DEAR
PM MODI, AURANGZEB RULE WAS ALSO THE RULE OF HINDU HIGH CASTES!
Narendra Modi, a senior swayamsevak (member) of
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, long back in 2013 when he occupied the office
of chief minister of Gujarat, declared himself to be a ‘Hindu nationalist’.[i] As
the PM of the largest democratic-secular polity in the world; India, he misses
no opportunity to stress the favourite Hindutva binary of putting Hindus and
Muslims as two communities at war in the country. He resorted to this favourite
polarizing theme of his while speaking at the inauguration of the renovated and expanded Kashi Vishwanath
Dham [Kashi Vishwanath Temple] in his Varanasi parliamentary constituency on
December 13, 2021. Digging into past of Benares now Varanasi (Kashi) he stated:
“Tyrants
attacked this city, tried to destroy it. History is witness to Aurangzeb’s
atrocities, his terror. He tried to change civilisation with the sword. He
tried to crush culture with fanaticism. But the soil of this country is
different from that of the rest of the world. Here if an Aurangzeb comes, a
Shivaji also rises.” [ii]
For
PM, the story of repression and persecution by Aurangzeb, a Mughal king is not
the story of some individual tyrant ruler but a bigoted Muslim who hated Hindus
and Hinduism. Aurangzeb personified all Muslims of India and the religion
Islam. Unfortunately our PM as a Hindutva bigot brazenly discards some very
crucial historical facts even stated in the contemporary ‘Hindu’ narratives
about the rule of Aurangzeb [1658-1707].
These
records prove that Aurangzeb rule was also the rule of Rajputs or
Kshatriyas [members of the second
of the four Hindu Castes in order of precedence after Brahmins] and
other members of high Castes. Aurangzeb never faced Shivaji in the
battle-field. It was his commander-in-chief, a Rajput ruler of Amer
(Rajasthan), Jay Singh II (1688–
1743) who was sent to subjugate Shivaji. He was conferred the title of ‘Sawai'
[one and a quarter times superior to his
contemporaries] chief by Aurangzeb in 1699 and thus came to be known as
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. He was also given the title of Mirza Raja [a Persian title for a royal prince]
by Aurangzeb. The other titles bestowed on him by other Mughal rulers were ‘Sarmad-i-Rajaha-i-Hind’
[eternal ruler of India], ‘Raj Rajeshvar’ [lord of kings] and ‘Shri Shantanu ji’
[wholesome king]. These titles are displayed by his descendants even today.[iii]
This
Rajput chief also gave his daughter in marriage to the son of Aurangzeb who
became Mughal emperor after Aurangzeb. To know how Jay Singh II worked as a main
hit-man of Aurangzeb, we must read the letter which Shivaji wrote to Jay Singh II
condemning his subservience to Aurangzeb. A part of it read:
“I have heard
that thou [sic] hast [sic] come to make battle upon me and to
subjugate the Deccan. Thou desirest [sic] in this world to make thy face
glow with blood drawn from the hearts and eyes of Hindus. But thou knowest [sic]
not that thy face is painted in black, because owing to it, this country
and religion are in danger…thou hast in fact come to conquer at the instance of
Aurangzib [sic] and under the instigation of those who desire to destroy
the Hindus”[iv]
[text as per the original translation]
Interestingly, we have first-hand account of Raja Rughnath Bahadur,
a Kayasth who functioned as Deewan Ala (prime minister) of both the Mughal
emperors Shahjahan, and Aurangzeb. According to a diary of one of his direct
descendants, Rai Lala Maharaja Lal (son of Rai Bahadur Munshi Jeewan Lal who
was one of the main traitors who facilitated capture of Delhi by the British
rulers in September 1857 during the 1857 Rebellion) despite Aurangzeb being the
Emperor,
“Raja Rughnath
Bahadur having attained to the most exalted rank of Diwan Ala (prime minister)
was not unmindful of the interests of his caste-fellows. As the Kayasths were
the only class amongst the Hindoos who could read and write the court language,
i.e., Persian, the Raja appointed every one of them to posts of honor and
emoluments, according to their individual merits; while many of them were
granted titles of honor and valuable jagirs for their services. Not a single
Kayasth remained unemployed or in needy circumstances. The Raja procured them everything
they wanted, and tried his best to please them in every way he could.”[v]
This
account shows that despite the rule of Aurangzeb, a ‘bigoted Muslim’ a Kayasth
prime minister of his was able to patronize his Caste fellows; all Hindus.
The
Hindutva zealots must know that Mughal rule survived due to the Hindu high
Castes joining the ‘Muslim’ rulers in running the Mughal Empire. How solid this
unity was can be gauged by the fact that after Akbar no Mughal emperor was born
of a Muslim mother. The Hindu high Castes provided brain and muscles to the
Mughal rulers continuously. Thus, Mughal rule was the rule of Hindu high Castes
also. Even Savarkar, before converting into a
protagonist of Hindutva, did not subscribe to the religious
exclusiveness of ‘Muslim’ rule. He was never shy of sharing the fact that
though
“The ruling prince of Oudh was a
Mahomedan [sic]; most of the big land-owners under him were Hindus.
Jhagirs [sic] and Talukdari rights had continued from father to son in
the families of these zamindars for generations. Hundreds of villages
were administered under the single authority of each of these proprietors. They
possessed forts and had small armies under them to protect these Jhagirs [sic].”[vi]
Aurobindo Ghose who played a prominent role in
providing Hindu philosophical direction to the Indian nationalism confessed
that Mughal rule continued for centuries due to the fact that Mughal rulers
gave Hindus, “positions of power and
responsibility, used their brain and arm to preserve” their kingdom.[vii]
Renowned historian Tara Chand after studying the primary source material of the
medieval period concluded that the from the end of 16th century to
the middle of 19th century, “it may reasonably be concluded that in
the whole of India, excepting the western Punjab, superior rights in land had
come to vest in the hands of Hindus” most of whom happened to be Rajputs.[viii]
Maasir-ul Umra a biographical dictionary of the officers in the Mughal Empire
beginning from 1556 to 1780 [Akbar to Shah Alam] is regarded as the most authentic record of
the high rank officials employed by the Mughal kings. This work was compiled by
Shahnawaz Khan and his son Abdul Hai between 1741 and 1747. According to it Mughal
rulers in this period employed around 100 high-ranking officials most of them “Rajputs
from Rajputana, the midlands, Bundelkhand and Maharashtra”. Brahmins followed Rajputs in
manning the Mughal administration so far as the number was concerned. Interestingly,
Kashi Nagri Pracharini Sabha [established in 1893] committed
to the cause of Hindi as official language published Hindi
translation of this book in 1931.
It is nobody’s argument that
Aurangzeb did not commit heinous crimes against his subjects. It needs to be
remembered that his cruelty was not restricted to non-Muslims, his own father,
brothers, Shias, those Muslims who did not follow his brand of Islam and Muslim
ruling families in the eastern, central and western parts of his kingdom faced
brutal repression. Aurangzeb executed renowned Sufi saint, Sarmad in the precinct
of Jama Masjid of Delhi. It is also true that there were countless cases when
Hindus and their religious places were violently targetted during Aurangzeb’s
despotic rule. However, there are contemporary records available of his
patronizing Hindu and Jain religious places.[ix]
Reducing all his crimes to the repression of Hindus only will tantamount to reducing
the gravity of his crimes.
The linking of Aurangzeb’s crimes or a king/ruler
in the pre-modern times of India to his/her religion is going to create serious
consequences even for ‘Hindu’ version of history as narrated by the RSS. Take
for example, Ravana, the king of Lanka who according to again Hindu’ narrative
committed unspeakable crimes against Mother
Sita, her husband Lord Rama and his companions during 14 years long vanvaas
or exile. This Ravana was a learned
Brahman who also happened to be one of the greatest worshippers of Lord Shiva
who is worshipped at Kashi Vishwanath Temple. If like Aurangzeb Ravana’s
criminal deeds are linked to his religion then PM Modi will have to wage war against all Brahmins and Shivites!
It is tragic for democratic-secular
polity of India that its PM who is legally bound to uphold the all-inclusive
and joint heritage of the Indian nation is religiously working to polarize the
people of India on the basis of subjective and fabricated history. While
inaugurating the renovation of the Temple complex at Kashi he willfully
disregarded the fact of modern India that morning prayers at the Kashi Temple
used to begin with the playing of shehnai (an instrument played at auspicious
occasions) by Ustad Bismillah Khan (1914-2006), a practising Muslim who was awarded the highest national
civilian award, Bharat Ratna. Khan in his autobiographical descriptions stated
proudly that his mesmerizing shehnai skill was due to the blessings of Vishwanath; the eternal
Shiva. It is to be noted that it was not only Kashi Vishwanath Temple where
morning prayers used to start with musical rendering by a Muslim musician. The prayers
at Maa Sharda Temple at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh used to start with the playing
of sarod by Ustad Alauddin Khan (1862-1972) who also founded Maihar
Gharana of the Indian music.
It is hoped that PM of India will keep
in check his Hindutva impulses and not facilitate the agenda of enemies of
India to undo it succeed.
Shamsul Islam
December 18, 2021
Link for some
of S. Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada,
Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and video interviews/debates:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/shamsul.islam.332
Twitter:
@shamsforjustice
http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Email: notoinjustice@gmail.com
LINK FOR BOOKS BY SHAMSUL ISLAM CURRENTLY AVAILABLE (Updated September
2021)
https://www.academia.edu/40952491/ALL_BOOKS_OF_SHAMSUL_ISLAM_WITH_BUYING_LINKS
[i]
Modi interviewed by two Reuters journalists, Ross Colvin and Sruthi Gottipati,
on July 12, 2013. Link:
http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2013/07/12/interview-with-bjp-leader-narendra-modi/
[iii] https://www.indianrajputs.com/view/jaipur and
https://www.indianrajputs.com/famous/Jai-Singh-II-Amber.php
[iv] Cited in
Golwalkar, MS, We or Our Nationhood Defined, Bharat Publications,
Nagpur, 1939, p. 68.
[v] Lal, Rai Lala
Maharaja, Short Account of the Life and Family of Rai Jeewan Lal Bahadur
Late Honrary Magistrate Delhi, With Extracts from His Diary Relating to the
Times of Mutiny 1857, IMH Press, Delhi, 1902, pp. 3-4.
[vi] Savarkar, V.
D., The Indian War of Independence 1857 Rajdhani, Delhi, 1970, p. 50.
[vii]
Cited in Chand, Tara, History of the Freedom Movement in India, vol. 3,
Publication Division Government of
India, Delhi, 1992, p. 162.
[viii]
Chand, Tara, History of the Freedom Movement in India, vol. 1,
Publication Division Government of
India, Delhi, 1961, p. 124.
[ix] Trushke, Audrey, Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth, Penguin, Gurgaon, 2017, pp. 99-106.
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