati remained to till Wground.

-Gujarat, one of the richest provinces^i

Into

wl generally reputed to be almost cwmf* iron

i!*£^amine? suffered severely for * months

TTSTatS-IW, Akbaf the Ore* M<»l*m

<;.,.

in f5?3-74. P.Milemt IS usual follow

ition, so dull ilic inhabitants, rich an

the country and were scattered abroad.

Mf,

••AhuJ . i

-

• ; *i

with characteristicvagueness

records that In 1583*84, as prices were high qtaccount of the dryness ol the year, the means asul li' nee of many people came to :ni CJ

J(Akbamama Vol, iii. Chapter IXX1V, p. 625)He does not trouble to give any details or even tomention which provinces were affected. Ifwe mayjudge from the slovenly way in which he treats the

tremendous calamity of 1595-98 we may infer that

the famine of 1583-84 was serious. It does notseem 10 be mentioned or even alluded to by otherchroniclers.

"The famine which began in 1595 and lasted

three or four years until 1598 equalled in its horrors

the one which had occurred in the accession year,

d excelled the visitation by reason of its longer

duration. Abul Fazal, as already observed, slurs

over the calamity by using vague words designed to

neea I the severity of the distress and to save the

credit of the imperial government. (Footnote

:

He gives details of the famine in the accession year

in order to show that things improved when Akbarascended the throne).

Epidemics and inundation ... occasionally

marred Ak bar's reign. . .

-The emperor Babur, in his autobiographymentions that the parganas were surrounded by

jungles, and that the people of the parganas »>fien

i- m, dud

:^7

0nc may well imagineihe il?***;

action of revenue by the Muslim admin «,*'

p brave the gemma, tore* beast* than get i mor

tortured to pieces by human h rm„a .. A t the time or famine and cTistress omen,

were allowed to sell their children

There is a touch of irony in Badayunft

Observation above. While Akbar. it vee™, gracio

|yallowed his subjects to sell their children for

food in tunes of famines, children used to be

kidnapped almost everyday m the chaoi that

reigned in those days. Citiz< as were also compelled

to surrender or sell their children for paying Akbnr's

revenue. Such children passing through the mill of

abject slavery and menial duties including wdonn

ultimately ended up by being converted to Islam,

That automatically estranged them from Hinduism

and Hindus! ban and mad m feel like para-Arabs

or para-Turks

So, famine or no famine, undci Mustitn rule in

India children were a commodity for sale

chattel either to obtain food or respite i- - pw»mental revenue.

«Un this year (981 A* ) «>*d ^

^heitwasi..C,ujcrutapcncr.ilpt«il«n

a dearness of grain to *uch an »w

in his tramkti '

^'hkWit B*

Si" IICS . I

4 P 189,B^av.m.'^lK-uJcJ^

mnniun* iwaiijoM for 120 Tankas. and number,less people died."

A student of Miislrrn chronicles must rememberthat iln> general Iv mention famines, pestilences ortyrnmn and torture only when such calamities

afloci and afflict a substantial lection of Muslimsthemselves, As for instance Badaytmi condemnsAkbar's General Peer Mohammed for the atrocities

be committed, not on Hindus bin on Sayyndsand ulamas holdini' fcorans on their heads as

talismans - cum - helmets. To Muslim chroni-

clers Hindu men. women and children were ;i

natural fodder for fanaticsm to feed on, that is whyalmost invariably they use I he words *dancing girls'

and "prostitutes" for Hindu women and 'slaves

kafirs. thieves, robbers, dacojis and infidels as

ipnymous wilh Hindu males. Even thoughMuslim chronicles had a lOOO-ycar-chain succession

in Hindustan, a Hindu majority country* as a rule

they seem to be unaware of live Hindu. Theyshow a marked preference for the biltetst invectivesuttered with fanatic emphasis when referring to

Hindus.

Describing another horrid pestilence, in Gaudtpital or Bengal), Badayuni notes "various

diseases attacked the constitutions of the Amirs,everyday hosts upon hosts of people having

played out their existence bade farewell to oneanother and how many thousands so ever were

Id off Tor that country it cannot be stated thai n

hundred even returned home. Things came i

»UCh a PUS, lh;„ lf,c , |Vmg WefC unabJc to bury

the dead, und threw mem into die river. Every

239

hour andevery minute news came to *g* Khan, of the death ?* <^ , , h(

|;oUtdnt listen. **«*

but he

From the reference to (Muslim* h

andnone to Hindu cremations the readTr

'' *b°ve*

(he justiceof our remark made earlier ilTu^

chroniclers record calamities and Jl,

-m

when a substantial section of the w«iZ °nly

t was afflicted. To them the J^ZRHindus were of no consequence at all because IwMuslim rule Hindus were expendable pt0

™v

The implication of the Jisziya tax was precisely thaiHindus were suffered to live, if at all, and even -

they lived they were to be ruled by Muslim* andwere to sweat and toil and slave for Muslims.

As seen above, during Akbar's reign his entire

domain from Bengal in the east to Gnjera! in the

west felt prey to deadly pestilence and frightful

famine.

Dr. Shrivastava describing the Gujerat famine

observes5 that "when the (Bihar) military campaign

was making successful progress, Gujerat in the

test was, in 1574-75, in the throes of a dreadful

famine and epidemic the like of which had nut

been seen or heard in living memory. Both lasted

for five to six months, The famine was not cm

bV drought or the failure of seasonal rains, but wn

due to destruction wrought bv prolonged wars and

Kbcllions, constant marching and counwr-mai

of I'oops, the killing of men on *»!£*^l^breakdown of administrative

n»dua«l

5- Pp 169-171. Akhar I lie Great.^

and ihe economic system. The historian MohammedH.nif Qandahan rightly observes ( hal the- plateued famine conned not only on account of ulcntamination of water and air but also because of

the misrule and oppression by the Afghans, Abys.

sinians and Mirzas. The epidemic which was mostprobably the plague, preceded the famine. The

larniiv was widespread and covered (he whole ofGujerat, and a large number of inhabitants left theprovince. The mortality was so high that on anaverage 100 cart-loads of dead bodies were takenout for burial in the city of Ahmcdabad alnne, andit was impossible to find them graves or graveclothes The severity was equally felt in the townsand districts of Broach. Patan and Baroda, and in

fact in the whole of Gujerat. TJte price of jowarrose to six rupees a maund. Horses and othermiiTLils had to he led on tree barks. There is noth-ing on record to show that government undertookan\ rehef measures, Abu] Faza I the court historian,

silent on the calamity. Had Akbar ordered anynd of relief he must not have missed the upportu-

Of praising his royal patron."

Dr. Shrivastava has hit the nail quite on the

When he observes that the famine was not

about by natural causes but by Muslimand misrule. But we would like to add that

»u* 'gned to this particular famine duringi reign applies equally to all famines during

a rn.llcn.um of Muslim rcgrmci in India,

The histi rian Mohammad Hanif Qandnhari is

en m blaming the famine on the misdeeds of

;hanv Abys inians and Mirzas alone. In this he

24

1

isbeing

partisan andpartial,

irftamtnad bin Kasim downwards 2** 1^> Turks, Arabs, Iranians, Afghans"*** »hey

'Mongols, to whicheverdynasty '^"^ni

belonged,proved equally cruel and ^1^

There is no basis to choose a few as better"

lhan the rest. They were animated by a* ,lf*

,Jtred for Hindus and Hindu culture and 2?2shared the firm belief that the surest way qf 1ing

islamic heaven was by destroying Hfadi£and compelling everybody to profess Islam.

Another point to be emphasized in thedescrm-

tion of the Gujerat famine cited above, is that if

100 cartloads of Muslim corpses alone had to be

taken out of Ahmedabad everyday the number of

Hindus dying must have, been a hundredfold more

since Muslims may have formed only one percent of

Ihe population. Moreover the Muslims were the

rulers. If they themselves suffered 100 cartloads of

casualties a day the loss to the downtrodden and dc*

cply hated Hindu community may well be imagined.

The 100 cartloads of corpses a day were obviously

exclusively of the Muslims as is apparent from the

fact that they were taken for burial and not cre-

mation.

That during Akbar's reign almost every part

°f India suffered from a terrible famine not on ?

rr<>m east to west but also from north to wm**PParent from the report that ^«f«JJuror's stay in Kashmir there wa> •

^nejMhc valley (May toNovember

*• p - 40g, Akbar the Great, ibid-

24:

i jmips became very d«w and Imshandsmen hadJon their hearths and homes. Jerome \.

4.

itci thai mothers left their children m ulc w*J

iodic. I he Jesuit missionaries picked Lbem*^end baptized them (Maclagan. p, 56; Du ^pp. 77-78)/*

rric»

About the Gujemt famine Vinccm Smitiobserves that "Gujerat (fess liable to famine thanmost parts of India J suffered severely from bn'ifamine and pestilence (I 574-75) lasting for ncarfom\ months . Prices rose to an extreme heightHorses and cows were reduced to feeding on ireebarks (Tabakai-i-Akbari. Elliot & Dowson. Vol Vp. 384)."

Around 15% Hie whole of Northern Indiasuffered from a terrible famine/' says Smith,"which lasted continuously for three or four yearsbeginning in J 595-96. A contemporary historianrecords a kind of plague also added to the horrorsof this period, and depopulated whole houses andernes, to say nothing of hamlets and villages. In

iibcquencc of the dearth of grain and the necessi-ties of ravenous hunger, men ate their own kind.he streets and roads were blocked up with dead

bodies., and no assistance would be render, I101

their removal (footnote: Nurul Hakk, p. 193).Abul Fazal characteristically glosses over the cala-

mity in language which gives no notion iwhatevei

of the severit> of the situation. Abul Fazafsay*er the imperial orders, the necessitous received

daily assistance to their satisfaction, and every

7- P. 93, Akbar ihc Grcai Moeul, ibid

*. Pp. 19: MbiU

243

|ass of «hc indigent was cm

powson, VI, iv<|), hat

- of

(Elliot &i i tu

'

"'

nat Yemeni k JCtially

falsi The opportunityfor oflVn

,an "

Urc morsel nfnauery to hisUcr^LtAbul Fazal far more strongly than theX£ £ntlim less million* The mortality mm^tappalling. Fcnshta, whose well known work Iconsidered the best Persian summary of Indianhistory, does noL even mention this famine, whichaccordingly is ignored by Elphinstonc, If a minorhistorian had not happened to write the few lines

quoted above, even the bare fact that such a cala-

mity occurred would not be on record.. The Jesuit

reports of 1 597 note that in that year Lahore suffered

from a great pestilence which gave the fathers ihc

opportunity and intense satisfaction of baptizing

many infants who had been abandoned (Footnote,

Maclagan, p, 7l)*M

Fully endorsing Smith's observation above

about the utter unreliability of Muslim chronicler

we would like to add that when Abul Fazal men-

lions the poor having been entrusted to the care

of the well-to-do, that has a deeper mea

possible that some poor Muslims, if at all.Whave been billeted «ith or made aM"2on some well-to-do courtiers whom AU>

,

to punish or impoverish- AboutJJ^dy

£;

died for

very

their millions Akbar ^^^^[J^dersVcovert

«f" accoum7wriuen by M«hi*vc|!

cautious and alert mind is cai—-Mvuiuiiu aicn i"""u ".revert nu*» ," ,»

'"£ and interpreting the overt-^.^°f account;

chroniclers.

KAT.COM.

Ctmpu-r Witt

FANATICISM

Akbar was born a Muslim, he lived asMuslim and died a Muslim—and a fanatic oneat lhai- And yet in the common run of histories

he is painted as having been anything from adevout Hindu, to an agnostic liberal or a generoussynthesizer of the best principles of all religions,

Like every other aspect Akbar's Islamic fanaticism

too has been whitewashed. Such an image ofAkbar was deliberately fostered under Muslim rule

so that in an unbroken l rGOO-year-Song history of

unrelieved and sickening atrocities at least one

Muslim monarch should be presentable to poste-

rity. Since Muslim rule lasted for 253 long ye;

after Akbar that assiduously fostered image took

such root in the public mind that Akbar came to

be unquestiomngly accepted as a broadminded

ruler who was very liberal and tolerant in matters

of religion as also in every other aspect of his

rule. A few who may have suspected this image

to be counterfeit dared not air their views under

the delusion that such falsehoods if left undisturb-

ed lead to communal harmony, or that their slender

voice may not be heard or would be denounced in

the public hullabaloo of Akbar's greatness. Wehave overwhelming evidence to prove that Akbar

wail no tesf fanatic an Islamite than any other

Mublim ruler in India. There is nothing to choose

amogust them. They were alt fiercely fanatic.

245

We have already proved

fl8Serlions of flatterers like Ahul Fall

lhcP',0«i

obouLAkbar having abolished ihTl

d8^'was a discriminatory exaction

taken ffi?{"h^

s0 that a Muslim monarch may suffer 11mdu'

|Scontradicted by tacts Individual afteT^V

"

1lkc the Jain monk Hirvijaya Sur. and l!**"?^M to ask for special exemption. And I"

?Sh

[hal exemption was ostensiblygranted

never taken or meant to be taken serjowly.**

Similar is the case with the fancied ban oncow-slaughter. In Akbar s reign Cow-slanghtefcontinued unabated as it did throughout Muslimrule. A number of historians like Sir H.M, Hiotand Vincent Smith have repeatedly pointed out

that sanctimonious and self-righteous assertions mchronicles like Akbarnama and Jchangtrnama are

not to be taken seriously. Those who claim that

they have a written firman indicating Ihat Akbar

did ban cow slaughter should first examine whether

the document they possess is genuine or a forgery.

Secondly they would also find that Akbar's make-

believe orders were a form of deception. Like lhc

exemptions from Jiziya agreed to on.Htaijajfl

Suri's or Surjun Singh's entreaties lucse orders

were a dead tetter,

Vincent Smith notes how the Bible which the

Jesuits al his court presented to Akbir

'"returned to them at a much later ctate ,**« *

Ut that it was no use or no long* "j"*"*

datigk the carrot of his liberalism or of &»« *

"« Precipitate love with Christianity.

rjTm, Akbar the GtnlUanLM

246

Smithwww Sit Thorns Roe. a contemporaty

.

4lB li»hmanwho had visited Mb. as SilVl

HAktai died in the formal profession of his «ct

filter P WT VMUcl Boelh0 osscrts lI,Bl Akb^rmSI last died as he was born, a Mohnmmaden."

Notwithstanding the fine phrases about

general tolerance which occupy so large a space jn

the writings of Abul Fazal and the sayings of Akbar

main acts o\' fierce intolerance were committed."

*"A letter despatched on December 10, 1580

by Aquaviva to the rector of Goa says 'our ears

hear nothing but that hideous and heinous name

of Mahomet. .. . In a word, Mahomet is every-

thing here Anti Christ reigns.'

* IfcAkbar stopped without ever reaching the

point ofdefinitely becoming a Zoroastrian. He acted

jd ihe same way with regard to Hinduism* Jainism

and Christianity. He went so far in each religion

that different people had reasonable ground for

affirming him to be a Zoroastrian, Hindu, Jain or

Christian."

We have already quoted, in an earlier chapter,

the court chronicler Badayuni that in the battle

of Haldighal against Rana Pratap Badayuni andAkbar's general were unanimous in shooting into

the ranks of the Hindus of Akbar's own army onthe ground that a Hindu killed on any side wasgain to Islam This spun of murdering and massacr-Mg Uic very Hindus who were jeopardizing Uieii

2 i' m. iind.

3 1* 159, ibid.

J P 125, Ibid.

»' I!*,i hid.

247

lives to extend Akbar's empire k a rl

that Akhar was a fiercely fanatic Mu ?''^^been the liberal he is pa imed ,J?

m Hid he

and soldiers would not have dared,„>^Hindu allies and helpers,

m * tew

••The persons invited io SnafE•

l0 the debates were confined ai firs, i M^i™"rfour classes, namely Shaikhs. Sayyids, UuT.2Amirs. . . - The House of Worship was duto^for the use of Muslims only,"

tEne*

'"His mother Hamida Bano Begum and fatksister Gulbadan Begam were extremely devoutMuslims and hostile to all innovation. Accompanied

by Salima Sultan Begum (widow of Behram Khan

and wife to Akbar) they started on a pilgrimage

of Mecca in October 1575, fhey were detained in

Surat by the Portuguese for about a year. Ultimate-

ly they got away safely, performed the pilgrimage

and landed safely in India early in 1582. Gulbadan

Begum who wrote memoirs of considerable interest.

preserved in one incomplete manuscript, has leu

no record of her experience as a pilgrim."

""A large party of male pilgrims under the

charge of a leader (MirHaji) was also sent

novel and costly arrangement was continued

five or six years, and Akbar warned

pilgrimage himself (but he yielded io the di«uw£

of his ministers because of the great dangers..

v«d). The emperor issued/general oflfcl

6 Pp. 94-95, ibid.

7. P 9(». ibid

8. P. 96, ibid.

MS

anyone could go Oil pi I erimage at state «p«Mihe treasury."

v\ hen a Muslim monarch or Hindxisthan him-

self warns to go on pilgrimage to Mecca and gives

i blanket order thai anybody may go on the Islamic

pilgrimage to Mecca at state expense from money

extracted by way of usurious and discriminatory

taxes from Hindus to send Muslim citizens to

Islamic territories what else is he if not a fanatic

Muslim

!

We have also quoted earlier that Akhar had

provided Ahdun Nabi with Rs, 7,000 for his pilgri-

mage to Mecca.

Ak bar's goading two sects of Hindu priests,

the Kurs and the Puris at Thancshwar, to annihilate

each other, and aiding the weaker side in that

deadly combat with his own fierce Muslim troopers

so that ihey may see to it that none of them re-

mained alive, shows how fiercely fanatic a Muslim

Akbar was.

We have already quoted references to Akbar's

pilgrimages once or even twice a year to the lomb

of the Muslim fakir Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti in

Ajmer, and his patronizing Sheikh Salim Chistii

also a Muslim. Had Akhar been inclined towards

any other religion he would not have confined his

demotions only to Muslim fakirs.

Throughout Akbar's reign temples used to be

razed to the ground or misappropriated as mosque*

and cows used lo be slaughtered in them as happen-

ed in the battle foj Nagarkot exactly as under any

other Muslim ruler.

240

•The Christian father*

of

i'- "in.li KOI lit

Ij.

M,oldmg religious discussion tuFfS****fencing him in favour of Chh,w,her* were gradually losing ^JJ Tfc

fenced Xavier by telling him lhal ^ A^acCO

rdedhim in preaching his rcliei0n , ^t gre

at service- (Xaviefs letter of Aug. $Michigan, P. 57, also Du Jarric. PP 9n-i,T

Akbar was such a sworn enemy of Hinduism

that he used to oblige Jesuit priest* by «Tacmw |y

making over to them forcibly seized Hindu temples

and mansions for conversion into churches or

similar Christian use. Thus mediaeval churches

in Agra are Hindu buildings- Dr. Shrivast.

recordsIWi'A notable Hindu family claimed a i

houses that had been given to the fathers to

provide accommodation to married Christian

converts, Xavicr succeeded in getting Akbar'!

orders from Agra and the houses remained in the

possession of the Lahore mission. The hostile Hindu

family suffered from vicissitudes to the great satisfac-

tion of Pinhciro (Maclagan, Pp.6|.«|. Xavicr in his

in;, dated Sept. 6, 1604 wrote "1 he ehurch being

no large and beautiful, everything can be well

carried out"'

The reader may note how *+*gg*atrocious it was for a Muslini so«W

J«

than to turn out n wealthy Hindu to* •£

its property and make it vet to the I or1

"Ihc GM A t »

Q. Pp. 409 410.

ibid.

10. p, 407, ibid.

Akbm

250

«o that he may continue to pet armamentsfrom

m with which he could mow down the Hindu.

Rcuardinc the Nagarkot campaign Mr, SheJat

notC5 thai,,4'A treaty was arrived at. The Mogul

general caused a mosque to be built over the gate

way of the Raja's palace.

Here a:* elsewhere throughout Muslim chrom

cks the word "built** has been used to mean

mpropriating a Hindu building for Muslim

use It is well known thai Hindu gateways used

to |,nve a music house on top. So the mosque

,',u r ihe Niicarkot palace gateway was nothing but

,he atrocious occupation of at least a part of the

Hindu Raja's palace. This was a common practice,

That is how during 1.000-ycare of M usliro rule

there is practically no Hindu shrine left without

conversion into a tomb or mosque wholly or in

mrt. This is proved by ihe existence of a Muriim

nb at almost all important Hindu shrines like

Kashi Vishwanaih. birthplace of Lord Krishna,

the place where Lord Krishna died the palate

of Lord Rama, Palitana and Gintar hdls, Somnatn,

d Ahmedabad's many mosques and tomos.

And from the instance of the Agra churchJtan

is clear that all mediaeval Christian churches too

isurpedt

alienated by India's" Muslim rulers to favourare Hindu buildings or Hindu land usurped and

Christians ot the cost of the Hindus.

About Gujerat ruled over by other IWjgduring Akbar's time Mr. Shelal notes

11 I\ US, AUiir J.M.Shclal, ibid.

12 Pfl 122029, ibid.

251

,

tJ, Junml marched llS , r„ampa/from 1*1 tu ' ther with iiu- ..,. Z ,

tonV

urDa,y,Kha,M n ,pill

, lllfi pictures of vulgar company. On J^IUimedabad he was once agl,ln a

™»mdta n

,

n At last relieved from the tyrannyJ£irping nobles Muhmud wielded tfo sceptre per

aU) for the next nine years, ft began to^^religious zeal by persecuting

l

m Hindu -injects'

flo Hindu was allowed to ride on horseback in

; ,n y city nor was he allowed to enter a bazar with-

,ii ;i patch of red on the back of a white garment

or n patch of white on a red one or to weat en

ione colour. The Hindu festivals of Moti or

piwali were banned and so also public worship and

the ringing of belts in temples. Even those who

irshipped in the privacy »if their home* did

li fear. No Rajput or Kolt was allowed to move

tout unless, like a criminal he was branded

liisnrm. Anybody found without this humitomg

iwk was at once put to death. iBajl-

Gujerat, 427)."

Hud Akbar abolished the* humiltatina ,nv

ana on Hindus, that prevailed m Gujera

lories would have hailed it as prool '

Akgj

inipi inliiv, generosity and sense

°*J'h1IA

; te' *lhe«ia«o mention ofJgjffjffwidUion of I he Hindus even aRei ***

.

rf,,

«1 Gujerat ii is obvious thai Akbar >ru

'

uti%

J«*e any difference to iheir nvcr

"^ni ofihc Hindus in the low^X ,„.

"wu the regime of every Muslim **»*"*

152

from Mohammad bin Kiisim in the early 8ih cClJ .

tury \o the end of Muslim rule, in lgj^"

whichever race, dynasty or nationality, and what,

ever his age. was to the Hindus a period of ierrX)f

torture, slavery* humiliation and great cruelly

"On" October 22, 1573 Akbar had the cere-

mony of circumcision of the three princes perform-

ed Willi i!rcat eclat- -In far olTMcwar (in 1574) iWo

districts Mohan and Rampuni were renamed Istarn-

pur. Akbar also tried to set up Muslim colonies in the

other district therby giving large tracts to Muslims

m Budhnor. Ruhlia Bavebra, Pur, and Bhimravar,

(Shri Ram Sharma's Maharana Pratap, pp. 38-39.)'*

In September 1577 Akbar sent a party of Haj

pilgrims with five lacs of rupees and 16,000 khilats

to distribute among the residents of Hijaz (Abut

PaxaTi Akbaniama, Tr, Bevendge, III, 305*6.j

Even Badayuni admits that the emperor sent many

to Mecca with gold and goods and rich presents

at considerable public expense. From this evident

it is impossible to give credence to the accusation

of Badayuni and some others that Akbar was an

apostate

Badayuni being a dissatisfied courtier and a

rabidly fanatic Muslim he couldn't tolerate Akbar's

occasional highhandedness and the only way he

could vent his spleen on a despot like Akbar. was

ludub him a Hindu. That was the highest abuse

that a lowly, subservient fanatic Muslim courtic

like Badayuni could fling at an all-powerful despot

like Akbar. with impunity.

13, Pp. 203-B, Akbar, by J. M, Shetot, ibid

153

Akbar was so fanatic a Muslim thai h

vert not only men but alio Clc7/*«*

temple and elephants to hlam .

Badavimi tells uM that RanaPra,wleVPrasad which preyed to

»***

lhellnKiiirhai battle was named Peer tnutZ

Akbar.

Around 989 A. H." "the emperor captured |

sect or sheikhs, who called ihemsclvei 'diicipfcv

but were generally kno^n as Hahiv They had

indented similar names for the la*> and religious

commands of Islam and for the fast Hi -iy

.i>ked them whether they repented of their vamti

At his command they were sent to Bhakkar and

Qandahar and were given to merchant in c\chnge

for Turkish colts," This instance proves that

Akbar was such a fanatic Muslim that he would

not suffer any para- Islamic sect to exist

"When Shah Abu Turab >ind Itimadkhan

Gujcrati brought a piece of rock which they daimed

bore Mohammad "s root impression Akbar «

eight miles to receive it and commanded hi:

courtiers to carry it by turns, a few st«

this manner they brought it to the city.

""The 1,000 of the Hijmcit^Bow^Jpoint of completion, the emperor;^™[of all km&sof Islam !«' be written, -mui.

aler m HMusthn shouldcommemorated

14.P.243.VoniH^u«m-»cBro«m'c.lba.

15. P. 30t, Vol It. ibM

16, P. 320, ibid

17, p. 327, ibid

I

354

I.OOOdiyeHJ of>tta Hijra and cause a historyf

0ftjj Muslim rulers to be written is indicative of

hfe Islamic fiuiaJfeisin,

Akbar, like every other Muslim ruler, thirsted

for Hindu Mood. Badayuni says •] represented

(io Akbar) that I had a very strong desire to take

part in a hoh war e. massacring Hindus). «i

to i lie presumption to desire to dye these black

moustachios and beard in (Hindu) blood (in the

Rana Pratap war) through loyalty to Your Majesty's

person' and when I put out my hand towards the

couch in order to kiss his feet, he withdrew it, but

just as I was going out of the audience chamber he

called me back and filling both his hands he pre-

sented me with a sum of 50 Ashrafis, and bid me

farewell/'

Badayuni's statement that when out of loyalty

to Akbar he expressed his yearning to dye his

black Muslim moustachios in Hindu blood by

massacring Hindus, Akbar far from expressing any

disapprobation presented him a handful of gold

coins shows how much premium Akbar put on

massacring Hindus. This should disprove the

claim that Akbar unlike other Muslim rulers was

well disposed towards the Hindus. Akbar like every

other medieval Muslim courtier and ruler deeply

hated the Hindus.

In Akbars lime there was no let up in the

persecution of the Hindus. They were treated as

third-class citizens deserving of third degree

methods. Evidence of this is found in the Ain-i

255

18. P. 234 ibid.

.-

tAbul Fatal writes" "inlK- „^ U<* reign), after the £^TLTKmadc Husayn Khan governor of ft*

days) he showed h.mseif a zealous Sunni. As ZAryans did with the J.wa, he ordered thc

1[inausas unbelievers to wear a paich (Tukra)

near the shoulders, and thus got the nick name of

Tukriyatpatcher):'

That patch was obviously to mark the Hindus

t as pariahs so that even through inadvertance

they may not get humane treatment. Such div

crimination under which the mere Hindu was

seated, worse than a dog or pig, was endemic

throughout Muslim rule,

Manv students, teachers and scholars of Indian

history fed for generations on concocted stories of

Akbar1

s fancied benevolent rule have at best had

sneaking suspicions about the validity of tradi-

tional tutoring.

But even these people who doubt theauthenti-

city of assertions about Akbafs .^J*humane rule still believe that though covertly

Hindu-hater overtly Akbar appeared to be very

conciliatory.

»rt»kMi Akbar neither conv

This view is mistaken, aku ^ ^^ounaged nor minimised his hatrec

^

as is apparent from the instancesquoted

iT^Toh Ain-i Akbwl. wnshied mw^ ^Blochmami. edited by Lt. Col D.

edition. Calcutta, 1927-

254

Hindus were as openly despised, as conictuously treated, humiliated and humbled and*?*cruelty treated under Akbar 's rule as under an!other Muslim's rule There was not the slight midifference. Akbar was one of the many links in achain of Muslim rule in India. That link was of tpiece with the other links of the Muslim cluuwhich fettered Hindusthan,

,er M*

MALPRACTICES

Akbafs tyrannical, faminc^clccn »,*ridden, war-worn and corrupt regime «,* w'n some very cruel malpractices The* were 1

ancient legacy almost from Ihc beginning of Muslim

TU le and lasted until Mogul power in Delhi ended.

No blame should attach to Akbar foi inventing

those practices. But since h- »ughl to he built

„n as an ideal, noble, generous, considerate, mcr-

those practices, mil since nc is wugm to he

up as an ideal, noble, gencrou nsidcrate,

c,ful and tolerant monarch we wish to point

all malpractices of Muslim rule continued

heir worst during Akbar's ral He neither

that all

at their woi s*i uuimg n»"« * "-

abolished them nor softened their rigour.

One such malpractice was ofthe compte;

branding or all horses in the realm, toJ

-ever

thev belonged, with the royal mark Th»w*art

only usurpation of all horses M*£automatically enslaved every M>- ^horse. The possessor o[ *

h

«^J -^rutherservant of the crownb^w**3K*service without so much as being

con4 ,Uered

farthing in return.Whenever WJ ^ m

any new territory all the ruthless

"Jg^^formed Hie basis of hi ™ ^ c(Wmt of

new territory. Thi- » ll|,NlJ.7, D^ U rbaiK-

Gujeral. Vincent Smith^ w imJ i

.imiedthou econq. ^ *Kh WfDuring 1 57.'.74) the emperor ii

l. P K6. Akbar the G«*

258

Todarmil, promulgated the branding regulation

a regular system of branding horses.. .based ,,

Allauddiii Khilji's and Sher Shah's practice,"

The branding practice was deeply relented

even by Ak bar's own relations and wealthy cour-tiers. Smith remark* 3 "Mirza Aziz Koka, Akbar'sfavourite foster brother was so particularly hostile

(to the branding of horses) that Akbar was obliged

to confine him to his garden house at Agra,"

Todarmal. a Hindu, became Akbar f

s hot favou-

rite at court only because he permitted himself to be

a stooge to ruthlessly enforce all of Akbar's mat-practices throughout the realm. Since it was a

Hindu who was enforcing I hose unconscionable

practices on behalf of Akbar Hindus, who formed

the vast majority of Akbar's subjects, found them-

selves between the devil and the deep sea.

The great Bengal revolt of 1580 was partly

due to the resentment provoked by Akbar's insist-

ence on the resumption ofjagirs, the preparation

of descriptive rolls, and the systematic branding of

horses"

Badayuni records that ' 'Shahbaz Khan the MirBuksh. introduced the custom and rule of Dagh-u-Mahail, which had been the rule oTsultan AllauddinKhilji and afterwards the law under Sher Shah.Ii was settled that every Amir should commence as

a commander of 20 and be ready with his followers

to mount guard, carry messages, etc., as had been

- P. Ml ibid,

3. P. 265,,

i

4. Pp. 193-W. tfudayum\ chronicle, ibid.

25&

tiered and when accordingto 1K

br0ughtthe horses of his 20 tmo, «* fe had

was then to be made a COrrim °f^n**.

m0I c They were likewise tffiSl01**camels in proportion to foir com™™? ar>d

to the same rule When **«£****^ster their new contingent comp^

,h^'*

bc promoted according to thc.r merits and I111EanceS 10 the port o commander

rf \m *^&r cvcn5.WO.wh.chiS thehigJtestcomn«ni^«r they did not do well at the musters they were

to he degraded -The conditio of the soldiers gi«wworse because the Amirs put most of their servants

and mounted attendants into soldiers' clothe* (and)

brought them to the musters. But when they got

their jagirs they gave leave to their mounted atten-

dants, and when a new emergency arose they

mustered as many 'borrowed" soldiers as were

required and sent them away again when they had

served their purpose Hence while ihc income and

expenditure of (he Mansabdars remained in status

quo duM fell into the planer or the helpless soldier

so much so, that he was no longer Rl fot wpmBui from all sides there came a lot ol l<W tea S-

people. weavers and cotton Cleaners, c ^enters™

greengrocers, both Hind, and M«taJJ

brought borrowed horses, got * efflJ~^d<

were appointed lo icomma] °' iuJ

KrorJs/or A hades or Dak* 10^^^afterwards HP

ft

ho* <*i

hcvr;

.11

when a few days

found of the imaginary

saddle I hey had to perform* !»«_^ *fe

Many times ithappened at ™**^ **

&c emperor hnn^ii Ifl

COM

260

lha! tlun were weighed in their clotheswilh

thdr hands and feci tied. rhe> werc f0Und .

weigh from 21 10 three maurtds more or less, andnet inquiry it m& found thai they were all hired

god that their very clothes and saddles were bor-

rowed an ides,..Lo ! all this in my day but ask no

questions."

The horror of the above atrocious practice

maj well be imagined. Every man was reduced to

serfdom. Each one became liable for mtJitan

service. In addition he had to bring his ownanimals like horses and elephants and camels

Each one was also supposed to progressively enslave

more and more men to be turned into soldiers

One who did not submit himself and scores of

others to such military tutelage to ravage

Hindusthan for the alien Muslim monarch was

flogged, tortured and even killed. It was methods

such as these that caused the spread of Islam and

Islamic rule in India.

Since everyone was forced to enslave men and

animals for the royal musters the persons aspiring

to get some land and rank from Akbar had to

resort to plunder of animals and kidnapping of the

defenceless for being produced before AkbarThis gave rise to other malpractices such as bribery,

theft, murders, massacres and torture This proves

that far from being kind and noble Akbar was one

"ft he most ruthless and rapacious monarch* knownf " history.

Thus Akbar happened to be at the apex of y

tapacious system based on tiers of big and small

inls who fleeced the common man

ln the 23rd year of Akbar\ **.Sharif

of Amul -In hii *2£«*frdayum. "he came to Ulc Dukllm

S£ ay,

,t ^ self-restraint he betraved ,hc fil.h

^m disposition and the rate of the ££*"*|0 kiH htm) but he was 01lu 5ct

*™»*

x* shown about the m4****

Hindusthan is a wide place where there is m uDcnplace for all licentiousness and no one interfere*

itfith another's business so that everyone tan do

lusi as he pleases-/1

Thus, according to Budavani

himself, under Muslim rule the whole of Hindusthan,

whether the Deccan region or Northern lndm.

reduced to a place open for all licentiousness, and

every Muslim could do just as he pleased.

It was a practice during Muslim rule in India

to treat all prisoners rounded up after every wra*

paign as slaves or massacre them. Iis saaie

practice continued in all its rigour and t'urv e\

Akbar's re ig n . We ha \ c already noted a<

people were enslaved along with then ««and other live stock for military .cr^cc R.

Fitch, an English traveller rio w

Fathepur Sikn during Akbat "s iu«

William Lcedes the jeweller^V^ i^Echebar iJalaluddm Akbar) in I 'P^Certain him very well and

%|l

id five slaves Though ai umjvlcu

rounded up utter u revolt was quw

3< Pp. 252-53. ibid.

Liitt

as

262

„„ slaves the majority of slaves throughout Mu snmmk in India, including that of Akbar, were Hindu?

This human stock, like animal stock" used to be

assigned for any menial or immoral duties ati nc

pleasure of the sovereign or his courtiers

Referring to Akbar's discussions on various

subjects with his courtiers Badayum says 'The h,

of these questions which the emperor asked in these

days was(AJf. 983) "How many free-bom Women(i.e. Muslim) may a man legally marry by Nikah ?

The lawyers answered that four was the limit fixed

by the prophet. The emperor thereupon remarked

that in early youth lie had married any number of

women he pleased, both free born (i.e. Muslim)

and slaves (i.e. Hindu)/ This observation proves

that Akbar kept innumerable Hindus— both men

and women -as slaves to be apportioned at his

will between himself, his guests and courtiers for

immoral purposes or menial service.

7A large number of Shaikhs and fakirs were

sent to other places, mostly to Qandahar, where

they were exchanged for horses,..The emperor

captured a sect of Sheikhs...At Akbar's commandthey were sent to Bhakkar and Qandahar and were

given to merchants to exchange for Turkish colts."

Another sinister practice was Akbar's insistence

that vanquished adversaries send choice womenfrom then entourage and families to Akbar**

harem,

*• P. Ill, ibid.

*• P 308, ibid.

263

Ajcbar also took as hostage, one ot m. ,

tr nsof defeated adversaria The^™ *

quired to prostrate themselves mabjeeUubLt!^ytimcthcy were ushered .ntothe^fc

Nl ost of these practices originated from ih*

earliestMuslim invaders. Over the cenum« ,£

wereperfected, sharpened and imposed with ruth,

lessefficiency. During Akbar's time the rip

f thosemalpractices was abominable. Akbar was

truly the greatest among those who perfected all

cruel practices.

COM

ii 1GS

REVOLTS GALORE

Every aspect of A k bar's character was so

revolting "that practicall) 11

II h is mate relations in-

C lins son. Jehangir alias Sallm, and courtiers

revolted against him The whole of his reign wmarked by unending revolts, besides interminable

wars.

Vincent Smith remarks' "Akbar usually had a

rebellion somewhere or the other on his hands and

the unrecorded outbreaks of disorder in the provj-

nmmarily dealt with by the faujdars. must

have been innumerable/'

Dr. Shrivastava notes that- * The vast empire

hardly ever enjoyed complete immunity from some

kind of disturbance" or rebellion. Some chief or

other taking advantage of slackness of administra-

tion, lack of vigilance... or the occurrance of a

natural calamity raised his head in revolt It is

tedious to recount cases of civil disturbance. One

important example will suffice. In February 1590*

while one dav riding a female elephant, which was

Hacked by a ferocious male companion, Akbar

fell to the ground, received serious injury in the

face and became unconscious. Rumoi: spread

ab^ui the seriousness of the injury and p< bly ''

alh, which caused revolts in distant ,irts of

P. 276, Akbar thfl Great Moaul, ibid.

2. P. 3bl. ibid.

thecountry, and many mm^

bvturbulent people. Same

Shaiu plu"^dpeered the parganaofB,^ ' R8jpuil^ some others laid their hand, „> ***»,

modernGurgaon district of the tWk mthc

Khan the collector of Bauat fii!?Shahba*

powerless, fled to Koil (Aligarhi" ? him* lf

U under one Diala^Jt£*f -

try near the city of Mcerm."to

«t of

Had Akbar been the generoib. m and k- .

ru!er that he ,s often made out to be 2tlitcontentment should have prevailed during hhtime, and on his death his subjects should havelooked upon his children with passionate devotion

hope, love and respect. Instead rumour

Akbar's death unleashed the pent up seething d

content of the public. It was only Akbar s cruel

and ruthless measures, which were the despair of

ever>'body from princes to paupers, a hich prevented

them from overthrowing Akbar. They all wished

that Akbar died or was killed.

To give the reader an idea of the serious

and continuity of revolts throughout Akbar's reign

wc reproduce below relevant passages from a cross

section of historians who have written on AJctett

Vincent Smith says3 Khwaja Muj/wnv

Mother of Akbar s rmtlier was lurbukBt«»«Suin> orinain

i

irders and other dfcnc

*»*d ihc *Ju is if to hunti"

*Hmnww attacked, arrested**>

driver alone. He did not drown.

.

JSanjnCwalior fort, where he dr«J m

3- P. 49, ibid.

w^.'..I-

,. nav be noted ft** hunting' is not to be1

,, ft* value Throughout Muslin,

! , «„rd •hunting- is used not lo indicate

hi5W> " 1 hut of all Hindus, and somc

Muslim rebel*

i i Julv 1564 Abdulla Khan Uzbek, successor

nf Pec, Mohammad (governor) in Malwa revolted

xkb:ir had to organize an expedition Akbar

iucrcd Mandu and drove Abdulla mto

Gujerat/

Th, pleasani life at Nagarchain lodge was

interrupted bv the news that Mohammad Hakim

prince of Kabul had invaded the Punjab, Khan

Zatnan recited the khutba in his name. Towards

the end of February (1567) Akbar arrived at Lahore

but his brother had already retired across the

Indus... Intelligence having been received of the

rebellion of the nobles commonly called Mirzas...

distant relatives of Akbar.. jt was necessary to quit

the Punjab and return to Agra..."

•"At the beginning or May 1567 Akbar left

Agra in order to deal finally with the rebellion of

Khan Zaman. The rebel chiefs given over to

drunkenne** and debauchery had no sentries posted.

In the battle which ensued Khan Zaman was killed

brother Bahadur was taken prisoner and

beheaded.. Several leaders were executed by beiil

trampled to death by elephants. (The tight took

place in a village of Allahabad district). An order

: P. 53, ibid

5. P. 56. .hi,!

k 57. ibid

°n m«me

Lincuo" uomww iwwiii ixiiau, ana was mediiaiin?

further misdeeds. Sural was the chief stronghold

of the Mirzas. Akbar, then near Barodu, decided to

2ft?

Mi issued that whoever broughtin aWn

!cad should get a gold mo! ^"g *t

hl a Hindusthanri head should I,? CT h">"

SjSshows how the head

u j||dUrthan was rated mv, ™"8«| to

griien Mogul. ^*^j£^^g killed everyday m their thm. ,„

pretext or the other.

•-Just about this time (1572 end) it*****that Ibrahim Mirza had murdered a person of do-

unction named Rustam Khan, and was medium-s cnicl stronghold

Barodu. decided to

march against the enemy. When he came near

the fort of the Mahi he learned thai the enemy

was holding Sarnal, a small town on the ol ide

five miles to the east of Thasia. Baupu ihc

brother of Bhagwandas was slain*

Akbar returned to his camp on December 24."

-Soon after Akbar's return from Gujera

rebellion broke out under the fatal*

Mohammad Hitsain one of the b

and a chief named IkhtiyarulMulk. Ate

little more than a loosely organized milriu Mbeen exhausted and the equipment ^It wai necessary, iherebie, to

pedition from imperial funds. Oa«'„ ^ fca

he was ready and rode out wtorhcbimkJ f

covered a dtNluncc ol 600 l11

cinbcr :. 151

Ahmedabad was fought onAhmedabad was foughi onprisoner.

Mohammad llusa.n Mirza **"

7,

8.

Pp. 79-80; ibid.

P. 185, ibid.

:68

Uhtiv.tru] MMk was slain. The Mirza Wasdeca&i

laicd" In accordant with the gruesome custom ofthe toes, a pyramid vas built with the heads

f

the rebels, more than 2.CO0 in number. Shah MirJbecame a homeless wanderer.**

Describing the discontentment in Bihar andBengal Smith says1 -Special cases of severity l0

individuals increased the ill-feeling, and it {$ sa^that the officials added fuel to the fire by greed for

..->ney. The influential chiefs of Bengal revolted

in 1 580 January. In April 1380 Muzaffar Khanof Tanda was captured and killed with all sorts oftortures. Akbar dared not go in person to quellthe disturbances... By 1584 the rebellion had beengenerally suppressed. Rebel leaders were punishedj n diverse ways,".., Akbar never felt any scrupleabout ordering the private, informal execution orassassination of opponents who could not beccuted publicly,"*

7m

ex-

10 u"The leader of the conspiracy at court wasShah Mansur the Finance Minister. Letters fromhim to Mohammad Hakim (Akbar's half brotherwho ruled in Kabul) were intercepted. {Akbar

epared to crush the conspiracy by a combinationof guile and force) Shah Mansur was finally im-

*ned and is hanged on the strength ofevidence partially forged)... On Februarys, 1581

marched from Fatehpur Sikri. At Shahbad,

L7^y ren "rt^hwar a"d Ambala, on a tree

«CBk

Kachhwaha Shah Mansur wassolemnly hanged."

£ J*1***, ibid.w

- I1- 137. Aid.

V to

n Akbar intended to v,

Burop-H I ii is M

ay Iuher Monserrat. forthc

'

cc awnv from the court,

,

iM[ |h- Deccan. *****

I Muzaffar continued to givc m,„u,

wild regions or Kathiawar an,

<vhcn he « is captured He is

emitted suicide by slaving hi, , ,.,./

.-I* August 1592 Akbar started 0IV „

visU to Kashmir... He received new thai , ncphHi, governor m the valley had rebelled m

up as sultan on his own account, (but soon tin

after the rebel's head was brought fei hkbtr'i

inspection)**1

II Asirgarh marked the waning of \!

fori utu'.ie star. Hiscortquesi tadbeenpiI :lly

cont intunts for 45 years. His rem

were few and evil, In view of Jchaai RbcuV

Mcbai returned to Agra (fi

babl) early in May Ml Pimo Sutim*< prolon

rebellion, prince DantyalVd. itl md oili

tadd I the closing: » or Akbar's Wb

while in rebellion sougtH the wport ^ the I

v, imd their ammunition ai

did Ins best to pcrsu-k them .hue hc*«

do| lol j, c rhriNiian id " l

an ,> l0 G<* atkmj? Iha' Hc

accredited to his rival court iriAW*

I". 147 .'

II pp i.,.'- 9, Ibid

i

P, | g Ibid

n pp. 207-m Ibid

cross.

270

subscribed his letters with the sign of the

and round his neck wore a locket containing Potraits of Jesus and Mary.,. Throughout the ve1*02 Salim continued to hold court a I Allahah^Hand to maintain royal state as king of the provincewhich he had usurped. He emphasized his claim t*royalty by striking both gold and copper monevspecimens of which he had the impudence to send tohis father. He sent his adherent Dost Mohammadof Kabul as his envoy to negotiate with Akbar. DostMohammad remained at Agra for six months, Hisconditions were that Salim should be permitted tovisit his father at the head of 70,000 men, that all

his grants to his officers be confirmed, and that his

adherents should not be regarded as rebels... OnAugust 12, 1602 early in the morning Abul Fazalwas attacked, as he was about to make the day's

march, by Bir Singh, the Bundela chieftain ofOrchha, whom Salim had hired for the purpose.

Abul Fazal was transfixed by a lance and promptlydecapitated. His head was sent to Allahabad,where Salim received it with unholy joy and treated

with shameful insult. (Abul Fazal was murderednear Serai Barar, 10 or 12 miles from Narwar)"

w"lt is certain that Salim ardently desired his

father's demise/"

^'iehangir's rebellion if successful, must have

resulted in his parent's death.'*

About the numerous rebellions during Akbar**reign Dr. Shrivastava says ""Khan-i-Zaman deput-

27l

cdBahadur and Iskander to ravne

m parganas of Surharpur near Fai^aT,^Zaman

one of Akbar B generals, wa« „-,

JjJJ?It

was dining this rebellion thai

sftCredHindu temples in Ayodhya T*™"

of Lord Rama, were desecrated aJec^riS^mosques by the Muslims.

mcd «*o

-During Ihe Uzbek rebellion Sher MohammadDtwana takmg advantage of «he confusion

revolted.'

"»The rebellious Mirzas proceeded to the

neighbourhood of Delhi plundering the country.

"

•"Mohammad Amin Diwan. an important

officer, shot an arrow at a Faujdar, and was, there-

fore, ordered to be put to death. His life was

spared on the intercession of some courtiers But

he was ordered to be beaten up and so he fled

'

•'S'Junaid Karrani, another officer, tied from

Hindaun. his assignment, to Gujfi

Zaman again set up the standard of revolt on hear-

ing that Mirza Hakim was on the march to

Lahore.'"

"-On August K),l 567 AkbarP{^™*hunting expedition tfllh the-M*J£-«suppressing the rebellion ol the Miflt*

and Qf conquering Chittor-

'

15. P. 234, ibid

" P. 237, ibid

IT, P. tOt, Akbar the Great, ibid

IK

272

Above is a dear ..it ion of how liisto -

have failed in understanding and interpreting MuSFchronicles Dr. 5hrivnst.it u firsi asserts that AVk

irtcd on a hunting expedition, and then n**

tions two objects which have nothing to do Jhanimal hunting. Hence \vc wish to cautionstudents of Muslim chronicles thai the term •huming* should be understood to mean * waging war '

A proper understanding of fraudulent,chatty-

inislic and fawning Muslim chronicles cannot behad from the superficial men n ing of the word*They need a special key. For example, the term'destroyed temples and built mosques* only meansthat Hindus were ousted from their temples andmansions and the same buildings were used as

mosques and tombs. That is why all mediaevalmosques and tombs in India look like Hindutemples and mansions. Similarly a Muslim'smarriage with a Hindu woman must be understoodto be a case of kidnapping and the word dowryshould be taken to mean ransom as seen by us in

BharmaFs case.

After conquering Gujerat "•Akbar resolved t a

nrpate the Mirzas w had seized a consider-

able part of Gujerat. When the siege of Sural v-

in progress Ibrahim Husam Mirza attempted to

make a surprise attack on Agra...Mirza Sharfuddin

Husam, a former governor of Nagour and Ajincr

iio had helped Akbar in kidnapping the Jaipur

ruler Bharmal's daughter for the royal harem) and

an inveterate rebel who had fled from the court in

m»2 and joined the rebellious Mi, brouBhi to the couri JlL S|J

*** trit.

,

,as thrown before the feet ^^M^life

was spared and \ yt was

I I

In*y** *

;; cll Saml Khwaja Ahdu* Shahi<T s 1L"X I**Jj

,\Tirza free was rejected;"

ppcalt<J *t

That shows how Akbar'* own henchm™ ,

under k fe-ful raids on Hindu SSn^kidnap

Hindu women for Akbar's harcrn Themselves got disgusted with Akbar's trcachermi deal"

kp and revolted against him. It also shows h„u

even panders and ravagers were recommended Tor

leniency by Muslim fakir, Another pertinent

fact is that Sharfuddin *s revolt lasted for eleven

jong years before he could he brought to book.

—Hbraluni Husain Mir/u retreating to Sanbhat

and the Punjab was ruthlessly devasiaiing

territory*'

"';,Gii jerat had not been completely subdued

when Akbar left Ahmcdabad (April 1573). Ikhtiyar-

ul-Mulk supported b* Raja Narayandas. or tdar

(Fuiher-ui-la-A •! Rana Piatap) and the mmh ot

Sher Khan I auladi was m veiled

Mohammad Husam Mim, who turned from

Daulaiahad, as soon as Akbar's back was turned,

joined the rebels.1 *

-Among other things Vtuiaffar Kharmw£tk regulation of branding ofhonj^JJJpqucmly dismissed from the Prime Min.

Pp 137 , ibid.

** 1* 143,

25. t>p 145-150. ibid.

1 P. 151. ibid.

i.« x '.' (Coka had Med to maintain

, fixed immlvi ofcavalij in his services to bring

» the muster and l>a\c Ins horses branded.

Altbaf. Ihcrefbre had him arrested and degraded!

, i , i bceom i n e c \ pre ss ion s abo u 1 1 he refo mis.

\...k.i > \klMi% foster brother. He \Vas

Ifree in 1578 after apol< gteing

"

Shal bai Khan a general engaged in the cam-

P,iifn inM RauaPratap. "Mwas recalled some*

rime m 1580 for despatch to Bihar and Bengal

where the Mogul officers were in rebellion.'1

»"Raja Madhukar. elder brother of Bir Singh

Dc\ Bnndela and ruler of Orchha was in rebellion.

Akbar sent an army under Sadiq Khan to reduce

him to submission. After a brave and stubborn

resistance he submitted (in May 1577), He however

revolted again and continued to give trouble till

ht> death in 1592 A.D.

"Sheikh Abdun Nabi who had enjoyed great

ascendant . in Akbar "s mind for over 10 years fell

into disfavour aboui the end of January 1578. At

the end of 1578 Abdun Nabi, was dismissed and

replaced as chief S idar by Sultan Khwaja who had

returned from Mecca. Towards the end of 1579

Abdun Nabi was exiled to Mecca against his will.

On return tt» hid in m 1583 he died in suspicious

circumstances/ Obviously he was murdered at

Akbar's behest.

P 188, Ibid

28 ? 220, ibid.

19. ? 230 ibid.

30 Pp. 231-232. ibid,

27S

.^Early in 1580 Akbar had to fat,

drebellion of his officers and ir0o a* *?***'

Bengal It darted almost simul.aVoJ^ »*

lo provinces . (while) the rebeUioM ?f

lhc

provinces was in progress and some JL ***

fjcfS Bt Fatehpur Sikri who were k JJ^glhe

rebels formed a plot the object of whlch w^kl !t

Akbar, proclaim Mirza Hakim as the Z»a„d

march 10 join the rebels tn Bengal, The plot

leaked out. the conspirators were imprisoned and

the chief among them, Miraki, was pat to death.

ss (n Bengal "the victorious rebels proclaimed

Mirza Hakim as their ruler, and recited the khmba

in his name. Mirza Sharfuddin, an arch rebel and

a former governor of Nagaur and \jmcr who was

kept a captive in the fort of Tanda and had man-

aged lo secure his release on April 19, 1581 was

elected leader of the rebels. The real leaden were

however Masum Khan Kabuli and BaHa Khun

Qaqshal."

" 33 Azad Khan Turkoman was deputed to

Jaunpur to arrest and bring to court MiitU

Mohammad Yazdi and Mir Mwazzul Mtffc *ho

were spreading religion* disaffection against 1c

emperor. The order was speedily exceu; £

the boat in which they were being coi duej,d«*

near Etawah, and the two "^™\Hikilrt

"Encouraged by lhe news «

start to invade India. MasuiD Faiaai

31 Pp 26S-273. ibid.

32 p. 274, ibid

33. p p .276-278 'bid-

^

Md r.>r some time secretly entertained icditfou

,.1S . opcnl) unfurled the Hap ol rebellion, h

tanpur. In riw campaign undertaken against

him, in a us forced to k his family and treasure

ht the fort of Ayodhya Shaltbaz Khan occupied

Ifce tbrt and Hie city rhe next da) Akhar mcrci-

fully ordered shahbai Khan ithc royal comntanderi

not to molest the family and dependents of the

rebel."

The fori of Ayodhya was Lord Kama's citadel

and a place sacred to the Hindus, li was desc

crated in Ak bar's lime for the umpteenth lime by

Muslim invaders. All mediaeval mosques mAyodhya arc ancient temples and mansions hallow-

ed b\ the divine incarnation. Lord Rama.

Akbar's special instruction that the enemy**

women should not be molested, is clear evidence

thai in all other campaigns Akbar"- troopers had not

only a licence but were specially encouraged to

molest women of the rival side. The exception madem this case indicates lhat Akbar wanted some of Hie

captured women for his own harem.

''During I he period when Akbar was proceed-

ing against Mirza Hakim, a rebellion occurred in

Katehr now known as Rohilkhand."

'^Masum Khan Farankhudi sought the protec-

tion of Akbars mother (March 1582) hut one nighl

while I, ,hc , y fr(mi the pa jacc | 1C was

assassinated."

:<J i

34 P 315, ib.d

P mt [bid

tali Bahadur (son of Said Khd wWmed the title of king, *£*£^ «*,Ul |. was compelled to M r0r ^e T,fhut hj

„ death by Akbar's orders/' ^

*

nd *<U jmt

•'Shahbaz Khan who had fur a fexw

|h , hl ,h post of chief Bakshi farmy,^*had rendered conspicuous m,luar C J2****gU ilty of miolcnt behaviour was put unl' '"*

,n d kept in custody."

td

acid

arrest

•WAftcr his success (against the Bengal rebel*Chan-i-Azam begged to be relieved nf hisdidu

a great danger

the Khan-

Thc rebellion of 1580-83 constituted

to Akbar and the Mugal empire, h wat"a w£prcad rising not confined to Bihar as is gencralty

supposed, but also embraced, besides those two

provinces, most of Orissa, the districts of Ghazipur

and Banaras, the provinces of Allahabad, and

Awadh, and modern Rohilkhand. Some of the

ministers and topmost courtiers were involved."

"^Gujerati noble Aitimad Khan had thrown

Itis lot with the Gujerati rebels and was, therefore.

it to jail. The important province of Gujerat

witnessed another rebeilion in 1583."

"aoThe restless Jalala returned from Transoxa-

"ia early in 1592 and once again rallied in Tirah

foe wild Afridi and Urkzai tribesmen under

rebellious standards On March II. Akbar •

ob%ed to depute the Kabul and frontier forces

n

n

l 291. ibid

Pp. 293*294 ibid.

h' 129 'ii. ibid

Pp. 347-49. ibid.

,.M

under Kasim Khan and Asaf Khan respectively(o

pui d^wn the Raushaniya rising. Kaktani aud

Mahmudzai chins also joined the revolt. The revolt

BJ , oppressed But Wahadat AH a relation of

Jalala held his own at the fort Kanshali. The tubal

revolt continued even beyond 1600 A. D/'

On «***Nov, T6, J5S6 Raja Basu or Mau alias

Nurpur came and did homage. Although he had

submitted to Akbar long before, yet when the royal

army had suffered a reverse in the frontier region

he felt disposed to revolt. Accordingly an army

was sent against him.'

Dr. Shrivastava and several other historians are

wrong in stating that "Bharmal came and submitted

to Akbar, Raja Ramchandra came and submitted.

Raja Basu came and submitted", and so on. This

misleads the reader into believing that Akbar had

some irresistible attraction and unique lustre which

sent ruler after Hindu ruler voluntarily and

irresistibly hurtling towards Akbar. like moths

hurrying towards a light. It was just the opposite.

Akbar was a great repeller All looked upon him

with great loathing, hatred and disgust. So, what

is insinuated to be voluntary submission had

behind it a gruesome and ruthless campaign of

cruel plunder, massacre, rape, arson and dese-

cration of shrines. It is an insult to the bravery o\

India's gallant Rajput rulers who fought the

MuiUm invaders for 1 ,000 long years and ultima^I) rendered them impotent, to insinuate thai iln-'V

submitted to Akbar out oftovc for him or just for

The mi st glaring instance is that of Bharmal

P 158, .hid

279I

(hc rU ler ofJaipur. While he was rcduccd

ingsubmission and made r «

lo*mni.

Jgyof his beloved.ta^S**vv|(h

a huge ransom because of «"£^ most accounts have fraudulently SLS"'1

flS agreat honour conferred on Bharmal hv T "

descending and patronizing Akbar.*"'

ii-During Mansingh's absence at Agra a rmhrebellion occurred in Bengal (Mansingh mm*in |599 and undertook a prolonged campaign Herouted the Afghans in 1601 February by which

lime the Bengal rebellion had practically come

an end)/1

«*"Another rebellion occurred in Bhatha or

Baghelkhand. Ak bar's prolonged absence from his

capital gave an opportunity to the ruler of Bhaiha

(modern Rewa) to assert his independence,

43,,During Akbar's absence in the Deecan in

1600-1 Raja Basu of Mau in the Ban Di-ab of the

Punjab, the Raja of Jummu, and some other

chiefs of the north western region revolted,

powerful contingents of troops had to be sent. The

chiefs of Lakhanpur. Jasrota, Mankot. Ramwrh

*ud JCobast in the mountainous tracts of m^njab also revolted in imjtef had u

suppressed with powerful forces.

«to Kashmir. At tins time U#* w J "

PP. 376-78.42. P 38|, ibid.

43- Pp. 383-387, ibid-

*4- Pp. 387-95. ibid

!K»

emeiod to - local rebc n and thc l111pLMl)r ,

,,Mr was probabl) undertaken to overaweth

,,i y«dgarii»to submission

It was during his Kashmir visits thai Akbardestroyed ilie famous and magnificent Verinaatemple near the towce of tfceJhclum river, andseveral other Hindu shrines which doited KashmirBy a cruel irony ihe Kashmir archaeology depart!ment ascribes to Akbar the construction of the verybuildings that he ravaged and razed to the p|jni |,

level and reduced 10 their prevent state of gapingruins

i4"Mirza Aziz Koka. Akbars fostei brotheri

Ir

)did not see eye to eye with Akbar. secretly

prepared to leave for Hedjaz and set out for Diuunder the pretext of making an attempt to captureit from the Portuguese (March 25. 1592), Heembarked on a ship with his wives, six sons andsix daughters He was shamelessly fleeced by thepriests in the lemple of Kaba in Mecca.*' Finding

unbearable he returned torn between the deviland the deep sea.

|A»«*the Ahmadnagar people were so exasperat-ed agamst the Mugal.s that they plundered some of

Mugal baggage when the Moguls began retreat-ing on March 20(1596 A. D.)

The late, years oT Akbar*, life were tormented

tLn r,

msubord,na i'on of his sons. The eldest of

"« himself proclaimed king in Allahabad Earlier

JP- »«-S. .bid,* (

<»' 432, ibid

i

i

xad unsuccessfullyl|t

- .

ar Thus throuEhom al! ^^iAkbor. Thus throughout /SjKj*^ Hd tt, LIS regarded a, public enemy N* )

>'< ^tsons. When such preponderating

"

J^ hil0*"able it is an academic crime to «i ?? '* av«'l-

•great'

The souls of the malthaa"*? *kb*rormented and tortured must be ZZ m

t

* l

agony at ilie academic insultflUn _ ,

n,

g m dumb

form of Ak bar's glorificationl*m h the

CHAPTER \

Bt'll.DlMiS

Akbar is said to have built u number offQftand palaces and founded many towns. This is

big a hoax played on B gullible world by a succcssion ofMuslim chroniclers as the one projecikoa cruel and Fanatic Akbar as n noble and libera]

ruler. It will be proved in this chapter that all

those palaces. Forts and townships are of ancientHjndu origin. The) existed centuries beforeAkbar was even born, and were merely occupiedby him as the heir to Ba bur's acquisitions m India.

Fatehpur Sikri

Twenty three miles to the southwest of Agrais a township called Fatehpur Sikri. The ancientHindu capital SIKRI when captured by the

Muslims was renamed Fathpur/ And since*

Fathpur' means only a 'captured town" it was called

'Fatehpur SIKRI. It has a massive defensive wall

around it. The walls enclose a very largeplain and a ImU-ek, On the hillock there a

magnificent redsione gateways and a majesticpalace complex, They are purely in the Hindu,Rajput style,

B these beautiful niyal buildings and iheu

'J1 tcways which have been blatantly ptf;iras the creations of Akbar, the th.rd-genera-

1"" Mogul ruler m India.

2H3

There arc innumerablercferenc

lll0uicle8 to the exislctlcc r%!^nMu^

wnv c™.,._;_ \,UchPyr til,.aching back into many cemurau k ?

What is more Fatehpur Sikr, ha, r ,r"'

cd 10 as the royal headqua, ,,/*«"

Muslim monarch* preceding Akhar

ikr,

and

At the outset wc w '*h to m akc it dear th*.

t

ilC ^°? llC

!; TJ^^ {« q»«e Wr"as unl;

for« names SiirFathpur or

Sikri. Any of the

Fatehpur Sikri have bee

indicate the township of which the hillock

bedecked with beautiful Hindu redsione palaces!

forms the focal point and the dominating feature

A clear indication that all those three name*

are synonymous is given by the Muslim chronicler

Yahya Bin Ahmad in his Tarikh-iMubarak Shahi

He says that 1 "by order of the Sultan the family and

dependents (of Mohammad Khan, son of Auhad

Khan ruler of Bayana, who had surrendered Bayana

fort) were brought out of the fortress and sent to

Delhi (on 12th November 1426 i e 130 year* be-

fore Akbar ascended the throne). Baynna

given to Mukul Khan. Sikri, which is no* known

as Fathpur was entrusted to Malik Khiiniddio

Tub fa."

Before Muslim occupation FaiehgwrSifcri

»Jan independent principality of ^ Bgarters according as its fortune *«l* J

the origin of the redstone palace conn

towering gateways reaches intoTing gateways

tT^Vol tv, Eilioi k 0o*m

!

284

Htaiht histoid Testifying to this!J Cot jWTodd, a ™>tcd hisioiten, says- "(Rana Sang , Jlrn

Singh) came to the Mewar throne in 1 509 A. bEipht> thousand horse, seven Rim ol the higfocsj

rank, nine Raos and 104 chieftains, bearingthe

titles of Rawal and Rawut with 500 elephantsfolio

wed him into the field (against the Mogul invade,

Baburi The princes of Marwar and Amber did

him homage, and the Raos of Gwalior, AjmerSIKRI, Raisen, Kalpee, Chanderi, Bnondi, GagrownRampura and Aboo served him as tributaries. .

The above passage makes it clear that during

the time of Ak bar's grandfather, Babur the Fateh-

pur Sikri principality «j> ruled over by a RaoIRajput chieftain) who owed allegiance lo RanaSangramsingh of Mewar. The redstone palace

complex which modern visitors are made to

believe as Akbar's creation, was the residence ofthe Rajput Rao centuries before Akbar,

Tracing the origin of Rajputs of the Sikarwalclan Col. Todd says8 -'They have their name fromthe town of Sikn (Futtdipoui * which was formerlyan independent principality

1' Sikarwal Rajputs

are a very ancient clan whose origins reach into the

hoary immemorial past They did not originate in

the post-Akbar period since the Rao or Sikri hadfought against Akbar's grandfather Babur. Ushould, therefore, he dear that the Sikarwal Rajputs

m the redstone palace complex in Fatehpur=>i*ri several centuries before Akbar.

d o?\Vo1,

'• Annals flnd Anliuuitics of Rajastoan*J r y/, ibid

..\nntii.-i reference in pateW,„h 1405 which is 151 vcatK^'W

;slsdefeated and lied, Ke v ^ Kh*«

ltse feH upon him and woundcd^l^ 1*°

uUl not escape He *« kllW^'SftSU se,U to Fatehpur/' TCs *?££+S||BW1 Mahm.iid. Such decapitated heads 1l,ung on gateways lo scare potential rebels n,indicates, therefore, thai the towering gateway f

Fatehpur Sikri, known as Buland Darw aza existed

even 151 years before Akbar. Th ncanceof

sending the severed head, of all places, lo Fateh-

pur Sikri was that u was the royal residence

generations before Akbar, having been conquered

by Muslim invaders from the Rajputs who were

the creators and builders of the magnificent palace

complex there

At mother place it is stated that ° 'Khizr

than (the rounder of the Sayyad dynasty) remain

cd in Falhpur and did not *. u> Delhi Kto

Ktan Sayvad ascended the throne in May i

This reference to Fatehpur Sikn is ol -^prior to Akbar's accession. Since Mw KMsoon became the sultan \\ is clear thatWSikri had palatial buildings ***** m°"

Akbar.

r iLhar lesiifies lo

Babur the grandfather of A^r ^k

the palaces at Fatehpw Sikn, aW'" - xm *'i

Mtbtf't coronation and 13yw

4.

5

P -JO, Vol. IV Elliot ADo*

l» 44, ibid

Cf:l#K-35

•

hiriti. Babur say* "In Agra alone, and f sl

cunerslul.ngmgtothai place only, I evcry(laC

;employed on my palaces 680 persons; and »„

Agra. SIKRI. Bayana. Dhulpur, Gwalior and Koel">ycd on my works 1 49 1 sl0

'

ihere were employ

curlers'*.

From Ba bur's own mouth we have the admis-

sion that in Agra, SIKRI. Bayana, Dhu|pUrGwalior and fCb'el (now known as Aligarh) there

were several palaces a II equally magnificent. This

clearly means that the red stone palace complex at

Fatehpur Sikn is an ancieni Hindu building occu*

pied by Muslim invader^

Babur conquered Faiehpur Sikri after defeat-

ing Rana Sanaa's Hindu army in the plains aroundFatehpur Sikri Historians mistakenly believe

that 1 his decisive kittle was fought 10 miles

away at Kanwaha alias Kanua. The engagemcniat Kanwaha was between I he advance columns of

Rana Sanga and Babur. A large reservoir of

water several miles in circumference used to exist

outside the elephant gateway of Fatchpur Sikri.

That reservoir supplied water to the FaiehpurSikri township and the large herd of elephantsmaintained by the pre- luslim Rajput rulers in

Fatehpur Sikri. Babur observes 7"There being a

large tank on our left. | encamped there to havebenefit of the water "It occurred to me.

situated as I was. of all places in the neighbour-

3, Tu ,ik .i-Bataan. Vol. IV. Elliot and Do*»<M»-' 26B. Vnl. IV, Elliot * Oowion. ibid.•• 1 zbj, ibid.

28?

fcaod.SIKRI being ihan„

whfch-bundani was upon the whole theS 1**frfon for a camp, «*« **£

o"When it was AbdulAziz's h

taking any precautions he advancedWllhow

kanwaha which is five kos from sikbi **pagans (i-e. Rana Sanga's Hindu armv?

themarch forward. When thcV 8,TnL Vn

sooner learned than a body of 4000-5000 o

ai once pushed on and fell upon him.' On the

very first charge a number of Abdul Aziz's menwere taken prisoner and carried off the field t

then detached Mohmnerd Jang Jang to cover

their retreat- . . . (The enemy) had reduced Abdul

Aziz and his detachment to great straits."

It is clear from the above passage that the

engagement fougnt at Kanwaha alias Kanua was

not between the main bodies of Babul's and Rana

Sanga's armies but between small detachments of

both and that Babur's Muslim detachment was

routed. Students of Indian history have, there-

fore, been grossly misled by their text books

which assert that Rana Sanga was defeated at

K it 11waha.

It is commonly believed that mediaeval battles

*ere fought in open fields or baie plains,

a gross error in the understanding of meowa

history. This error has crept into ^^feSbecause authors of those books have bee ^ £Ncre academicians who have nertftf ™P

^ar^nor have made any study of At

9- ?. 267, ibid.

Mediaeval bottles have always been rough,

g massive walls and bastions. Even modern

mn Me fiw*M *cross tarricikh-s An army

encampmeni *> '1"^* shdMol in an embank.

nH3U barricade, thrown up earthwork, bunkerj

eic. The three decisive battles fought at Panipai

in (524 1556 and 1 76 1 were fought there because

m all the thiee cases the defenders had entrenched

themselves behind the beayily fortified township,

palaces and citadel of Pan i pat. Magnificent gate

rtjys, isolated bastions, pavilions and rained

fortifications may still be seen testifying to the

destruction wrought in ihose three important

battles and innumerable raids and engagements

during 1000—year long Muslim invasions and

revolts

The battle of Kanwaha was no excepts

On his march towards Fatehpur, Sikri which was

then owned by Rani Sanga, lie had encamped at

Kanwaha because there he had a palace and a

fort. Such fortifications and royal residences existed

at every few miles during Rajput rule Even after

a millemum of destruction by Invading Muslim

nes such palaces and citadels may ^ill he seen

at Kanwaha, Fatehpur Sikri. Bharatpur. Bayanu.

Dhoipur, Agra, Gwalior—all within a few miles of

one another.

rectifying to the existence of a palace at Kan-

waha Tud says "''Rami Sanga was of middle

1 -' He was celebrated for energetic enter-

prise of which his capture of Muzalfar kin!

1(1 PP M64*. Annuls ,nd Antiquities of «*»••IbU

289

uaiwa in his own capital j s a c. .

Like the engagement at Kanr.,

ftangawas entrenched behind the nL •

**«»

fcitade. the final decisive fci»»**

*

J, and that of Babur was Ib^^ *Sanga was camping on the Fatehpur S ***

inside its battlemented walls and pal.ee co" JJ

Babur was camping outside those walls nea/th

We have already quoted Babur to *aythal

his camp was close to Sikri and the reservoir. Wen0w quote another passage from his Memoirs

which says ""The battle was fought within view

of a small hill near our camp. On this hill I directed

a tower of the skulls of the infidels to be construc-

ted".

l2"When Adil Khan and Khawas Khan reach-

ed Fatehpur Sikri they went to visit Sheikh Sulim

one of the holy men of the age. This reference"

again is of a time when Akbar was yet unborn.

,3,4The Mir died at Sikri," says Yahyj Bin

Abdul Latin "in A- H. 971 (1563 AD.)" Thu

was only seven years after Akbar's accession and

refers to a period when the founding of Sikri wo-

^t even contemplated even according to the

traditional fraudulent accounts.

""After this Sultan Mahmud the son of Sultan

" P. 272, Vol. IV. Elliot&Da**0D.

'- P. 483, ibid,

1 ^ P. 294, ibid.

'*. P. 346 ibid.

290

SiUndar. whom Hasan Khan Mewati and R

fil,had sec up n^ «^g?d the 2nd jani

a

Shfti the Emperor Baburm an actio., near Sikri.

.rh}; refers to Fatehpur Sikri two generatW

before Akbar who is supposed to have founded

Fatehpur Sikri.

is-when Sher Shah marched from the capital

of Aera. and arrived at Fatehpur Sikri he ordered

that each division of the army should march to-

gether in order of battle/ Sher Shah ruled from

J540 to 1545* i.e. his reign commenced iwo years

before Akbar was born and it ended when Akbar

was only three years old. Akbar was at that time

in Afghanistan and yet Fatehpur Sikri existed in

India,

"* kAdil Khan went, accompanied by his nobles,

to his brother (Islam Shah, son of Sher Shah).

When he reached Fatehpur Sikri, Islam Shah came

forth to meet him in the village of Singarpur."

This reference to Fatehpur Sikri is of a time when

even Akbar* s father Humayun had not returned

to India after his exile.

Innumerable such references to Fatehpur Sikri

reach back inn the dim centuries before Akbar.

The reason why Akbar left Agra for Fatehpur

Sikri was his fear of being murdered. He, there-

fore, thought it prudent to shift his capital WFatehpur Sikri which had all those palaces built

by the Rajputs before the advent of the Muslims"1

India. Those palaces had been the haunt oi

15 t* 404, ibid,

>* P-481 .bid.

291 wCfrcikli

Sa1.ni Chisti and hi* eBlnAkbar decided to make Faichn .

a&c - m,^h Salim Chis^ ^

for him- "^ *>* rQom

Giving the reason for Akbar\

as the capital, the chronicler Fcmhu ST!?8 ***mch incensed came to the resolutioneL^him (i-e. Bchram Khan) or office $ J

Pnv,n&

mention a scheme suggested to the kJT **

n* (Maham A naga) ^ ^g»Jseals ;

while other says, that she discovered

the protector (Behram Khan's) design to «& ^confine him. a plot she is stated to have accident!

|y overheard, in a conversation between BehramKhan and the queen dowager. This, they say wasthe cause which determined Akbar to quit Agra/'

Ferishta thus gives us a clear and cogent

reason why Akbar moved his court from Agra to

Fatehpur Sikri. Agra being an ancient seat of

government it was full of senior and powerful

nobles who were privy to Bhcram Khan. Ai this

time Akbar was only an adolescent. He had fallen

out with his guardian Behram Khan. Therefore

fearing that he might be done to death by his

piqued guardian Akbar moved from Agra to

fatehpur Sikri so that he could be sure who hi

»al adherents were It was not for nothing, a

traditional accounts would have us believe mAkbar suddenly thought c( 'building a •* ™ew'

'""" Sikri and as suddenly leaving it.

17- P. ,21, vol. IL***********

1

• i*n Brigs*, ibid-

CTOICM?.

292

Soon thereafter he is reported to have movedto Fatehpur Sikn dnd his campa.gns began from

and ended al Fatehpur Sikri from about 1562 t

1585 This is the precise period in which Akbarjs

sard to have buill Fatehpur Sikri.

Akbar's entourage consisted of live thousand

harem women, a menagerie of J ,000 wild animals

and thousands of nobles, generals and lesser

officials, AH these could not move to Fatehpur

Sikri at a moment** notice and live in a capital of

which even the foundation had not been dug,

Mr. Shelat notes '*' kAkbar s earliest Hindu

consort, the daughter of Bharmal of Ambar, who

was in the family way was sent to Sikri for deli-

very. She gave birth to a son, August. 30, 1569.

In November 1569 a daughter, Khanum Sultan

was born and in July 1570 Salima Begum gave

birth to prince Murad, Daniel a third son was

born at Ajmer on September 10, 1 572. . . .

1!,On

September 23, 1570 Akbar again visited Ajmer

halting at Sikri Tur 12 days on the way." The

above passage makes it clear that Akbar had

visited Sikri before 1570 and that all his principal

wives had been staying in Fatehpur Sikri at least

from the beginning of 1569 A.D. According to

traditional accounts Fatehpur Sikri was not even

conceived by Akbar before 1569. Then could he

and his wives visit there unless Fatehpur Sikri

already possessed palatial buildings where emperor

Akbar and his wives could >iay in royal comfort

\Z. P. 102. Cambridge Hlrtory of Indiu, Vol. IV.

IV. !». llf,f Akhar, by J.M. Shelat.

193

the popular belief that AkhaS,hm Chist.s hermitage m F^ h» *v*

aSedon a canard pa .mcd offbyT'^b

"anted to credit Akbar with the bui,£T^«liute cross examination.

Firstly AkW* Wllh

wh0observed strict purdah W0U|d J1* *lVei

flmaie (Fakir Salim Chisti) for deliver fe?m recluse worth his name and 5alt himseSnol

undertake the deliveries of others' w,vc7 *

recluse shuns the world precisely to get rid or such

, ,rries. Thirdly Sheikh Salim Chisti is not knownto have been running a maternity home. Heis also not known to have been a specialist in

gynaecology and obstetrics. Fourthly had he

been living in some miserable shanty Akbar*

wives couldn't have been sent there for delivery.

Fifthly according to Monserrate and Badayuni,

quoted by us earlier, Salim Chisti was of an

immoral character. Akbar himself being very

shrewd, wily and immoral he wouldn*t venture to

send his wives for delivery to a person whose

moral character was suspect

Mr. Shelat mentions that afar Akbar's

marriages (sic) with a relation of Rai Kalyatimal

°f Bikaner and with the daughter of RawlI

Har

Rai Singh *> -Akbar again went to Sikri.

didn't make frequent trips to F*hP"*EL% on honeymoons with every new **«!",*°u1d have been no idyllic and dreamland pa^

There.

* P. m, Akb«r. by J. M. Shebw.M

294

u On Julv 4.1572 Akhm stinted from Fatch

rur Sikri tfiral to Ajmei and then to i^,Gujcfflt)" Hiat shows that Akbar had moved

is capital to Fatehpnr Sifcri even before 1572 A.Dand thai thereafter until 1585 Akbar transacted

ajj

royal business from Fatehpur Sikri His armies

started from and returned to Patchpur Sikri bet-

ween J5": and 1585 or even earlier. According

to traditional accounts Fakhpur Sikri was built

bj Akbar between 1570 and 1585. tf the capita]

was being built how is it thai Akbar was residing

there precisely during the period of construction.

Another absurdity is that Akbar is said to have

left Fatehpur Sikri Tor good in 1585, Thereafter

he went there only once. That was in 1601 only

on a flying visit. Akbar with his robust common-

sense. * shrewd nature luxurious habits and disso

lute ways wouldn't slay in an open field called

Fatehpur Sikri. all dug up for building a new

capital. And he wouldn't be so idiotic as to leave

a brand new capita] for ever tn the very year in

which it is said to have been completed.

On June 3, 1573 Akbar entered the gales of

Fatehpur after an eventful and triumphant e*pedi-

tion, Sheikh Salim Chisti and others came and

welcomed him."

If the gates of Fatehpur Sikri existed before

June 1573 there must be equally grand mansion*

to which those flatcs; led. dates won't stand in*

void. Thusbefore Jum

> there must be equally grand mansion*

hose gate 1* led. Gales won i

.lurid in n

s if both the gates and palaces existed

IS73 tip canard that Akbar built batch-

a^)read^nddroi*of3Qtt,

2!»S

Sikri between 1570 and| 5ac

»» August 23, 1573 saw him (AVkarching out of Fatehpur

with

me""-

Akbar couldn't have entered Pa,^June J573 and left it two months law?"' ?°tti in

bv hUge armies unless Fatehpur Sikrikl?^accommodation enough to house thm„ .

soldicrS| hundreds of generals, a bigSi*ra _ce,

a bodyguard, a harem of 5,000f XtnT*imenagerie of 1 ,000 animals, and horses c]^

and camels belonging to the cavalry.

"-The heads of Muhammad Husain andIkhtiyar were sent to be hung and displayed anthe gates of Agra and Fatehpur. Following the

custom of Timuroids. Akbar had a pyramid made

of the heads of the rebels who had perished

day in the campaign against the rebels in Gujcrat

The mention of the gates of Agra and Fateh-

pur Sikri, as early as 1573, clearly proves that the

gates of Fatehpur Sikri were as ancient as those

or Agra. Had they been newly built or under

construction the Fatehpur Sikri gates wouldn't be

bracketed with Agra gates.

'""Badayuni carried the news of the Haldiglut

fctau against Rana Pratap to Fatehpur

aching there on June 25,1576." Hew there

21, P. 129 ,b,U,

P- >2y, Albar b> J. M. Shcl.U, ibid.

Pp. 138-40. ibid.24 P. 370. Vol V., E &

Akbari quoted by SJielal*5

> P. lf>0 4 Akbar, ibid

D. NiwrmKldi^^^14*

296

no mention of the construction going on. m.rhca.v been under construction huge detachment,

of infantry and cavalry couldn't move in and 0U|

of Fatehpur SJteri

Dr. Sflrivastava relying on unverified Mu*|imcanards asserts that

-' "the foundation of FatehpUf

Sftri was laid in November 1571".

Dr. Shrivastava adds "A brief account of

the construction work ts given by Father Anthony

Mnnscrraie, who was an eye witness of the opera-

lions. The stones were brought ready-made,

chiselled to shape according to design and fixed up

in their proper places and the city rose as if mymagtc within a short space of time {Commentarius,

pages 200-20 1J."

This is a typically gullible piece betraying a

wrong understanding of what Monserrate has said.

He has never said that he was an eye-witness of

the construction.

Let lis refer to Monserrate's writing, ourselves

instead of depending on the second hand mis-

interpretation of Dr. Shrivastava,

Since Akbar wanted to hoodwink the Portu-

guese by professing superficial admiration for them

and their religion he kept pressing the Portuguese

rulers in Goa to send their representatives to his

court in Fatehpur Sikri.

Accordingly »**TJw first Jesuit Mission left

26, P. 130, Vol. I, Akbar the Great, ibid.

0. Editor'* introduction, the Commentary of Hjtj|Jr

Monwnite, s . j. Translated by I S. Hoyl** 1'

ibid.

297

Goa on November 17t 1579

thc same year they left Dam^r^^f 0«rFebruary 28, 1580, Fathers 2Zl°T%m ^ularrived at Fatehpur Sikri. £g'£m **&ing been taken ill at Narwar 11°?^^capital a week later on March 4 Th Mo»Areceived at court. Abul Fazal and Hal*^ *"%were asked to look to the comforts ,5" Al ' Ciilani

pc*." Here there is no men 1 u fhoflhe

Lived in a Fatehpur Bk^fi******section. Had it been under comu-" Twould have had tc.live in ^SS^Astone, dug up earth and lime lying al! ar0Un

!*•[in the dust and din of thousands ofhboum ^Sfing all over. No emperor himself lives or ever pvitciambassadors in such surroundings. The fact thatthey were made comfortable also shows that themansions* and palaces existed in Fatehpur Sikri

much before their arrival.

This Father Monserrate meticulously wrote his

diary every night before retiring. It is that diary

which has been published as his "Commentanus

(commentary)".

Monserrate ^"Buildings erected by Zeladinus

(Jalaluddin Akbar)in various parts of his dominions

•have been built with extraordinary speed. For

instance he built a very lanje peristyle, surround*

with colonnades, 200 ft. square m three mort

and some circular baths 300 ft. in circuit.with drt*-

,n£ rooms, private apartments and many *

2y > Pp, 200—201 . The Cummcottflui.

298

channel^ m six months, Her* he himself bathe* uorder to prevent himselJ being deafened by thc

noise of the tool* with which stones arc shaped

and beams and other timber cut. he had every,

thing fashioned elsewhere, in accordance withi

exact pla the building and then brought to the

spot, and there titled and fastened together. Thc

priests gave close attention to all this, and were

reminded of what is said to have happened at the

building of the temple in Jerusalem, when no iron

trumenl of the builders were heard. They saw

that this could have been true without thc inter-

vention of a miracle."

This is all that is mentioned in the Commcnta-rius about the founding (sic) of Fatehpur Sikri,

Closely scrutinised the above passage is very reveal-

ing though superficially misleading.

It must first be noted that Monserrate whokept a daily diary does not testify to any building

activity. He mentions buildings in Akbar's domi-nion which he believed to have been all built by

Akbar from the bluffs conveyed to him by Muslimcourtiers and flatterers.

We may visualize a gullible Monserrate arriv-

ing in Fatehpur Sikri early in I58U A.D. Agreeablysurprised at thc pleasing red stone palaces, their

ornate interiors and towering gateways. He asksthe courtiers who built all those ? According to the

cringing Urdu and Persian tradition of Muslimeverything including one's own continuing

existent is credited to the sovereign. If t*mperor visiting a courtier's house was introduced

to children he would ask whose children were iRv

'

299

The host in the unabashed and unnu,-tradition would reply ..„

^M^

children. He would never acknowJS* ar< *£hi8

children, in the presence of hk^if,he™ * be

or king. A flatterer who can stL* !** **"*parentage of his own children would

*ny the

cribc usurped Hindu buildWs t

"all,raU> a*-

creation.h lhc

**w<n\

Since a 14-year old Akbar w.throne in 1556 A.D. Mo^?^*«***four years later was dismayed l0 1J*Tlhe Fatehpur Sikri which was represented £as being of recent creation, showed notthe slightest trace of any debris, scaffolding 2workmen. The absence of all these was explainedaway by another bluff namely that since Akbardidn't want the dust and din of the construction

work, the stones were cut and dressed to specific

requirements in far away quarries and just piled

one over the other blindly and silently

Still surprised thai even after that absurdity is

swallowed there still remained the question of

pulleys and scaffolding and hammers and chisels to

haul up, hoist and join stone slabs Bl >us

heights Monserrate ultimately ascribes it ail to

magic of the kind which his religious gulWlgf

associated with the creation of Uw chief temple

in Jerusalem.

This clearly shows that Monserrate m brum-

washed by Muslim flatterers at Afcbar's court.

But there are many more absurdity wjudi «»uPTrom Akbar's fancied authorship of

Sikri.

>:h T.C^^H

300

The

Questions such «s who selected and surveyed

lc mc ? bow long did it take ' who desginedthc

lavout of the township 3! who planned the buildshow many years did the palace complex take to

huiJd ? and who constructed the thousands of

houses for noblemen, and when ? did Akbar have

the rime, peace and the funds while engagedi n

bitter warfare against his own guardian Behrani

Khan and innumerable Rajput chiefs, rebel cour-

tfcfs, Muslim rulers and imposters ? and after ail

this how is Fatehpur Sikrf an entirely Hindustructure? remain unanswered.

There is such overwhelming evidence to expose

the historical fraud which ascribes the creation of

Fatehpur Sikri to Akbar that it will need a wholeindependent book to tear that myth to shreds.

Here we shall content ourselves merely by sum-marizing the prominent points to call off the bluff

of Akbar's authorship of Fatehpure Sikri.

(1) No design-drawings and blueprints ornames of designers and workmen are on record for

laying out the township and erecting its magni-ficent buildings.

(2) If Fatehpur Sikri was constructed by Akbarwhy does that name recur in histories af pre-Akbartimes ?

0) Badayuni, a courtier of Akbar clearly saysbefore the decisive battle with Akbar's grand-

father Babur. Rana Sanga had reached Fatehpur.

hJP T^ refcrcnC€S ^ the hillock and tower ofHeads of staugtcred Hindus being raised on the

!61

hillockclearly indicates that the a

^inihcp.l«ccm^ int^dirt1to _

standpcralc U« 4 ltch

(5)The hundreds of gravcs ,n 1h

inside the Buland Gatewaj are ^^ste...I.* were killed in that last — Muslim,^vho werewno w»- «-— «* msi cnoaeem^n, ,mi

palace complex two generationsbefore AkS

-'*(6)

Fatehpur Sikri has a gaic flanked h, wslone elephants with their trunks arching J^,

nThis design^ mis ocsign is exclusively Hmd«

lp scen in pictures of Goddess Ukshmi, Z^lelephant statues at gateways and inside palace,

a common Hindu motif. Such elephant statu*

adorn the Gwahor Gate of Gwalior fort the

interior of the Maharajah palace in Udaipurand

the gateway of the City Palace in Kotah Elephant

statues are found flanking the royal gate or the

Red Fort in Delhi. Similarly it is on record that ele-

phant statutes flanked the royal gate of the Red Fort

in Agra. They were removed by iconoclastic

Muslim invaders and occupiers. We have already

proved in our book titled 'Some Blunders of Indian

Historical Research* that the Red Forts in Delhi

and Agra are of pre*Muslim Hindu origin.

(7) There is a fat. Hindu stone Litnp post brat-

ling with stone brackets to hold lamps, outside

Elephant Gate. Such lamp posts may still

all over India infront of goddess temples

lamp post in Fatehpur Sikri is ^«W^^gjcd away as Akbar's memorial tu a

to or elephant. One wonder, •Jjj^

dear deer or elephant had whispered W

otiimh?.

302

in Akbar** cars that if wished to be commemiorhv a HmuIh lamp post. And considering ?!

cd

Afcbur kepi a menagerie of jooo wild an iJ ?m should have had similar memorial columni ?every hyena, bear, wolf, cheetah, tiger, Hon, *ass. elephant, camel and pig around all towns a

°Si

buildings ascribed to Akbar. It must also h!remembered that Muslims are image-breakersnot image-makers and Akbar was as fanatic

*

Muslim as any other.a

(8) Hindu mythological scenes: Swastikpeacocks and palm trees have been etched on ihinner walls of the red stone palace apartmentsin Falehpur Sikn. All Hindu motifs have beendisfigured with Muslim chiselling and tinkering.

(9) There arc tanks in Fatchpur Sikri still

known by their Hindu, Sanskrit names such asAnup Talao (peerless tank) and Karpur Talao(camphor tank). Camphor is a sacred requirementfor Hindu idol-worship.

Had Akbar constructed Fatehpur Sikri hewouldn t have permitted the huge Buland GateQuadrangle to be turned ,nto a Muslim graveyard." ™PPJ;ned l0 be a graveyard because Muslimsaiea lighting there during Babar's assault againstRana Sanga two generations before Akbar.

"

froJil^F*!hcPur Sikri had been a-building

Xf u1585 h0W did Akbar I** there preci-

sely during that period ?

whvdW A,

[w*tchpUrSikriwa

» completed in 1585why did Akbar ,caV€ „ precjsdy ^ m year ?

103

he an idiot to live j n a;;;;;;^n and leave v;;;hV5:!; ,

[;

ufi ^ c^J) Akbart final «., rrnmFal .

"^jcessitaicd because the

]arge rcL ri^Ur>rijCBTOi«««r^au« mc large re**^****mA the »^muwc of water t^X .

h for

iieccs

burst m October I583andwem drv

1hI '"wniw

fCservoir mentioned in Babar's McL '* ,hc

rations before Akbar. Had u been a

,W° 8cnc"

a! Akbar's orders it would not have h™ Clfcllmn

a reservoir had burst Akbar would h^ ^all those involved in that shoddy constIT™***fact the lake burst precisely because theMuslims did not possess the know-how toSthe captured Hindu reservoir. Having been darTged during Babar's assault and in subsequentskirmishes the lake burst from want of mainte-

nance. The fact that it continued lo sustain the

Muslim usurpers from 1526 to 1583 despite war

damage and lack of maintenance is a compliment

tu its Hindu engineering competence.

(14) Concocted descriptions of Akbar having

buili a mosque- and a house of worship and other

buildings are all anomalous and contradictor).

(15) Visitors like Francis Xavier have men-

tioned that even in Akbar's lifetime Fatehpur

Sikri was in ruins This is very important evidence

tooe u proves that Akbar lived in J Fa»Jip

Sikri which his grandfather Babar had taken *

storm.

A(16) There is a painting which*gg

*"** alongside page 82 of MrJJJ J^^A^baf (latest edition publish^ t>>

104SOS

Vidya Bhawan. Bombay-7) the caption of w .

.

n\'i *nai it depicts Humayun seated with h*>urtiers in Fathpur. Since Humayun was Afcba •

father that painting belonging to a period befo'

\khar"s birth emphatically and visually proves \\*

rstencc of Fatehpur Sikn before Akbar.

(17) The building of Fatehpur Sikri is saidt

have begun somewhere between 1564 and 1571 A ^according to dilTerent versions. This Vaguenesswould not have been there if Fatehpur Sikri hadbeen really built by Akbar. We have at least

three contemporary chroniclers namely BadayumAbul Fazal and Nizamuddin who were Akbar'scourtiers. They would not differ in their accounts

unless they were all blufliing. For instance Vincent

Smith observes29 "The language of Abul Fazal in

the passage quoted might be understood to meanthat Akbar did not begin his extensive programmeof building at Fatehpur Sikri until 1571, but this is

not a fact, his buildings had actually been begun in

1569."

From the above observation it is apparent that

Abul Fazal has used vague and devious language

regarding Fatehpur Sikri and that subsequent his-

torians like Smith are hard put to divine the real

import or meaning of Abul Fazal, They, therefore,

indulge in vague conjectures which are all wide off

the mark.

(18) Sheikh Salim Chisti's brother was knownas Ibrahim Fatehpuri. He would not get that ap-

pellation unless his family had settled down in

£atbcpur Sikri for pencrations.

29. P 75, Akbi the Great Mogul, ibid.

(l 0)Smith says** .., n ^

and stayed in Fatehpur SjL L]

**W,r«crs.; This has a d^2*»8

Lui had stormed FatehpurSikriTA

** *Muslim fakirs headed by Shckh Salim rT* "^'ccupied the redsone palaces, Hl **

n0 time maintained any mmnm £**'

,Fatehpur Two aen^f.^.

at

when Akbar decided to move from AgrSikri for security reasons

n to FQteh.

move at

pomeni s notice was made possible only bccL*there

were grand, majestic palace, and mawive de

fence walls already existing in FatehpurSiltri

Since Sheikh Salim Chisti had already settled there

and had been guarding the premises against Hindu

re-occupt ion Akbar is said to have come and occu

pied ChistiN building. But it may be recalled that

even earlier Akbar's queens had their deiivcriei in

Fatehpur Sikrfs palaces.

(201 In a redstone-paved quadrangle amidst

the Fatehpur Sikri palace complex, infront of the

Paiiclimahal is an ornate AstrologerVSeai. The

decorative stone festoon which adorns the seal's

tophus figures Horn Hindu my tholog) carved in

it. An astrologer was a prominent official in all

Hindu royal households.

(21) In front or the Astrologer's Seat at the far

end of the courtyard is a stone ctfern knw£Uje .ghati-patra' or the water clodd^M"Hindus used to reckon their W***"

mamcntso necessary in finding out the auspi

ln begin Hindu worship or feslivtiics*

30* Akbar the Great Mogul, ibid.

CClfK45<

)QU 309

(22) Falehpui' Sikn has a dninvh0Uscis an essential part of ail Hindu palaoej ^

temples. Muslims frown on music.

nt"Maryam ki-Kothjru

ff called Sunehra-Makun. ftjj Howg,

deists of a long room with Z**«W(2?) Fatehpur S.kri has Ashva-Shnla. Ga iH * three sides. One of the pillar,'kS

Shala. Ooshlra-Shala (i e. stables for horses Ju "covered with the figures of**£phants and camels). No Muslim palace had VheHindu palaces do have it.

Se *

(24) The board of Chaupat, a Hinduganic

has been inscribed in the centre of ihe redstocourtyard in front of the Panch Mahal. Chaupatwas a very popular Hindu game in mediaevaltimes. Muslims never played or play that game.

(25) Incidentally the Chaupat design also re-presents the layout of Fatehpur Sikri. Hinduarchitects used to carve out the basic scale theyused in constructing buildings, in some part of ihebudding. In the Taj Mahal courtyard, it is thefull length trident pinnacle on the dome which hasbeen inscribed on the floor below as the basic scaleused in the construction of the Taj Mahal. In thecase of Fatehpur Sikri the design used to planthe township is that of the Chaupat game board.

A very important piece of evidence of theJindu origin of Fatehpur Sikri. that it was aHindu capital before Rana Sanga lost it to Babur.

•found ,n ihe figures of Lord Rama, the Hindu

negation, and o( Hanuman, the Hindu hercuhan«arnoror the Hindu epic Ramayana, found in

An Archaeological Survey of India publication

consistoi » wu»"»« with tiaeS***:

^Hindu gods, and the wall. m ^v,lmn

paintings

The myth or the building of Fatehpur Sikri h

Akbarcan thus be blown to pfa*, from CJ

in«le.An exhaustive discussion will require

separate book on Fatehpur Sikri a|or,c Wetherefore leave it at that and proceed to examine

ihe other equally fantastic claims of Akbar's author-

ship of various townships and buildings.

The Red Fort in Agra

Keene's Handbook for Visitors to Agra andjlu

Neighbourhood, gives a 2,000-year history of the

Red Fort in Agra, and then quotes a rumour of

Akbar' s times that Akbar demolished ihe fort in

1565 for no rime or reason and constructed

another. In 1566 Adhain Khan who murdered

Aigah Khan, was punished by being thrown down

from the second storey of the royaUprtmcnts

inside the fort. Keene expresses a very per n^

doubt in a footnote, that if the fort^dcniobkd

in 1565 how come that Akbar had beguno^

second storey. Keene adds tnat even

*»• P. 310 Part II. Archneol ^ZTkcW <***"

Muac Um fc,publKlicdinl^«^

Archucotogical Survey m IndM.P*

308

of the extern fori could 1101 have been complelcd wiihin ihrec years. Under these circums tance :

Alder's evacuating the Red Fort, its demolition

removal ofihe heaps of debris, digging up of ^old foundation and digging the new foundation

after a new plan, filling it up, ordering the required

redstone, marble, bricks, and lime for the superstr-

ucture and having the whole edifice decorated wjih

shining plastei and multicolour ornatefl0ra |

designs, all within the space of 12 months smacks

of Arabian Nights magic. Unfortunetly Indian

History has been loaded with such fantastic mythswithout arousing anybody's suspicions.

Ajmer

Ajmer had been an ancient seat of Hindu Kings

centuries before Akbar. It is a corrupt form of

the Sanskrit term Ajaya-Meru (meaning the invin-

cible Mount Mem). It derives its name from the

fort Taragarh built on a mountain top. At its foot

lies Ajmer city. In the city is an ancient palace

now occupied by Government offices. It is this

palace, tlte fort and the other remains surroundingfakir Moinuddin ChistPs tomb thai are credited

to Akbar. But Akbar used to frequent Ajmer from

the age of 19 to direct his aggressive operations

Rajput rulers. He could not have gone and^ ayed there had there been no ready palace. Evenbefore the advent of Muslims Ajmer had a long

succession of powerful ll: ndu monarchs- Thelaces, tombs, fort, gateways and the other ruins

nielli Hindu constructions stormed and

devastated m successive Muslim assaults, Akbar

J09

yedinlhe palace in Ajm£r cu

jjtfo Kings like V,grahry ; which^

Juhviraj had l.ved earlier. That ^S^ *Muslim accounts claim that ^H«towns and cities and built forts n ,

*m^flagic

speed. All this magie J of

B^sions at courtiCK cringing j*n wh&fe

a earlier Hindu buildings to Akbar.Similar

^building

magic' has been claimed forAlJdfKhilji too.

aai"

Moinuddin Chisti Tomb

In Ajmer at the foot of Taragad/ihemour^n

fortress, is a shrine, where Muslims gather every

year to commemorate Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti

Whether he was actually buried there needs to be

investigated because there have been instances of

fake tombs. The precincts of the ihrine are

clearly a part of the fort's outer defences. A huge

stone archway leads to the shrine. This was a pan

of the Hindu citadal stormed by Muilim

invaders. After capture fakirs like Moinuddin

Chisti lived amidst such ruins. When they died

they were buried in their dwelling places,

applies equally to all mediaeval Muslim tombs

India. They 'are all Hindu temples misused if

Muslim tombs.

Allahabad FortKv rhe fraudulent

Indian histories taken in b> * * ^^assertions in Muslim chronicles na ^ ^Akbar with the construction c

fl|||!

Allahabad at the confluence ol me

* amuua.

310

Vincent Smith observes, for instance "«One of

the most sacred place* of pilgrimage and known

,o Hindus a* Prayag does not appear to have been

rtjficd. in October 1583 Akbar travelled from

Agra to the confluence, most of the way by river.

He began (he building of the fort in November.

n was completed in a remarkably short lime, Ajzreat city. I he modern Allahabad, grew up in the

neighbourhood of the fortress."

There are many flaws in that statement which

betrays remarkable gullibility of authors of Indian

historical text books. Firstly, the very vague state-

ment that prior to Akbar "Allahabad does not

appear to have been fortified1

" is very naive. Ln

mediaeval India every town and village used to

have massive fortifications.

Allahabad fort is of immemorial antiquity

built through and through in the Hindu style. Its

inner royal apartments are all carved in the style of

Hindu palaces. Inside the fort arc Hindu shrines

like the Pataleshwar temple and the sacred banyan

tree (the Akshayawatj.

Towering inside the fortress is an Ashokan

stone pillar which shows that the fori is at least of

king Ashoka's time iff not of earlier origin.

Secondly, Allahabad being a place of Hindu

pilgrimage it woukTnt be left unfortified.

On the opposite side of The fort across the Ganga

an ancient township called Jhusi which dates

back to the Ramayana. Similarly Allahabad aim

I* 16], Akbar the Grcal Mogul, ibid.

311

prayag is not a

ancientmost city

1 modern town butm India with a hyJ?'?1 l*»

millcniums. Us fort could on1vh*!£of n

ihcconfluence of the Ganga and' y

mm^ it

thc two streams constitute natur^roau^t-W

at least two sides of thc fort invulnerable****

Allahabad not only had an ancient fort fa, ,,

als0 had towering nver fronts paved withZc

their steps rising tier upon tier and bristling Wlntemples, as we still see in Banaras, Akbar hadthem all uprooted when he plundered Allahabad,

If there had been no Allahabad what did Akbar

plunder 7 And since Akbar plundered Allahabad

ii is clear that he did not found any city, Aplunderer never builds a city for the very people he

plunders The two are paradoxical.

So, far from building Allahabad city or itvfori

Akbar invaded them and razed thc innumerable

magnificent temples and stately nver fronts.

Historians have grossly erred in not subjecting

claims of authorship of buildings to close lOfuitu

Had they tried to investigate who thc arehtcct m,

where are the drawings prepared by him, when dtf

the construction start, when did it end. hwm*was the expense, why has the fort Hmdu

»"da Hindu pillar inside^ *hy are um J-m the Hindu style-trie hoax of AkWr *

vas„e

would not have passed »**"&

statement that all o Vkbar 9»>«' d "* " ^

ships were raised inmiraculous ^J „ yv

shows that there is nothing onmor(

such bogus claims which abound

inilu

«*

TO

of M8Slim ruk in India which constrained Sir H.M,Elliot to remark that thai history "^isan impudent'

and interested fraud.

"

Nagarchain

Like oiher building hoaxes Akbar is supposed

to have founded a township and namedit

Nagarchain. If a lay visitor asks to be shown that

miracle township which, Akbar founded, pat comes

the traditional historian's reply thai the township

has vanished so thoroughly that there is not the

slightest trace of it.

Histories of the Muslim era in India abound

is such bluffs. For instance Humaytin is supposed

to ha\e built his own Delhi. If you ask where it

is the answer is that during his short five-

year tenure as sultan Sher Shah wiped out the new

Delhi founded by his ousted rival Humayun. He

did such a thorough job of the demolition that

iheie is no trace left ofHumayun's Delhi In the

same breath we are also told that Sher Shah during

his nominal five-year reign not only wiped out

every trace ofHumayurfs Delhi but also built ano-

ther Delhi of his own. This is something breath-

taking especially when Sher Shah's entire reign

of five years was a bitter struggle for survival

against powerful adversaries.

About Nagarchain Smith says "a*Executcd

rapidly at the close of 1564, on return from Mandu.

Introduction to Elliot & Dowgon's eight-volume study

34

g4 Mi urometer.

I'p 54 55, Akbar ilic Great Mogul, ibid.

Here again we come across the oft r™phrase that the building of a wholet*^executed so rapidly, almost overnight, thai iknows when it was begun or when it ^completed, how much money was spent or «|jn

designed the township. Similarly nobody know*

how and why it vanished. We alio braileven Akbar's own contemporaries like Badayani

confess their ignorance about the township. It

should, therefore, be clear that Nagarchain (which

is a Hindu, Sanskrit name) was not built b> Akbar

but was destroyed by him. Allahabad was not

founded by Akbar. Fatchpur Sikri was not built by

Akbar but its Hindu ornamentation xvni disfigured

by him. This then leads us to a very important

deduction namely that Akbar and other Mudii

rulers far from building anything in M*wp*

out damaged, misused, mutilated cr dejWJ"

magnificent Hindu palaces. Mfd* rn«Unifications canals, bridges nnd reader

ancient India was famous.

Badayuni, perhaps unwilling!*-

at

m

i?

\poscs the hoax about Akbar's claim to *\

undine i Nagmhain, Badayuni states3* », n tu-

Bj (972 AH.) the building of the city of lsi a«**

chain took place. On this subject one of \h~

nobles, at the time of the composition of theMiiunu ordered me to compose some lines

which I here insert without alteration. It js'

of the traditional wonders of the world, that

that city and edifice not a trace now is left, so thatit> site is become a level plain.

,J

This is a very important statement of far*

reaching significance for a correct understanding

of Muslim history in India, His is a very honestand frank statement which seems to have escapedfrom his pen in an angry mood when he must havebeen hurt by some orders from the court.

Badayuni inadvertently leads us into the secret

of how Akbarnama (i.e. the official history of

Akbar's reign) happens to be a blatant concoctionand fabrication manufactured and modulatedaccording to the dictates coming from the court

from time to time. This should open the eyes of

j II students and scholars to the fact that all

Muslim chronicles have been made to order to

rehabilitate the vanity, and comfort the conscience

ul alien monarch s spending (heir lifetimes in

I tic destruction, aggressive campaigns, ruth-

less plunder and drink-drenched and drug-soddenamour,

As for Nagarchain itself Badayuni confesses

lie did not find any trace of the tow

Mifc-70, Vol tl. Badayuni chronicle, ibid,

315

tfhich he was ordered )0 __feunded by Akbar, It.

, hu^ *>*• i*?mm has been rash in *£&^ Zfounded Nagarchain Hun ^

Here we recall a footnotei *

jlt his critical study of Ihc j»*H M . E|1

Muslim chroniclers had the"

habf'

fabricated claims with minute detJLillusion of reality,

mi% to create

Manoharpur

Dr. Shrivastava writes; a*"Whi!c at a**,

(old Jaipur) Akbar decided to restore an anSSbut deserted city and on November 9,1577 he , Bld

its foundation with his own hands. He ordered

his architects and engineers to build a fortress andother buildings and named the new cjt) Manohar-pur after the name o[ Manohardas, wn of RaiLem

Karan. Manoharnagar is 28 miles north-east of

Jaipur, and is known as Manoharpur."

The above passage is lypical of the pathel

gullibility of writers of our history text boob ind

heads of university history departments. The ciie

wuh which they accept fraudulent claims i

chronicles without verification, is abounding for

'« pathetic imtvct

.

Even h cursory examination of ihc onfin of

Manoharpur Mated above would reveal iM™wnolc story is a chauvinistic concern "™

ginning to end.

36. P. 229, Akbai the Great, ibid-

116317

luestion we ask is that during Ale bar's

Of

Muslim atrocities what made Akbar choose onc

The nr<t quem " wc ask is mat during Akb

c'when there existed thousands of decadentrime

extinct rowroshipsdeserted bv people fleeing from

Jaipur aloue Tor restoration. The secomj

question .. what architects and engineers did he

sess? It is our centeniion that he possessed

none. He had with him only an army of stonc

cutters who at Akbar's or his courtiers' bidding

inscribed Muslim claims on earlier Hindu

buildings. The third question is who paid for

the huge expenditure which must have been

incurred on the revival of the township? If

Akbar spent it what interest did he have and

what return did he gel for his investment ? Howlong did it take to resurrect the city? To whomwere the palaces, fort and dwellings handed over

for occupation ? Were they given gratis or on a

hire-purchase basis? If the earlier township had

been de&erted which people were asked to populate

the new buildings? If people residing elsewhere

were persuaded to occupy the new city whatincentive were they offered ? Is there any corres-

ponding exodus on record to justify the claim that

people from some neighbouring township cameand occupied the new town founded by Akbar?

Akbar named the new town as Manoharpur whyi called Manoharnagar ? If Akbar gave it a new

name what was the name of the old defunct town ?

>M &av;> it a new name how is it he chose am name and not some Persian or Arabic*mcc he had even converted an elephant's

„".

nwnc im ° a Muslim name ? Why did Akbarname the townsh.p aftef the son of gome Hindu

ruler r all people ? What hus,,^provocation or pretext did Akbar^ *aHindu township in tnc v

d ** rc

clse -s capital ? Were there not cnlhVc^defunct towns all around Delhi Aerasikri which were the haunts of avL*tL elipUr

conclusion, therefore, is^rtTheohti,

Manoharpur is an ancient city Th!™^*'

Akbar founded it is a hoax. He may fi!^Otigh h -one ofhisrnanv'iS/Rajasthan. giving his sycophant chmmcImoccasion 10 concoct the story that Akber founded

Apartments Tor 5,000 Royal Prostitutes

Abul Fazal records to the glory of hi* ov*r-

lord37 "His Majesty has made a large mclmurc

with fine buildings inside, where he reposes.

Though there are more than 5,000 women he \m

given to each a separate apartment. He has also

divided them into sections " We wonder where

on earth that huge building complex consisting of

5.000 suites, is. Had there been any such our

government or any factory would have been vers

happy to use it for staff quarters in tee *

housing shortage. We have unsuccessful y^;

.rcd

the whole of dead Akbaf. erstwhile domantoManything even remotely wmflai to aMcomplex* This should^J^JS *the blatant lies that Abu. F^^fi. a

glorify his master. All that we may co ^mere pig-siy-lype enclosure where o«

37. Ain 15, Aini Akbari Vol.

tion,

m. Rtobfl'" *unuU-

*IS

lcs< abducted women were herded up to hc a(

beck and call of the emptor's amours. le

If Muslim claims are subjected to such C |

l-cxamination their fraud can be exposed° ?

no time, Masters of historical methodology|lav

cro»-cwimination their fraud can be exposed*

no time. Masters of historical methodologyha

repeatedly emphasized that statementsj n chron*

clcs. especially mediaeval Muslim chronicles.

not be taken at their face value: that they shouldbe subjected to a detective-likc scrutiny, and thatevery case should be argued threadbare as a faw.

>er would do. These very wise principles havebeen given a clean go-by in the compilation of text

books of Indian history. The result has beendisastrous- It has burdened Indian history withblaram falsehoods which through repetition andsheer passage of time have acquired the sanctity oftruth.

•This examination of a cross-section of thebuilding claims made on Akbar's behair shouldalert students of Indian history to be very cautiouswhen studying Muslim chronicles. Very oftentruth is turned so topsy turvy that the very oppo*ite of what is claimed will be found to be correct.

We have already illustrated this by explaining that

whenever a Muslim ruler or courtier is creditedwith having raised a building or founded a town-ship that should be understood to mean that hcravaged, plundered or destroyed it as Akbar didwith the Hindu township of Nagarchain.

Where Muslim chronicjs say that templeswere destroyed and mosques were built what they

ally mean h that Hindu temples were seized andpui to use as mosques (and tombs).

Wicre Muslim chroniclesetofa, ,l

ot a Fcrozshah built a pa|,Cc wX&*m*bc

conceded even taking a very ,.lhj« *

lhal be, at the most. spcm am »» «KHindu building damaged when it was

,ep* r

nl0Sl invariably even thai paury*0nnttl ^

limes that sum was extracted fro* lhe£»»*

dcn subjects by levying a lax . SuchT^^adc for the repairs to Fatehpur Sikn laSSSFort in Agra are on record though they maiuurade as sums spent on building a new fori and

new Fatehpur Sikri. Akbar3* or any other Mui|jmruler did not lay even one single brick over another

at least in India. All that they did was that they

usurped and misused Hindu mansions.

Jestifying to this, Monserrate a Jesuit contem-

porary of Akbar, who observed mediaeval Muilim

Itfe and practices at close quarters remarks1*. .."the

Musalmans whose nature is indeed that of barba-

rians take no interest in such things (i.e. erecting

massive and ornate building* and township*

Their chronicles being scanty and unreliable *nt

full of old wives1

tales...

However I was told its M'

Is of a different tribe from mat

KBUded "J th* b00fcl

38. This point hai also been «p ^ moual

tilled : Some Blundct* ^ p,^-

Rescarch" and^^ft*.written by «he author ol ^ ^

39. P. 16, The Comment™"4 of

ibid.

IS said

320

been celebrated in our own limes. For it

thai 200 years tgo, the Mongols being In'ieaSOfa fmh DOUntr> to occupy. lefi their ancestralencampments, invaded India and settled at ivfe„

dho." This passage shows how Mu navJbeen bluffing generations of European visitors toIndia In 1579 when on!) 53 years had elapsed

since Babur the first Mogul invader established

himself in India. Muslim flatterers at Akhar'scourt had 1 he cheek to tell Monserrate that twohundred years earlier another Mongol tribe hadoccupied Central India and built the massive andmagnificent Hindu temples and mansions in

Mandavgarh. The statements of European scholars

which arethe result of mediaeval Musiim brainwash-

ing must not. therefore, be accepted without a

careful check-up and corroboration from other

unimpeachable sources.

Monserrate adds *°*'the religious zeal of the

Musalmans has destroyed all the idol temples

which used to be very numerous. In place of

Hindu temples, countless tombs and little shrines

f wicked and worthless Musalmans have been

reeled in which these men are worshipped with

vain superstition as though they were saints (Foot-

note:-The persons whose names stand out cons-

picuous in this business of destruction were

Atlauddiii Khilji and also Malik Naib Kafur.

Sikandar Lodi and Babui)."

Taking the evidence quoted above, into consi*

P. 27, t*i C Commcniartus bv Father Monserrate,

>b»d

maeration it is clear that the very \wiho

uprooted Hindu ima^ and"

'm "^mansions palaces and tcmpki* m<^* ***d residences have been credited mf*

buillthem, through fraudulent clahnsrSJ?^

juries of Mushm occupatton. h ^ZZthal

students, teachers and scholars of hmlarchaeology took a second look at |JJ£buildings in India with a view to trace fair uu«

history instead of relying on mere bluff and biUU4r

as hitherto. The guide rules mentioned above

provide the long lost key to a correct understanding

of India's mediaeval history which has been badly

tampered with, mutilated and fabricated all these

years.

^

123

CHAPTl R XXII

WN-E-ILAHI

Literally interpreted the term Din-c*1iahjrod's own religion

1

or system. This termhas been much abused, misunderstood and misusedin accounts Akbar's reign. In most Indianhist ones ii is lustily boosted as a wonderful religioninvented by Akbar by blending the golden charact-eristics of all religions known to him and it is

added for good measure lliat it was inspired bycompassionate concern for ihc temporal

happiness and spiritual bliss of his subjects, [f wegoto the root of all such fantastic praise heapedon an imaginary system hc find that it is muchado about nothing.

The term Din-c-Ilaht arose out of a constantacrimonious tussle and war of nerves between afiercely egotistic Akbar and a fiercely fanatic

priesthood consisting of qa/is. maulviaBtanas fed on archaic and antediluvian

notions. As art alt-powerful despot Akbar wouldn'tany restrictions placed on or any objections

*cdat Ins autocratic behaviour. CorrespondinglyMuslim priesthood was plagued by Akbai-'s

ST"1 '"roads imo t,lt-' Privacy of their marriedabduct Uieir wives and sisters to his own

11 compelling them to take spirituous£"""• :

'

Bdolhc' "defying drugs; and to

n»p1undcrort .fiscal ion of tMrJwaltbH will.

Incensed by such Ucemicm,

Viour they would rar, ^2?/^ind

fd place orthodox restra , nt *«£irled by flinging defiance at d**, J*!!

Ht

in iw ^vnotamT^etot^n52*sg followed his own religion, which wwc^*"

Thus, on a closer analysis, Wnt, H

flauntedas Akbar's wonderful rcli£lon hi2

turns out io be anti-reli^> n or a defence or ill

religious curbs on his licentious and autocratic

behaviour. This is exactly what a contemporary

Jesuit,Monserrate has recorded from pcrwnal

observation of Ak bar's court. A disappointed and

disgusted Monserrate justly complained "'wemay

justly suspect that Zeladinus (Jalaluddin Akbar)

had been led to summon the Christian pntsr* not

by any divine prompting but by curiosity and too

ardent an interest in hearing new things, or perlapi

by a desire to attempt the destruction of ma

souls, in some novel fashion...RodolfuMwouw

Jesuit priest) hoped that Zeladinus would

converted from a wicked life to the worrfup of

God, (Rudolfus) was delivered unscatn* ¥ «

from the midst of barbarious and fa*^Jroans, from many threatening «

r(i«arof

destruction. .He was murdered in W •

^ age on July 15, .583/*laMh*Dr>*

Monserrate is right in .M>«n* ,n. fof ibe

J*l was a diabolical system in«f^

dcMr..^:- n . crt,ik and^ruetbn of human souls.

Ovation.

L pP- 192-196, the Commentariui.2. r.

324

There are specific tif i * ascertain whether

system is a religion. Every religion has its<)XVn

shrines, temples, mosques or prayer hulls. Di„.e .

Ilahr had none such. Every religion has ;, pricsu

hood, which Pin-e-IIahi did no) Imve. Every

religion has some prayers which also Din-c-Ilahj

did not have. Every religion has some memphy.

steal explanation .iboiit the creation of ylc

universe and a philosophy for attaining salvation

,r its own concepi. Dm-c-ilahi had nothing of

these. Historians have therefore, blundered masserting thai Din-c-lluhi was a religion, withoui

applying any tests.

A footnote to the Commentarius says that

devotion to Akbar was the main tenet of Din-e-

llahi. This is absolutely true. As observed earlier

Akbar was a fiercely egotistic egoist whose vanity

made him desire that every human being bow

down to him as sovereign, plenipotentiary, prophet

and divinity all rolled into one.

Akbar's flouting the authority of- the Muilas is

often paraded as proof that he was not a fanatic

Muslim. This is not true. Firs) and foremost

Akbar was an egotist who wanted to he regarded

as God and prophet. But the hard core of his

heart was always that of a fanatic Muslim, wholly

Muslim and nothing but Muslim. Monserrate

cautions us against misunderstanding Akbar'* over!

moves or protestations. Monserrale -notes

(Akbar) went on in the samerati am (praising thc

Pope and asking the Portuguese pnest to kiss the

Pope's feet (when the Jesuit went to Buropa oil

Akbar's embassy; m proxy for him and bring sonic

325

ittcnmessage iron* ih

might have been

from

jfcfchmigiH nave been uu e^*»* ,h

christianking. He CVen doclJ*

«+.

ausalman and attributed no vZlf hc **ZNlLl

hammad. saying that he wail^**d«Jone

without a rival" Toll°w* ofc^

Since Akbar used to floutihe M

anfl0uncing that hc was no Mus|im**« b,

the

ijii

n0 lsubservient to

^ their religiousau

likelpoor maulvis and fanatic chronicler* lit'T?

*'

made it a convenient peg to hang - magainst Akbar on. As poor subjects

|fa mercy of a cruel despot lite Xi£SKjweapon they had to strike Akbar within th,

fanatic wrath, was to dub and condemn firm wrenegade and an apostate. In those days of religion,

orthodoxy the priesthood could threaten

a monarch with religious sanctions But

Akbar's wile more than matched his mauWi guile

resulting in the latter's impotent frothing, fretting

and fuming.

In order to cut the maulvis to siw and pui

them in place Akbar used to skip1 "the custom*)

Islamic prayers at the time appointed

Mohammad, and did not observe the monuYi ft*

called Ramadan. He frequently made jokes ml*

expense of Mohammad, especially at his

,hr«si out of doors without shoes.

acc»unt of his licentiousness. All this «g£"?*ny Musalmans and especially &*

^aJi Mansur)."

I'p. 64-65. i he Commen ian us, «»

ctoiph?.

327i

of AkbriiThe above description oi akmt reviling

prophet Mohammad, recorded by Monserrate tvc

pi .(v true. Bui if has to be properly understood

in running down Mohammad, Akbar wished him.

self to he regarded lis o prophet and God by all his

subjects This does nol mean thai he had shctl

any of his 111 itei ate Islamic fanaticism.

Akbar used to keep I lie maul vis guessing by

professing lo be impressed by other religions, This

was his mode of making I lie maulvis cower in the

fear that Akbar may at any time renounce Islam. If

the vereign look to another religion Ihcy knew

what thea fate would he. They would have been

either forcibly converted or tortured- to death. In

ludu that such a threat should be kept hanging

perpetually over their heads &o that they may not

raise >us objections to Akbar's despotic

and licentious behaviour he used lo often parade a

faked love for other religions. As part of this

ategem he used to have priests of other religions

surround him. This served a double purpbsi It

satisfied his vanity and egoism in being the

central figure admired by a throng of people

belonging to many faiths and regions, and

secondly it kept the Muslim maul vis at bay

or in leash. As pari of his make-believe.

Monserrate records, that when the Jesuit priests

m> i to the palace precincts 1 "Akbar (went i-

their quarters, and) prostrated himself on l*JJ

ground in adoration of the Christ and his mother-

* I'

* ommcniariuft, ibid,

Ported hofr

Vionserrate has also

kh;iri ime Islam reigned supZTL

lt_

fury. ^"*crraW^^u.|,iuir-i:'.'"

rrom Agra whieliii th€

P^puiju

;n,r iK ,

ami from Fatchpuran, vvhcreT*1 °f *•

destroyed aindcl temples which used toI

lumcrous. In place of Hindu templevery

countiestombs and little shrines of wicked and worthy

men

though

Vjusalmans have been erected m which those

arc worshipped with vain superstition as

they were saints/'

This should convince historians that all

mediaeval Muslim tombs and mosques in Indy

are erstwhile Hindu temples and mansions It

should also persuade them not to believe in the

sophistry that Muslim invaders aimed at u fusion

of Hindu and Muslim styles in the buildings ihcy

erected. It ts wrong, therefore, to explain away the

out and out Hindu architecture of Fatehpur Sikn.

a*, having been born of Akbar's fancy for Hindu

architecture. Firstly Akbar has been proved lo be

as fanatic as any other mediaeval Muslim

Sccondlv. as Monserrate slates, even in Akbar

times all Hindu idols and motifs used to be rut

-ly disfigured. In this context whei

thai in 1580 when the first Jesuit mission

and «»the fathers perceived from ar i £or Fatehpuram...they began to ga* f*™^est delight upon the great «Vnd ™ U*appearance of the en B

5 P. 26, ihc Commciitwriu*. W*6 P. 27, ibid*

328

Fatchpiu Sikri was a grand inhabited city even

before nSO, When lhal is so Muslim accounts

saying I auhpur Sikri was completed by 1583-85

, irc .11 concoction* I veil after completion howmany years woutd it take tor about two hundred

thousand people to occupy the city and hold regul-

ar bazars as Fatehpur Sikri is stated to have had ?

Monserrate states7 "wliai ever pertains to

digressions from the direct course o( my narrative

J have gathered primarily from King Zclaluddin

< Akbar) himself." This explains wh\ he attributes

Fatehpur Sikri to Akbar As a vain egoist Akbar

wouldn't confess that he lived in a second hand

Hindu township conquered by his grandfather

Babur He misrepresented it as having been

newly constructed by himself Apparently disma-

yed at seeing no sign of recent construction

Monserrate exclaims that if it was so constructed it

must have been raised overnight as though by divine

magic with material fashioned in distant quarries

and silently piled and fixed in place.

fi"The number of adherents of the Divine Faith.

Akbar's political sham religion, was never conside-

rable. Blochmann has collected from Abul Fazal

and Badayuni the names of 18 prominent members.

Raja Birbdl being the only Hindu in the list.. .The

organism cannot well have survived the murder

Abul Fa*al (because according to Badayuni he

was an areh flatterer who mobilized people to

7. Momciuic\ introduction to the ComnicnUrius

». Ii tfM60i Akbar the Great M«yul, by Vincent Smiih.

ibid

329

sWCaralt temporal and spihtUtl

vieitceand adherence to Akhan.

fa?T*' ***<-

t0 say. and of course it ceased to 'fl**ufl0

^cathof Akbar...The whole ichc^Clh^ ,hc

mc of ridiculous vanity, a rn^Z^t,imrcstramed

autocracy The Divine Faith 1 *

Unument of Akbafs folly, notllfJ^(

i

Smith is right in dubbing the Din-e-Uaht at .

sham political religion arising out of AkbaViridiculous vanity and monstrous autocracy.

•»The truth is that Akbar's pretended 'religion'

consisted essentially in the assertion of his personal

supremacy over things spiritual as welt as things

temporal (He assumed primacy of the Mtttlim

faith by means of the infallibility decree),"

10Bartoli writes on the authority of his mis*

sionary bretheren that Akbar, summoning a general

council "sent a distinguished old man to proclaim

in all quarters... - the law to be professed through-

out the Mogul empire ....The four degrees of

devotion to His Majesty consisted in radii*

to sacrifice property, life, honour and religion.

The above four requirements give ui * *Jf

picture of what Akbar, mud, boc£^was. He wanted

honour,

Akbar's

everyone *~

property and;religion "^^ „,,..

mercy and disposal. *?££* aod

was renouncing the authority oi ^^qazis. Surrender] us life *nd Propw

9. P. 153, Akbar the Great W10. Pp. 152-154, ibid.

gul, i*"*

« MIS w increase his wealth and extend hH

Ml , hnpKcation of surrendering 0nc\

SST^ib undertaking not to object to Akb^,

ivnuind if any. for sodomy and lifting wonici,

from ihc.r n.nniics for his own or his courtkn'

or gOCSte* harems.

11 was tMit natural, therefore, for a few abject

flatterers alone, like Abul Faxal and Birbar, to

kowtow to those humiliating conditions of despotic

autocracy. Thi> was no religion but a ganging up

r personal aggrandizement.

With a view to make the Islamic priesthood

powerless Akbar. 11, "at the end of June 1579, dis-

placed the regulai preacher at the so-called chief

mosque in Faichpuri Sikri. In order to emphasize

disposition of spiritual leader of the nation, to

which he laid claim, (he) availed himself of certain

alleged ancient precedents and resolved to recite the

khuiba himself. The use of the ambiguous phrase

Allahu Akbar gave colour to the most extreme

criticism...Even Abul Fazal admits thai the innova-

tion aroused much uneasy feeling .At times he

allowed himself to fancy that in his own person he

had bridged the gulf between the finite and the

Infinite His learned and skilful flatterers Abul

Fazal. Faizj and the rest were only too willing to

lull In. mind with such notions, and he after the

manner of kings swallowed flattery with pleasure."

e term "Allahu Akbar" means "Allah Uf jreat: But it also connotes that "Akbar himself

531

Allauddin Khilji who ruled over D»i h-

generations before Akbar had ,jmiiarlj* * **

fhe sec, desire to displace both Moh^^Allah himself But Akbar and Allauadin both

failed to be hailed as spiritual leaden. Tharemained what they were, namely cruel sadist

tyrants and despots. They failed to inspire any

spiritual allegiance because they had nothing tpiri-

lual in them. Their entire make-up wiftur un-

restrained licentiousness.

A typical instance of how Indian histories

are based on wishful thinking and unverified hearsay

is the following passage :

ta "Akbar showed equal

attention to religious men of all creed* and

grant of subsistance allowances for the suppoi

Hindu, Jain and Parsee scholars, saints.and id«

institutions as well as those of Mata* i

testified by a number or extant royal n^m

edicts preserved in K.M. ^erl^*nUTo

entitled Royal Firmans M«y i«-J^ £Hindu scholars, and same* anc « ^ ^^Hindu temples in many other pari* m .

must have been made tollowmi' Ucd w

:ely most of the granbdeeds hi« I*

nately

II l»P 125129, ibid

12. Pp. 238-239, Vol. I 'v

Shrlvasuwa.

Or:l«-M5

.132 »3

«*». «««m ncgloc. and wear and ,ear of *£%!£*S *" h'« «•time. *>'"., ,.. i . .

Ie**«ittii *..tunc

The assumption that Akbar treated all religions

on a par is wrong. Throughout this book Wc havequoted many contemporaries and many events

proving that Akbar was a fanatic Muslim and acruel tyrant If his equal regard for all religions

is sought to be defended on the ground that he

always used to have at his court monks from

various creeds like Christianity, Zoroast: nanism and

Jainism. we have already pointed out that Akbarhad those men all around him for two chief frau-

dulent reasons. His vanity felt ingratiated by having

his own person surrounded by men from different

faiths and regions, looking up to him for protection

and favour Their presence was also meant ot be

a constant threat to the Muslim maul vis that if

they ever ventured to assert I heir religious autho-

rity over the emperor he would embrace some

other religion and then wreak vengeance on them.

The gambit of moving bishops of other faiths

like pawns into his ambii was a part of Akbar's

nefarious political game.

Moreover, it has been shown by us that

Akbar's decrees insofar as they professed to give

generous donations or protection to people or

shrines of other faiths, were all sham and make

believe. They were never intended to be carried

out. That is why we find priest after priest comingand over and over again begging for abolition of

the discriminatory Jiziya tax, and protection from

Muslim atrocities, Akbar had no scruples in

appearing to be very sublime, generous, forbearing.

to tf hf

s

f

ouf bul ^mn<£t**"+*threshold of the palace he f if.tli re md *°»*hi

;orld of usury, extortion, mi^ tJ

;llldponderous swoops,

| n ^ J*md dangerous travel-modes

ii *ai £*!pay a second visit to the emperor. Evwff?(T , u-visil were undertaken there *ano«Zf^ an audience would be granted, or thai"

emperor was in good heahh w *^ .„ „„^Very often Akbar used to be <

i u |n ,,,„.rf

all these difficulties a second visit did materi I the

same game of empty assurances used to

all over again. There was a tacit undersi...

between Akbar and his officials thai Im onk

pretending to be fair and genr u ere not mto be executed. The visitors themselves, ever

though sorely disappointed in finding thai A

orders were for mere make-believe, i

preserved or paraded those orders and inscrW

them on shrines so that the} mayicwi

scarecrows and totems to proton »"

their shrines from molestation and (ft*

official marauders who might once »*taken in by those fake orders beiafl mmtheir mere show value.

. ..,,. Akbar twd «*wl

Soon after asset tins thai ^ ^regard for all religions and p.

adds "-Akbur every *&*£*« i***"»ry of prophet Mohammad !

13. R 244, ibid

m

mthat he remained a fanatic Muslim. Had he nheen so he would have equally meticulously Q^served and celebrated the birthdays of Lords Ramiand Krishna, revered by the Hindus who formeda vast majority of Akbar*s hapless subjects. Onthe contrary Akbar is known to have paid at least

superficial homage to Christ and Mary but henever prostrated himself before Hindu or Jaj nidols. The reason is again found in his political

expediency. He wanted to humour and hoodwinkthe Portuguese because he desired from them acontinuous supply of their superior armament for

his aggressive campaigns and he sought exit andentry facilities, specially for the Mecca n pilgrimage

at the west coast ports which the Portuguesecontrolled.

M**On FridayJune 26. 1579 (Akbar mountedthe pulpit in the grand Jami Mosque of FatehpurSikri and recited Khutba (proclamation). Accord-ing to Badayuni Akbar stammered and trembled

while reading it and had to be helped descend the

pulpit. He asked the khatib (priest) to read the

remaining pan It was believed by some (hat the

emperor was inspired by some ulterior motive..,

Within two months of the reading of the KhutbaAkbar took the bold slep of declaring himself to

be the chief interpreter and arbiter of the Shar or

Muslim law This was done through a doeumenicalled Mahzar, to which he secured the signatures

of the prominent ulema of his court... Badayuni

correctly observes he was not inclined to brook

U I'P 240-244, Vol. I, Akbar the Grem, ibid

ftieidca of subordination to jscCl1 |ar. (By thai ^cr^.

bar was authorized to pr(y

'

n

law provided that it * a <-

„

vcl se of the Quran..The decree n!•

11

,,

KClar. (By that decree .JJmini.. 'hlt)ii»,

n

Akbar'"••I

oJ law provided lhai it wa8^coTvcrsc of the Quran.. 1 h, decree^V .

ad on Akbar wide powers ami^ COn,<"-

in its o

and 'l

'"%ii

dld , H,t make him a mujtahid,,, l"

1

;

1

",

mUch less the supreme head „rthc Musi^bu»F.»l admit, that the two£££*great dissatisfaction and unrest

1'

The above passage is B clear Amission,ha .

Akbar remained at the core of his heart a fitnoi

Muslim. All that he craved was .upreme pontifical

authority over the destinies of men to do just what

he pleased unhampered, unquestioned or unobject-

ed to. He continued to think cxcfusiu-ly m terms

of I he Koran and the Muslim law, Therefore all

talk of bis trying to synthesize all religions or

pay equal respect to all religions is sdf-contradic-

lory bunkum.

lfi,*Frorn amongst the Hindus tml) Birbai ***

came a disciple. So serious a historian as

asserts that by means of bribery and1^»more or less prominent converts **

(Cambridge History of India. * IW^id thai if discipleship meam willing

|

fee one's life he was already one.

r ^ n

a Person had to approach the cm] ^ !k

hand, and place it at the ep*«£pbcc the

emperor would then make hn« \fl|(

ll[Kn.

an on his head and give hm

. i vl sh«W15. Pp. 255-257. Akbur, by J- sl

Hind

diitg

m

i

331

h - .. re cneraved Ulfl name of Akbar and Uic

1 '; M hu Vkhar- .

Din-c-Jluli. vra -by nom^

r; i—

<Attfc.ni... i. Wtt

U^ofderwliosc^rpose Perhaps was veoeta-

rion for its author"

\\c fully agree with the learned author. The

verv Mie* ©f initiation proves that Din-c-tlahi

demanded total subjection to Akbar's person and

,ot adherence 10 any rules of conduct Mansirgn's

remark too it revealing- He s&w very clearly t,

Akbar demanded only personal loyalty sans reli-

n. sans morals and sans scruples which all his

oges, courtiers and others conceded to him in

fti]| measure even without his ostensibly asking for

it because of the dread of Akbar's vengeance.

Akbar further desired them to swear by it. renou-

nce their fear, if any. of Muslim priests outlawing

any of his immoral practices, and holding him m

such awe and respect as though he were divinity

.If

One who flouts an existing religion is not

nccc sarily tbefoundei if anothei religion Take

he instance of a son who refuses to conform to

mother's or grandmother's orthodox rules on

the specious plea that as a •modern' he did not

believe in antiquated notions of religion, and that

he had his own religion. That callous disregard

for the religious susceptibilities of the elders by 8

thoughtless youth amounts to the uprooting of U

old, established religion bin does not in the lcast

amuunt to the founding of a new religion.

the same anal <>y we may say that Akbar's haughty

rejection oft! authority of fanatic maulvis be-

cause they nmted Akb.^nfolk does not prove*

£ founder of anj new ^^rather

proves that he was the{***

-.**

p human decency. *°«*«U| „£f human decency.

[t must be rememberedthat iil.

inverted even himself. Had h, rZ!?**'

rclig ion he would have declared CS ' *•

everybody else, to be the first adW ',***

, Muslim. He would in that cist tit 2S!religion, and that he was no longer to be r<

his own name and that of his vim and chilZHe would have driven out the MusUiaeldgySreplaced it by that ol his new faith, had it beta

reality, With Akbar's pretensions to sainthood

d his great military might he could hit &.

ed thousands had he really founded any new ft

even as Muslims tortured and threatened millions

all over the world to join their faiih.

In view of what we have said above we hope

that authors, scholars, students, teacbea

examiners of history would stop making a Teiiib

of Din-e-Ilahi as a religion, and see it in fe "uc

colours namelv thai it was a system (a* Mobs

ate says) for the destruction of souls and tc>

en» *

complete surrender and submission to Atwr j

^ of one's life, property ^our^X% **no stretch of imagination can this <

g«on. Nor can it be glorified on an> ^^*as a pernicious system which create

h«wd all around and led to several

'

y

:,„

Ida,

I''

C£WM£.

Chapter .07//

THE LUSTRELESS GEMS

Like every Olher aspect of Akbar's reign some

historical texts try lo boost Akbar as a great patron

of arts, literature and able men. Am such we are

lotd that his court was adorned among others by

nine men who were veritable gems whose lustre

shed additional glory on Akbar's benevolent (sic)

reign.

The evidence on record proves that they were

all worthless panders, stooges, flatterers and oppor*

tunists who by their abject subjection to Akbar's

autocratic despotism had ceased to have any con-

science or scruples.

A 1 1 he outset we have Akbar's own appraisal

• f the wonhlessnessof his ministers. He says !*'It was

grace of Allah that 1 found no capable minister,

otherwise people would have considered that mymeasures had been devised by him/* Since Abul

Fazal, himself one of Akbar's ministers and classi-

fied as algpm\ has recorded Akbar's none-iot-

complimenlary appraisal of his ministers there

should be no doubt that they were all lack-lustre

DOS undeservedly boosted by doting historians.

The nine individuals often classified as special

class gems (sic) of Akbar"s court are: I. Abul Fazal

1 * 2 Akbar the Great Mogul, ibid. ?. Kl. Akjwr.

•tod 387. v„i tu Abul Fail's Am-i-A1(b 'trl

U»n*l. 1 fey H. S Jarrci

hir)nr

339

,AbulFaizi 3. Todarmal 4 u

ITanscn9. Hak.m Humam.

It is already mentionedahm-c

n0t have the slightest regard for m*f

*** *«

of them had any memorial raj^T,* N

Akbar, and none of them ha\ Cv« h.,lrT| bT

emulated by posterity.oecn

Huottd *

Abul Fazal Ailami was the so

Mubarak. He was horn near Agra d„" 1!

Sbnkh

1551 and was ambushed and Z^S *

Crown Prince Jchanges orders on Aueuu 9 11

12, 1602 while proceeding from Suraj Burkivill^

to Antri six miles away,

Abul Fazal was an Arab. His jncesirr Sheikh

Must was a resident of Arabia. In the mcentury his forefathers accompanied some Muslim

invaders to Sind. From there Abul Fazal's grand

fattier Sheikh Khiz. an itinerant Mir moved 10

Nagor near Ajmcr. There Sheikh M> (father

of Abul Fazal) was born. Soon after hi

faiher and other member* of the family perished in

« famine. Sheikh Mubarak in hn

reached Ahmcdabad and stayed there for so«ul

Km Later he moved to a village mi

'^ing shelter with a fakir, a Sunni btil W"*"**10 »hc Shi, sect. Reports of his beuv

"*** conveyed to Akbar. The bittr

**the Shias ordered Sheikh Mn*

**h Mubarak convinced that Afcbjrg &^ murdered left his two young *

Abul Fazal at Agra and turned 1m lugiu

340

fled to seek shelter with Salim Chisti. The younger

of the two was A hul Fazal. I le was introduced to

Akhar in 1574 by his elder brother FaizL

Abul Fazal when fir*t introduced to Akbar,

in 1574 A. D. failed to make any impression on

Akbar. Abul Fazal cursed his fate since he was

sure thai once he go! an opportunity to be near

Akbar he could worm his way into Akbar' s heart.

Expressing his keen disappointment at being spur-

ned by Akbar Abul Fazal records in the Akbarnamas"As fortune did not first assist me 1 almost became

selfish and conceited. The pride of learning had

made my brain drunk with the idea of seclusion.

The advice of my father with difficulty kept meback from outbreaks of folly. I was sick of the

learned of my own land1

This shows how Abul

Fazal hankered for a life of luxury and royal patro-

nage at court.

"When Abul Fazal was introduced at court at

Agra Akbar was busily engaged with his prepara-

tions for the conquest of Bihar and Bengal. Abul

Fazal attended court immediately on the emperor's

return to Fat ehpur Sikri where Akbar happened

to notice him first in the Jami Mosque."

About Abul Fazai's innate knack for flattery

which ingratiated him with emperor Akbar Bloeh-

rnann notes in the preface to the Ain-i-Akbari

"Abul Fazal has far too often been accused by

European authors of flattery and even of wilful

concealment of facts damaging to the reputation

of his master."

Preface, AiiM.Akbari, Vol. Ill, translated by H.

BJoclunitn.il

34)

footfci

Towards the end of i«te ,

died.Ab* H*g

**The courtiers

jeftaogir were against AbuTpa^ ^m a ,

visitby Jehangir to Abul Fa*alt:

An **£|eiU

opportunity to charge f1L?*M**Faza|vk-i excel

entering the house he "foniT^!1'^^copying commentaries on then

* r 'lcr* bui

>

,follow him at once, he l0ok t hei?, ^Sihem

and showing the copies Jehangir,ii /mpeT0

'.

Fazal teaches me is quite different fAbul

practices in the house.' ** ' m *hai he

This incident perhaps convinced aw.Abul Fazal was the right man to be Lt * **

where Machiavellism was a dowt^-Towards the end of 159: A, D. Akbar «-

moted Fazal to Du-Hazari (i. e, to a status of a

commander of 2,000 footmen). He now belonged

to the great amirs (Umra-i Kibar) at court.

His father died at Lahore on Sunday, Septem*

oer4, 1593 at the age of 90.

Two years later Fazai's elder brother E

also died, at the age of 50 (October 5. 1595.J

In the 43rd year of Akbar's reign Fazal wa*

Sent on active service for the first time. Prince \luwd

ha<i not managed matters very well m Uic

a^ therefore Fazal was sen! to return with

^excessive drinking caused tlie<mr*ro

*n^Y. On the day thai Abul ?w\ amved if

3- Preface, ibid.

XftTjCera

542

,okos from Daulatabad on the banks of

py(urftd died. Fazal continued the'

, "tcrcd into a ueaty with Chund

5Rj»*n regent of the Nizamshahi king-

dom of A hmednagar.

Inlhc j7ih vcar of Akbar's reign Abul Fazal

,*« ret tiled mtJl mtcnt to send him against prince

, Jehangir who was then, in revolt and

I *ct him^cll up a* emperor in Allahabad. Hear-

u Abul Faial had started from Ins camp in

I he wnitfl 10 counter hi* revolt, Jehangir asked Bir

Singh Deo Bundcla to ambush Abul Fazal and slay

tamos he passed through the Bundela's Orchha

principality.

\hu! Fazal and his part> were set upon from

all sides while Abul Fazal lay under a tree. Fazal

received 12 wounds and was finally transfixed with

a spear His head was severed from the body and

forwarded to Jehangir in Allahabad, Jehangir with

great glee flung U in a heap or filth. That was

p-.rhaps deserved divine punishment for a mouthwhich had sung undeserved praises of a degenerateA) bar and burdened history with heaps of shame-less falsehood*.

Jehangir held Abul Fazal in great dread.^'winjMhat he held Akbar's confidence Abulart lued to brQwbeaUehangJT and tick him off

«J AkUffi presence in the supercilious maimerwelWuher Conscious of Abul

ihttlwuiL i r t

Hc4^«n his Memoirs«*» work Abul Fazal w*s With (he ^^ he

343

dared not approach his own rather 4m r

tliat Ahul Fazal would prejudice AVh?fc "1r

jehangir by some insinuating ZTl ttfi

tinsl

almost barred from approachft, uu'*' ™UI

Jehangir plotted Abul Fail's mJe'"1Cr

Abul Fazal had all lire v«s that a man ahnu(a Muslim court could have, M c is fiunoui for hisgluttom It is said that exclusive uf water heconsumed daily 22 scerl of tood When he wasaway from Akbar; ai. the >upreme commander

of the Mogul army in t'nc Dcccan "his tabic luxury

exceeded all belief. In an immense tent one thou-

sand rich dishes were daily served"'

Abul Fazal had a foster brother anil two otj

brothers born uf conaihmes kepi by ho futiier

Sheikh Mubarak, He had also at least four sisters.

so far js is known.

That Akhar consul *%»*££importance map dip *"?*22f?mon Jd.angir tor &S^ert «ver n»4y

because he had ^ <%"£&,«.«< ,h< I I

to curry favour with »"" ™"

one didn't mauer mud, .oh-n,

„„ -.in hurt Anul I"'*" 1 ,0*n

contemporary P^'M^m" *' now. *»

at Aktar's court and,rm**rvtag.

oj**

Ahul Wf ',...„ ,,.,iu "ap**'"*"*-

laithk-.,.^" 1 " 11 ""-,, „,,„;„:

., Batterer K-'"1

4 P. -""X '' „ Bnaiy«n*'»

clirollk,cIbid.

Hindu

fiq

TO

344

Thus most European authors, Jehniiifr andBadayuni arc unarm nous in certifying that AbulFazal wjv a shameless rattcrcr.

h is therefore That hit \in-i-Akbari chronicleof Akbar^ reign must be kindled with great, cauti-on. I here are many things thai Abul Fatal hasskipped over or grossly misrepresented Followingin the footsteps of his elder brother Faizi who usedto compose poems in Ubar\ praise Fazal hit uponthe idea of singfng the cmptror's praises jnjprose.Gradually and unwittingly he found himself writinghighly imaginative accounts of happenings atAk bar's court. These he would show to Akbar.The latter gratified in finding J flatterer who couldeffectively present his cruel and crafty deeds man

rccable shroud of fabricated glory to hood-wink the people at court and the general public,suffered Abul Fazal to continue his literaryficuon. Thus both Akbar and Abul Fazalcolluded in fabricating a fraudulent fabric ofAkbars reign, now known as Akbamama orAin-i-Akbari

In undertaking this labour of love Fazal assu-red lor himself a cosy and easy job at courtwith all luxuries from kitchen delicacies to the

proximity of a teeming harem at the royal court,thrown in for good measure. This occupation wasalso a good excuse for him to shun all field assign-ments where intrigues, incessant warfare, privationsand usics made life precarious.

Staying at court writing the empror's panegy-ric* also ensured for him a strategic position from

143

w^re he could make and

othersas well as reU.n for him*elfa l of

position with the emperor so lhw***. ^

bask in the sunshtneof impend^ **

ith cway

These conside r.t.ons made Abut fniorc or a confirmed

flatterer 25passing day at court Abul Fwa| maiuied

'

experl at matching his fulsomc „

*

lhc changing moods fanc,cst wMia*££

mcnis of Akbar. The resulting Aktanni »therefore, not a truthful account of Akh. 2but a vs ishful concoction. All those who care tm

academic truth, and hate falsehood must bear thU

in mind when handling Abul FazalV|

matter any Muslim chronicle.

In order that his cuj>hy and strategic assign-

ment may never end Abul I azal kepi mflafu)

expanding the chronicle into an iiuci m in iibk account

of tents and shamianas, bazar rates, market g

couti rumours, religious discussions,

concocted sayings, accounts of Toms, Dick

Harrys at court and everything d* «* **

or conceived. Like Penelope's ** * ££wauled the account to end until he or a ^It is therefore that lie neve. quoJ« ^Vl^and his statist.es about ™*»£^*revenue and bazar rates arc « ec

vague.

L - l ,r tit MSmith says^-I do not tninj

appraisal of Abul Faal)!* 1* 1

at

* Hindu

"term

e

-r --^

TJ

'.j I

undine Rlochmnnn's opinion lo rhc contraihc author of the Akbarnama and Am-i-Afch

,

was a consummate and shameless flatterer. Almostrs considered detrimental to Akbar's

renown i»re suppressed, glossed over, or occasion-ally even falsified Kb books are one-sided panelgyrfci Aotil Fazal availed himself of i nc libertyallowed h\ hi- £jon in his relatioriswith womenHe had at teflSl rhc canonical tour wives. He had.. prodigious appetite rivalling thai of SultanMohammad Bighara of Gnjerrat (Footnote: Hemarried Hindu Persian and Kashmiri wives, inaddition to a lads or Jn honourable house " Hesays the cxira contorts were occasions ofgreat joy

him An Vol HI. page 449... He had a goodconceit of himself as appears from the concludingparagraphs or the autobiography, found in AinVol 01, 417-451)

The reader may well assess the character of anAbul Fazal who was a glutton and a 'shamelessflatterer* and who wielded unlimited power in anat it. ,tc seething vs ith intrigue, and who smacksli

;

academic lips in nostalgic delight recalling hislecherous rexclries with a wide assortment ofwomen, aome ofwhom at least, according to hisown confession, were of ,11 fame and mean status,

'Urse when Abul Fazal mentions a lady of anI house he means a Muslim woman.

ers wh... he implies, were rtol of an honourablewere abducted and kidnapped Hindu women

•ding lo tin: jargon and terminology ofMushm chronicle

347

—- -« ^ bu| F

-Abul Fazal displaysunbh,

i

(torunning down Bchranj Kha^

...and even lavishesunsiinicd J!

'

Mohammad, the worst of Akba r\ Pi r

Btthia period,"l!

•---r

,

'•'The same Abul Fazal who t

tious deed (or Maham AnBff , h

of Akbar's harem slau.htcrm^wobc^K"1

led Hindu women U. tamed mba/Bahadw, hom, after defeat mgB.zBahudmMtason Adham Khan sought to appr. ..^cocking a snook iit Akbar. An enraged Aihwjourneyed all the way from Agra to Central India to

secure the entire haremofBaz Bahadur for Mimdf

His general Adham Khun Surprised by tkcmptr

unexpected visit surrendered all the women en

the two cho ice beaut ies mentioned iib en Alt-

bar was informed of it he ordered tbatAdhai

be brought to book. Maham Anag

much of in flattering accounts of Akl

had those two women murdered in cold r

villainously observing that 'dead uomeati

^o that her son mav besaved front Aktw

by pleading that the women concerned

been retained bv him but had

» not ashamed to praise mew"1 '

P«acity of the guilty woman/ Abu.

wfers to Maham Anaga am

A*»gn in glorifying terms such » P

* P. 33. Akb.tr the Gred '

,M

7 P 8ft, ihid.

SI

*lko(

=1*?

^

m

348

vfftU&' They deserved his meed because, knowing

as we do Abut nazal's Licentious weakness f0r

women, it was but natural for him to be supplied

with a wide assortment and variety of abducted

sweet-hearts from Ak bar's ever-growing harempool, by Those two women and other so-called v,

i

nurses who managed the women-herd.

8 **A bul Fazal slurs over the crimes of Pj r

Mohammad and laments "so loyal, able and gallant

a man underwent such a fate* {namely, was drown*

ed)."

•**Abul Fazal relates this horrid barbarity (of

Mohammad Miralc being tortured for five successive

days by being trussed up in a wooden frame to be

tossed and flung by an elephant) without a word

of censure,"

""'At Shahbad, midway between Thaneshwarand Ambala, on a tree adjoining Kot KachhwahaShah Mansur (Akbar's Finance Minister) was

solemnly hanged (on a charge of treason), Abul

Fazal suppresses the informal ion that he was

entrusted with the unpleasant duty of execution

which is known only from Monserrate." Tins adds

a new dimension and a rare 'lustre' (sic) to Abul

Fazal's versatile genius for he has been earlier

described as a womanizer, flatterer and glutton, and

now he turns out to be even a hangman. He was

truly a minister since lie ministered to every

demand nf Akbar. He was thus a perfect factotum

ready to play any part at Akbar's bidding front

pen-pushing to stabbing and hanging.

149

S. P. 42. ibid. 9. P. 58. ibid. 10. Pp. 1J7-M2,''

»*• Notwithstanding the fineiHris

general tolerance which occupy *<*»* 4**the writings of Ahul Fazal and

"g»ipi*

Akbar tmat

committed

acts of f,C rce

tht T** m

»=Abul Fazal mel his death in the s2nd

pf his age The theologian wim

to WW?* <° A^bar the idea of m£ \spiritual as well as the lempnral gu,daiofhtpeople, succeeded in 1574, by meant of* U mcommentan in attracting the attcnti. ,^

emperor. Having once entered on the road to

advancement he took good care la bob hii

continual progress, His favour at court became so

marked thai the Jesuits speak of himasuVwJonathan." Incidentally ihe fact that a atujj

the Koran proved to be Abul Fa/ulS p.i^pftfi to

Akbar's heart proves once again thai AltaiNnever ceased to le a fanatic Muslim.

»"Ahu] Faial's prose style, as read hi

Bevcridac's translation of the Akbani--

able to me. Sirrbk facts are iffappca '"J *

of almost meaningless rhetoric.'

Even .hough Indian author,

arc not m, oulspken as bm*»>» ^Muslims arc to be aPP™'^,8*

lh«

is si/c. encompWHiigthttt

"uMims Lire io uc «*i f .,||(

Dr. Sitrivastavrt book titled "

M™ ^ ,„,,,

and its si/e. eiconipassnigtUref ^fttt he has o spechiH) wjfl a^Jj^ h0-»

\inil Fazal yet even in hik

tones come in for adverse now*-

'«- p. maid. '2*»* )'

2£

«Buc

Hmrjy

uttfuif

V

icjJ

rJ50

ni Shrtvastavtt's reverence for Abul Fajal ;md

Hctitfoua Vkbarnamn is apparent from Di.

S ,aMava\s preface to his book "Akbar t|lc

Great.' Tltf teamed author states "Abu| Fazal's

Akbinn;]ma must alwajrs remain the most valuable

,, source (compared 10 other accounts) of

Akbart life and times 85 its author had made use

state records and other dceumertta including

ic aide roemoires, which included \erbaiim every-

thing that Akbar said 01 did and which was

rccnrdiJ there mid I hen by writers who were

employed on this duty These records and aide

mcmuii s have unfortunate!) perished, but Abul

Fa / ifs work remains as ii was, without any

diminuirik n ns interpolation; (Vincent Smith)

was Injihly distrustful of Ahul Fazal whom he

unjust h accused of deliberate perversion of facts

smd even of forgery."

D Shrivastava is wrong in thinking thar

verbatim r»c«rds of all that Akhar said or did

intamed in Akbar's time. The very fact

that none of those records have come down to usshould be an eye-opener. That those records

perishci is as specious a plea as the

winch maint.iins thai Akbar built a mightyn y - billed Nagarchaui Much became so defunctthin his own lifetime as to leave not even the

*ttg trace of iis locaiion. Similar is the casewnh tic Agra which Sikandar Lodi. and the

- winch Httmayun and Shcr Shah are claimedhave founded We hope studcnls. and teachers of

' history will no t hereafter pm pathetic faithin such fraudulent assertions,

151

Since there were no record «rqu ...,, on ol Ahul Fa,al mrJ^ atem^

^ence matenat does not trilT^St

beingan executioner of his colleag^", (cr ,

and a shtelder ol mJd^^J-H^hamnwd and Vtaham Anaga

Abul f *

r

hardly the man who would '^Tht

!7* *»

basing his statements on court docao

ameticulous regard for Tru , h wheit W|

;

^gtnation could devjseand ^v lllcgrdndll ^accounts of his master s nctitjout dory.

We. therefore find \ „ Smith's apnrai

more accurate. Perhaps even Vinccai Smith felt

the want oi propei vords which tould exjutsihii

Igony on reading Abul Final's academic perfidy

lhat goes by the name of -Ubarnama.

Despite Dr. Shrivastava's rexercritulswc

Abul Fazal's historical genius he Is constrained to

word ll> \bul Fazal's itvle is samewhal iJwohd

and vitiated by his fulsome flattery of hi* patron

whom he considered a superman.

ttshouldbeevide.it to anyone thai

*d and devious style is always the H>devious mind which strives hard

Ntertn.il. by circuitous *«*£«„%oud it with the flurry ofluiw

Secondly, it is unjust to Abul lmltW¥atA

believed Akbar to be a sup;

^a superman. \bu1 Fazal had uorrec >

isi

c Hindu

rr;

ical

'4. |>p 4c.b-409f

'hiJ

J52

•Ukir ;*s .1 vengeful despot, and as a shrewd mol i lie world Abut Fazal took core to remain

<

tin i.du vide of Akbur. That was the only NV[l

"

he could live uid live well under Akhar.

Since Akbar had no dearth of flatterers hehardly mis^d hazal when the latter was murderedIc hi nip to this Dr. Shnvasiava remarks "Akbardid noi consider lum tAbul Fazal) indispensable

did not always accept his nd vice, and more thanOtice punished him publich by forbidding himcourt. A small unpretentious tomb was erectedover f Abul Fazal's) body" Even that triangular

mound of brick and lime was not commissionedby Akbar but by some local VTuslims. Even thai

was completely Ignored as is apparent from thefact that only about 40 years back some archaeo-

loai departmen t i fliciafs tried lo locate Abul Fazal's

tomb guided b\ vague historical descriptions ol

the amnuscade. They came across a cluster of

tombs all around since in the 1 ,000-ycar- long

Hindu resistance to Muslim onslaughts there are

dusters of tombs found all over the country. Thearchaeology officials bv an academic fiat arbitrarily

identified one among several clusters of tombs as

lie which should include Abul Fazal's tomb Thethat one was half a fool or one foot taller than

the others in that cluster of graves clinched the

i sue with ihem Thai grave has since then been

stamped in archaeological records as Abul FazalXand official machinery was set into motion CO

maintain that grave. A small room was then built

over the grave

We thus e how Akbar hardly cared even to

mark the sit where one of his much vaunted

353

. was murdered, noti ux.

lificcnt tomb, for whfch ^Z *>i*,

i0Ch a proclivity This i„slan^ M^^fve us a gu.de to historians t« r

>Sled

palat.aHombsareer,Uvhi,tH ;

*.

Spies and mansions which came3«**5. of Muslim conquerors.

1n ^ .

L«. where no Hindu palaces orl*^**^.j ,rby -^'PP^dmthecaseor^Xj

ishadioremaincontem^hhunprcC

1|S gravenu'unds. The> were noi as lucky

a^ts of Akbar, Jehangir, Muminz Begum or Hu-

Jgyun iii gel lofty Hindu edifices far their burnt.

When Jehangir exposed Abul Faial'ityj

crny to Akbar the latter ostensibly fawned on

Hbul Fazal. But Dr. Shrivasura fcchihatu -Thii

|Sprobably done to please Salim, for the

tortan uas restored io favour within a fa*

s,' This is proof of the collusion betvi

Akbar and A luil Fazal. Dr Shrhuttm*! Wtf

iluu Abul Fa/ul was a hisioriun. is howewmfe-

pliiced and unjustified.

(2) Abul Faizi the elder brother of Abul Fazal

K reckoned as another gem of Akbun court ™I said to have been a pJtt though he

quoted or included in any respect^ «£*I ,„,,„, ,„,,„ 0II September WW*

Introduced to Akbar in I* „" j^hwl Jled \gra since he wa* &** '

ftalAkbui wanted to execute turn.

wmctime employed is atutoi

^ler 1 1 was appointed Sadai

TTT46I. AkburllicGre.it-ibid

in

ttf

I Himh

1 0«

-

nr mil honoured with a poet laureate. He an<J

\mir KhusnJ are reckoned as two noteworthy

wn poets among Muslims in mediaeval India.

to have authored 101 books. Such

darrw mu*t however he properly and meticulously

investigated before being believed. Ftuzi was at

times deputed as an envoj In 1592 lie visited the

Deeean on one such mission He suffered fromOn :i Saturdy (October 4 or 5, 1595) he

died at \yra.

Vmcent Smith lias scant respect for Faizi's

cticmuse He observes 10 "The versifiers, ortailed poets fat Atbars court

J were extremelyAbu I Fazal tells us. that although

w did not care for them, thousands arecontinually at court," tn fact it is these fawningleisineishanginft around for filthy lucre who have

'aken for series and chroniclers by comem-Jesuits. It is no wonder, therefore, that nn

ncyl records to talk of are found of Muslim»«aim What is found is a pile f panegyric

J***- ^. "toto* tin uxte Mo-tto** .age possess little interest

KfcjE^ and '^l^nty of most of

ofmtt? ,.' -''^'ircein the magic garden

ifceAfaiaR^-H«~mcwill not be

in the pages of anyI

Muslimannallii tv7,

"'? m lne Pa£cs °ranv"ie wcliurvcn ,"

kr Proof of the fanatic

__ > ofmediaeval Muslim regimea)1 P J* 92 aillAkbar,h^^« Mogul, ibid

(nay|Cvcn

355

of in the books of European

Indian too) authors based on the

Persian imtorians Yet that Hindu«K*man of Image m Indta^«utcr even tta,. A bhimself, inasmuch as the eonqt^t

fl f the heZand minds of millions of men and women effected

by the poet was an achievementinfinite!) nu, rc

lasting and important than any or all of t lie vi

ries gained in war by the monarch. He does not

appear ever U> have been brought to the notice of

either the emperor or Abu) Fazal, Tulsittai

enjoyed no advantages of hirih, fortune or educa-

tion, being the son of ordinary Bntlimn. p.nei

who exposed him in his infancy to live or to

because he had been born in an unlucky hour.

Fate or providence willed thai the child should be

picked up by a wandering mendicant, who gave

him sustenance as well as instruction in the legen-

dary love of Rama.jAbul Fazal #m **extracts from the writings of theM *g >

have read in their English rift* ?£jg*£single sentiment worth ^*3ftrtextracts include passages ttaaw

brother. FaiZK the -lung•''

i"

Abul

Fazal considered to »"* £^rf**\

Most of the authors Jf^1 ^ ... Md Fa,/t sinatn

tlic service of the uoholjfp^" ^ pBROns whoviany

that way like others. - ^ of poor.

*.i«;«,-^ iUa honour . ,hm ^i}k nT he composes

*

f

h« i-m to thattitle

'f,lh

hvCUS,dbetter claim '° " .;.». has. _u

acrostics far

their pcrvc.

aorta of shapes-

'

i svords into all

XiSBssZ'*

j

^TO

fl

a)

3S7

J56

constructing cunningly devised chronograms, andsuch like trivialities.. .Blochmann held lhal a fIrr

Amir Khusro of Delhi, Muhammedau India hasseen no greater poet than Faizi .Admit ling the

justice of Blochmann's verdict, I can only say that

the other 'poets' of Muhammaden India must be

WQTth very little. They do not seem to havewritten anything with substance in it sufficient to

stand the ordeal of translation. All, nearly all of

them -"arc disgraced by the filth mess to whichallusion has been made "

Vincent Smith has thus very effectively andcompetently pricked the bleated bubble of fantastic

claims about the literary merit of not only Faizi

but of all Muslim author- In a 1,000 year*

long rule in an atmosphere surcharged with coopera-

tive conjoint chauvinistic flattery mediaeval Muslimchronicles, poetry, treatises and translations of

Hindu works, have been boosted as rare gems of

Muslim scholarship. Smith effectively scotches

these claims in pointing out thai the chronicles

rarely contain any truth worth the name and the

poetry rarely embodies any noble sentiment,

imagery or melody. Readers who care for real

history and nut communal fantasy must therefore

carefully examine all claims of mediaeval Muslim

imperial pressure propaganda It could be thai

i he expertise in astronomy and Sanskrit, geometry

and geography claimed in the name of authors

like Al Biruni and Badayuni ne gross exaggera-

tions of art age of rampant illiteracy.

(3) Todarmal was a Rajput Kshauiya. H tf

wa* firat employed on a minor post to KC*P

dependable stooge heke

5» and cajole proud Raj^ ^y+fc

'n« P'QVc*}

«^^lan:in_8h

, ^£?Sii^kht

sur-rendering ihcir daughters

foT

Wtt0y-a-time Mansingh and ToTlV^'brought such daushwc .^rffial

them.selve*

to Akbar. In 1567 TodarmJ-|0

subdue the impostor Sikondar SiiTdcpw

in the Ayodhya region. He achi^/

I*1** ihr„u&h

at was' f Shah

them.

i„that and the subsequent camroiZ! ?

m%|p him. Like Abul Fazal TodarrTal Z *****

perfect factotum. That was the surestT^Akbaryavour. In 1^76 when Akbar eo££Gujerat he deputed Todarmal to see that cnJ\money was extracted from the Gujeratis to seiiic

ail claims, pay for all expenses of Akbar'saggrw.

sion and yet leave a handsome margin for the*.

treasury. Todarmal did such a thorough job

u that an impoverished Gujerat was stalked by

an unprecedented famine. Akbar's chronicler!

were bound to boost Todarmal's financial latent

Inch squeezed the wealth of poor, downtrodden,

defenceless subjects to fiil Akbar's treasury rod

WMain a parasitic nobility but that is no

% modern authors in blind faith should con

Llud 'ng in lyrical rapture TodanoaTi

fr,*ardry in the same old imperial si rain. Vti

S«tith, an independent thinker, rightly obser

> systematic assessment of theentp«tArrf*

A^r and Todarmal are given so «**«*

Charily intended to increase the impend

^252-254. Akb* the Great M**^'

2£

it)

Hind

*>

ui

m358

AkKtrwis a hard-headed man of business, not u

sentimental philanthropist, and his whole policy was

directed principally to the acquisition or power and

ties MI the arrangements about jagira, branding

(of horses)do* were devised for the one purpose

namely, ihc enhancement of the power, glory, and

richesofthe crown. We do nol l"o\\ in

substantial about the actual effect of Im adminis-

trative measures on the welfare and happiness of

ihe common people Certainly they did not prevent

the occurrence of one of the most terrible famines

on record which desolated Northern India late in

the reign, from 1595 to 1598.' A Knit the revenue

system devised by Todarmal which is praised sky

high in average Indian histories, Badayuni a con-

temporary chronicler notes that 18 the usurious

exactions were squeezed and 5£TCW0d out of the

pOiT subject^ with such ferocity that the wives and

tiidren of the raiyats (peasantry) were sold (as

slaves* and scattered abroad, and everything was

thrown into confusion. But the KronS | middle

men) were brought to account by Raja Todarmal,

and man) good men died from flu sevue beatings

which were administered, und from the tortures ©I

the rack and pincers. So many died from Ua

proctracted confinement bl the prisons of the reve-

nue authorities that there was no need of the

executionst oi -wordsman and no one cared to find

r graveclothes... At the time of famine

and distress, patents were allowed to sell their

children.

It is no wonder then that (on July 28, I5H7 at

i p 192. Vol. U. Bodtyunl'i chronicle, (bid

,» a Khatri from privati

Bt£,ncc

cutdown '

hatredurinal in a murderous

assault tk^,,nd

'art

fhc lengths to which Todarmal

r¥favour w.th the Muslims may h^tll

Lt that in Hindusthan where ,J^mrfthc

population was Hindu, and^,

,!,' factfrom

ma]o r||y

1||]metnona accounts used to be main(a

tfpaous languages it was^ Todarmal who tir

\ ",

M'time -ordered that all govenment.cl

should thenceforth be written in pm ,an

forced his co-religionists io learn the court ianeJ

of their rulers."b &

Blochmann quotes Badayuni about Akbarh •

Dig passed "orders that the common people should

do longer learn Arabic, because such people were

generally the cause of much mischief" ITcunAkbar realized that perpetuation of Arabic caused

mischief in Hindusthan the same rule should apply

Io Persian. Justifying the abolition ci \i

Di Shrisvastava observes31 that obviously Arabic

could not be a language of the people of India*"

Hut he forgets that Persian too is equally alien to

India.

Despite Todarmai's toeing the Muslim line ii

wi bc said io his credit that he remained u

1lfl"nch Hindu to the end of his life. He W

& Ainl-hAkhari. Vol. 111. I odtfitth •*«**""''

Abul Fazal as grandee No,

WocIibm', comment t* AbuJ I

Todarmal, ibid.

p-tt7. Vol. 1, Akbjir thedic:.! .thid.

OM

so

< * «,n md n*btf« pressure to convert or

fully deM ope""iin „ |slam Once when

W*C ^l,l.canipa..n for Punjab he folllld^ l0

Hnkand pamphcmalit of worship missing

alMht .doHand p vobvi4lUS |y it was a subtle

Zto£ Of imposing upon an orthodox

nfl oT and water for three days in a state of

"JLttl tormem for having missed his devotions.

Urtimaid he had to reconcile himself to the

ntredloss.

Disgusted bv such insults, pin-pricks and affronts

a harried T darmal resigned and lived in Banaras

tod Hardwar hut was recalled He did not however

live long thereafter At the age of 54, on November

Hi. 1589 he died in Lahore,

(4) Mansingh was the grandson of the Jaipur

ruler Bharmal. Like his two immediate ancestors

nsmgh forgetting his proud Rajput tradition

•wielded the swoid of Islam" and allowed women

of his family to be lifted at will by alien Muslim

rulcTi and nobility m India. He was therefore

deepp. bated h, Rana Pratap. Once when he

*emio Rana Pi ibode to negotiaic "ii behalf

i Akbur ii ( brave and patriotic Rana of indomit-

able ipim refused iodine with Mansingh, a Muslim

"*. as he wiled him. Alter Mansingh's depar-

he had the esiU, at the meeting place dug up*

^dand.hc weoiils thoroughly cleansed and dis-

=d frutn the contagion of slavery. Mansiflf

3ft |

sister was married to JchanqrJr Lsis'cr was married to Akha r

* k» **"*>*

Mansingh was born at a ,

Akbar when his grandfather RhT, .

his daughter toA&^KB *+«sent against Rana Pratap and f„ Zhad to cross swords wi.I, J

"* l

J"*"*battle of Huid/ghat WneB B^LZ^Vansingh) was appointed governor , HmbMansingh commanded ihcdnirfctsalo^thernduL

Later he was sent to restore order in Kabul Hnuncle Bhagwandas dhgtmed wjih the i readier),

debauchery and fanaticism at the Muslim court

went mad, according to AbuJ Fazal, and bier

stabbed himself At his death in 998 AJ-f. Mansingh

succeeded U the title of Raja On his Muil

subordinates complaining against turn for

pandering to their fanaticism lie *ai recalled from

a hra\,e Hindu ruer* of the region,

patnotie a„<f bray H « m

'" ,nVafC

?|

ft««« Hindu »h„nc far hi

Muslim OvWlwJ "|ipuri for tIK ump.ccm

wrested W» :1< ,„, bury i- '<

,nh ,.Jf

Man*"*' ",f„

liiuj.

m

362

Manbai his wife who was Ma ttsfngh's sister Man-

ch had plotted to prevent Jchangir from corning

to lite throne and proclaimed Jehangir's son Khtisru.

emperor aftei Akbar'* death.

Despite his having spent a « hole Lifetime In light-

ing AkbarS battles and indirectly helping the spread

of Islam Mansingh was deeply hated by Akbar.

Once during a drunken brawl Akbar had tried to

throttle Mansingh. The lauer was saved because

of the intervention of some other courtiers then

present. In 1605 Akbar wanted to poison

Mansingh by administering him some poison pills.

Unluckily for him however Akbars perfidy boom-cranged on himself. He had prepared two doses

of pills looking alike. One contained poison while

the other was a harmless dummy. Throughoversight he swallowed the poison pills himself

while passing on the innocuous ones to Man-singh in all confidence, ine result was that

Akbar died while Mansingh survived. Disgustedwith the lecherous and treacherous atmosphere at

the Muslim court Mansinglis son Jagat Singh anda number of other descendants drank themselvesto death,

5. Mirza Aziz Kuka was Akbar's fosterbrother. He rebelled against Akbar because ofAkbar's despotic behaviour. Aziz Koka refusedto have his hordes branded with the imperial mark.Apprehensive ol Akbar "i vengeance he left forDm on the pretext of capturing it |>nm il lv.rtu-gucse. But instead he set sail in 1593 foi MeccaiHfldj nh his many wives and a dozen sons

and daughters to seek spiritual solace for his

harried soul. Far fromsince he --was sham^' 15

^^,priests in the templc y«*«Cjw

{||i

n»,yre,Urncd >oir^u^^M4^Akbar s court thinking a ,

" rc" of

Mecca, with hisatt^L !*»toi«.' '

attachi

down. -He died «S,n,

*"'S|,

Jdisillusioned in the ,;"'<• <J»at Ahmcd.1*. afterXr

°I>5^I!'

fortune.

6. Abdul RahimlChof Behram Kha,, £mT * * *

an Kb*

ur-yearRah.nrs fatl,,-, Behram kl,,„" ,

Akbar's instance though BehL tL ^ «

Akbar's faithful and »l«^ £*-murder of Behram Khan the W dfc,

Rahim was brought to Akbar's «*,;his mother Salima Sultan who had then

niily to play wife to Akbar. Unm. inc

murder of bis father and abduction uf

owed mother by Akbar and wwc:ireacherous court life Abdur Rahn hi*

life-time fighting ihe battles of Akbar i

ing the sorrow and tedium of hb life by '

poems. He was born at Uhuie fa

Abdur RnliinVs motto wasili.it one

one's enemies under the musk of

All charge him with malic«taaess. 1 He lies buried ... I™"

called Humayun's tomb in *a

f*. 345, Vol 111. AIM Mb

2J. P 360. Vol III. Aim *m

i;

in

164

manfton which he had occupied when living.

He lies buried in his own reside im The Hindu

Shakti hakra (the esoteric design made up of two

interlocked triangles) may snli be seen adorning

each of the four facades Of that mansion From

its dome, adorned with blue Hindi, tiles (in the

Fashion of the Hindu palace in Gwalior fori). U is

called Nila Burj by Muslims from the time thai

came under their occupation.

7. Birbar is often referred to as Birhal

popular parlance. The two words arc quite differ-

ent, Birbar means a top-class warrior. Birbal

means the strength (or grit) of a warrior. In eon*

temporary Muslim chronicles the name Birbar is

used. He was born in 1 528 in a poor Brahmin

family. His original name was Maheshdas. As a

young boy he joined the entourage of Raja

Bhagwandas of Ambar (Jaipur), When Akbar

ascended the throne Bhagwandas presented Birbar

to Akbar. At that time Maheshdas used to style

himself as Brahmakavi (poet of the universe). He

rose from a mental position at court to the rank

of a grandee because in him Akbar found a ready

tool and a perfect factotum ready to execute any

job or man at Akbar* s command. Like Abdur

Rahim, Maheshdas also used to relieve the agony

of his heart by composing poems. In 1574 he was

Light to be foisted as the ruler of Nagurkol in

tupercestion of Nagarkot's lawful ruler Jaichatid.

li was a common high-handed practice of Akbar

will away a reigning Hindu monarch's king

dom tuh i& own puppei and set him up, backed

with imperial Muslim might, as a i ival of live reign-

ed the temple walls. Despite inch

Birbar could not be foisted on the Nagaik^Z?As a sop he is said to have been oflWerf .1

I_

L Hindu king U was mBhW*- ,s i,mi&alcd to iead *****

its ruler liirb ir led the '!' ^the sacred Hindu .dol in il^JJ '

(dorscanopy was riddled with \\n^

invaders slaughtered 2r co* & Z^ *shoes with i^c blood of the slaughtered^^Id the temple walls. DeJ S^Jg

" j|! "

I rone

and a jagir at Katanju. But he was not pern*

to enjoy even that. In I5»3 he w; i^ l0

td an expedition against I he rebellion! Ywufhi

Afghans on tlmdusthan's northwest froniiw n

wasslain in that expedition The self-appointed crnm

chronicler Badayuni in rabid!) fanatic und tarty

Islamic style remarks that "Birbal the ini

joined the other infidels in hell mju« rdiihuiiot

for his many misdeeds:' Badayuni u«s the »i*

intemperate and abusive Imgo* when

to the death of any Hindu/For»«*

to the deaths of Raja Bhagwand^n

in Lahore within five days.

the

November 1589. Badayuni Pfl -

*

'".,,

«.*.-««! , rt <*» abode ofhelM "*mStaenedtolheabodeofheMJ^

the lowest pit became ilw^*^;. |

scorpions. May God scorch them^ ^*

feems to be unaware of the ^^,1,

^hastened lo the abode w **»

it! the lowest pit became ihefoi^

lidUi

liifl

"ic Hindus who,accoiui..e ^^t"ld not have been so *"'

w« the first to arrive atW bjit***

the first to arrive a. *.-*

P m, Vol. U.&**>»*'

*8

Hi

fad

to make* meticulous list ofall the Hindus whomhe thought, a Muslim Allah consigned to theIslamic heJJ.

Some Cheap stories of Akbnr-Rirbal reparteesand wnncism* current in India have been inventedby some ingenious « rfter ;uid added to from time

I time hy others, giving ihem a historical Akbav-B.rhaf background. The real Birbar led a horridprecarious and deeply detested existence far re-moved from am humour tr poetry.

8 Tansen was born sometime m 1531-32 in aBrahmin family in Behat village 28 miles fromGwaljor. He received hisearly training in music inGwahoi which had a tradition of high class Hindumi Tansen has attained legendary fame as awjcal musician par excellence, A saint musician,Haridas of Vrindavan, is also said to have impart-ed imiion in musk to Tansen. He took up serviceas a court musician with Raja Ramchandra ofBhatha (modern Rewa>. It was there thai he re-

ceived the inlc of Tansen because of his mastery

in singing In J 56 when Akbar invaded that

Hindu kingdom Tansen was wrested away.Badayuni says, ** 'Tansingh did not wish to leave

his royal Hindu patron. Finally (a fierce Muslimgeneral) Jala) Khan Kurchi came, and brought himto a sense of duty.*' Tansen is often flaunted as an

example of Akbar's encouragement to music. But

that is a bogus claim I msen was already an

accomplished musician before bting dragged to

Akbar's court, in fact his expertise in music

25. P. 14%, ibid.

307

d 10 be his un(j

"' 'fa en ^w*iiw i, associated with drunken ^T1 w,l* ,«

pro—— »"* uiicioiiii;

fnnscn's music las! its sacred t if I1

quired the profligacy V"^*,ion A disconsolate j£m^ '£

pjtiowly when abductedlo JS* }^

pari of a huge ransom m men worna''

j* "

cavalry and footmen that Ramchand bi'!'der to buy peace from Akbar's nZt

^

At Akbar's court Tansen C :imcUt -;;

fanatic Muslims at court Utrustinghair^

hy morsels of betel leaf from their own,lhe mouth of Tansen opening to sing hh mclod

may well be true. Shunned hy orthodox Hmdmand dragged and addressed as Miy Mtahm

style Tansen has been willy nilly rcprw

as a Muslim though till the eml of hu life lie I*

tnaincd a Hindu. He died in 1588 rorraent-

cd career of twenty six years' forced tin

alien monarch's court He lb bu

erstwhile temple pavilion near Mdiunm

temple-tomb al the foot of Gwl

entire area where these two lie ^with ruins of a huge temple cwnplH »

several centuries o\ Muslim «M

ftkbai Like lltouumds *t °™"-mpk*

sites thrughout India and West a

at the foot of Gwahor fart too *

Muslim ccmeteiN They arc no

tombs but misused Hindu of

Ml

9, Hakim H.m>um - J^HrV rrt«n i ifiichen i* '1|M '

,

Uiva» but till

Akbar's royal kitclic

*he nine gems.

fMI

in

l Med 19 'rtf in •'courl where food «nd

^r^ch.ehJv coveted. As kitchen Miperf*

he hid to supervise the preparation of

I mm ihii Akhar suspected "Hakim

BVe poisoned him is evidence enough

„ Hakim Wumam, M* everybody else hated

•Ubar.

The very fact that Ifumam ie hardly ever men-

j , n nay standard history is eloquent proof of

uncance. Thus the nine-pem story is a

sheer invention of court flatterers who sought their

favour for self-aggrandizement.

Thus the so-called nine gems all turn out to be,

mi etossr scrutiny, lustreless, base opportunists in-

voluntarily embroiled in a game of mutual hate

all led miserable lives disgusted with their

We have -I ready quoted Akbar that he consi-dered none of his courtiers to' be worthy of any

i tlicir part the court ieis too deeply hatedAJthir aiii reflected m their dealings with liim

:«w the nine-gem story for from shedding any<>n Akbnfs regime, adds a new dimension

M notoriety

Chapter XXIV

SCRIBES

I* St" Fiild,, vuni'% chronicle quoted by

,T1 Akbar ilic Greni, Vol. i,J»gfl *&

In looking for contemporary recordi about

Akbur's or for that matter of any Muilim'i reign

in India one comes across two contradictory mu-men ts. Writer after writer complaint that nn won

while records me available while it k tho

confidently asserted that a plethora of twtioilma

record of every word of Akbar was mide trai

somehow il has all disappeared Both

apparently irreconcilable statement!, if understood

in their proper context, are justified -naseont^n

will be apparent from Vincent Smith. «N

«

undertakes to deal w,ih tte UfeJ£ ef ^reign of-any...no«b^P«'«^*-Ifth century, is «*2£Sm,5 h*^ f,

J

State papers so***** matter lh«**diligent student h-^:,a- I^

f7,;The biographer "f A

,'

J e«n one «*>">'?%

different

81* ft'^fflf*

have not » lS-**^?2**Akbar'. ««»•• •"

<

lc MrtPJ „. P.»

compilation° r a

„Tahh «*" *„,„,„<

sss* ;:::-^

,„.n>d«c.J«'10 *

mmis. tni w&iB i««** ™d Poises with.

^contmiWinj nwsier to their fclfilmeot But

h«c cp^iks f^rm one of h.s monuments to

ml ..« of interminable sentences, involved

in frequeni parentheses difficult to unravel, and

paralleled i" the West only by the decadence of

taste. BOtrfnj rn prose, as Gibbon justly remarks,

to the vicious affectation if poetry, and in poetrj

linking below the flatness and insipidity of prose.,,

I have not felt hound to undertake ihe labour of

examining the te,\t nflbose difficult compositions)/'

So even the scanty record that exists of

Akbar's reign is all trash. What else can be

expected of a regime of illiterate barbarians! Histo-

rians are mistaken in believing tliat there was muchother record that used to be maintained. Whathas come d™ n to us is all the record thatever kept.

371

was

The lack of State papers dealing with theI Akbar is not due to any failure of his to

ep a record of his sayings and doings. Each dayilc he *as giving public audience watchful« standing below him committed to paper

tv word uttered by his august lips, and recordedWuwalring minuteness the most ordinary and

trivial actions of his life.

"

JkJn^l!!!Uy|,''

Thelelten arc of a *°«iP in*

or?»t ?T T and arc ^bellished with plenty

and thWlLi i t! " lain ***"« ° r importance,

" t,lc "** upon the political relations of

* M'

VI. Elliot urf Dowsoi,.

the time. All these totem were in,mIa ,cd-

H M.HIbotbyLt.Pritchard^dnX^ted thai they were not more woittiy of the

bestowed upon them.'*

Apparently these modem writenof medtaevaj

history have been misled by contemporar> itate-

ments of court --cribes like Abul Faial, and Euro*

pean visitors like Monserrai <- Luge group of

Muslim scribes swarming around Akbar used to

on its tiptoes 10 take down every word of whil

he said. Those contemporary statement» lie per-

fectly true if understood in the proper conn

while ihe eomplaint of modern writers

are no worthwhile record* available r* il»o jitfatt

Basically t t is nor true'^-^^n^of all important«^^^imAkbar tittered were everJ*****of such records iff** M iw***respect for systematic dm*» «dk fcmnun

economy where**j^i& *«*

technologic' S?£53:hAmericacaim|' llC() ,

ui^>> ^ svhen99

of their r**&d *# *& ruled!*».

»»3 JS3witta * J^".L top**"'

rU

with i

10pjpe«-

so,,j stenography «n% unknown, copious mSm •«»* ttW ver kcpt

1! V k

„rd to believe that while unimportant, long,

winded letters alone ofall court record have sur-

vived the rest ofthe record has wdusively and

mvslcrjouslv disappeared. The fact thai (he

letters thai have come down to us constitute about

al wag ever reduced to writing. I Ik rest waj

all done verbally. That most transactions should

be oral was necessitated by the very nature of the

ctetJings at Muslim courts- It was all a medley of

intrigue, lechery, treachery, faithlessness, bribery,

corruption, nepotism, confusion, plotting and

counterplotting and cringing flattery. In such a way

of life there is no administration as such and there*

fore there arc no records. The few letters that have

come down to us had to be written to coax

and cajole or threaten and control recalcitrant

tends or rebels and imposters located far away

from the capital. Therefore, modern historians

can be dead sure that they have almost all the

record '»f whatever was reduced to writing There

was nothing more and. therefore, the question of

its being destroyed does not arise.

It would then be asked as to what should one

make pf confident assertions by contemporaries

like Abul Fazal and Monserrate that meticulous

records of all that transpired at court were assiduo-

usly maintained ? The explanation for the state-

ments of contemporary Muslims is slightly different

*B that fur Statements by Luropean visiles

like Monserrate.

Court employees like Abut Fazal in order to

mjustify their existence and eftMl

themselves, used to put Up J*tiptoes to take down an uft«%*Even if they had honesty,^yand reduce to *m ,ng al ,

** >ai Tthai m

observed above, it was imposslblccable to reduce even a Traction ofit ,

****>

the absence of mechanical means of * "* *

stenography and the requited slWw ?°W>.standard of literacy. Besides, thekS? *

at all interested in exerting themes Jna meticulous record of all itmutim.

Tkurd

was also impolitic to reduce to writing ife tu-

nings at court which were mostly v cry dirty for any

record. Despite all this, cringing scribes Ifo ,

Fazal and Badayuni had to make a ihow of then

being busily engaged in writing. After ill

«

ro examine what they had written, How ihev 1

written or whether they had written wiythmi at

all ? There were no supervisors over than. 1

were no responsible, conscientious and i

superintendents. Like wayward siudc^

room who engage themselves *£useless scribbling to make the ^J*^they are taking down dingenl *»swarming around Akbar also am ^^their pens on parchment and^ *

,,

in lawning and feigningapp^^ ^and deed of the sovereign .^ |cJ

^t^down nothing, "v^S,**?*pens and parchment to dfi**«

,

f „ «*J»record some imaginative * l

„ t

did record something t^t ^n-

<*

*5

-

374

drtUoyed after the make-believe was over.

This isthc reason why we have on record only

Jcu CJ s which WM« tctuaUy wrrUcn and dls "

patch i

Monscrr.ite records that *Akbar 'appoints

four 01 five secretaries out af a body of scribes for

duly each day. These secretaries write down all

rhe business transacted by the king, all the measures

betakes . and all the orders he issues They lake

down what he says with such speed that they

appear carefully to catch and preserve his words

before they can fall to the ground and be lost.

(Footnote :—They were called Waqiah Nawis or

script writers)."

We attach great value to the above observation

being that of a third, disinterested party Buttike all other evidence we insist that it should beproperly anary&td. silted and understood.

Firstly, t-ince Akbar liked to be surroundedb> adn multitudes the scribes used to be a

part of that stage-setting.

Secondly, this pretension of being at the! of Hii Majesty was also to the advantagevenbe* because they got paid for it. Being

:sovereign and in bis confidence inflated

oZT.1ldl,W ^ e ,hem a***** advantage

who lid ".""a,eis Bcm

* «"* a «*«^Z not ™ fead aUd WrUc a"d whoic interests

o he Se^X^ J"* ***** *» Koran andlopia and court imriguc

r they could

«y intelligentor

H

375

hardly be expected t makcintelligible notes.

They also couldn't be expected to *foolhardy as to record any.

]

ling which djJ^the sovereign or any courtier even by impk uljon/

Even if at limes any scribe dared record any-

thing deprecatory it was not retained wiUiout (he

sovereign's approval or consent. If at ail »ny idiot

ot a scribe ventured lo submit a written calumny

or invective or derogatory note both lie and

note could not escape being torn to pieces

There were such heavy odds agalaii any worth

while records being Kept during Muslim role in

1 iid ia. Regimes thr.vj.ig on murder and roatfacre

ravage and plunder. t— J^^>drugging and^^^J^SKnever dare or afford to

.f^Jf^ hanJ ,

in «hc O-falf Mo

anv such records

^Lanently dh*d» * "**

posterih _rf

,,r vlons

What then -p bf*"S 1

personal obs.rv.^J JMonserrate being

•«JJ» -

modes **»«"'£, il

'

court he *&l* ,„,,

And r: ,:

iu

1

376

^mmitnl douMftil noting We fully endorse

SSSWS^oo. I« out view too the

ZSFvmmkm -round the emperor muted all

Se mo.io.is Of ,um-pushns iiflml ever ..ally

Sorting anything or pushing their peal very

This should awaken students or researchers

UM W Use fact thai every mediaeval

statement needs to be properly understood in the

relevant context of the times. When it was made

and wh) and by whom it was made should be

considered. Such analysis would often reveal that

their statements either connote nothing or some-

times they ostensibly mean the very contrary of

their superficial import.

Most modern scholars place great reliance on

Abul Fazalf

s Akbarnama even though they seem to

be aware that he was a thoroughly unreliable

flatterer. In considering the Ain-i-Akbari alias

Akbarnama as a fairly reliable record of Akbar's

reign they attach great importance to the fact that

"Hhe Akbarnama was written by Abul Fazal in

obedience to an imperial order and partly revised

-\kbar himself (Ain Vol. iii, p. 414)".

We wisSi to strongly emphasize, however,that the very fact that Akbarnama was subject to

Akbar's revision renders it all the more worthlessand dangerous with regard to any claims made in

Akbar'v favour

What is the worth nf a document authored by

iging flatterer to start with and then censored

P 4, Aktar the (iitai Mogul, by V Smith, ibid

317

by the nattered dcspo|, Tbasic concepts of | luli

'

"•"• *t q d.opsyturvy. T^^^before aspiring to gcl t0 , h

' hc

.'Some Blunders of \Jhu Hc-un,

.hat buildings and tow^;^-Muslim rulers were in rait d '« ,ft4*-'

Similarly here we have pr^T^ **subjected to a Muslim

rulei

all the more worthless. ' n,,kci

it may then be despaired.tut m

historical concoclions are all the neonlm*should we give up recaiwrudui| mcfohistory? We assure the reader that there iiabto.

lutely no cause for despair, Hamaningtt

intelligence are not so shallow as to be left Mufti?

or blanked when confronted with fabrtcn

Bring to mind the methods of crimim

lion used to unravel mystery murder-

clever forgeries Such crimes them*

seeds or the truth. Investigation sum

initial doubt and suspictom »P«W

arc carefully checked tfuri * »» »

investigation As the inve^WP^^flimsy clues first make iheii ipP*ȣ

,

7 -d perseverance^ *f *

ill

Mian historical r^theic centuries, and h« Wg* ****With illogical

conclusion* I

4

•Kg

at

378

Iolubrious

methods of criminal

unfold * T

.

d legal adjudication have been

inv^,ication

^ d w|lh academ ic naivete or help.

shunned*1 '' ^ f books have been fashioned

te d questionable writings. No

jejons attempt seems to have been

I'JaW ' ll lhdr <™motatio,ls u wa«£ Uevendreamptthatmcdiaval assert

Tni Juld mean the very opposite of ihcir super-

ficiai import.

It 15 the absence of such awareness that makes

most writer* contradict themselves in first caution-

ing the reader against believing the unreliability of

Muslim chroniclers' words, and then proceeding

lo write authoritative history on the basis of fraud-

ulent chronicles.

Same readers might inadvertently lay the same

charge at our door. Therefore we would like to

ilkustratc our position. When a murderer plants

a forged suicide note on his victim we makeuse of that forged note as very valuable

evidence to implicate him both for investigating

mode and motive of his crime- Buimcrch because we use his forgery against the

he doesn't get the right to insist that w«intents .o be true. Contrarily the very

relm i

"mm shou,d caution Hie history resea-

hary in drawing any conclusions'

*Uih/r''

rch wonducted along such guidelines

"+£?J1 r

rmg°m **** aCCL,rat

r2 / from the very dross-heap of

379

One need noi tfo

disheartened and hebw *J

bc**rtd

^-nic.er.Foun^^; 1"^^Badayun, dubs every dead

I

d

\ *V"* r««"

to hell we are not bound Vissure ourselves that Bad™. !,t|1 * c

tethered at the gates of h,

the Hindus Hut ttLM w..<. : *.

h ., ,

But when fed* %Zchromclerhke Abut Faa.au M.n,,HEwe can safely assume ti io be tl,.- inmH sup-ported by ourown appraisal ofhis life and ,

and bolstered by the unanimousjudgmc .imon

all historians The misleading objection that «f we

doubt Muslim chroniclers' wn must not

rely on any part of (hem, therefore, uirn* out mbe untenable. On the contrarj human intelligence

demands that m separate rhc chair of I

from the grain of troth with the sieve of careful

investigation.

We fully agr« with iiU washers of Indian

onlywuree^U^J^iwIfi.

sifting neaps <-"

piles of M' _ . ,irn we useu

l'Mi .Iihil'UH! aue«u*M*% k.

mer;court* 9ft cm

IflO

«* to be avidly pushing their

ffiMhiu

P.ffrded nothing worthwhile,

...thai li i« come down 10 us were

m *mMmJ«« own lcisllrc from tlieir

•""fn^. «orcdici»icd 10 them by thesoverign

£K ^> hi. confidan, conrtien a. .her leisure

«nd pleasure

K 7St^W the emperor, fancy

ESS of his fe2| chronicler. That IS to say

then Abul Faial tells us that many a time Akbar

examined, corrected, supplemented, approved or

altered his writings we fully believe him. In Tact

we conclude mm it that all Muslim scribes had to

get their writings censored by their court-patrons.

That is why we find scribes like Kamgar Khan

writing a whole fake Jehangirnama to oblige an

aggrieved Shahjahan.

For the same reason we also find confirmed

drunkards and dope-addicts like Jehangir and

Akbar ranting Hibtil) in sanctimonious horror

against the consquences of those vices.

We would therefore, tike to alert every truth-seeking historian against behe ving even a word of

sanctimonious sayings of a Jehangir or Akbar,Ferozsbah or Slur Shah, Tamerlain or a Tughlak.

The roads, buildings, canals, bridges, serais,

gardens, towers and tombs attributedtothtm BreaUp,agiariscdHmduproperty

381

Statements about Akw

,

Jiziya or banned ,hc a 'JS*1* «

panegyric humbug. " (>llcm <"*•« pion,

Thcyure;.IUTittenbylheKfjherri)mh

,)fancy, or first conceded by bin, and ,„„^ed altered, improved Up0n VBi approwd ^

,

presumptuous courtier or mona

Badayuni has unwillingly let 04 mio ifc

secret of Muslim chronicle-wririnp by revelling

lhat when ihc AktanumM was being Kritlen

courtier came and ordered him it» retard iba*

Akbar had founded a magnificcni IwMhfo called

Nagarchain. Poor Badayuni carried out

imperial order but added hit o»n reserv«,«r, i»«

he had "ever come ncro» even the d*rt »•

is rightly regarded •£**£» *»* «»»'*

consummate skill i» *"*" potion mi

'ha, won bim » ^ * « ded mmMuslim chronicler,

H- £ b; f

«*»Jhis grand «<f^'\ :

; t

upon P' < •* m cdSid W**1

,

ii

*

^

381

382

\\-y, below a tew illustrative cxiracis -

Hi

*,Uv h a great friend f

good order and'* tv in business The Gulal-bar is a grand

;:-_t ,K- invention of His Majesty.

•••Hi* Majesty has invented a candlestick one

yard high.

••His Majesty has composed more than 200

l lines,

•*i*li» the course of 24 hours His Majesty cats

but once and leaven off before he is fully satisfied.'

(\\c wonder what made him so abstemious when

he spent a lifetime in torturous extortion ('

morse It of food from the mouths of millions).

"His Majesty cares very little for meat,

(This is a typically inane sentence which doesn't

mean a thing),

H is Majesty has such a knowledge of the

nee of music as trained musicians did not

possess'

ho was his tutor and when did

Akbar find time to study music in the din of wardrum* and the horrid shrieks of the millions whowere tortured. And if he was after all such an ac-

omplished musician did he conduct any concertsor open anj imperial music schools?.)

of

it

I.

9

H,

II

II

Am 1 5. 4i&j Akhari, Vol. ill, ibidAintt,

\m IS.

Am 19.

Ait, 21

Am 2*

"'y* Majesty dr ei wt drmkniuchkutp^pwl attention to this (Abdar Ktaui JJ(What made him pay special auburn to drmi

he didn't drink much?},

""His Majesty's clothes becomingly fit pvtn>

one whether he be tall or ihort, (That Implfi

that Akbar possessed miraculous power* jo m io

impa rt to his ro bes t he magic quality of shrinking

or expanding to fit anybody. Thank God wr

not told that His Majesty'! robes also fitted mules

and asses or panthers and fcyenasj.

"« 6His Majesty pavs much Aifenliun to both

(painting nd mttlUl * » »""HflT*torn and though, (The,, whoM <h. «*»« ,

par.S . some of the bonb£*J l(|alf0„ of

the harem, I"'

wl , hiB tte »eli»,«

hooks and £ *{£>* ^ * *prjvllcy of «**££, «t l*ff»

,abducted c<">40" „ ,„«,«»«

If ,. ,

UN

ot

^

3M

;--

~*H« Ma«e>t> *>»* inwnied guns which can

te frcd vftnout i match Balis (of a particular

sk) no or* bui H esq wo«W dare to fire.

He Majesty to invented a wheel, which

so in rootie©, enables cleaning 16 barrels ai

-»Hs Majesty mounts every kind of elephant.

Hs V has wonderful knowledge of

**h is beyond my po*er to describe in ade--:ms His Majesty's devotions/'

-^Thc good habits of His Majesty are sothai | cannot adequately describe them

"

=sty gives satisfactory answers to

adttse had cm ihis ion«ue and throw-*di the tares d : the palace wished

w*rl!!? \F*°*" 'm> tongue would be

~!^*^>ome .f the gold made by "him:

_ J

*

Akbar was certainly an adep al lootiwE__..

through plunder camp: ai , ovw ^ •«therefore had enough of ihat metal lodiipUy anquantity anytime to anybody. Thus goes AbolFuzal on and on merrily m an useadiag aidunflas - strain of unabashed panegyric chantinf

•His MajestyM.H 1 r.aaseara tad

projecting His Majesty a- a saint, a catiie-hree

elephant-tarn< Matter ranle-inves!

alchemist, miracleman and everything else m the

world cxcefH drunkard, womanizer, nnssacrer,

Hindu-hater and plunderer- *nica be really was.

U is a p.tv ihat this fabric ofnailery aregmfed

bv sei eta! histonans as a throng par «**«*•

Thev seem to be «na«f* of the «^ »*!£Packed ai* those bulging three volume, ftbc

VKb„rnanu^needed in aD 6u«em

, the fullered*rnedu-

thai in <** s X™£&m***"» 9"t

in c :^Sw a**"^

a* s *

N

;«,.-.«&»-

M

and murderous frankness he dese ibes how t hrough-

S,l Loci* reign that august Muslim

monarch busied nimself with 'butchering* Hindus,

vv rtdtng Ihrougfc the mire of these fraudulent

chronicles we have pointed oul how *kbar turns

be a man of every conceivable vice andwidejirable trait of character.

From thisil may be realized how dangerousto name air !f< institutions after A It bar.

fndj\ idual names when associated with publicprojects .ire intended to be memory-aids to inspire

fly.

In what respect will posterity he inspired afterknowing the facts about Akbar?

Akbar's sordid career had remained not onlycarefully shrouded but was even presented mlo'ml

hcCllUSC his

d

^ndants continued10 m,c a mW Part of India for 253 years.

htimvet* .

p usa *e and repetitionwttnvened it with the aura of truth.

»-'^rir,ndKl to "*»» of commu-

"wfcaiaf1avc

d

TM>

,

I>;'r; 'tJmi? ,n thc fttriae of

Afch,faH_r C.

,c,Kktl * hoi,t the name of^^«leaatath!J! ?noM ,he

^k^l*ve a M ,

,hc "« Hindu king

Wc hjiv

p ,0 "' «hut role.

***' Z°V m°hlk' a » n^«ed after

3*7

villagerseagerly flock

aroUnd

fu |ignorance of thc fact ,w Akb

«

Ifany hotel is soughUobenaniwhat amcnit.es it will have to ££?***KVtf* °* n Mlf yW chronicler a??**He Says -His Majesty (Akbar)

hat' . tihui

wine shop near the palace. The ma«ui! *'

mfm who had collected couldi?°^ ' hc

„ large wa - their number. If Ijfigcourtiers wanted to have a virgin they w&l)|d ,

have His Majesty s permission, lathe um *xboys prostituted themselves, and druntai.

and ignorance soon led to bloodshed. Hi* Mijnij

himself called some of thc principal prostitutes and

asked them who deprived them of their virgin

The calibre of a monarch who has the time

taste to keep a count of his realm's myriad r

litutes and their virgin daughters, and i> an-

to inquire from each one of them, about the viola-

ti« n of their virginity may well be imagined.

Any way, we wonder whether the mm&( *

any hotel would like or be expected

and preside over the kind of impend **

Initiated and patronized by Akbar lu,IBfl1,

Vincent Smith quotes WheeteL » «il

«

^pt a poisoner in pay". »n0« ^ allW*

poison unwanted persons.Shou

^

named afier Akbar, have such an

oSuch are the onerous re.

^ fromlherame of Akbar.J h|

lt> their logical conclusion P"

01

h

nubijc tcistjtution has to be named

I, Is ihcrefWc very essential that historical

tJmTc«*na to ** wd "«' * I""**on finnariw

It ^ also essential thai accentuated commu-

wUsffl parading under a secular garb, and passing

farced needs erf political expcdienc) ire not allow-

ed u> manhandle or mishandle history.

It is in this context that we thought it essential

to put the record of A knar's history straight.

Chapter XXV

AMARTOMBISAHWDUPALAO

That Akhar was hated by ail „r,„„i.i wthat they regarded hi.^EjKJt!reflected even in the manner of his burial

Vincent Smith says '"the obsequies or the

dead lion were hurried and perfunctory. A gap

was made in the fort according td custom (Cmoltc,

Introduction to Popular Religion and Folklore i>\

R India. 1894, p. 219, Popular Religion &C. I

Vol. ii, p 56, Dubois Hindu Manner*, etc. Third

ed. (Beauchamp), I «fi, p. 499 Jataka rjiaBtatioa

Rouse and Cowell 1895, Vol. ii.

pftj*the

body was interred in the sepulchre at &bad«-

Hid Akbar &'«« lo«d and ropecid I..

Had *KOdr.

icd wd perfiioetoD

would not have had > numc

bUnal "

. u that we have another very rnipor-

But besides thai w mcolltcn».on

tut point m thia'"g^'m* *****that P^nly .^; orAk( , toe*.*

even regardingthe p dicd m ihc I

Fo.i...A^;. s* "rtrr—

S3 .,,-~^

Im4*

Em

^f

1

ai

;.mi

nc utv authorises quoted by Vincent Smith

"™*ii liter Furopean writers Thai shows

SSSKS ASr died fa, the Red For,

lErth mere rumour and myth not based on « u,

hi Imtmpom authentic source. In fact the

tiny detail thai Akbar* body was not brought out

nf anv gutebui was clandestinely removed through

a hole in the wall bears out Smith "s observation thai

Akbar'i burial was hurried and perfunctory. Wc

add from Smith's observation i hat Akbar's burial

was also secret Such secrecy, hurry and per-

functoriness a possible only if Akbar is buried in

the very mansion in which he lay ill. Our con-

clusion! therefore, that Akbar died in the very six-

storeyed Hindu usurped palace at Sikandra wheie

he lies buried is thus based on sound logic.

The fact that his burial was hurried and per-

functory makes n clear that he was buried at the

i cry spot where he lay dying. Since he h buriedin Sikandra it is our contention that he died inSikandra. This conclusion is reinforced by the fa ci

Akbar lies buried in a six-storeved Hindupalace. He happened to die when he was campingthere.

Had he died in the Red Fori in Agra there wasno reason why his body should have been removedt* breaking upen a wall instead of being carriedout through the forts main caie

The c^ri that Akbar s dead bock wasmnoved from the fort, unkm,WfI , ^LZthrough - .pecmllv madc scqm'" tlK PuW c >

391

the very pa|acc whcrc „,there was no fiiMfti * b«rted

, ilnr

body was removed by tffi" ' S&can be accepted only »f.t,

1

«2 " 'u '

of bis father Huma,, I','*****

also removed by breaking ok^' B: "

mansions where ,h,v,,",b T fl f,c *""

,-cedenUhecla^,^^^:;taken out through i holt hi the will fcreason, is untenable

Even conceding ihal it WW taken out thr

a hole people were hound to thiong ramiI

Ihc bodv were lo beamed to Sikni i\ i w miles

away, It would have ihcn nude .< lomg mid leng-

thy procession. In thai case the burial amid ROl

be called ""hurried und perfunctory."

There is vet another decpci rayslerj u

fancied grave is empty. M «^*"""!lat all Vincent Smith ^otn« iJw VcrwtoMitiiu^

tZ'Z In WW in**« IIP-"-

,; thi. Dc. U*WP* rcwrvai

,h€Mar1w (

crlS^^ ^freport that *.«»« ^ wrcd „

brcakmg "> '1*^ J 'u4^ !««'""the on**""

'" s'

,lh «toi W ",uld ,'

.tnd destroy the iwnL

.ndWi"" 1

"'1 "

ihrew.lK,,!.....I; «M "^ ,,

pUff'u

- *not know lb ™j:0)

"'

M2 p

,NW.ll. '

I

4

rnilu

«1

1^

Jl

991

Thu<cven AUW* ghost continues to mislead

people. The hoax about Akbar's tomb has rm.nv

ramifications namely ;—

(li His fan, IW 6 fe empty and doesn't contain

remains.

Jehangir who hated Akbar and who wanted

kill Akbar rn poison or in open combat

ma> himself have caused Akbar "s remain* to

be burnt in the "hurried and perfunctory"

obsequies

1 3 » Akbar's to-called tomb was obviously not

buiii over his dead body, because ii is a six

storeyed Hindu palace consisting of hundredsrooim, a basement, and huge grounds

enclosed by a baiilemented wall. The massivewall has lowering gates on all the four sidesas was common with Hindu build int:

(4) A mere tomb which is haunted by fakirs,mendicants and other riff-raff would neverhave embellishments of gold, silver and gems.Tie wealth referred to forms part of the tradi-

r thai building because before Muslimusurpation that Hindu palace did contain allthai wealth

<5> over on thewalfa of the palace arc

w2b and i^* <ln*^ked-Lnang.es,

^^Wncrth^chcenSikandm had it

^^smecatious before Akbar.

v>y

hi i

It was he who namcd .

palacs after himicfl Ik,.!UIUrN

Hin

After Akb^ii^^*^.(7) To cover up the fact ili.il ih» u.

lcumwasbu.it for htm. a, ,,*

bus been planted in \m\

his own life lime Akl ai ^.jndia site foi in'- burial am Jin|

his own palatial lurnb n„. .| !:

ses that if Akbar tia own

tomb why didn't he jump into

on as he Jul' u : Willi MpoKi ju^

even mi re

and bull stor> afever> MujIji

grave and buildn

anticipation of htf^«'

built his

yddinTu^*;within fi> >""

;:;: as

ted ***,

H Mi

*, T^

u

Htilii of his arrival, but within thai

J lm ^ L. somebod,

fK ,her an uneducated Humaytm was an

M Bit told that he must have learnt

Persian architecture in the desert-wastes of

SindJndPcrsia.it a lime when he wandered

in taiicred clothes without any shelter over

his head or a morsel of food in his stomach.

One wonders whether the Persians had set up

any school ofaidaiectute m the desert for an un-

couth, wandering Humayun to study at.

The canard that Akbar built his own mausoleumis therefore part of a set formula of Muslim chro ni-

ck-writing trick

In a Government of India publication theauthor contradicting Emperor Jehangir confidentlytells us that* The construction or his own tomb byAkbar at Sikandra near Agra had been going on for

jean when death overtook him. Jehangir

fh?T i ^CSign andcha"Sed it. He completed*« k.mb m 1613, ,„ foe seventh year of his r®W

wtiaj fibricatioiLfishy slips which always

fis^^wSiL1

? * Wh,ch chronicler's

***** *ud Ua, i,,

1™ WnJ«»

since nowhere hasmausoleum "^ugnt of building his own

•* 313. farl lr

And yet even that C1

in peace. Up comes ],\v ff»\noi ai^

p ,

,

|, was he who built Insfe^ 'J*Jehangir claims ''•OnTueuW*

on foot to see the rcsPfcndJ*££*•*"*father. If 1 could, I mm"*** rf„upon my eye-lashes oj my head Mhe made a vow respecting my i

foot from Fathpur to Ajmer'on a pta^* *shrine of the great Khwaja Mu.nmldin

space of 120 kos. and it would ttaih

very great tf I were to go this ihori di.tawe^

my head or eyes When t had obi • ^fortune of visiting the tomb and luii outiM

building which was erected over it I did m nnd h

to my liking. My intention was. that it should be

so exquisitelhat the travellers of the w

not say they had seen one like H in

inhabited earth. While the wwkwia min consequence of the rcbcllli

»<**

LZteKhusruJwasob.i^^Lahore. The builders had h.* « «^,

at their discretion. Tn« "Mfid ,

been expended, and tl^vo^a *or four year, I

ordered il

( ^in concert ^h^^^lF**down the objection^

( »l£r

was raised, with

"i L

*A

ft*

y

K

FT)

fell

made of white

large building

STwporitti ro me ro nmoutrt to 50.000 annua of

Irak and 4.< toes of!Ch«»M Of Turan."

In order I

accomodate the contradictory

claim* nJ Akbai and Jefumgir having built one and

th'c*imc Sifcandi maasoleuiti anothei disannini iv

naive canard is foisted on history It says thai

lehansif completed the mausoleum begun by his

n father Akbai

It is conveniently forgotten tlitM Jehangir

esn'i s&y that he completed a half- built lomb.

On closer examination ofJehahgir*s assertion his

claim too turns out to be bogus.

His statement that he had entrusted the work

10 architects who altered the design is patently false

becai those days when anybody's eyes could be

uged ft r even the slighte-a slip or disobedience

who dared trifle with urn approved plan or Akbar's

mausoleum

L\cn if there were any dare-devil architect

idiotic enough to flout a cruel Jchangir's chosen

building design what interest would he have in

substituting thai design with one of his own fancy ?

After all the architect ct uldn't be anotJiu son of

/Vkbar who could be adamant about having his

own design in pi ctf the Jehangir's approveddesign lor bis father's tomb

If at all somebody did obstinately construe! a

lausofcum which ttogpred 1 u what punish-tt did tie mete < ut to the erring men, since

IT,

Ichangir was knowiuo,

k|

sliahtcsl slip tir defianceS|h ^ **.

|

tionhavmgpumshed„1Cerr ;

i* »*claim is a hoax and a rnud i

,.,

Another fishy deUil is j,a_ ,

eertain 'objectionable nam4

whk]nulled down, h,,,

| cls nl„ , "hkm

* ThcobjtdkiMte^ *pu

compktc.y. i tie OBjcctionabk

were obviously those of a Hindu ml!!

ofhts having chiselled awa; n ^"M

and motifs Akbar second-handmauiokunH

In

f his having chiselled awa> , me ty* __-jn>hnn a m

replete with Hindu wheel symbol^IBtefkN

triangles(Shakti-chakras) Nu rcfctcnce .1 muto the man who altered Hie design or to m <^a

set it right.

Jchanges vague reference to the toiildtttf

being "completed* in three otI

his quoting the cost not in Indian ainwqil

two foreign currencies all ( 'IwhW

claim. The figure of expenditure is a concedta

Sir H, M. Elliot m his ^^ZJehangtr's chronicle ha, .«*«gpage how it is a ussue of Ikj ^end. He has also cauuom *«Jehangir's unctuous and *-«"Jfeigning the deepesi ifW^ ^Jehangtr's hatted for h» f**

te^nse that he had made aiKmr

upto his very grave- ^ fe

second-hand usurped H*»

specially built mnus^um

ii>

Ulkt

*f)

•<*"*>*

Wl\

.l'.ii,.il

The n*» of the WM*"" Hindu ,ownshiP°f

, ,,,„« p,b« fonned the focal point, may still

he seen around

Our object h rewriting Mtbirt chapter in

Indian hit In all such detail, has been to rebut

a majoi Wsification. Our aim has been to present

ihetruih. ine * J,oic tr,lth Jnd nolnin£ bul lnc

Truth about Akbar's character, life, reign, death

and burial

We are afraid we may not have been able to

extract and present ihe whole homd Truth from

under the piles of flattery heaped by fawning

chroniclers.

But so tar as possible we have tried to piece

together and expose the falsity of Akbar't usualimage, and bring out a coherent and logical acc-ew ir*s diabolical role from his cradle to

• gravr

How far v

readers to judge.

c have succeeded it is for the

p

1

m

B ! » L I G R A p ii y

tl) 'Akbar\byJ M Shetat.\WA D bw^HHhavun

• rhtwpatty. Bambay.7(2) *Annals and Antiquities orRajaat&arf In two

volumes by Lt-Col James Tod, RouM,>dc& Kcgan Paul Ltd. London

'Alcbai the Gnat Mogul1

ty Vincent Smith,

2nd . Iiiiotu revised Indian reprint, > 95 S, Vti

S C hand & Co Delhi.

(4) 'Memoirs of Jehirudtftn Mohammad Buhur".

translated by John Uydeit 8t William Erskii

annotated and rcvM bj Sir Lucas King, to

two volumes, Humphrey Milford, Oxford

University Press l«l VD '

- ^ t t« liulii bv S K Sharing Hirnl

(5) Crescent tn uu" •' °i *

KftabLtd Bombay-1. 1^ A D *

l«^ A"

D- r V..I I H' ,,ta1 hia '"'

.Akharlh"! Gl*»' V'

, ljS ,im

£t;/''

. SCW^r rS?3S£: ^

CM

tllHtu

lint

^

I

eal

,0.

m

tti

.CftHOartuiy* After', a monthly review

owlcs Volume VIII. artie 1c

Ut, ^signers/ by E.B.Haveil

•The Tn cdom of the Analogical

SodeiJ ol Aj-'^ Januar> to June 1878.

k',,,

c , Handbook for Visitor to Agra and

.shbomhood.tThacker's Handbook of

Hindustan, rewritten and brought up-to-date

I

\ Duncan)

«TJic Bad.shahnamn', by Mulkt Abdul Hamid

i alion (Elliot & D. n>

r th« Rise of the MohammedanPov^-r in India, till the year 1612 V D trans-

red from the npnal Persian of Mohammadknnm Ferishta, by John Brings, Vol. II,

published by S Dey, 52-A Shambazar Street.

lcutta-4 -Reprinted 1%6 A. D.)

1 14. 'Ain*f-Akbari\ by Abul Faznl Allami. trans-

lated from the original Persian, by H. Bloch-

iccond edition, Bibliothcca lndicaSen-.- published by the Royal Asiatic Societyof Bengal.

Die Commentary t ommentanus of FatherMonsermte, S. J on his journey to the court

Akbar. translated fr< m I Ik original Latinby J s Hoyland annoiaicd bv S, Banerjee,

:,Humphrev Miiford, Oxfurd UniversityPress, London

T

(16) •Saivadeshik' Hin.li weekly, dated April 14WW. puwwwd by Suvadefcfl, Arya Pntti

Page

25

30

30

3!

126

153

163

170

178

197

225

228

229

231

238

:!

:so

251

U»e

ERRATA

Incorrect

16

2

Heading

Heading

15

IS

20

30

24

8

29

29

9

12

28

28

8

ouahed

Tanscii tin-

•ihulithcd

(hUSttTiiU

sen Ibe fanmut

musician wi

1 cndcred)

Blurmul

Muslim rule Muslim rule)

SO:CAL 1 1 D 504 ALLfcD

PLUNDR PLINDER

Rlwrmol

becasuc

the

paid

bcciiuw

he

that

^ .c fan

abh

pretentions

will' I'

he

rijziyo

aroog"

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ptcienvion*

which

he

Jizi

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*«*«**._•• •

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Alt'*•

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Aifi«r Sin^li *°«

AlUHtall Miia OR I

1! 24d, V*

'

"-*riTw I'm* »*««*"*»*Aiafi.v.,1! Khan ZO*r,J*,

I

,44, 208. 310. 386.

-Lran I J?. 1W

AtphKlum 23,73,173,307.

Auianpeb B*«V*.W.1S«b i91 '

A-rtJliya 41. I0S. 197.271. 276, 357,

U&i 32,35,46,258.274,280,3^362,

BsbaDmi

BabuMBabar) 53.6,58-9.80,115,120,139,197, 236. 284-7,

269-90, 300, 302-3, 305-6, 320, 391

Baibytmi H, $9.73, 85.89. 91. 101. 103. 105. 124, 133, 137,

150-1. 156*7,162-3. I7x 180, 182, 188, 194, 200-1. 203,

213. 216. 22fr8, 235, 237-8, 245-6, 252-4, 258, 261-22. 293,

JOO, 304. 313-4 325, 328, 334, 343-5. 356. 358-9.

36S.4. 36S. 373, 379. 381

Kah*dui (Khan) 22. 29. 49, M, 163, 266, 271. 277.

B*i«ur iBa, ;2. S5, 105

t(Batiarajf Van»nui) 29,34,66.75, 163*4, 197. 277,

311, SM),

B»ribLi 213. 130

Bmu 41-44, 51, 27U-9

llajuM. 42. 197,

*•»**«2| .23.73W.99.HJ.US.347,

to

403

m247,29L 3W:^^ll6.,2«.lT| j|,

Uhairaich 1 84,

Bhakkar 34, 89, «m, 1 57. 203. 25J L 2M ,

Bhartnal (Baton. Mull etc) .

a2 m% . mI78. 272. 27JW,m 360.I

ttMl'

"7-

l44'

BliaUia [Rcwg) in. jrj n( 223, Jfy jj(N

Bhupul 32, 92,2 •

Bidln Chiind 43,133

Bijagadli (Beejagnrh cic ) 73, 86

BijapuT 135-6.

Birbar (Bubal, Mnfoegrultf) 40, 4 >

•

339. 364 6.

Bir Singh 50,270.274.

BLochmann 228, 255, 317, 328. 340. 344, 35ft, 3»

Boetho 246

Bourbons 191

Burhanpur 73, »-7\ 136, 217.

chagli1 jKJvud 53,13'

Cbampancr 59

ChnndBih <8>3«|jg

ChutorlC^'.

Coui'Fml,J

293

Hindu

•>•

**»

IP!)

r jl

juniy"!

406

Dm

OMibtnlHu) 47.66.2

,.,.,^41. 54.% 58. 72. 74, 83. 9*. 101,1*3.203.

Dgp» : 130. 4«3

D«m 21,73 W

Du-irtc I dc Laccrda 215.

Dur^* 4. 26-8. HIM. Ml-:, 144-5. 164, ISO. 225,

Fife! 228,339.311. 344.353*6

h -rhru* Sibl 7, 194), :*. J) -3, 36-9, 49, 54. 85. 87, 91, 107,

134, 157. 1*2 193,2034, 215-7, 278, 261, 268, 275. 282,

307. 313. 317, 319. 327-8, 330 334. 340. 395.

Fwiihfc :m 27, 61, 83. 124. 135. 183. 243, 291

,

FaenliBli 153 5 197 225 J 19. 3*0

Ftrnzatod 81

Ralph 261

- '

.1-

Ghijttuddin 393

Gibbon 570,

GukundaiGojHndaj &n 102

«"»*I» R 30.215.241Guiw, rw>d»uo |5

Hakim Humam47,49,3a l6?

H«Wi|lm 35,180,2^295^/HamMaBanon

,y. ,, .. ^

Hamzaban 33. 77

Hangu 55

Havel! E.B 65

Herou 19, 71-2,

HtiKJal 19. 60 i

Hirvijuya Suri 38r 194-5. 24$

Humayun 16-8, 27, 31. 38, 50 56«6l ( 68. 83, n_\ i*.

'.S3. 205. 290. 304-5, 312., 350. 55J

Husaln 1 Humyn) 26, 84. 87. 90. 103, 255,

Ibrahim Chilti 204.

Ibrahim Haji 88,91

Ibrahim Husain H Wi l72f3

Ibrahim Lodi M

Ibrahim Mfc» H 2 '*''

lkhuy.it85,267-8.273,295,

Iskandar Kb" ».»'

Jam"1"

ill:,

e Kn,dB

ItttfSg

opr}

tariud

41-2. «-5. 47-51. 61-5. «?. 123.

x233.269.-0. 280. 339, 141.4.

Jluvef 1 311 .

JL-nlMui 46

J«yk*Klu> 6S

Jrtmbr .

* -: 45. 145. 149. 266. 270, 277, 361

(pi 43

-

Kunnji J7-60 fit,"|

Kandahir tQinddun 3S, 4* a <H>. 203. 253, 262

K.:in KkasI

lii« fQtat Khan IS2

keac 66

Kkamcm Satan 30, 51, SBnpr 129.178

aJalua "'

- - -A 270-1

•56,362,395•»* 4bdu> Shahid 273,

'• l2'-"«.22.. J«.J«.2iJ, aeS|

Lerto Wdkm.26]

Maghfur D1$<,

Mali Ghck <>,

Mahmn4(SiltMiarCh|nd m M , 20Makbdmnul M„lk

Ma! 1 Ik Band 1 1 ft

Malkson I4|

Manbat tSliah Begun jm

Mandavgadli (Mtadu, Mandated* „ :<*319-20, 393

Mankut 19. 43. 127. 255,279

Mansingh 22. 32. 41-2. SS, 123. 137 m-1339. 357. 360-2

Manuui 391

MaqsudAh 744

Mariatn Makam 51

MiKudHusais W W

Mast.ro Khun JS, 107. 156.275

Mathura 24, 101

ftbum.rp.il •<*«*, ,34, W|,

MedinaWl.l54.lfl

Bahadur

eHiai.

ta

W»

Idfitlj

Miib.M.ik 1*3Miran

Miran

Mir Uak*h tf*

Mir***"*

Mohan""*"1***

a flM !

'

I

1ML4U

341-2, 353

ltd

. ,, ,li.ikmi 21 37 266 Jog, J7 .

VHBMl„„, cu ,

Tuelil^(q>IS5

P**—

'

17 lK. 229.23l,248.30»,-9.3«

"*S «.i [OS" IH IS4-7 M '• m '9 2b9

* »3.J37 MS. 371-2. 374,,

-'

Muiu Mttjdi

Mulijn frM*

. khan 3 H ft

..• 174 S3, 123, 154, 183,216-7,292.

Mason i 283

Uuufli - 31 i23

Uuaiflai Shall J, 0, H

Mcliam 26-7, 26a, 512-5,318, 350, 381

ftgiita 43 u, |3j, us, 24 R, ;-m M4*SMmM

273

Nwnaul in. T5

KtMaiultab 385

OrcbUa 30

fjHfiBitkag M

• 8«238,2n6( 347-«„35t

««*r *******

411

Pinhetro 93, 249

Pralap 43, 133

Priihviraj 31, 118.9, 3MPuranaQila 16. 25

Qabul Khan lie,i 4

Qa&im Khan 43, 221

Qazi Atdus Sa»i 1 2a

Qazi Ali 156, 203

Qazi Yaqub UQullugh INigar Knanum S3

Qutub 115

Ragbava Dev 47.

Rai(c) Singh 44, 10UIU32, UM.Rajmahat 35,78

Rajsingh 119. ITS

Ramchand (rah Raja 30, 40, 109, 222-3, IK 34*-7

RanaPratap I.M, 32. 35-*. 50, »5. 1 18/ « « 159.

180-3, 223. 229. 24*. 253*4, 274, 295.360-1.

RawalHarRai l32

Red Fott, 25. 27

Roc SJr Thomas 24*

Roosevelt Fr.nklh»..I**,5

RudolAis HI*. I* 3*3

Sahara^* 8

Satin.Chi*'-

Sh«iW

a*

' Htwtu

Valdnt

in

faj r^

tJFII

itton^il

112

i, mj* im. i*» *i. w. 1H

^ 18. 364. 392. 397,

Shall OHM IUl ' l,|d "^ ,7J '"

Shall MaiiMir 37, 2*8, 325. 348,

Slapoo! 83, 183

Sb• <,iii 194-5

Sharfuddin »31, |44, 178. 225, 272-J, 275

StauBuSK 38*197*25%

Stobil.M 53, 59-61. 68, 84, Hi., i;J6, 189, 195. 198, 250,

292! 295

Sli« Shah 16, 153-55. 197, 226, 258, 290, 312, 350, 380, 393,Saiiaji 155

Sfcnwtjiva (SnvMimi etc. I Dr. A, 1 38, 63, 9?-3 [26 I^9-

lgn*J 182-3, !94 199, 212, 220. 229, 239-40. 249,-' .-»5, 331,.333.349.53, 359, 368

Saiga

StaAni! :gum

Sifai 44

S*ddliapu» Puuti 21

14J.

I.'»i J!;K 56 ' 7 - 59.62,68, 70-i,

,^'W W-..204. 2.6.219.

354iiV64"5 - 2««. 304-S .310. 312,

**• hh *.«

*• !* say

South KtaiiBjton H 8QSrinaj-ax 43-6,

Sulian Khwaja 45, 2?4,

Sultan Rustum 45

Sultunntat Begum 41

Sural ^38.77.,2l, 2l,^^ 1?1

Surjan 30. 146, 194, J«,

Swat 42, 105

Sycdpur 56

Taj Mahal .5, 361,

Tambol 55

Tansen 30, 41., 45, 339.3M-T,

Timur (Tamcrlaml SH 61. 6S. 139. 135. 2M. 226. 380,

Terry 54.120

Thatitthwur iThaitewi. Sthaneahwiiri 23. J7, T4, 241, IB, 341

Tipurdas 222

Tod 54, 70. 82. .17, 14UR

Todarn,! 33 .3*. -144* It. «l. IM 1«. I* *339, 356-60. 3*5

Tukaroi 34, ?fl

TulsWai 354-5,

Turk AH Muim 5 <>

UdwiStnih II»

Ujjain S6

Umar Sheikh S3

28«V*»,43-4

i . Ali It*5 '

37S

adfltah

Wah

\yhed* r80

387,389-91,

X*vi

a,****

** ffiafa

Mm

TRjl

i

nlu-i^jJ

COM

414

v^s *n Ahmad

ZiicKhiin 4.\ 64.105

1.

2.

Other UooUs bv (ht S; ^Mew DelM*. or other puM,^

Taj Mahal ms A Rajput Pahi:i, R , n

(author s own publication now oui of pri

The Taj Mahal is a Hindu Palace, Ri U5,India Book House 245 Dr. Dadnbhai IS

Road t Bomba\ 1

4. Sme Blunders of Imiian HftMfM fe»«

price Rs, lfl- (Author's own puhl.cjiion).

institutes a blueprioi -or **m ««*"

and world history.

a..thort •« ft'h both he

is an W""11"",;

m^

5»*

6.

7.

"» Hindi*

Building

Mory

^

iconc.il

, rini. if oi the Indian National

,.V, f; r freedom, led by Nctaji Subhas

i and iti Base; Its haeKdrop and aftermath,

(Now oui tt print)

sr^nVr^ i!?«n*TH, price Rs. .V-Mimohur Granlh-

ma i;i Wa rig mai Shobh a K;t rye I ay a, Tlla k Road

,

na-2 Tins book is m Marat hi ll has

received literary awards (Nov, out of print),

REVIEWS AND REACTION

The extent to which [his aiithnf* two booksThe Taj Mahal Was A Rajput Palace fa success, r

volume of which has been brought nui under thetitle : The Taj Mahal is a Hindu Palace, by theL.dia Book House, 249 Dr. Dadabhai jl

Road, Bombay-1

and 'Some Blunders of Indian

Historical Research*, have unsettled current

by the historical concepts the world over, may be

judged following reviews and reactions >

1. Dr.K. Vaidyanathan M.A. Ph.D. Madras;-

4 * It is not so much '.he Taj Mahal but it is your

book on l be Taj Mahal which is the eighth wonder

of the world."

2. Barat Jyoti (Sunday edition of the English

daily, the Free Press Journal, Dalai Street, Bombay

-I) dated August 27. 1967 ; -P. N. Oak is emerging

as a popular writer on different aspects el Indian

history and culture. Ill addition to hh fe* but

quite sensational publications. Oak * article, h

found iheir way into weeklies ™f[^J"

d *^lies in both Enghsb and regional languages^ Th

c

are (people) who look upon him as a veritable

VvVsa reborn to reinstate the glory Ol Hinduvyasa rcoorn w

„ n , u, us iv misrepresentedheritage so grossly and callously mi i

j

by wicked f^tie^an^^ci

that

pl«...Oaki* absolutely right «*e«fePP

... .u. . A«i fl has been mMintftrstootlu term Arya lias been

a racial

term

term

sunderstood to be

koc

Hindu

dug

y

T)

ical

i*

41*

Molhir India .1 sft Monthly edited by

Mr j, lfJ. M P Sir Pherozsbah Mehta

Roil d. Bombay-t), December 966\ pa^c IS;

ro books ii missing the most excit-

ing m of the stupendous fraud twoic MoghuJs and the British per-

petra; il»e helpless Indian people for ovei

t^dvc centuries Only after Indfji got freedom,

the iwrsftfcmsJ disclcsure> contained in the two

books could be made. These books must be read

b« inicliictiii people. The books provoke thought,

nd ftjth new thought old history begins to assumei different complexion."'

Sundnj Standard (Indian Express,)februar

i "Or Oak's 'Some Blunders ofIndian \}m. neij Research" is a book of a baffling5

,

,ndmudjoriniegrits and comic-

S^V***- A« he ujkcI rather my

Ptad!; ll

Mru

,i,

;

ni,,,a,h D*s" Governor, uuar

as' ^"r daW »**

"I welcome toe poblica-

«"<> * a Ra P ; .n 1

!

1

;thc

(

Ta> * having been

i s aJ"

;JmJ Eail«n »«dlei'

.V',cl ' d December

tblu'd «« MS1*" '» contempt theShahJehan

built ,he Taj

——*..»»

*•

419

Mahal. Your scholarly

.

cred our own ll1Coritk lTCb,i8'«onM,.vf l

ended for the clarity lfi-l?"«" 10 £ ?°'U -

• his new and ^fc^JmWl?*cd wnh ,h„ Problem \v]Jn

r

7 ^C4m JIndia. On „„c nr m , " ' «W H.tioncd l„

Upon seeingI hie lovely i ruclu <

* 0Wn ^tt-

ii magnificent grandeuri w

' lJ"Tm* <*

was NOT a Moghu] building. For m«tourminaren reminded me of p«turei 1JZZHindu architecture m what was then known asRajpu tana. Also the octagonal design is definitely

of Hindu origin. Our library recently acquired

your wonderful little book, and some of these

things which had been puzzling me were irame-.

tely cleared up."

7, The Astrological Magazine (Editor, Mr

B.V. Raman, Sri Rajcswart, Bangalore 20) January

1966 * "Here is a publication (Taj Mahal Was a

RajP„t Pate) which tnay -WJ-. »-•From a slumber«^g££%2m*with close attention both hy it* «™

history and the lay man.'

lore). June 4. 1967 ' Jhfc ^^ w> ,„,„.

cstiiig book which prop*" fodi

[chtoiheU^onthe^ ggwhistory, and ™ k

£ e%n utiu.i>K* 0-

subject, From the cxpw

Cily

«fo Hind,,

Un

-^^

i tirr)

r?

I

r

rt.-r-.il

\

30

mm of the more ImpOflMl and

medlaevall monuments one

*^"T. ihm is sound ration

r1

. Saws?kcr las *pen1 considerable

time ,*, cfiiri end leboiir to delve deep ^Jheof the theory he ha* evolved, Mr

0j; . ichellengtn«boolc and will repay close

irnw,.. r j. i,, one Interest* d m anther)-

\ K I

. and by even rtudenl of research

In an> event it certain!) impiv

dearly th id Tor furtlter re sen re h into

the iht adumbrated and explained so elabora-

tely by linn, and f i change in the approach of

imton i is iid n teerch workers."

OiiianUir i jIi i weekly, Marina BuiJd-

inpI ght Circus, w Delhi*!), dated

Wry t. I rch .. bonk (Some BlundersI'Indian 11 al Research) requires a lot of

ODurajp and loi til* scholarship."

SearchHshi (English daily, Paina), dalcd•Mi Oak has launched

: °Jcclol n vriting Indian historytow* claimina thai ih. .,, Mahal had not^U by the, ideoipcroi Shahial.an"

inn)

with

bee

11 Dl N| Wegmdernj SLA.): Youied upon i hll

f5[«qu« au-liiundcr.of Indian Hi

emulated u ron . „,tc masterpiece orsax *^^rf^^M December .\|%7; »M|. q^

't^r**'Hih, ih.

421

in «'ie book 'Some BuRescarcbMiassetcaedZ? of ** H

and aUhouah one ™, "rl^w<*toiif. ,.

one can deny that <|lev" £

e^ Hi **£THE IUTIONaITo?^**

P.N. Oak. price to. W^b aC2S5°Yl >•

how aerology is a comsquarely on phytic Miaemaiiei ^Achapterinitduadateshowuj

i KuTubMiliar was raised by Kins Vikramaditw i» ™.

chanting guide to Indian aMroUl^T "t"h rt «u *.*r«us

nwrawgyit alio cunialai

y comunttc science baitd

^ataemaiicsaaaaiiioflotirtuciduics bow the

i Kuitibby King Vikramadltya to cant.,

morale the beginning of the Vikrnrn En. It farmed

the central tower of a pre-eminettl anew il iimdu

observatory of times when Indians ruled u large

pan of the world, Tiic book has been unanimoufly

acclaimed as a unique contribution to sclentl

astrology. Some typical comment* arc

:

The Hindu (English dailyfrotn madras). June

1968; The argument used in this book arc n«>%

and Ihoitght-provokhtg. »^*JflJrules which enable

jft** **" »* JS

Printing and

Ail lovers of ast

of the subjectJ^'^, ^Th. Mail (English JM

dmple -W clear U»d

explaining the .«''

f

calclaling llw <fas

^jaajn

»Gty

Ufo*

(4IIWV

rr,

(4 TO)

firr)

-IlilflTlClJ

«}

AN APPEAL TO THE READER

,.v .,,1 of the foregoing pages should tave

conv „c«lv.w»f the extern to which fndtan h story

(Zlconscquen.lv world history in ~c portions)

been distorted. _..»., ,•

DM of our earlier books :The Taj Mahal

» Hindu Palace, and Some Blunders ol Man

H,"'r,c,l Reseat*, bighUght some other senon.

flaws in Indian and world history.

Thi* task of rebutting our maimed and dis-

torted historv should, in fact, be undertaken by

Z nnivereitio and historical research orgamza-

,ions. But since no one was coming forward to

rectify it. the Institute for Rewriting Indian History

was founded (on June 14, 1964) as a public body

to undertake thai onerous but noble, national

task.

The Institute has only about Rs. 9,000/- in

Us account with the Bank of Baroda, Connaught

Circus. Delhi (as Oil July I, 1968).

I„ h , i tier dated August 2, 1939 Dr. Einstein

informed the American President Franklin Delano

Roosevelt that he had the know-how lo make the

atom V if 'he United Slates Government

wanted ro make Hie of il All that he needed

then was manufacturing and testing facility. ukc-

wise «e have now the know-how lo rebut maimed

and distorted Indian, and, W some extent, world

hjM, li ii now up to the public to make avail-

able tc III the necessary facility by raising a

sizeable fund(

,

could be cmp^^jWcb Ba

The Institute

"

!•

11

1

en of hiMory.—" aiiauime nc, 17.

mediately so lhat f ^' mt R ,,

may employ at least%££ ^ ,„>

aevai towns, \H^&*+f~mproving that they aL f .^^ftactions fraudul n

L ^^^ "Muslim invade, rt 2^a Jseveral books proving ,.,^1^Indo-Saracemc theory of architecture 3, Publishtranslated and annotated editions of at tan a

thousand mediaeval Muslim and European chro-

nicies to bring to the surface very valuable evidence

so far suppressed or ignored. For instance Sim 1

1

jahan's own •'Badshahnama" >md Tavcmler'i

"Travels in India" contain emphatic aneitioM

that the Taj Mahal existed prior to Mumtoz'i

death 4 Write hundreds of books ihiwins

light on some unknown tots such u^ under-

country of the world pomuu ^ble traces of o*«•!*

J*w

lhem . 6. *^»Z!K Sam

that most langu^ *« ^ rcadc*»«J*

Publish a nvagazmc^,;,

(|

lflJ re****

with the fmdmgs of A*cjvilltf

»,*u.

to world history *»

.ilia

* Hvn4u

narj

qi)

itarial

424

,lb{c and small, rich and poor.

Wem*} * ?'di3n'or

non-Indian to send in

their * * *« Uerity may be saved from

ledge so that a;tficl . and tuiorcd in fanciful.

lm red with tf» feet*.

A t least ^' ,l

f™d diversities realize their

ot ftc Govern**"'

a™|d w ,00k to folk of

^powiWity ,n ;"bccome members by paying '0

ordinary means to o_

|ifc ,members by contri-

rupees a year or cnroij ^um

5?fi£5f» incite «»»» » <•»

earnest Iv I jHdtcd.

Maobeis/donon are entitled to a discount on

Sm by Institute members or published

£lhe Ste Plications may be ordered

perVPP.

The Institute has thousands of books to

publish, which will change the entire orientation

of Indian history and to a considerable extern of

world history Your financial support is of vital

importance in this great task of rebutting history

sat present being grossly misrepresented to

1 ludcnts, visitors to historical build-

ing* and to the world at targe.

' as a member, send a -nation«r you can. and order r.ur publications-penuade your friend* to render imilaf

help

m,1-.

S rltuS The palnling is apparent!, of a pe.,od

when Akbar was r>

: Humflyur, returned to Delhi In

Humavun'S ex^(lHO-hJ

•

monthtJ Pflfle ^ ^ |V

j uly 1555 and died w ^ rMFampi|l roaaJls pater*

Elliot A Dawson, ciea«y ^ ^^ Ba(fayi, ni hB5 fl |SQ &,«,„

pur Sikrr. On poQ»\ hut $mi as Falhpur dur.no AhtMf'a

quoted referring & r* ^ township, rt.choeofOQy on"":'*18

own time v ' 5lt

Jr *

L.hBrs ol lUMPf* must not herealtermii-

and students i"™ l*hb0lil the or igin of Falehpur SIM,

lead themselves w* found*d centuries before Akba*.

It was an Hindu ejir0n||ro|y of lh(| Hlndw dti

Thar .» whv It* ^^in0i

d^ —

This painting depicting (Akbar's father) Humayun with his

nobles at Fathpur should explode the myth that Akbar found-

ed Falehpur Sikti. The painting is apparently of a period

when Akbar was not even born, Akbar was born during

Humayun's exile (1540—55), Humayun returned to Delhi in

July 1555 and died within sin months. Page 62, Vol. IV,

Elliot & Dowson, clearly mentions thai Fathpur means Fateh-

pur Sikri, On page 157 of our book Badayuni has also beenquoted referring to Falehpur Sikri as Fathpur during Akbar's

own tlms. Visitors to that township, archaeology officials

and students and teachers of history must not hereafter mis-

lead themselves Bnd others about the origin of Fatehpur Sikri.

It was an Hindu capital founded centuries before Akbar,1 Ji _ ._.'..!

Some other works by the Author

1. Fatehpur Sikri is a Hindu City

2. Delhi's Red Fort is Hindu Lalkol

3. Lucknow's Imambaras arc Hindu

Palaces

4. Agra Red Fort is a Hindu Building

5. Fowler's Howlers

6. Islamic Havoc in Indian History

7. *rf <TOT tWMMK

10. fl fH ^ (fH * Ht^ranO

12. ft^^nf

13. W( aft? tt^t (iw)

15. uror 3 5^nr f*iH (2 *ft)

16. *? mtu I ^^ *^ OT?

17. dl«IH&d Hf^T *OT t

18. m$w ffi$™ * ^^ ^19. fts*r sfasrer * ftspr ^^20. Some Blunders of Indian Historical

Research

Who Savs Akfaar was Greai?

The Present day historians consider Akbar as

a great Moghul emperor. The author of this

book questions this view. He quotes innumer-

able incidents and deeds of the so called great

emperor and proves that Akbar was the great-

est rogue. A well decumentcd work worth

reading...

HINDI SAH1TYA SADAN30/90, Connaught Circus. New Delhi - 1100O1,