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Aurangzeb Alamgir was the sixth and the last great mughal emperor of India. He ruled India from 1658 to 1707 AD. He was one of the greatest mughal emperors and lived a very simple life. He lived on a small quantity of food, he used to write the Holy Quran with his own hand and sell them to earn extra wages. If he wanted, he could have lived a life of extra ordinary luxury as the, emperors, kings, nawabs, rajas, maharajas did in those days.
Aurangzeb was a well-read man, he kept up his love of books till the end. He wrote beautiful Persian prose. A selection of his letters (Ruq’at-i-Alamgiri) has long been a standard model of simple but elegant prose. He understood music well but he gave up this amusement in accordance with Islamic injunctions.
Emperor Aurangzeb is considered as the greatest of all the mughal kings. The mughal state reached its height under his leadership. The state has 29.2% of the world population under its flag (175 million out of 600 million in 1700 AD) and was one of the richest states the world had ever seen, with a world GDP of 24.5% ($ 90.8 billion out of $ 371 billion in 1700).
Of all the Muslim rulers who ruled vast territories of India from 712 to 1857AD, probably no one has received as much condemnation from Western and Hindu writers as Aurangzeb. He has been castigated as a religious Muslim who was anti-Hindu, who taxed them, who tried to convert them, who discriminated them in awarding high administrative positions, and who interfered in their religious matters.
This view has been heavily promoted in the government approved text books in schools and colleges across post partition India (i.e. after 1947). These are fabrications against one of the best rulers of India who was pious, scholarly, saintly, un-biased, liberal, magnanimous, tolerant, competent and far sighted.
He did not compromise on the fundamentals of Islam, which are in fact the moving spirit of every faith. Historical facts must be interpreted in their true and objective spirit, and not subjectively as expressed by the Hindu writers.
Aurangzeb did not indiscriminately destroy Hindu temples, as he is commonly believed to have done so. And, that he directed the destruction of temples only when faced with insurgency.
This was almost certainly the case with the Keshava Rai temple in the Mathura region, where the Jats rose in rebellion and yet even this policy of reprisal may have been modified, as Hindu temples in the Deccan were seldom destroyed.
Demolition of Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Dr. Pande’s research showed that Aurangzeb was as solicitous of the rights and welfare of his non-Muslim subjects as he was of his Muslim subjects. Hindu plaintiffs received full justice against their Muslims respondents and, if guilty, Muslims were given punishment as necessary.
One of the greatest charges against Aurangzeb is of the demolition of Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. That was a fact, but Dr. Pande unraveled the reason for it.
“While Aurangzeb was passing near Varanasi on his way to Bengal, the Hindu Rajas in his retinue requested that if the halt was made for a day, their Ranis may go to Varanasi, have a dip in the Ganges and pay their homage to Lord Vishwanath.
Aurangzeb readily agreed.
“Army pickets were posted on the five mile route to Varanasi. The Ranis made journey to the palkis. They took their dip in the Ganges and went to the Vishwanath temple to pay their homage. After offering puja (worship) all the Ranis returned except one, the Maharani of Kutch. A thorough search was made of the temple precincts but the Rani was to be found nowhere.
“When Aurangzeb came to know about this, he was very much enraged. He sent his senior officers to search for the Rani. Ultimately they found that statue of Ganesh (the elephant – headed god) which was fixed in the wall was a moveable one. When the statue was moved, they saw a flight of stairs that led to the basement. To their horror they found the missing Rani dishonored and crying deprived of all her ornaments. The basement was just beneath Lord Vishwanath’s seat.”
"The Raja demanded salutary action, and Aurangzeb ordered that as the sacred precincts have been despoiled, Lord Vishwanath may be moved to some other place, the temple be razed to the ground and the Mahant (head priest) be arrested and punished.”
Employment for Non-Muslims
Aurangzeb has often been accused of closing the doors of official employment on the Hindus, but a study of the list of his officers shows this is not so. Actually there were more Hindu officers under him than under any other Mughal emperor. Though this was primarily due to a general increase in the number of officers, it shows that there was no ban on the employment of Hindus.
Jizya and other Taxes
Now let us deal with Aurangzeb’s imposition of the Jizya tax which had drawn severe criticism from many Hindu historians. It is true that Jizya was lifted during the reign of Akbar and Jahangir, and that Aurangzeb later reinstated this.
Before I delve into the subject of Aurangzeb’s Jizya tax, or taxing the non-Muslims, it is worthwhile to point out that Jizya is nothing more than a "War Tax" which was collected only from able-bodied young non-Muslim male citizens living in a Muslim country who did not want to volunteer for the defence of the country.
That is, no such tax was collected from non-Muslims who volunteered to defend the country. This tax was not collected from women and neither from immature males nor from disabled or old male citizens.
For payment of such taxes, it became incumbent upon the Muslim Government to protect the life, property and wealth of its non-Muslim citizens. If for any reason the government failed to protect its citizens, especially during a war, the taxable amount was returned.
It should be pointed out here that Zakat (2.5% of savings) and Ushr (10% of agricultural products) were collected from all Muslims, who owned some wealth (beyond a certain minimum, called nisab).
The Muslims also paid Sadaqah, Fitrah and Khums. None of these were collected from any non-Muslim.
As a matter of fact, the per capita collection from Muslims was several fold that of non-Muslims.
Further to Aurangzeb’s credit is his abolition of a lot of taxes, although this fact is not usually mentioned.
In his book Mughal administration, Sir Jadunath Sarkar, foremost historian on the Mughal dynasty, mention’s that during Aurangzeb’s reign in power, nearly 65 types of taxes were abolished, which resulted in a yearly revenue loss of 50 million rupees from the state treasury.
Other historians stated that when Aurangzeb abolished 80 types of taxes, no one thanked him for his generosity. But when he imposed only one (jizya), not heavy at all, people began to show their displeasure. While some Hindu historians are retracting the lies, the textbooks and historic accounts in western countries have yet to admit their error and set the record straight.
Some important points related to charactor of Aurangzeb
Just think a man of such character, caliber that cares and concern for public can be unjust, cruel. Just imagine a king such cruel and unjust to the majority could rule a huge country, for about 50 years, where high majority members serving highest position and comprising 80% in the military.
He was so pious and the best character person noble and just througout his tenure. You cannot find a single one in the present leaders. His personal piety however is undeniable. He led an exemplary simple pious life. He cares for the royal treasury as public treasury and for public. The present leaders considers public treasury to personal treasury.
Unlike his predecessors, Aurangzeb did consider the royal treasury as a trust of the citizens of his empire and did not use it for personal expenses. He was Subedar in Deccan and Gujarat. He didn’t destroy any temple. His period was peaceful and prosperous, called golden period.
Despite more than two decades he campaigned as subedar in Deccan and Gujarat there is no record of temple destruction in the region. He continued to confer Jagirs to Hindu temples. His period was golden period and relatively peaceful, prosperous in his tenure.
Aurangzeb is maligned that he was against Art and Music. But the fact is that he was an accomplished musician playing VEENA. The largest numbers of books on classical Indian music in Persian were written during Aurangzeb’s reign, but banned all nude dances.
Aurangzeb's cruelty is mere rumors or at best lies invented by Hindu bigotry during colonial period through British historians who wanted to weaken India by their divide and rule policy. So that Indians do not become united and put a fight against the British rule. Bankim Chatterjee, who served his whole life to British government, was a tool of this conspiracy, and divide and rule theory.
Aurangzeb was so concerned about duties; he did not miss prayers even during the ongoing war. He spread his prayer rug and prayed in the midst of battle ground, brought him much fame. He stopped all bad things, which today everybody want.
Aurangzeb forbade sati, drinking, gambling, prostitution, devadasies, dancing in brothels, ashrams and mutts. He put jizya to Dhimmis (non-believers) which around 2.5% like Muslim pay their Zakat, 2.5% eligible person should pay. The old, women, children were exempted. Only the young man who didn’t want to serve in the army should pay the jiziya. Indian parliament still hung the bill of Lok Pal, whereas Aurangzeb was the only ruler who appointed Lok Pal to control corruption in Judiciary, Finance and other departments.
He appointed Muhattasib (Lok Pal) to control injustice and atrocities. The Brahmins and higher caste Hindus now found themselves facing Islamic law courts for the atrocities on lower castes Hindus. He was best knowledgeable and brilliant administrator. He never tolerateed injustice. He was a brave soldier and best commander in the field. He was the only who controlled Deccan and Bijapur dynasty.
Under his leadership, in particular, he led Mughal forces in the conquest of the Deccan, seizing first the Golkunda and Bijapur Sultanates, and then attacking the Maratha chieftains. He annexed all the Maratha territories. He left Shivaji because he was no threat to his kingdom.
These are the few evidence of his greatness. The Brahmins and higher caste were subject to Aurangzeb justice. They maligned,created, invented and fabricated all baseless stories to twist history, and to meet their end in both pre and post independent India.
This is all about emperor Aurangzeb. I am confident that when you will go through all these facts and figures your perception towards this Mughal emperor will change. Our nation had never seen an emperor like Aurangzeb. Our medieval history consists of various false stories. History must be taught as it was, without twist and extra spice.
Like it or not, history is just a story and should be narrated honestly. By removing the nameplate from a road no one can remove the great Aurangzeb from world's history. Brave people do not alter the facts from within existing history. Rather, they try to place themselves in the upcoming history.
Aurangzeb was a well-read man, he kept up his love of books till the end. He wrote beautiful Persian prose. A selection of his letters (Ruq’at-i-Alamgiri) has long been a standard model of simple but elegant prose. He understood music well but he gave up this amusement in accordance with Islamic injunctions.
Emperor Aurangzeb is considered as the greatest of all the mughal kings. The mughal state reached its height under his leadership. The state has 29.2% of the world population under its flag (175 million out of 600 million in 1700 AD) and was one of the richest states the world had ever seen, with a world GDP of 24.5% ($ 90.8 billion out of $ 371 billion in 1700).
Of all the Muslim rulers who ruled vast territories of India from 712 to 1857AD, probably no one has received as much condemnation from Western and Hindu writers as Aurangzeb. He has been castigated as a religious Muslim who was anti-Hindu, who taxed them, who tried to convert them, who discriminated them in awarding high administrative positions, and who interfered in their religious matters.
This view has been heavily promoted in the government approved text books in schools and colleges across post partition India (i.e. after 1947). These are fabrications against one of the best rulers of India who was pious, scholarly, saintly, un-biased, liberal, magnanimous, tolerant, competent and far sighted.
He did not compromise on the fundamentals of Islam, which are in fact the moving spirit of every faith. Historical facts must be interpreted in their true and objective spirit, and not subjectively as expressed by the Hindu writers.
Aurangzeb did not indiscriminately destroy Hindu temples, as he is commonly believed to have done so. And, that he directed the destruction of temples only when faced with insurgency.
This was almost certainly the case with the Keshava Rai temple in the Mathura region, where the Jats rose in rebellion and yet even this policy of reprisal may have been modified, as Hindu temples in the Deccan were seldom destroyed.
Demolition of Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Dr. Pande’s research showed that Aurangzeb was as solicitous of the rights and welfare of his non-Muslim subjects as he was of his Muslim subjects. Hindu plaintiffs received full justice against their Muslims respondents and, if guilty, Muslims were given punishment as necessary.
One of the greatest charges against Aurangzeb is of the demolition of Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. That was a fact, but Dr. Pande unraveled the reason for it.
“While Aurangzeb was passing near Varanasi on his way to Bengal, the Hindu Rajas in his retinue requested that if the halt was made for a day, their Ranis may go to Varanasi, have a dip in the Ganges and pay their homage to Lord Vishwanath.
Aurangzeb readily agreed.
“Army pickets were posted on the five mile route to Varanasi. The Ranis made journey to the palkis. They took their dip in the Ganges and went to the Vishwanath temple to pay their homage. After offering puja (worship) all the Ranis returned except one, the Maharani of Kutch. A thorough search was made of the temple precincts but the Rani was to be found nowhere.
“When Aurangzeb came to know about this, he was very much enraged. He sent his senior officers to search for the Rani. Ultimately they found that statue of Ganesh (the elephant – headed god) which was fixed in the wall was a moveable one. When the statue was moved, they saw a flight of stairs that led to the basement. To their horror they found the missing Rani dishonored and crying deprived of all her ornaments. The basement was just beneath Lord Vishwanath’s seat.”
"The Raja demanded salutary action, and Aurangzeb ordered that as the sacred precincts have been despoiled, Lord Vishwanath may be moved to some other place, the temple be razed to the ground and the Mahant (head priest) be arrested and punished.”
Employment for Non-Muslims
Aurangzeb has often been accused of closing the doors of official employment on the Hindus, but a study of the list of his officers shows this is not so. Actually there were more Hindu officers under him than under any other Mughal emperor. Though this was primarily due to a general increase in the number of officers, it shows that there was no ban on the employment of Hindus.
Jizya and other Taxes
Now let us deal with Aurangzeb’s imposition of the Jizya tax which had drawn severe criticism from many Hindu historians. It is true that Jizya was lifted during the reign of Akbar and Jahangir, and that Aurangzeb later reinstated this.
Before I delve into the subject of Aurangzeb’s Jizya tax, or taxing the non-Muslims, it is worthwhile to point out that Jizya is nothing more than a "War Tax" which was collected only from able-bodied young non-Muslim male citizens living in a Muslim country who did not want to volunteer for the defence of the country.
That is, no such tax was collected from non-Muslims who volunteered to defend the country. This tax was not collected from women and neither from immature males nor from disabled or old male citizens.
For payment of such taxes, it became incumbent upon the Muslim Government to protect the life, property and wealth of its non-Muslim citizens. If for any reason the government failed to protect its citizens, especially during a war, the taxable amount was returned.
It should be pointed out here that Zakat (2.5% of savings) and Ushr (10% of agricultural products) were collected from all Muslims, who owned some wealth (beyond a certain minimum, called nisab).
The Muslims also paid Sadaqah, Fitrah and Khums. None of these were collected from any non-Muslim.
As a matter of fact, the per capita collection from Muslims was several fold that of non-Muslims.
Further to Aurangzeb’s credit is his abolition of a lot of taxes, although this fact is not usually mentioned.
In his book Mughal administration, Sir Jadunath Sarkar, foremost historian on the Mughal dynasty, mention’s that during Aurangzeb’s reign in power, nearly 65 types of taxes were abolished, which resulted in a yearly revenue loss of 50 million rupees from the state treasury.
Other historians stated that when Aurangzeb abolished 80 types of taxes, no one thanked him for his generosity. But when he imposed only one (jizya), not heavy at all, people began to show their displeasure. While some Hindu historians are retracting the lies, the textbooks and historic accounts in western countries have yet to admit their error and set the record straight.
Some important points related to charactor of Aurangzeb
Just think a man of such character, caliber that cares and concern for public can be unjust, cruel. Just imagine a king such cruel and unjust to the majority could rule a huge country, for about 50 years, where high majority members serving highest position and comprising 80% in the military.
He was so pious and the best character person noble and just througout his tenure. You cannot find a single one in the present leaders. His personal piety however is undeniable. He led an exemplary simple pious life. He cares for the royal treasury as public treasury and for public. The present leaders considers public treasury to personal treasury.
Unlike his predecessors, Aurangzeb did consider the royal treasury as a trust of the citizens of his empire and did not use it for personal expenses. He was Subedar in Deccan and Gujarat. He didn’t destroy any temple. His period was peaceful and prosperous, called golden period.
Despite more than two decades he campaigned as subedar in Deccan and Gujarat there is no record of temple destruction in the region. He continued to confer Jagirs to Hindu temples. His period was golden period and relatively peaceful, prosperous in his tenure.
Aurangzeb is maligned that he was against Art and Music. But the fact is that he was an accomplished musician playing VEENA. The largest numbers of books on classical Indian music in Persian were written during Aurangzeb’s reign, but banned all nude dances.
Aurangzeb's cruelty is mere rumors or at best lies invented by Hindu bigotry during colonial period through British historians who wanted to weaken India by their divide and rule policy. So that Indians do not become united and put a fight against the British rule. Bankim Chatterjee, who served his whole life to British government, was a tool of this conspiracy, and divide and rule theory.
Aurangzeb was so concerned about duties; he did not miss prayers even during the ongoing war. He spread his prayer rug and prayed in the midst of battle ground, brought him much fame. He stopped all bad things, which today everybody want.
Aurangzeb forbade sati, drinking, gambling, prostitution, devadasies, dancing in brothels, ashrams and mutts. He put jizya to Dhimmis (non-believers) which around 2.5% like Muslim pay their Zakat, 2.5% eligible person should pay. The old, women, children were exempted. Only the young man who didn’t want to serve in the army should pay the jiziya. Indian parliament still hung the bill of Lok Pal, whereas Aurangzeb was the only ruler who appointed Lok Pal to control corruption in Judiciary, Finance and other departments.
He appointed Muhattasib (Lok Pal) to control injustice and atrocities. The Brahmins and higher caste Hindus now found themselves facing Islamic law courts for the atrocities on lower castes Hindus. He was best knowledgeable and brilliant administrator. He never tolerateed injustice. He was a brave soldier and best commander in the field. He was the only who controlled Deccan and Bijapur dynasty.
Under his leadership, in particular, he led Mughal forces in the conquest of the Deccan, seizing first the Golkunda and Bijapur Sultanates, and then attacking the Maratha chieftains. He annexed all the Maratha territories. He left Shivaji because he was no threat to his kingdom.
These are the few evidence of his greatness. The Brahmins and higher caste were subject to Aurangzeb justice. They maligned,created, invented and fabricated all baseless stories to twist history, and to meet their end in both pre and post independent India.
This is all about emperor Aurangzeb. I am confident that when you will go through all these facts and figures your perception towards this Mughal emperor will change. Our nation had never seen an emperor like Aurangzeb. Our medieval history consists of various false stories. History must be taught as it was, without twist and extra spice.
Like it or not, history is just a story and should be narrated honestly. By removing the nameplate from a road no one can remove the great Aurangzeb from world's history. Brave people do not alter the facts from within existing history. Rather, they try to place themselves in the upcoming history.
