Religious Policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb

2020-04-27 12:31:25

Jahangir’s Religious Policies

Liberal character of the state instituted by Akbar was maintained during the first half of the 17th century.
R.P. Tripathi says that Jahangir “was more orthodox than his father and less than his son Khurram”.
He took harsh steps against many individuals viz Guru Arjan Singh, Man Singh Suri and Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
He was a frequent visitor to Jadrup Gosain an ascetic even travelling barefoot to discuss Hindu philosophy with him.
- He was a student of Vendanta philosophy which Jahangir called the ‘Science of Tasawuff’.
- Jahangir met him 7 times and has praised him in his memoir.
Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi was imprisoned when he said that he had come closer to god even more than the Caliphs.
He did not undertake religious persecution or destruction of Hindu temples. He did not deviate from the liberal path of his father.
Orthodox elements believed that Akbars policies would be abandoned.
He asked the Ulema to collect distinctive appelations of god that were easy to remember so that he might repeat them while using his rosary.
He associated with learned and pious men on Fridays. Distributed many lac dams in charity.
He passed an ordinance that for 2 days in a week ie Thursday and Sunday there was to be no killing or slaughter of animals for food.
Ain i Jahangir or Jahangiri rules forcible conversions to Islam was forbidden.
Jahangir followed the policy of Sulh i Kul and even praised it in his memoirs. He continued enrolling Murids and giving each a token, shast and shabi or likeness of emperor.
Continued to celebrate various Hindu festivals Diwali, Holi, Dushehra, Rakhi, Shivratri etc at his court.
Banned cow slaughter in Punjab and extended it to Gujarat. Nauroz was celebrated for 19 days. Christians were allowed to celebrate Easter, Christmas etc.
He prohibited forcible sati or any other compulsion or opression over anyone.
No Ban on Hindus building new temples and they were built at Banaras.
Continued giving gifts and grants to Brahamans and temples. He made grants to followers of Chaitanya at Vrindavan.
While going to Kangra, Jahangir went from via Haridwar and made cash grants to brahmans.
But he also displayed narrow spirit claiming campaigns against Mewar and Kangra as Jihad during which many temples were destroyed.
He destroyed the Vishnu Boar image at the Pushkar temple.
Ordered all Jain temples to be closed and all Jain saints be expelled from the empire because of Moral reasons but this decision was not implemented.

Shah Jahan’s Religious Policies

During Shah Jahan’s reign Islamic precepts had increased their control over court affairs.
He Abolished the sijda/prostration as only God was worthy of it. It was replaced by Chahar Taslim.
Amal Salih tells us that 76 temples were destroyed in the Benaras region and construction of new temples were not to be done. But the ones that were built before his ascension were not to be touched. Temples and Churches were also destroyed in war.
- Exception to this was when he granted land to Shantidas a Jain jeweller from Ahmedabad to build a resting place for Jain saints. This was converted to a mosque by Aurangzeb while he was governor of Gujarat but this was later reversed by Shah Jahan.
Music and Painting was patronised. Dhrupad was his favorite form of vocal music.
Hindu Musicial Jaganath was encouraged. He was given the title of Maha Kabi Rai.
He did not impose Jiziya on the non muslims nor did the number of Hindu Mansabdars fall.

I H Qureshi (Paki Historian) has called him orthodox in his leanings and beliefs and he took measures to show that orthodoxy was back in power. > - His measures were towards declaring that islam would again be treated as dominant religion than an attempt at suppression of Hinduism.

Banned mixed marriages between Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir. Earlier Jahangir had also banned this practice but was unable to stop it.
He came into conflict with Sikh Guru Hargovind that culminated into a furious battle at Kartarpur 1631 afterh which guru retreated to Kashmir hills.
The orthodox sections rallied under Shaikh Abdul Haq of Delhi and Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi who were profound scholars of Muslim jurisprudence and hailed as renovators of Islam. They wrote letters to Muslim nobles and recruited students. Their main ideas were
- Humiliation of Hindus ie breaking of temples, having no social intercourse with them, denying them public service.
- Revival of Jizya that was mark of superiority of the Muslims
- Exclusion of practices that were not strictly within the ambit of Sharia
- Shah jahan rejected these demands
He did not reject any of the liberal measures of Akbar ex jharokha darsha, weighing himself for gifts etc.

Aurangzeb’s Religious Policies

Jadunath Sarkar, S.R. Sharma and A.L. Srivastava, find Aurangzeb, guilty of religious bigotry and persecution.
Shibli Nomani, Zahiruddin Faruki and Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi justify most of Aurangzeb’s actions as political expedients
Satish Chandra and M. Athar Ali, attempt a “neutral” analysis of. Aurangzeb’s acts without getting embroiled into the “for”. or “against” controversy.
Holi and DIwali was banned inside the bazars of Ahmedabad. this was the only bigoted step that was taken. It was more of a police regulation. Such a regulation was also passed in 1669 to curb Muharram riots.
Jharokha Darshan was discontinued after the 11th year of reign. - Darhanians were both Hindus and Muslims
Music was totally forbidden at court, they were given pensions however. Naubat or royal band was retained. - Muslim musicians like Khushhal Khan and Bisram Khan were also affected.
Satish Chandra has divided his religious policies into 2 phases

Phase 1 (1658-1679)

was marked by anumber of moral and religious regulations being issued.
He banned sijda, forbade the Kalima from being inscribed in the coins as it frequently touched the foot, his name and year issued were instead written, discontinued festival of Nauroz.
Muhtasibs/censor of public morals were appointed in all provinces, they were asked to see that people lived their lives in accordance with sharia.
- They checked if wines and intoxicants are not consumed at public places, Cheking gambling dens. Manucci says that they were openly flouted.
Forbade singing in the court only instrumental was to continue. But largest no of works in Persian on Indian classical was written during his reign and A himself was proficient in playing Veena.
Discontinued practice of Jharokha darshand and weighing emperor in gold and silver ceremony.
Public display of Holi/ Muharram was stopped. Putting tika on Raja by the Emperor was stopped.
Courtiers were asked not wear silk gowns or silk-cotton gowns.
Throne room was furnished with cheap materials, use of porcelain ink stands instead of silver ones.
Dept of History writing was discontinued as being a strain on economy.
These steps were mostly due to financial crisis created due to civil war and drought. But he also forbade collection of Rahdari/ transit tax.
Pandari/ ground rent for stalls in the bazar in the capital etc was abolished so was the octroi duty on tobacco.
Reduced import of goods by Muslim traders and later abolished it but later reimposed it at a lesser rate.
Karoris of all crown lands should be Muslims and all governors and local officials were asked to dismiss their non Muslim Diwans and clerks but was later withdrawn due to paucity of competent Muslims.
He gave orders on no construction of New Hindu temples since he looked them as centres of spreading subversive ideas not acceptable to orthodox elements. But there was no orders for general destruction of temples.
But destruction of temples was common during wards.
But he also gave grant to gurudwara of Guru Ram Das at Dehra Dun, grants to vaishnava temples in Vrindavan continue, same with grants to jogis at Jakhbar in Punjab.
Old mosques were to be repaired and imams and muezzins were appointed on regular salary as a reward for the theologians for their support.
22 years after his crowing Jizya wa re imposed on account of political considerations not to promote faith or sharia.
Manucci says that he was motivated by the needs to replenish his treasury and compel poorer Hindus to convert to Islam.
The income form Jizya was put in a separate treasury and disbursed among the needy Muslims. It bore the most on the lowest class with property less than 200 dirham.
Reimposing it was meant to serve his purpose of cementing his alliance with theologians. It was bitterly resented by the Hindus who considered it as mark of discrimination. The payee was to personally come and pay and suffered humiliation in the process. The collectors misappropriated Jizya money and Hindu shopkeepers organised hartals.

Phase II 1679-1707

He tried to project himself as the asylum of Muslims who only honours the non but people of true faith.
Deccani rulers were labelled as lustful and sinful for allying with the Marathas.
To win over parts of Telangana, Karnataka Bhimsen a contemporary historian tells that the area is full of temples but except a few cases Aurangzeb made little attempts to destroy them for fear of rousing futher opposition.
A sent large amounts of money to mecca but stopped it at the corrupt and graspings ways of the theologians.
Started recruiting more Marathas into his service in the later half of his reign.

The Decision that He Took against Hindus Were

demolition of Hindu temples which were newly constructed within the Empire. During Shah Jahan’s reign it was limited to the Benaras region only. He also instructed the old temples were not to be repaired.
In 1670, a farman was issued that all temples constructed in Orissa “during the last 10 or 12 years, whether with brick or clay, should be demolished without delay”.
Some temples that were destroyed were Vishwanath temple of Banaras, the Keshav Rai temple of Mathura and the “second temple of Somnath”.
When he was viceroy of Gujarat he destroyed the newly made Chintaman temple and deliberately killed cows.
His imposition of Jiziya in 1679 has been seen as bigotry by some. But Satish Chandra has called this a political move to gain the support of the Muslims and boost their morale for his Deccan conquest. It could also have been to curb the financial crisis.
He ordered Farmans in 1665 asking Hindus to pay 5% custom duty on goods as compared to 2 and 1.5% by Muslim merchants. Another Farman issued in 1671 said that revenue collectors of Khalisa lands were to be only Muslims.
He allowed Hindus to employed only if their numbers were half that of the Muslims.
In constrast to these. The Hindu mansabdars incerased and was one of the highest ever. He employed them in high posts as governors of Subahs. He also issued grants for maintenance of temples and priests.
His actions might have emanated from deep guilt of killing his brothers and imprisoning his father and violating the turah i chagatai ie ascending to the throne while the reigning monarch was still alive.

Rajput Policy of Aurangzeb

#todo
From 1658 to 1667 ie Jai Singhs death A relations with Rajput rajas were cordial. Rajputs were treated as partners in the Kingdom and given greater honor that during Jahagir or Shah Jahans time.
Jai Singh had commanded portions of A army during campaigns in Balkh and Qandahar.
He was major advisor to A regarding Rajput affairs. Later he was appointed the viceroy of Deccan normally given to princes or nobles of highest confidence.
He was one of the few who developed an independent Maratha policy.
A had cordial relations with Rana Raj Singh, ruler of Mewar and had promised to raise his Mansab, territories sequestered by Shah Jahan and additional areas.
From 1660 onwards relations started becoming cold. In 1666 Shivaji escaped from Agra while under the custody of Kr Ram Singh. Rajputs were accused of secretly sympathising with Shivaji. After which Ram Singhs mansabs were forfeited and Jai Singh was recalled from Deccan.
1667-1679 the empire faced domestic challenges and rebellions. During this time A decided to use Islam as bond of unity and send the Rajputs to fight off wars in troubled fronteir areas.
1671 Jaswant Singh the governor was recalled as Governor of Gujrat and given a very low post of Thanedar of Jamrud.
A was restraining in promoting Rajputs before his departure to Deccan. Rajputs wre not involved in his forward policy of Deccan.

Breach with Marwar

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Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Marwar had died without leaving a male heir. he also owed money to the state.
Aurangzeb issued orders that state of Marwar including Jodhpur should be taken into Khalisa and a detailed inventory be prepared of the property left behind Jaswant Singh.
This was not new escheat was common during the time.
He decided to March personally to Ajmer since after his death the zamindars and other elements who had been subject to him withheld their revenue. The were creating disturbance and road to Ahmedabad had become unsafe.
Indra Singh, Anup Singh were claimants to the throne. Rani Hadi wanted to keep Jodhpur as it was the watan of Jaswant Singh. She wanted to delay any decision by Aurangzeb until the other 2 Ranis of Jaswant Singh who was in advanced stage of pregnancy would birth. Rani Hadi was supported by Rathors and Raja of Mewar.
After the birth of 2 posthumous sons of Jaswant Singh their support for claim increased.
But Aurangzeb gave the gaddi of Marwar to Indra Singh for peshkash of 36 lakh rupees.
A qazi and muhtasib was appointed to Jodhpur, Jizya reimposed and old temples were systematically destroyed.
A wanted to split the Marwar among Indra SIngh and Ajit SIngh, new born son of Jaswant SIngh. Ajit Singh was to be given Sojat and Jaitaram which had significantly less income than Jodhpur and Nagaur -> shows the apprehension in mind of A about Rajputs.
Rathor sardars rejected these demands after which A ordered the princes and their mothers to be put to confinement.
Rajput sardars escaped with one of the sons to Jodhpur. After which Indra Singh and the Mughals were ousted from areas such as Jaitaran and Siwana but not Merta.
Aurangzeb put an end to this after moving to Ajmer. The Rathor rajputs dispersed to desert areas and Anuj Singh found refuge in Mewar.

Breach with Mewar

Mewar was subject to much restrictions such as Chitoor fort was not to be repaired, some of the areas around it was sequestered by Shah Jahan in 1654.
While heads of other Rajput principalities were given high mansabs. Rana of Mewar was kept out of it.
Dispute in Marwar was seen as opportunity to reasser importance of Mewar. Rani Hadi was sister of Rana’s wife.
Rana Raj Singh made preparation for war by fortifying the Chitoor fort, closing the Debari pass leading to capital Udaipur from North.
A struck first blow in 1678, Rana retreated to the hills to conduct a guerilla warfare seeing this Aurangzeb retired to Ajmer.
Mughals were at a terrain and local disadvantage and war was going towards a stalemate. Indra Singh and Ajit Singh both then renewed his claims to Marwar.
Later after the death of Rana Raj Singh in 1680 the new Rana Jai Singh became lukewarm in Ajit SIngh’s cause. There was also dissention b/w the Rathor and Sishodia Rajputs.
Prince Akbar also rebelled during this time 1681.
These development suggest that A Rajput policy had caused a widespread concern.
Ajit SIngh in 1698 agreed to let Jodhpur remain in Mughal possession and was recognised as ruler of Marwar.
Rana of Mewar was restored of his demanded Parganas in lieu of annual jizyah. Prince Azam secrectly colluded for Ranas support during war of succession.

Other Rajput States and Conclusion

Rulers of Amber, Bikaner, Harauti continued to serve the Mughals and to receive imperial mansabs.
Akbars policy of alliance with Rajputs was abandoned for alliance with influential local ruling elements including zamindars.
After death of Jai Singh they still continued to be regarded as sword arms of the empire.

Jadunath Sarkar says that loss caused due to his Rajput policy cannot be measured solely by men and money.

His exclusion policy caused increased lawlessness, loss of prestige and casted doubt on political sagacity of Aurangzeb.