We decided to show Aurangzeb according to his own documents. Hazrat Aurangzeb (R.A) ka Waqia / Mohammed Ajmal Raza Qadri - Duration: 7:26. Four centuries later, is he going to have the last word? Aurangzeb did not just build an isolated mosque on a destroyed temple, he ordered all temples destroyed, among them the Kashi Vishwanath temple, one of the most sacred places of Hinduism, and had mosques built on a number of cleared temple sites. Yet, Percival Spear, co-author with Romila Thapar of the prestigious A History of India (Penguin), writes: 'Aurangzeb's supposed intolerance is little more than a hostile legend based on isolated acts such as the erection of a mosque on a temple site in Benares.' In Gurgaon, to bring down a criminal the law has to think like one. Kabir, Dara Shikoh and some of the Sufi saints attempted this task, but failed. Aurangzeb did not stop at destroying temples, their users were also wiped out; even his own brother Dara Shikoh was executed for taking an interest in Hindu religion; Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded because he objected to Aurangzeb's forced conversions. His nearly 50-year reign (1658–1707) had a profound influence on the political landscape of early modern India, and his legacy―real and imagined―continues to loom large in India and Pakistan today. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. No street is named after Hitler in the West, yet in New Delhi we have Aurangzeb Road, a constant reminder of the horrors Aurangzeb perpetrated against Indians, including his own people. Aurangzeb Alamgir (r. 1658-1707), the sixth Mughal emperor, is widely reviled in India today. Arjun Kapoor excels in acting both the characters, so do the other actors including Rishi Kapoor and Jackie Shroff. Check if you have access via personal or institutional login. In her book, “The Life and Legacy of India’s Most Controversial King,” Truschke unpacks a side of Aurangzeb largely unknown to Indians. Aurangzeb's new emphasis on Islam as a major strand in the political relationship strained the Rajput-Timurid bond. Aurangzeb ordered the seizure of the Surat factory and the expulsion of all Englishmen from his dominions. From the standpoint of Aurangzeb’s Hindu subjects, the real impact of his policies may have started to have been felt in 1668-69. To some historians, the edicts unified an extended empire, one that was organized into five parts governed by Ashoka and four governors. Kingship knows no Kinship and there can be only one Emperor in Aurangzeb's world. Aurangzeb's revivalism forced him to confront imperial policies toward non-Muslims. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Firstly, I have been a close student of Indian history, and one of its most controversial figures has been Aurangzeb (1658-1707). Then the shadow of Aurangzeb fell on Kashmir and the hardline Sunnis came from Pakistan and Afghanistan: cinemas were banned, the burqa imposed, 400,000 Kashmiri Pandits were chased out of Kashmir through violence and became refugees in their own land and the last Sufi shrine of Sharar-e-Sharif was burnt to the ground (I was there). However, Aurangzeb cancelled the arrangements at the last minute, as he was uncertain about the intentions of the Maratha. He was allowed to use the red tent, which was an imperial prerogative. Aurangzeb clamped down on the more syncretic, more tolerant Islam, of the Sufi kind, which then existed in India. Aurangzeb Alamgir (“World Conqueror”), whose reign lasted for forty-nine years until his death in 1707, conducted vigorous military campaigns to extend the frontiers of the vast Mughal empire which he had inherited. It was not always easy to scan them, we encountered resistance, sometimes downright hostility and we had to go once to the chief minister to get permission. Akbar the Great, Muslim emperor of India, established a sprawling kingdom through military conquests but is known for his policy of religious tolerance. The story is that of a fight for power and money. The life of this bigot shows how not to live one's life. S. M. Azizuddin Husain (Delhi, 1982). The pious ruler of an Islamic state replaced the seasoned statesman of a mixed kingdom; Hindus became subordinates, not colleagues, and the Marathas, like the southern Muslim kingdoms, were marked for annexation rather than containment.The first overt sign of change was the reimposition of the jizya, or … On 15 December 1634, Aurangzeb was given his first command, comprising 10,000 horse and 4000 troopers. The subject is controversial and, despite no proof, has resonated in modern times with popularly accept… ‘Aurangzeb ki Aulad’ (progeny of Aurangzeb) is an invective in Indi He was a controversial figure then, as now. Directed by Atul Sabharwal. What are the facts? Historian Katherine Brown has noted that "The very name of Aurangzeb seems to act in the popular imagination as a signifier of politico-religious bigotry and repression, regardless of historical accuracy." Aurangzeb was a very disciplined and puritan man in his private life, however he was solely responsible for the downfall of the Mughal empire. Aurangzeb (left) Aurangzeb (1618-1707) was the sixth Mogul emperor of India and the last of the "Great Moguls." The Kashmir Muslim, who is also a descendant of converted Hindus, might have thought that Allah was the only true God, but he accepted his Kashmiri Pandit neighbour, went to his or her marriage, ate in his or her house and the Hindu in turn went to the mosque. There are an incredible number of farhans, original edicts of Aurangzeb hand-written in Persian, in India's museums, particularly in Rajasthan, such as the Bikaner archives. GULSHAN E CHISHT Recommended for you. After about 1680, Aurangzeb’s reign underwent a change of both attitude and policy. The first is that no nation can move forward unless its children are taught to look squarely at their own history, the good and the bad, the evil and the pure. The French, for instance, have many dark periods in their history, more recently some of the deeds they did during colonisation in North Africa or how they collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War and handed over French Jews who died in concentration camps (the French are only now coming to terms with it). Even Indian politicians are ignorant of Aurangzeb's evil deeds. Emperor Aurangzeb of India's Mughal Dynasty (November 3, 1618–March 3, 1707) was a ruthless leader who, despite his willingness to take the throne over the bodies of his brothers, went on to create a "golden age" of Indian civilization. Imperial expansion under Aurangzeb 1658–1689. Aurangzeb is a movie of two families, one of policemen, other a real estate king. I remember, when I started covering Kashmir in the late '70s, that Islam had a much more open face. Other Hindu sacred places within his reach equally suffered destruction, with mosques built on them. It is true that under him the Mughal empire reached its zenith, but Aurangzeb was also a very cruel ruler � some might even say monstrous. Indeed, the director of Bikaner archives told us that in 50 years we were the first ones asking for the farhans dealing with Aurangzeb's destructive deeds. His nearly 50-year reign (1658-1707) had a profound influence on the political landscape of early modern India, and his legacy-real and imagined-continues to loom large in India and Pakistan today. His extreme radicalized outlook and destruction of temples caused a downfall of his empire. An orthodox Sunni Muslim, he reinstated taxes and laws penalizing Hindus and imposing Sharia law. Mohi-ud-din Mohammed Aurangzeb was born on Oct. 24, 1618, at Dohad and was the third son of Emperor Shah Jahan. On the surface the Rajputs had no immediate grounds for complaint. The Mughal Army under the command of Aurangzeb recaptures Orchha in October 1635. Thus, we thought we should get at the root of the matter. May the Spirit of Dara Shikoh come back to India and bring back Islam to a more tolerant human face. At the same time, however, he greatly expanded the … Aurangzeb knew what he was doing when he had his own brother beheaded. He relented because of the English control of the pilgrim trade in the Arabian Sea, and also, it appears, because they had a powerful advocate at court in the wazir, Asad Khan. The argument that looking at one's history will pit a community against the other does not hold either: French Catholics and Protestants, who share a very similar religion, fought each other bitterly. He extended the Mogul Empire to its farthest boundaries, but his reign was harsh and marked by revolts. Women used to walk with open faces, watch TV, films. A few examples: Krishna's birth temple in Mathura; the rebuilt Somnath temple on the coast of Gujarat; the Vishnu temple replaced with the Alamgir mosque now overlooking Benares; and the Treta-ka-Thakur temple in Ayodhya. Very few people know for instance that Aurangzeb banned any kind of music and that painters had to flee his wrath and take refuge with some of Rajasthan's friendly maharajahs. Finally, Aurangzeb is very relevant today because he thought that Sunni Islam was the purest form of his religion and he sought to impose it with ruthless efficiency -- even against those of his own faith, such as his brother. But he did not fully succeed. And we know what we are saying when we say that this exhibition is very relevant to today's India. With Arjun Kapoor, Sasha Aagha, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Rishi Kapoor. Islam needs to adapt its scriptures which were created nearly 15 centuries ago for the people and customs of these times, but which are not necessarily relevant in some of their injunctions today. History (like journalism) is about documentation and first-hand experience. The location is of the rising satellite town of Gurgaon, near Delhi. It has been suggested that the idea of issuing such decrees was borrowed from the Persian Achaemenian emperors, especially from Darius I , but the tone and content of Ashoka’s edicts are quite different. Aurangzeb was the Hitler, the asura of medieval India. But what we need today in India -- and indeed in the world -- is a Dara Shikoh, who reintroduces an Islam which, while believing in the supremacy of its Prophet, not only accepts other faiths, but is also able to see the good in each religion, study them, maybe create a synthesis. Catholics brutally murdered thousands of Protestants in the 18th century; yet today they live peacefully next to each other. L'histoire de l'Inde moderne (Fayard), the French equivalent of Percival Spear's history of India, praises Aurangzeb and says, 'He has been maligned by Hindu fundamentalists'. Over 70 Maratha sardars actually assembled to receive Shahu. Why an exhibition on Aurangzeb, some may ask. (Source: Stanford University) “Aurangzeb was arguably the most powerful and wealthiest ruler of his day. FACT, the Trust which I head, is holding an exhibition on 'Aurangzeb as he was according to Mughal documents', from February 16 to 20 at New Delhi's Habitat Center, the Palm Court Gallery, from 10 am to 9 pm. Since then six generations of Marxist historians have done the same and betrayed their allegiance to truth. Today the Shariat has been voted in Kashmir, a state of democratic, secular India, UP's Muslims have applauded, and the entire Indian media which went up in flames when the government wanted Vande Mataram to be sung, kept quiet. The most sensitive test for the new militant orthodoxy lay in the emperor's relationship with his Rajput nobles. All of India, with the exception of a bunch of Left-leaning career-historians, consider Aurangzeb as a tyrant who harassed and intimidated the non-Muslim, non-Sunni subjects in untold number of ways. His new policies increased tensions with the still-expanding Sikh community in the Punjab plain and foothills. Aurangzeb was arguably the most powerful and wealthiest ruler of his day. Aurangzeb, Kalimat-i Taiyabat, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Ivanow 382. The spirit of Aurangzeb seems to triumph. The number of temples destroyed by Aurangzeb is counted in four, if not five figures. Aurangzeb delivered the head of his brother to their father. Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this book to your organisation's collection. Aurangzeb completed the transformation of Akbar's ideology and inclusive political culture begun by Shah Jahan. Aurangzeb was prepared to grant Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 's swarajya to Shahu and the right of sardeshmukhi over the Deccan, thus recognizing his special position. There are an incredible number of farhans, original edicts of Aurangzeb hand-written in Persian, in India's museums, particularly in Rajasthan, such as … Let Hindus and Muslims then come to terms with what happened under Aurangzeb, because Muslims suffered as much as Hindus. Search the history of over 446 billion web pages on the Internet. Ashoka inscribed the Edicts of Ashoka (written in Brahmi script) 251 BCE: Mahinda (son of Ashoka) introduced Buddhism to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 250 BCE: The followers of Buddhists carved the first cave temples (namely Lomas Rishi) 232 BCE: Ashoka died (Kunala, his son, succeeded) 184 BCE 10 Secret Of Aurangzeb King [HINDI] - Duration: 6:22. Aurangzeb was arguably the most powerful and wealthiest ruler of his day. Aurangzeb completed the transformation of Akbar's ideology and inclusive political culture begun by Shah Jahan. There are two reasons for this exhibition. Then we asked painters from Rajasthan to reproduce in the ancient Mughal style some of the edicts: the destruction of Somnath temple; the trampling of Hindus protesting jaziya tax by Aurangzeb's elephants; or the order from Aurangzeb prohibiting Hindus to ride horses and palanquins; or the beheading of Teg Bahadur and Dara Shikoh. His edict of 1669 ordered that all temples recently built or repaired contrary to the Sharia be torn down. Aurangzeb, Kalimat-i Taiyabat, National Library of India, Sarkar Collection 111. Hindu religious fairs were outlawed in 1668, and an edict of the following year prohibited construction of Hindu temples as well as the repair of old ones. The Mughal Empire (Persian: مغلیہ سلطنت ‎, romanized: mug͟hliyah saltanat) or Mogul Empire , self-designated as Gurkani (Persian: گورکانیان ‎, Gūrkāniyān, meaning “son-in-law”), was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. It was not only Shah Jahan or Dara Shikoh who were murdered, but also the forefathers of today's Indian Muslims who have been converted at 90 per cent. 7:26. Ashoka addressed his edicts to the entire populace, inscribing them on rock surfaces or on specially erected and finely polished sandstone pillars, in places where people were likely to congregate. Throughout the first thirty years of his reign Aurangzeb, who had added Alamgir or world-seizer to his titles, dedicated himself to fostering a more properly Islamic regime and to aggressive expansion on the empire's frontiers. His edict of 1669 ordered that all temples recently built or repaired contrary to the Sharia be torn down. Feb 24, 2012 - Resources for the study of South Asia, past and present. Hindu hater, murderer and religious zealot are just a handful of the modern caricatures of this maligned ruler. France fought three wars with Germany in the last 150 years, yet they are great friends today. Aurangzeb's revivalism forced him to confront imperial policies toward non-Muslims. Aurangzeb, Kalimat-i Taiyibat (Collection of Aurangzeb’s Orders), ed. A deeply pious man, Aurangzeb practiced a much more orthodox form of Islam than his father, and was fundamentally intolerant of the Hindu religions. 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