It is a grim irony that the Mughal emperor who lent India the greatest geographical dimensions %u2013 from Tiruchirappalli in South India to Ghazni in the Northwest -- is today sought to be projected as the cruellest bigot among the Muslim rulers of India.
Emperor Aurangzeb is the prime victim of distortion of history in India. But just how the historian could be unjust to Aurangzeb becomes evident from, Ahad e Aalamgiri ke Darbari Akhbar, a compilation of accounts from Mughal Court Chronicles of that age. These Persian chronicles are preserved in archives in Jaipur, Calcutta and Royal Asiatic Society in London. Since Aurangzeb remained pitched in the Deccan for over 25 years (from 1680 to his death in 1707) in order to suppress Maratha rebels, a lot of interest has been shown in Maharashtra about the history of the period. Initially, Marathi historian and author Sethu Madhav Pagri translated these chronicles from Persian to Marathi at the behest of Maharashtra Government and they were published in three volumes. Now advocate Syed Shah Ghaziuddin of Osmanabad has come out with an Urdu translation in one volume. The chronicles highlights some interesting facets of Aurangzeb%u2019s personality and the affairs of his government, which were being conducted from wherever Aurangzeb was stationed with his huge garrison consisting of nearly two lakh persons.
From these accounts, far from being a bigot, Aurangzeb appears an extremely able administrator, a veteran warrior, a down-to-earth ruler and above all a very affectionate person. The accounts throw light on how he was conscious of minimizing losses to trade and crop from movement of his troops, the tight control he exercised over administration and how generosity was employed to woo the favour of people and their leaders as the Mughal army marched into the crevices of the Deccan. Particularly engaging are the accounts of his treatment of Shahuji, the young son of Sambhaji and grandson of Shivaji, the main challenger of Mughal rule in the Deccan. Sambhaji, as is well known, was killed by Aurangzeb for having given asylum to Aurangzeb%u2019s rebellious son Akbar and waging war against the Mughal rule. Shahuji was conferred with the title of %u2018Raja%u2019 and was given a stipend of Rs. 7,000. The extended families of Shivaji and his sons were stationed in Bahadurgarh, looked after by the Aurangzeb%u2019s administration. Shahuji was brought up as a prince and the emperor himself arranged his marriage with daugher of Bahadurji Jadhav, a Maratha feudal lord. The detailed accounts of the marriage are contained in the chronicle dated June 14, 1704. Even according to Marathi historian Dr. Kunte, this treatment of enemy%u2019s son by Aurangzeb is something of an enigma. More such accounts of several of Shivaji%u2019s sons and grandsons will surprise readers.
