akdha ff - the desert's rose - Page 5

Hi, sorry to hijack your thread this way, but the discussion on History here caught my attention and I would like to join in, if it's fine? :)

Replies in bold.

Originally posted by: lkdaswani

And reading these books I find that Akbar really wasn't a nice man...

Which books are these? I would like to read up on him as well, so it would be nice if you could recommend some!

Yes, he did do some good things, things that at that time would have seemed HUGE for an Emperor to do but with the present viewpoint, he really wasn't a good person.

I agree with your general sentiment, but I think it's unfair to judge people from that era with the lens of present day morality. In fact, I would say even by present day standards, Akbar's good deeds (especially in his later life) far outweigh his bad ones of youth.

It's a shame that the Real Marium Uz Zamani's name remains a mystery to us. In fact, except for two names- those of Ruqaiya Begum and Salima Sultan...all of Jalal's wives names are a Mystery. It's like they've been rubbed off from History. Them being Hindu is a fact- because Akbarnama mentions that Jalal mostly conquered the Hindu Kingdoms through marriage- but the names of these women names, their lineage...everything has been washed away by probably some folks who thought it 'offensive'. But then again, it's a surprise that the names of Ruqaiya and Salima were made available- how strange na, that the names of Begum with Mughal Blood are shown off boldly whereas the name of the MOTHER of the heir to the kingdom is hidden away just because...just because what? So obviously, Incest is ok but marriage with a Hindu is not.

I share your rage in the pathetic treatment of Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba by History. She's an absolute icon, and deserves to be known as such. It delights me to see that so many people now know her, and some have even worked hard to popularize her. I'm sure you've read Abhay's blog, but do visit it if you haven't yet: https://mariam-uz-zamani.blogspot.com/

One little correction, Akbarnama does not give the names of any royal women, just their titles. As for lineage, MUZ's parents, Amer, her background is mentioned. The fact of her name's absence has more to do with the customary practice of not naming royal females, than it has to do with any Hindu-phobia (not denying that it wasn't there, it's just not the case with Akbarnama, atleast.) Her systematic erasure from History comes later, with the likes of Aurangzeb, for in Akbar's time she was very well-known and highly influential. Akbar was very vocal and open about his adherence to certain Hindu practices, there's no reason he would hide his Hindu Empress' name out of any contempt for the religion.

Besides, her being a Hindu is not even hidden. Akbarnama mentions her as Bharmal's daughter, so clearly a Hindu. Even later texts from Aurangzeb's time, like the Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, explicitly state that the mother of Salim was Raja Bharmal's daughter.

On Akbar's Rajput policy, I highly recommend reading chapter four of Sir Jadunath Sarkar's "A History of Jaipur". Since he belongs to the nationalist school of historians (and not Marxist), you can be sure of there being no bias in favour of Akbar.

https://archive.org/details/a-history-of-jaipur-1503-1938-jadunath-sarkar/page/n1/mode/2up

Akbar was a di*ck. He was better than those who came before him and better than those who came after him but still...not a good person.

Well, I would say he started out as just another cruel ruler, and did go on to become a good person. The transformation itself, in an era of stagnant morals, and by a person virtually un-questionable in his power, is remarkable and worthy of praise.

AND he was ugly, or at least unattractive. According to real descriptions. Strange na, that in almost all his paintings he is shown old and grey when he actually ascended to the throne so young?

Which description is this? I remember reading Father Monserrate's description, and he seemed to be all praises for Jalal. The paintings part is explained in the blog - it's because kingship was tiring and kings tended to age before their time. Plus, several paintings exist from his youth as well, just that the later ones are more popular.

I read in one of these papers that only male slaves were freed whereas female slaves remained untouched by this 'anti-slavery' law.

Link it here please!

But these works are negatively affecting my opinion of Akbar and that might show up in the next chapter- I am being influenced by the TRUTH!!

It's always nice to be influenced by the truth. However, if I may suggest it, do make an effort to not rely upon others' interpretation of the truth. If possible, read the primary sources (in this case, Akbarnama and Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh), and then form an opinion of your own. I'm sure you would enjoy both of these.

Originally posted by: Saiyaa

Only truth...

Unfortunately their own clan themselves have damaged theirs memoirs beyond repair.

@Bold, you mean the Mughals? or the Rajputs?

Of course! Anyone who's interested is very much welcome to join!! 😃
I fell down a deep rabbit hole while looking for things to read and read many many things some of which I spoke of here.
I do believe I have a link still open on my laptop just so that I can refer to it if I ever needed to, lemme see if I can find it...
AHA!! It's called-

"MARRIAGE AND CONCUBINAGE IN THE MUGHAL IMPERIAL FAMILY by Shadab Bano"
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44144101

I don't know if this link will work because I jumped a few obstacles to access it, but I can add some lines directly quoted from it.

This is the para that made me pause and say, 'wtf!'

I know I am judging him (Akbar) through the lens of the present but I am...WE ARE in the present. He isn't the only person I judge through the lens of the present. I have strong opinions on Gandhi as well as Jawahar Lal Nehru. I have Respect for all three historical figures but respect does not negate my feelings today. And anyway, some things are universally and eternally wrong...no matter what timeline you live in.
Eg. White people are still criticised for practising, allowing and promoting slavery in history. Some things when wrong...are just wrong. Time holds no sway over those feelings.

For instance, treating women so lowly (And Akbar is not the only one guilty of it...many are. But we are speaking of Akbar specifically.)
This para sort of made me see just how expendable women were to the Badshah and that he chose to follow his Mongolian ways rather than his Islamic ones, when and whenever it suited him.

Women = Property.

See, when I say that it's strange that we don't know the real name of 'marium uz zamani' and you say that royal women's names were not known is a joke because we KNOW the names of Ruqaiya. Salima. Bibi Daulat shad. Bakshi. Hamida. Gulbadan.
And from Salim's time, we have Mehr-un-nissa. Saliha Banu Begum.
From Humayun's time, we HAVE names. Maha Chuchak, Hamida and what not.
Hells, even Babur's Begums' names are known. Bibi Mubarika, Aisha and a few more...poor Babur, I don't know if he had someone like Abul Fazl in his employ or not but at least, his wife's name, no matter how inconsequential today- is still known.

So, obviously...We have names.
It startles me that the name-- the real name of this woman who birthed the future of the Mughal Empire, who was the Chief Queen of one the greatest Kings in Indian History, the woman who was beloved by her people...is unknown, when the names of royal women, less important than her are known.
That's all.
It's strange...but more than that, it's sad.

And Akbar's youthful days are known to all but perhaps not in detail as Indian course books fail to educate us well (Thank you NCERT, you keep failing us far into the future).
In short, Akbar was like any other Mughal King but changed for the better in later days...again, does that justify and negate his past offences?
Are the people he killed suddenly alive? The women he raped, suddenly un-raped? The Idols of Gods he broke, suddenly pristine?
You would now ask why do I judge Akbar and Ashoka differently. Both killed and both repented. Both changed for the better.
The reason is- Ashoka's crime was killing during a war. Akbar's crimes...

I dunno if we can professionally quote a newspaper article but I read it before writing the message to which you replied, So I will quote it anyway.

"In her seminal book — The Great Mughal — Ira Mukhoty describes that in 1568, Akbar had captured the fort of Chittorgarh after a protracted siege. After winning the battle, Akbar ordered a cold-blooded massacre of 40,000 innocent Hindus who were unarmed civilians, mostly peasants and who had taken shelter in the fort in what she calls an “aberrant scorched earth policy". She further says the defeat of Chittor was proclaimed to be the victory of Islam over infidels and Akbar called himself “busy in jihad". Several temples were destroyed and hundreds of ordinary women of the city who couldn't commit Jauhar (a Hindu practice of mass self-immolation by women in the past) were captured.

According to James Todd, the famous historian and oriental scholar, the ‘tolerant Islamist Akbar’ had measured the “killed ones” by weighing their janeu (sacred thread). After ransacking Chittor, the weight of the janeus was 74.5 mann (1 Mann = 40 kg). He further says -- even if I just count the atrocities at the hands of Akbar, it will be a challenge to keep an account of them all, for the record, the weight of one janeu is approximately 7 grammars."

Read the full article here if you wish,
https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion-columns/story/akbar-the-great-mughal-empire-india-opinion-1951260-2022-05-19

Again, I WILL say that perhaps, yes. In the past- at the time when Akbar became 'Akbar', Jalal-ud-din was a...better king than his predecessors. More tolerant. More Diplomatic. Better King than the few that followed him.
But to forget his past atrocities...just because he provided SOME respite...
It's like praising the person who bullied you all those years in school because they nodded at you from across the street.

Yeah. NO.

(If I have made an error in mentioning someone or quoting a fact (or what I thought of as fact) from history, kindly let me know and I will correct it.))

new place, new faces (part one)

note: I know it's not just me who has given a thought to why Hamida took a liking to Jodha even before meeting her. regardless of what the exact reason might have been, it is heartwarming to see that there were a few people in Agra who were ready to accept her and her religious beliefs without argument.

also, this was initially meant to be a one-shot of at least 1000 words, but here we are - a thousand more words and as part of this fanfic.

As the Malika-e-Azaam, Hamida Bano Begum had her duty in the Mughal Empire, making political decisions and granting amnesty to offenders.

When she wasn't performing her royal obligations, she was on pilgrimages to holy sites to seek the blessings of the saints over the empire and more so, her son, Jalaluddin Mohammad.

And when she wasn't on pilgrimage, she found herself in the hojra of her sister-in-law and friend, Gulbadan Begum, narrating her account to the storyteller for the Humayun Nama.

Gulbadan had started drafting the document a few years ago on Jalal's request with her collecting accounts from the ministers who had served in Humayun's court and gathering information from the royal library.

Upon her return from one of her pilgrimages, Hamida had made her way down to Gulbadan's chambers, accompanied by Jiji Anga to share her account.

This was one of the days until one of the eunuchs came in with an unexpected message - that of a wedding which took place in Sambhar between her son and a princess.

Jalal travelling to another kingdom to form political alliances via marriage was nothing new to Hamida, in fact, it was understandable why he'd do that without bringing an entire entourage of the royal family.

Him gaining a new bride without informing anyone back home, however, was what threw her off her feet. From what this eunuch passed on to her, not even Ruqaiya was aware.

Since Jalal always shared this kind of information with Ruqaiya, Hamida found it puzzling that he kept it secret from everyone in Agra, including his chief consort.

However, her initial surprise gave way to a wide smile upon hearing that her son's new bride was of Rajput upbringing - that and that she was the titled Registan ka Gulab.

"Subhanallah!" She raised her head up with her hands out in prayer. "Jalal has done well by marrying a Rajvanshi princess."

Hamida had her own reasons for finding joy in this discovery, one of them being that the Rajputs had extended a hand of hospitality to her while she was on the run. This was also at the time where she was heavily pregnant with Jalal after Sher Shah Suri had laid siege to the Mughal Empire.

She had been at her most vulnerable with her bandhi, Maham Anga, and her husband's chief advisor, Bairam Khan, as her only company.

While in Umerkot, Hamida had witnessed firsthand the generosity of people of a different religion and caste from hers and she had formed good relationships with the Rajputs of that kingdom.

While she eventually had to leave to keep her husband company in Persia, her gratitude towards the Hindus was one of the things that would always follow her till her dying breath.

In addition to that, words about the Registan ka Gulab spread so quickly with the townspeople singing the praises of a young woman in one of the towns she had visited during one of her pilgrimages.

The Registan ka Gulab, according to the citizens, was a woman blessed with pure beauty by the gods and just as beautiful as she was, she had a heart full of compassion towards people and animals.

However, a person could not earn such a title based on their beauty and compassion alone. Like the aforementioned rose in her title, the Registan ke Gulab carried with her thorns which manifested as the fierceness that shone in her brown eyes and the passion which was evident in her voice as she stood against injustice. Such a woman would keep her son on his toes.

Not that there were not assertive women in the harem or in her son's life, Maham Anga and Ruqaiya being the two major examples she could think of right off the bat. However, she found Maham Anga to be too cunning with a side agenda of her own while Ruqaiya was more focused with maintaining her own power in the harem and gaining as much more as she could gain.

Jalal might believe otherwise but Hamida knew the way his mind operated. His marriage to the Registan ka Gulab was born from his recent conquest of Amer and an attempt to have the Rajput princess as his war trophy.

From what Hamida had heard about her son's recent bride, the latter might prove a challenge to the man who loved challenges and mind games. Maybe, and maybe in the process of playing his mind games, Jalal would discover that he did have a heart after all.

She could only smile genuinely, dismissing the eunuch eventually but not before gifting him some of her golden jewelry.

With an elated sigh, she stood up from her seat and turned to Jiji Anga and Gulbadan Begum.

"We have a queen to welcome."

Upon hearing the news, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum had to maintain her composure in front of Begum Ruksaar, Begum Nameez and her personal eunuch, Hoshiyar. She paused her game as if to come to terms with what she just heard.

Noting the expressions of the two queens and her eunuch, she could tell that they were equally blindsided as they turned to look at her.

For the first time in the years she had been married to Jalal, he had kept this one piece of news from her. Even as he walked into her chambers after he arrived from Shalpur, every attempt to investigate his findings in Amer all led to vague answers and attempts to change the topic.

"So, what is this I hear about you in Amer?" she started off, her fingers picking out one of the grapes as she watched him closely for any reaction.

Instead, she was met with a stoic Jalal who picked up an apple, examining the fruit so meticulously as if he was inspecting it.

He then looked up at her, "So, the news has reached you?"

She sat up with a teasing smile, "Even I prefer to keep up with the current events, Shehenshah. So, Amer?"

It was no secret to her that her husband had his sight on the golden capital of Rajputana nor was it a secret that he'd go undercover to the kingdoms of his target to gauge their strengths. Yet, she could detect something different but had no idea exactly what it was.

It seemed as if his body was right here but his mind was somewhere else.

"Amer has something I want," was the answer he had given her with every attempt to get him to decipher those words turning out to be futile.

"Amer has something I want."

Ruqaiya found herself smiling as it all made sense. So what if he took in a new bride? What was it to her? This would not be the first bride Jalal would have neither would she be the last.

Yet, why did this manage to upset every corner of her mind?

Was it the secrecy? The fact that Jalal hid this from her and totally blindsided everyone including her?

Still aware that she had Ruksaar, Nameez and Hoshiyaar watching her reaction, she turned to the eunuch with a stoic mask.

"Go prepare her room, in that case."

Hoshiyaar stood in confusion at her command while the two queens exchanged glances. Did they expect a different reaction from what she just exhibited?

"Huzoor, why are you not upset at this news? Surely-."

She looked up at him, her eyes stern as she answered, her lips twisted into a smirk.

"Shehenshah has found himself a new toy to play with," she replied, the two begums before her seeming to agree with her. "In a few days, he'll be bored of her and discard of her. I will always be his favourite wife and the one he comes back to regardless of how many women he brings into this harem. Go ahead, decorate a room for the new queen."

The eunuch has his eyebrows raised in understanding, his posture bent as he paid his respect before exiting to start the task his mistress had sent him.

Now left with the two queens, Ruqaiya reached down to continue her game of chaupar when Begum Nameez decided put in her input.

"It is strange Shehenshah would marry again without alerting anyone," she stated in a pseudo-concerned tone.

The begum's remark seemed to have struck its target in Ruqaiya whose hand stopped midway at the game board. She let out a shaky breath as she held her head high.

"Either way, I will take care of his new queen the same way I take care of his possessions," she concluded.

"And now that Shehenshah is on his way to the palace, will you not welcome him?" It was Begum Ruksaar's turn to ask.

With a nonchalant shrug, Ruqaiya went back to the game, "he will make his way back to me like he always does - before meeting anyone else."

Hamida Bano had to keep herself from jittering in anticipation. The messenger had given her the news that the entourage was only a few minutes away from the mahal.

While it was reassuring that she would not have to wait for so long, it did not help in calming her nerves. In all her years of witnessing some of Jalal's weddings and welcoming some of his queens into the harem, she had never thought she would be this expectant of an additional queen.

However, it turns out she would not have to worry anymore as her eyes caught sight of the entourage at the gates of the palace.

Just as she had requested, the Hindu bandhis had formed a procession at the hojra allocated to her, ready to welcome the Registan ka Gulab. Hamida had thought of putting together the women to welcome their new queen in a way that would make her feel like she belonged in Agra.

Soon enough, the entourage had gotten into the palace and Hamida, followed by Jiji Anga and Gulbadan, made her way towards the new couple.

Before her was her son, his usually stoic face bearing a small smile. Behind him was a band of guards carrying a palki, which Hamida knew carried her daughter-in-law.

They slowly lowered the palanquin to the ground with Jalal turning to hold his hand out.

There she was, a feminine hand decorated with henna peeked out of the veil, taking Jalal's hand.

Mashallah, Hamida's lips lifted into a smile as a woman in a lavender ghagra and choli with a yellow translucent dupatta, which showed her midriff, came out of the palki. The far-end of her dupatta formed a ghoonghat which concealed her face.

Both parties finally met halfway and the world seemed out of focus as Hamida's sight was on her new daughter-in-law only. That was until Maham Anga had snapped her out of that.

"Begum Jodha, this is the Malika-e-Azaam and mother of the emperor, Hamida Bano Begum," the white-cladded woman announced.

Jodha, a lovely name for a beautiful woman, Hamida's smile widened even further.

As if on cue, Jodha stepped forward, greeting Hamida in the traditional Rajput greeting.

"Pranaam," her lilted voice addressed her before she bent to touch her feet.

Gently, Hamida pulled her up before slowly unveiling her. Dark brown doe eyes met hers, Hamida almost believed a messenger of Allah had graced the grounds of Agra.

"Mashallah," she complimented, not even the words she had heard could do Jodha enough justice. "You are even more beautiful than I have heard. Not even Agra's finest could compare to how beautiful you are."

Jodha gave a demure smile, with Hamida now determined to establish a close bond with her. Her son had done well with bringing home Registan ka Gulab, whatever his motive may have been.

She didn't have a daughter-in-law, rather Allah had blessed her with another daughter.

closing notes: I apologize for my delay in posting this. I had volunteered to assist in my church's VBS and while doing that, I had forgotten to post this chapter for publishing 🥲

For some reason, IF isn't letting me post here. Typed a whole hour's worth of response only to have it deleted. :(

Replies in Bold.

Of course! Anyone who's interested is very much welcome to join!! 😃

I fell down a deep rabbit hole while looking for things to read and read many many things some of which I spoke of here.

Thank you for your detailed and polite reply, really appreciate it! :) And same here, been in this rabbit hole for quite a while now, been through all the rage, dissonance and disappointment I'm guessing you feel right now. As they rightly say, never meet your heroes!

I do believe I have a link still open on my laptop just so that I can refer to it if I ever needed to, lemme see if I can find it...
AHA!! It's called-

"MARRIAGE AND CONCUBINAGE IN THE MUGHAL IMPERIAL FAMILY by Shadab Bano"
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44144101

I don't know if this link will work because I jumped a few obstacles to access it, but I can add some lines directly quoted from it.

This is the para that made me pause and say, 'wtf!'

Thank you for the link, I have access to jstor, so the entire document was visible. I've read it before, when reading up on the anti-slavery laws under Akbar. While the author of this paper makes such a high claim, of women being left out, she provides no source for this claim. The reference (10) given here, actually says that both men and women were no longer slaves (you can verify it from the document).

I know I am judging him (Akbar) through the lens of the present but I am...WE ARE in the present. He isn't the only person I judge through the lens of the present. I have strong opinions on Gandhi as well as Jawahar Lal Nehru. I have Respect for all three historical figures but respect does not negate my feelings today. And anyway, some things are universally and eternally wrong...no matter what timeline you live in.

Eg. White people are still criticised for practising, allowing and promoting slavery in history. Some things when wrong...are just wrong. Time holds no sway over those feelings.

Absolutely! Polygamy and slavery as institutions themselves are disgusting, and anyone who took part in them, especially as the ruler/leader, should rightly be judged harshly. However, both of these institutions were recognized and denounced by Akbar as being bad, and I see that as a moral win. Like I said, while some moral standards are absolute, it takes some strength of character to apply them in times where social evils are widely normalized.

For instance, treating women so lowly (And Akbar is not the only one guilty of it...many are. But we are speaking of Akbar specifically.)
This para sort of made me see just how expendable women were to the Badshah and that he chose to follow his Mongolian ways rather than his Islamic ones, when and whenever it suited him.

Women = Property.

This one is true, and scandalous indeed. But it is precisely this mindset that he grows out of, and while that isn't an excuse for past behaviour, it is something that must be acknowledged as well. Keep in mind that this is an era where women are universally considered second-class citizens, and polygamy is literally a political tool, irrespective of religion/region.

See, when I say that it's strange that we don't know the real name of 'marium uz zamani' and you say that royal women's names were not known is a joke because we KNOW the names of Ruqaiya. Salima. Bibi Daulat shad. Bakshi. Hamida. Gulbadan.

I didn't say their names weren't known, I said Akbarnama, Akbar's official history commissioned by him, does not mention any royal ladies by their names. You can call it misogyny, but it isn't religious bigotry.

And from Salim's time, we have Mehr-un-nissa. Saliha Banu Begum.
From Humayun's time, we HAVE names. Maha Chuchak, Hamida and what not.
Hells, even Babur's Begums' names are known. Bibi Mubarika, Aisha and a few more...poor Babur, I don't know if he had someone like Abul Fazl in his employ or not but at least, his wife's name, no matter how inconsequential today- is still known.

So, obviously...We have names.
It startles me that the name-- the real name of this woman who birthed the future of the Mughal Empire, who was the Chief Queen of one the greatest Kings in Indian History, the woman who was beloved by her people...is unknown, when the names of royal women, less important than her are known.
That's all.
It's strange...but more than that, it's sad.

Absolutely, it's tragic and something that upsets me very much. However, I also believe that Harka Bai was too powerful a personality to be erased/hidden. If her story has survived even after ages of prejudice and deliberate suppression, I know for sure it will survive for ages after. Satyamev Jayate, after all! :)

Also, I would like to to repeat - the absence of her name from Mughal records is a later day act of prejudice - Akbar had no reason to hide her Hindu background (and he never did). Her palaces at Fatehpur Sikri and Mandu (MP) are clear and timeless evidences of her faith. Look at this farmaan issued by Akbar for protection of Saint Vithal Rai - https://mariam-uz-zamani.blogspot.com/2015/09/farman-akbar-goverdhan-jatipura-temple.html- Harka Bai was a disciple of his, and it was definitely respect for her beliefs that prompted Akbar to do so. Badauni* mentions with great annoyance how Akbar used to come to the court donning a tilak, earrings, no-beard look (he calls it his Rajput wives' influence) - he would be the last person to erase her name from anywhere. But chroniclers, future rulers etc were not as open-minded, and definitely have tried suppressing her name/background.

In fact, it is interesting to note that while Shah Jahan's mother was also Hindu, her name is quite well known. Why is only Harka Bai's name so obscure? The fact that people took so much effort to suppress her name specifically, is itself a testament to her immense power in Akbar's reign. So much so that revealing her name is a threat to Islamic orthodoxy, perhaps. This, her absence from later records, actually speaks in favour of Akbar and his regard for his Hindu Empress.

*Badauni's Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh is a great read as well, it is by an orthodox Muslim courtier who was fiercely critical of Akbar's policies. In fact, it is such a biting critique, that it was written in secret and published only after Akbar’s death.

Replies in Bold.

And Akbar's youthful days are known to all but perhaps not in detail as Indian course books fail to educate us well (Thank you NCERT, you keep failing us far into the future).

True, but that's not entirely NCERT's fault. How much detail can be taught to school kids? When a king's negative details are not mentioned, it's usually because their positives far outweigh their negatives. Besides, school textbooks generally tend to sanitize and summarize everything. This is why we're taught that the Bhakti movement was peaceful, or that Ashoka was a pacifist preaching Dhamma, or that the Gupta Era was India's Golden Age. The violent clashes of the Shaivas and the Vaishnavas, the brutality of Ashoka, and the rampant casteism of the Gupta Age is reserved for those who take up higher/academic History.

In short, Akbar was like any other Mughal King but changed for the better in later days...again, does that justify and negate his past offences?

Absolutely not. But do his past offences render his later life absolute change meaningless? I think not.

Are the people he killed suddenly alive? The women he raped, suddenly un-raped? The Idols of Gods he broke, suddenly pristine? You would now ask why do I judge Akbar and Ashoka differently. Both killed and both repented. Both changed for the better. The reason is- Ashoka's crime was killing during a war. Akbar's crimes...

Akbar's crimes were during wars as well. The Chittor Massacre was the aftermath of a war. There's no reason to believe Ashoka spared civilians. Both polygamy and slavery were practiced by Ashoka as well, if that's what you mean by rapes. Breaking of idols was also only during the Chittor siege, I've never heard of any other instance. (Correct me if I'm wrong here).

I dunno if we can professionally quote a newspaper article but I read it before writing the message to which you replied, So I will quote it anyway.

"In her seminal book — The Great Mughal — Ira Mukhoty describes that in 1568, Akbar had captured the fort of Chittorgarh after a protracted siege. After winning the battle, Akbar ordered a cold-blooded massacre of 40,000 innocent Hindus who were unarmed civilians, mostly peasants and who had taken shelter in the fort in what she calls an “aberrant scorched earth policy". She further says the defeat of Chittor was proclaimed to be the victory of Islam over infidels and Akbar called himself “busy in jihad". Several temples were destroyed and hundreds of ordinary women of the city who couldn't commit Jauhar (a Hindu practice of mass self-immolation by women in the past) were captured.

According to James Todd, the famous historian and oriental scholar, the ‘tolerant Islamist Akbar’ had measured the “killed ones” by weighing their janeu (sacred thread). After ransacking Chittor, the weight of the janeus was 74.5 mann (1 Mann = 40 kg). He further says -- even if I just count the atrocities at the hands of Akbar, it will be a challenge to keep an account of them all, for the record, the weight of one janeu is approximately 7 grammars."

Read the full article here if you wish,

This is one thing where I'm 100% in agreement with you. In my opinion, the Chittor Massacre is the single largest blot on Akbar's legacy, one that can't be erased by all the goodness of the world. Every single life is invaluable, and to take away 30,000 of them at a whim is just... no words exist for barbarity, perhaps.

Just one thing, James Todd is widely considered unreliable amongst scholars, for his account was written centuries after Akbar's death, and based mostly on hearsay. It was James Todd who infamously (and incorrectly) called Akbar's wife "Jodha Bai", there are plenty of other inconsistencies too. But of course, Akbarnama, and several other Mughal/Rajput records mention in detail the Chittor Massacre, so that definitely happened. Just pointing out the unreliability of Todd here for general info.

Again, I WILL say that perhaps, yes. In the past- at the time when Akbar became 'Akbar', Jalal-ud-din was a...better king than his predecessors. More tolerant. More Diplomatic. Better King than the few that followed him. But to forget his past atrocities...just because he provided SOME respite... It's like praising the person who bullied you all those years in school because they nodded at you from across the street.

Yeah. NO.

I disagree with your analogy here. A nod across the street I won't even notice, but if they come up to me, have a proper apology, and make sure they aren't a bully to anyone thereafter, I would be more than willing to forgive them. You're highly mistaken if you believe it was just a nod in Akbar's case. It was such a radical change that he was called "kaafir" by his own people, and regularly dragged through the mud by the orthodoxy - Father Monserrate says he was surprised how Akbar had not yet been killed by someone for his liberal views. His own brother, Mirza Hakim, revolted against him for his religious policy. In fact, most revolts in his later reign were a result of his secularism only.

Yes, past actions cannot be reversed, but they can be atoned for and ways can be mended. Akbarnama records Akbar as being deeply ashamed of the deeds of his youth. He couldn't have gone back in time, but he did what he could have done. Forced conversions, slavery, even capital punishment was banned. Far cry from someone who could kill thousands in a day. Forget humans, even animal slaughter was banned for three months in a year, and cow slaughter was prohibited entirely. People were free to choose their religion, and forced converts were allowed to return to their original faith. To put it in perspective, this is not allowed in Islamic nations even TODAY. People were not only free to build temples, mosques, and churches, but imperial funding was provided for building, maintaining and protection of many, including Jagannath Puri Temple (saved from the Afghans and given to the Odiya ruler Ramachandra Deva), Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Govind Deva Temple, Vrindavan (This was the largest temple in India at the time), Jugal Kishore Temple, Mathura, Madan Mohan Temple, Vrindavan, Gopinath Temple, Vrindavan, Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, Mandu, Jatipura Govardhan Temple, Mathura (farman issued in 1593 for making the entire village of Jatipura tax-free, for maintenance of this temple), Hardev Temple, Govardhan and Golden Temple of Amritsar (land was donated by Akbar for it). All of these exist even today. Apart from these, the 1598 farmaan of Akbar grants funds for 35 temples in Vrindavan. Shah Jahan writes in his biography that several temples were established by his grandfather (Akbar) in the region of Mathura/Kashi. The Church Akbar built at Agra also stands today.

As for women, similar change is observed. It might not seem much today, but was revolutionary for the time. Slavery, child-marriage, and sati were banned. To put it in perspective again, even in 20th century "modern" India, the age of consent for girl children (after several legal battles) was 10. Under Akbar's laws, it had been 14! Perhaps this post would be of interest to you: http://mariam-uz-zamani.blogspot.in/2015/03/akbar-rode-horse-stop-forced-sati.html Also, property rights were given to women, widow-remarriage was legalized, forced conversions of girls on marriage (called 'love-jihad' today) were strictly prohibited, and a women-only library was built at Fatehpur Sikri. Polygamy was discouraged for subjects, for kings of course it was too much of a political tool to be given up. Needless to say, such radical ideas drew the wrath of both orthodox Hindus and Muslims.

None of this makes Akbar a saint, or a feminist. But it sure places him far ahead of not only the Mughals, but of all sovereigns the world over of his time. The crimes you accuse him of were being committed around the world against innocents by rulers of all creeds, but very few, if any, had the will to implement reforms or solutions.

Foreign travelers praised his benevolence and pluralism all the time. Queen Elizabeth herself wrote to him, praising his "humanity", which she said was rare among rulers. Shivaji Maharaj himself, and in later days Swami Vivekananda, both praised him to the skies. Most importantly, his own Hindu subjects, commoners and not courtiers/nobles, addressed him as "chhatrapati" (protector) - that alone says more than anything else can. (Source - 17th century autobiography of Banarsi Das, a merchant from Jaunpur (not even Agra). No allegiance to court, hence no pressure to praise the Emperor).

Our school textbooks have praised him to the skies as well, sometimes unfairly... the reason I mentioned these people above, is that none of them had any reason or obligation to flatter Akbar (unlike courtiers, court poets, priests, or even some Historians). Yet they did, and I believe there must've been reason enough.

What a beautiful chapter you have written!! Absolutely loved this from Hamida's POV!! She could sense as she was in a Rajputani household for a year or more, that how Registan ka Gulab can challenge her husband and can find his heart!!

In serial also, she was happy that his son got a Hindu bride for himself, a connection running deeper than the blood, and that's why she was happy. After that when she talked to Jodha about her marriage, she realised that she's not like some other Begums of her son. She saw something which her son lacks, not what her son has, as said by her.

I guess due to the fact that she was given shelter by a Hindu king and let her son born when her own people were behind her and her son's blood created a bond and Jodha's fierceness and unabashed feeling towards Jalal which ensured Hamida that she's someone of his equal stature, unlike Maham and Ruqaiyya, made her love more than others

Hamida's genuine welcome for Jodha touched my heart but on the other side of the spectrum, Ruqaiya's expectations of how Jalal will come to treat Jodha and her clear satisfaction of it really makes the woman in me shudder.

It's true that sometimes- especially when it comes to noble settings, a woman is often another woman's greatest enemy. It comes with competition and competition comes from the practice of polygamy.

But I liked the way you've portrayed the emotions of both these women, I really liked the way Hamida thought
'her usually stoic son had a small smile on his lips' showing his apparent satisfaction at marrying Jodha.
Looking forward to the next update! ❤️

PS. I am glad that the glitch (of posting long replies) is no longer troubling you.

hey!

thanks for your feedback! watching the serial, I have always pondered why Hamida found a kindred soul in Jodha even before meeting her. like almost everyone in Agra who either suck up to Jalal for their benefit or are plotting against him, Jodha is someone who has no qualms about expressing her dislike for Jalal which Hamida finds a relief considering the type of people in Jalal's life.

I do hope to post the next chapter by either the end of today or by tomorrow morning.