The wonder that was india

Sher Shah's rise to power, from the position of a petty iqta' holder's neglected son to the throne of Delhi, was remarkable. He was not a military adventurer like so many conquerors in that age, but a far-sighted monarch with a clear vision of the prestige and responsibility of a ruler. He attracted a large number of new Afghan tribes to his service and handled the restless Afghan grandees firmly. He pacified the Salt Range and the inaccessible regions of Multan and Lahore by populating them with Afghan tribesmen. He had plans to set up other Afghan colonies in Rajasthan, Malwa, and Bundelkhand, but death put an end to his schemes. He did not, however, make the blunder of annexing the whole of Rajasthan to his empire; instead some of the petty autonomous chiefs, whom Maldeva had deposed, were restored to their principalities. Sher Shah reorganized his huge army partly on tribal lines and partly on the pattern of 'Ala'u'd-Din's forces. He revived the system of branding horses in order to stop the fraudulent practices of the military commanders, who substituted poor-quality horses to save the good stock from destruction in time of war. His well-equipped army might have extended the Sur empire into the Deccan and Kashmir if he had survived.

Sher Shah had restored peace to the country. The roads were policed by the village chiefs. From past experience of administration at the grass-roots level Sher Shah knew that crimes were mainly committed with the connivance of the village chiefs; so, if a chief was unable to produce a thief or murderer, he was himself liable to beheading. An improved espionage system also helped curb crime. Sher Shah's government-controlled caravanserais

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served both Hindus and Muslims. Brahmans supplied water and cooked food for the Hindus, so their religious laws were not violated. New market towns grew up around these caravanserais, and the many towns named Sherpur, from Multan to Bengal, are reminiscent of Sher Shah's interest in the urbanization of the country. Some local trade taxes were abolished, although they did not disappear. Customs duty was levied at only two points - one in the east, the other in the west.

After Sher Shah's death, his second son, Jalal Khan, was crowned, adopting the title Islam Shah. Jalal's elder brother, 'Adil Khan, contested his claim, and the Afghan nobles whom Sher Shah had pacified found a golden opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Islam Khan, however, was firm and energetic and defeated his brother. Once in power he concentrated on breaking the clique of Afghan leaders whom his father had tamed and trained. He resumed the iqta's previously awarded to senior Afghan commanders and transferred them to newly created junior positions. A Niyazi Afghan uprising was totally crushed, and barbarous punishments were meted out, even to the females. A second chain of fortresses, collectively known as Mankot, on the upper Indus frontier was built to suppress the uprisings of the Gakkhar tribe.15

Islam Shah systematically upgraded the Afghan army and artillery. He made government officials share with the local chiefs the responsibility for crimes in the villages and highways because, unlike Sher Shah, he did not believe that only the village headmen abetted the criminals.

Islam Shah's early death from a fistula in 1552 dislocated the administrative machinery. Before Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, three different rulers were crowned. During this time the real power lay in the hands of Himu, a saltpetre dealer in Rewari belonging to the Dhusar class, apparently a subdivision of the Gaur brahmans.

HUMAYUN RECAPTURES DELHI

While Sher Shah was approaching the Panjab after his victory at Kanauj, Kamran and 'Askari had marched on to Kabul, and Humayun to Sind. At Patar, twenty miles west of the Indus, he happened to see Hamida Barm Begum, the fourteen-year-old daughter of his brother Hindal's teacher, and fell in love with her. Hindal strongly opposed Humayun's desire to marry her, while

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Hamida herself was not prepared to marry a monarch in exile. Nevertheless Hindal's mother overcame all obstacles, and the couple were married. Accompanied by Hamida Banu, Humayun left for Jodhpur to seek Maldeva's help. On the way they passed through Amarkot, whose Rana received them warmly; there on 15 October 1542, Hamida Banu gave birth to Akbar.16 Humayun was now warned by his ambassador at Maldeva's court of the Raja's treacherous designs to imprison him, so he abandoned his journey to Jodhpur and, wandering in Sind, set out for Qandahar in July 1543. There 'Askari, who controlled Qandahar, also sought to imprison him. Leaving his heavy baggage and Akbar in the care of some loyal officers, Humayun therefore set off to seek help from Shah Tahmasp in Iran. In August 1544 Humayun joined the Shah at Qazvin in northern Iran. His stay at the Shah's court was sometimes full of hope and at other times disappointing. Humayun's loyal supporter Bayram Khan and his wife, Hamida Banu, helped him overcome all crises, while Humayun himself diplomatically conformed to the Shi'i way of life. In the end the Shah gave him about 12,000 soldiers on the condition that, once Qandahar, Ghazni, and Kabul had been captured, Qandahar would be ceded to him. No religious constraints were imposed. In September 1545 'Askari surrendered Qandahar, and Kabul was taken from Kamran three months later. Kamran, however, continued his effort to regain Kabul. He invaded it thrice but each time was subsequently expelled by Humayun. 'Askari found it difficult to accept Humayun's rule but finally he gave up the struggle for power and retired to Mecca, where he died. Only Hindal remained loyal to Humayun but he was killed in November 1551 while fighting Kamran. Then Kamran, in a final bid to regain the throne, sought help from Islam Shah in the Panjab, subsequently discovering that Islam Shah intended to imprison him instead. He escaped from the Panjab only to be captured by the Gakkhars, whose chief, Adam, surrendered him to Humayun. Pressured by his Begs, Humayun had him blinded in August 1553.17 Now no family opponent was left, and the rival Sur dynasty was disintegrating rapidly.

Leaving Kabul in November 1554, Humayun captured Lahore in 1555. In Sirhind the Afghans strongly resisted the Mughal onslaught but sustained a crushing defeat. On 23 July 1555 Humayun sat on the Delhi throne once more. He died only six months later while descending from the roof of his library where he had gone to observe the rising of Venus on 20 January 1556.18

Humayun's lifelong enemies were his brothers and kinsmen, but he quailed at the idea of harming them. Nothing demonstrates his

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keen sense of gratitude to those who helped him more than the story of his making the water-carrier, who had saved him from drowning in the Ganges, sit on his throne for half a day. He was not a good general or organizer but was courageous, optimistic, and persevering. Although he was a devout Sunni he did not despise the Shi'is, nor did he hesitate to seek their help and advice. Humayun was passionately devoted to the study of astronomy, loved painting, and wrote Persian poetry.

AKBAR THE GREAT

Before his death Humayun had appointed Akbar as governor of the Panjab and made his loyal general Bayram Khan his son's guardian. While fighting the Afghans at Kalanaur in modern Gurdaspur district, Akbar received news of his father's death. Bayram Khan promptly crowned Akbar king on 14 February 1556.19

Akbar's position was still precarious. His army was small, and even the Panjab was not completely subdued. The Afghans drove out the Mughal governors from the Agra-Bayana region; Delhi, which was suffering from a terrible famine, had been seized by Himu. Akbar's nervous followers urged him to retreat to Kabul, but both he and Bayram were determined not to leave India without making every effort to regain the throne. On 5 November 1556 Himu's army met Akbar at Panipat in a fierce battle. Himu drove back the Mughal archers and cavalry and was about to win the day by bringing in his war elephants and reserve cavalry to scatter Akbar's centre, when an arrow pierced his eye. Consternation spread instantly among Himu's army, which broke and fled. Later, when Himu was brought before him as a prisoner, at Bayram Khan's request Akbar unwillingly struck him on the neck with his sword, and Bayram finished him off. The historian Abu'1-Fazl pays an unqualified tribute to Himu's administrative and military talents and suggests that, had his life been spared, Akbar's training would have made him one of the architects of the Mughal empire.20

After Himu's death, Akbar entered Delhi in triumph. Before long his rule was established from Kabul to Jaunpur and from the Panjab hills to Ajmir. Bayram appointed distinguished Iranian literary scholar, 'Abdu'l Latif, as Akbar's tutor, but like previous teachers he too was unable to arouse Akbar's interest in reading and writing. Even so, Akbar's taste in Persian sufi poetry and

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liberal mystic thought was developed, although he devoted most of his time to sport. While he remained what Abu'1-Fazl calls 'behind a veil',21 Bayram Khan, as regent and prime minister, consolidated the administration of the reconquered region. His growing predominance alienated the Atkah Khali or 'foster-father battalion', consisting of the families of Akbar's nurses and their relations, while Akbar's mother resented Bayram's power. Akbar too was made to feel that Bayram unduly restrained him from organizing elephant fights. By 1560 he was eighteeen years old and wished to rule independently.

In March of that year one of his nurses, Maham Anaga, managed to have Akbar transferred from Agra to Delhi. From there Akbar wrote to Bayram ordering him to move to Gwalior and then to leave on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Bayram rejected his supporters' advice to march against Delhi and obediently left Agra, surrendering the insignia of royalty. In their bid to annihilate Bayram Khan, the Atkah Khail sent an army to pursue him. Bayram, who had by now reached Bikanir, decided to teach them a lesson and turned towards the Panjab. Akbar first sent an army to fight Bayram and then arrived himself. Although Bayram defeated the army near Jalandhar, he quailed at the prospect of fighting Akbar and surrendered unconditionally. Akbar ordered him to resume his pilgrimage, and on 31 January 1561 Bayram was assassinated by an Afghan at Patan in Gujarat on his way to Mecca. His camp was plundered, but his four-year-old son, 'Abdu'r Rahim, was sent to court.

Humayun had considered Bayram one of his most loyal supporters. Indeed without him Humayun's visit to Iran would possibly have been unsuccessful. Some modern historians believe that Bayram showed favouritism to his Shi'i co-religionists and that this was responsible for his fall. This is far from true. Bayram considered himself a defender of the Mughal interest and not the Shi'i sect. Even fanatical Sunnis such as Bada'uni considered him unmatched in wisdom, generosity, sincerity and humility. He was a deeply religious man and a great friend of the dervishes. Bada'uni concludes correctly that it was Bayram's strenuous efforts, bravery, and statesmanship which enabled the Mughals to found an empire in India for the second time.

Akbar's rule during the period 1560-4 has been described as a petticoat government, but this is incorrect. On the contrary, he quickly took control of the administration. By frequently changing his wakils or prime ministers he reduced the importance of the position and strengthened his personal power.

A new development in Akbar's career around this time was his

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growing interest in sufis, Hindu yogis, and sannyasis (hermits). In January 1562 he set off on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Khwaja Mu'Inu'd-DIn Chishtl at Ajmir. The region had been captured in 1557. On the way, Raja Bharmal Kacchwaha of Amber (modern Jaipur) waited on him. The Raja's feuds with his brother, and the enmity of Akbar's governor of Mewat and Ajmir, had driven him to desperate straits. In his predicament, Bharmal decided to marry his eldest daughter to Akbar in order to gain his favour. This voluntary offer was different from the former forced marriages of Muslim rulers with Hindu princesses. Akbar accepted the offer readily and, when he returned from Ajmir, married her at Sambhar.22 Raja Bhagavan Das (Raja Bharmal's heir) and Man Singh (his nephew and adopted son), were subsequently given senior positions in the imperial hierarchy.

In March 1562 Merta, the key to Marwar, was captured with the help of Akbar's Rajput supporters. This made a deep impression on Akbar's mystic mind, and after his return from the Ajmir pilgrimage he prohibited the enslavement of prisoners of war and their forcible conversion to Islam on humanitarian grounds.23 In 1563 he remitted pilgrim taxes throughout his dominions, although, according to Abu'1-Fazl, they yielded millions of rupees in revenue. In March 1564 Akbar lifted jizya (poll-tax) on Hindus. This radical departure from Islamic discriminatory laws paved the way for a more broadly based rule. None of the liberal-minded advisers who in the second half of Akbar's reign made his rule famous had yet entered his court. Akbar's mind was nevertheless filled with Islamic orthodoxy, and his liberal measures were designed merely to initiate a new state policy divorcing personal religious beliefs from the public good. Protests against the remission of poll-tax were made on economic grounds, but Akbar ignored them.

Akbar's ambitions of conquest and expansion were no different from those of other imperialists. He conquered northern India from Agra to Gujarat and then from Agra to Bengal and the borders of Assam. Next he strengthened his north-west frontier and proceeded to subdue the Deccan. The Rajput states generally became his allies, but his own restless Turani leaders were still a potent threat to his ambition of creating a strong centralized Mughal empire. Consequently he proceeded cautiously and established his overlordship with as little use of armed force and bloodshed as possible.

The long-awaited heir to the Mughal throne was born on 30 August 1569. The welcome birth was ascribed to the blessings of Shaykh Salim Chishti of Sikri. The infant was named Salim after the revered sufi saint. His mother was a Kacchwaha princess. On

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7 June 1570 Akbar's second son, Murad, was also born at Sikri. Akbar again paid a thanksgiving visit to Ajmir.

Akbar's remarkable conquests had filled his mind with gratitude to the Great Bestower of Victories. He spent many nights repeating the names of God and long morning hours meditating. In February or March 1575 he ordered the erection of an elegant structure near the Jami' mosque in his newly built town of Fathpur-Sikri. It was named the 'Ibadat Khana (House of Worship). In fact it functioned as a debating hall. On each Thursday night Akbar repaired there for religious discussions which were resumed on Friday. Only the Sunnis were initially allowed to participate. Mulla 'Abdu'l Qadir Bada'uni, who had entered Akbar's court in April 1574, and Abu'1-Fazl, who joined early in 1575, were the principal debaters. Both had been trained by Abu'l-Fazl's father, Shaykh Mubarak. Both used the same tactics to browbeat their opponents, but Bada'uni was left behind by Abu'1-Fazl, and he grew frustrated and disgruntled while Abu'1-Fazl progressed rapidly. The main targets of their attack were the prominent 'ulama' at court, such as Hajji Ibrahim Sirhindi, Makhdumu'1-Mulk, and Shaykh 'Abdu'n Nabi.24

Early in 1576 preparations for an expedition against Maharana Pratap, the son and heir of Uday Singh of Mewar, prevented the Emperor from devoting his attention exclusively to these theological discussions. Maharana Pratap posed no threat to the empire, but his continued assertions of independence were a challenge to Akbar's policy of bringing the Rajput princes under Mughal overlordship. In September 1572, six months after Maharana Pratap's accession to his father's throne, Akbar successively sent three missions to persuade Pratap to accept his suzerainty, but none succeeded in moving the freedom-loving Maharana from his ancestral path of hostility to the Mughals. Next Raja Todar Mal tried to persuade the Maharana to develop friendly relations with the Mughals, but to no avail. Akbar now decided to use military force. He went to Ajmir in March 1576, commissioning Man Singh to crush Maharana Pratap and placing eminent Rajput and Muslim commanders under his orders. Some Muslim commanders chose not to fight under a Hindu, but the orthodox Bada'uni, who was only a mullah and not a warrior, joined Man Singh's army Voluntarily, to earn the merit of jihad. A fierce battle was fought at Haldighati near Kumbhalgarh on 18 June 1576. The Afghan Hakim Sur fought bravely in the Maharana's army, hoping to re-establish the Afghan rule of Sher Shah. Man Singh's Muslim contemporaries were stunned to note how gallantly the 'Hindus wielded the sword of Islam'. The Maharana was wounded, but his

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attendant turned his horse, and he withdrew to safety. Both sides lost large numbers of brave men. The exhausted Mughal soldiers failed either to capture or to kill the Maharana and, fearing ambush, were unable to pursue him effectively. Although the Maharana could no longer assemble a force large enough for a head-on confrontation, his guerrilla warfare increased in ferocity. On 12 October 1576 a disappointed Akbar left Ajmir, although he continued trying to encircle and entrap the Maharana. Sirohi and Bund! were subsequently captured, and the Maharana's capital, Kumbhalgarh, ten miles north of Udaipur, was taken on 3 April 1578. In 1585 the Maharana narrowly evaded capture, but by now Akbar was tired of the relentless chase and relaxed his pursuit. The Maharana continued waging guerrilla warfare until his death on 19 January 1597. He was a gallant and heroic character. Akbar was the captive of his own imperialistic ideals, which prevented him from leaving the Maharana in peace.

Akbar again visited Ajmir in September 1577. At Bhira, while returning via the Panjab, he organized a large hunting expedition, called a qamargha, in which wild animals were trapped by encirclement. During this he experienced a fit of ecstasy under a tree, which revolutionized his spiritual life. He became deeply interested in learning about other religions. After his return to Fathpur-Sikri he resumed the theological debates with representatives of all religious groups such as Shi'is, Hindus, Christians, and Zoroas-trians. The results were very positive. He grew convinced, as Bada'uni says, that all religions contained some truth and that this was not the prerogative of Islam. He believed that constant self-examination was a spiritual exercise of prime importance and that no action should be taken without sound reason.

Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabi meanwhile wished the Emperor to confirm the death sentence on a rich brahman who had been imprisoned for seizing the material collected to build a mosque and also for abusing the Prophet. Akbar left the decision to him, expecting only a mild punishment to be inflicted; but the Shaykh ordered the brahman's execution. This made Akbar angry, because he believed that according to Hanafi law, even if there were ninety-nine precedents authorizing capital punishment for a particular offence and only one allowing leniency, judgement should be based on the more merciful precedent. During this crisis Abu'l-Fazl's father, Shaykh .Mubarak, suggested the Emperor obtain the written verdict of the 'ulama' as to whether the Imam-i 'Adil (Just Ruler) was empowered to decide in accordance with expediency on controversial legal questions. According to existing Sunni practices Akbar could not be denied this power, which all Muslim rulers

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exercised. A document dated August-September 1579, known as the mahzar, was consequently signed by the leading 'ulama' under the guidance of Shaykh Mubarak and his sons. It was not an 'infallibility decree' as claimed by V. A. Smith, an eminent authority on Akbar.25

Akbar's political and military reforms, such as the .branding of horses, reduction in the commanders' allowances, and the grants of the 'ulama' had already given rise to much dissatisfaction among the Mughal officials. The mishandling of the situation by the Bihar officials in particular sparked off a rebellion there. This spread to Bengal, where the new governor appointed in March 1579, Muzaf-far Khan, was also clumsy in implementing the new revenue and military regulations and in his treatment of the Afghans whose land had been sequestered.

The disgruntled Mughal mansabdars, mainly Turanis, rebelled, putting Muzaffar Khan to death on 19 April 1580. They formed their own government and declared Akbar's half-brother, Mirza Hakim, their ruler. Between 1580 and 1582 the rebellion spread from Bihar and Bengal to Avadh and Katihar. The Shi'I Mulla Muhammad Yazdl led both the Sunn! and Shi'I groups of rebel 'ulama'. Akbar then ordered these 'ulama'to be sent to Agra by boat. Near Agra the boat was sunk, and all the 'ulama' in it drowned.26 Other 'ulama' were either secretly killed, exiled, or imprisoned.

In February 1581 Akbar marched to Kabul against Mirza Hakim. At Kabul the people received him warmly, so although he had defeated him, Akbar left Kabul in Hakim's hands and set off for Agra. The arduous journey did not prevent Akbar from entering into religious discussions. Father Monserrate, a member of the first Jesuit mission at Akbar's court (1580-3), who accompanied the Emperor, has left a lively account of these debates. When Shaykh 'Abdu'n Nabi and Makhdumu'1-Mulk heard of the rebellion, they returned from Mecca without permission but were dismayed to find that by mid-1582 Akbar's Irani and Rajput commanders had restored peace in the eastern provinces. Makhdumu'1-Mulk died at Ahmadabad; 'Abdu'n-Nabi returned to Fathpur-Sikri, where he was imprisoned while the accounts for the money given to him for Meccan charities were audited by Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's Hindu controller of finance. After some months he was strangled.

Father Daniel Bartoli, a later Jesuit author, claims that after his return from Kabul, Akbar made himself the founder and head of a new religion 'compounded out of various elements, taken partly from the Koran of Muhammad, partly from the scriptures of the Brahmans, and.to a certain extent, as far as suited his purpose, from the Gospel of Christ'. This religion, Bartoli continues, was

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discussed by a council of learned men and commanders, from which Father Rudolf of the first Jesuit mission was excluded, where 'The men of note, especially the commandants, who had no God other than the King and no law other than his will', readily accepted Akbar as the founder of the new religion. An old shaykh, identified by V. A. Smith as Shaykh Mubarak, was sent to proclaim to all quarters that in a short time 'the (religious) law to be professed throughout the Mughal empire would be sent from the court and that they should make themselves ready to take it for the best, and accept it with reverence, whatever it might be'.27 This council is regarded by modern scholars as the inauguration of Akbar's alleged new faith, the Din Ilahi (Divine Faith). The letters and reports of three Jesuit missions which visited Akbar, however, indicate that no new religion was ever promulgated. For example, Father Jerome Xavier of the third mission to Akbar's court in 1594 firmly believed that Akbar was not a Muslim but a superstitious pagan. According to him, Akbar 'aims at making a new religion, of which he himself is to be head; and it is said that he already had numerous followers; but that these are for the most part flatterers, or people who have been bribed by money'.28 This shows that no new religion had yet been formulated even as late as 1594, although, according to the Father, 'It is more or less certain that he has a strong desire to be looked upon and esteemed as a God, or some great Prophet; and he would have people believe that he performs miracles, healing the sick with the water with which he washes his feet'.29 Blochmann, a nineteenth-century scholar, lists eighteen people as members of the Din Ilahi. No founder of a new faith could be proud of such a miserable following, much less a mighty emperor like Akbar. The examination of contemporary sources does not lead us to the conclusion that Akbar invented a new religion. Essentially he expected his state grandees to follow the four degrees of devotion or discipleship, denoting readiness to sacrifice their life, property, honour, and religion to promote the interest of their imperial masters. Although the high grandees of the empire were expected to renounce everything, the more junior satisfied the Emperor by expressing a readiness to sacrifice only one or two of the above.30 Akbar had no intention of calling upon his disciples to forsake their ancestral faith; he meant only that religion should not be an obstacle to the promotion of imperial policies. It was this spirit of devotion that made Rajput fight Rajput and Muslim fight Muslim to strengthen the Mughal empire.