Reign of Aurangazeb

Reign of Aurangazeb

Subject : History

Section : medieval history

Concept :

• He assumed the title Alamgir, World Conqueror.
• His military campaigns in his first ten years of reign were a great success. He suppressed the minor revolts. But he faced serious difficulties in the latter part of his reign
• The Jats and Satnamis and also the Sikhs revolted against him. These revolts were induced by his harsh religious policy.
• Aurangazeb was basicallu puritan (religious) in nature. He imposed jijiya on Hindus.
• He was influenced by Nakshabandi sufi order.
• Prince Akbar rebelled against his father Aurangazeb, in this connection ninth Guru of Sikhs Guru Tegbahadur was executed by Aurangazeb.

Deccan policy:

• Deccan policy of Aurangzeb was motivated by the policy of containing the growing influence of the Marathas, the rebellious attitude of the Shia kingdoms of Deccan like Golkonda and Bijapur and to curtail the rebellious activities of his son Akbar who had taken refuge in the Deccan.
• Aurangzeb came to the Deccan in 1682 and remained in the Deccan till his death in 1707.
• Aurangazeb annexed Golconda and Bijapur.
• In fact, the destruction of the Deccan kingdoms was a political blunder on the part of Aurangazeb.
• The barrier between the Mughals and the Marathas was removed and there ensued a direct confrontation between them. Also, his Deccan campaigns exhausted the Mughal treasury. According to J.N. Sarkar, the Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangazeb.
• The Marathas under Shivaji were a threat to Aurangzeb.
• Aurangzeb sent two of his great generals Shaista Khan and Jai Singh
• one after the other to capture Shivaji. Jai Singh captured Shivaji and took him to
• Delhi but Shivaji managed to escape to the Deccan.
• Shivaji, employing guerrilla tactics, defied the Mughal forces till his death at the age of 53 in 1680.
• Aurangazeb was severely tested by the Marathas till his death in 1707 as the sons of Shivaji continued the rebellion.
• The death of Aurangzeb in 1707 marked a watershed in Indian history as the Mughal empire virtually came to end even though the weak successors of Aurangzeb held the throne the next 150 years.

Religious policies of Aurangzeb

• Aurangzeb was known as “Zinda Pir” or “Darvesh” due to his simple way of living and high-level thinking.
• He was a highly orthodox Sunni Muslim ruler with the least tolerance for religious matters. He ruled according to the Sharia law in the Quran.
• He banned drinking and singing in court. Public drinking was also prohibited. Muhtasibs was appointed to assure that people do not drink in public places and followed sharia, a traditional Islamic law. However, Muhtasibs were not allowed to interfere with the life of people in the state.
• He prohibited Kalma, an Islamic Inscription on coins, as he believed it might get polluted when passed from one person to another.
• He put restrictions on the celebration of Nauroz, a festival celebrated by the Safavid rulers of Iran.
• He banned singing and dancing in courtrooms but allowed ‘Naubat’, the royal band in courts, and instrumental music.
• In 1679, Aurangzeb re-introduced the jizyah tax or the poll tax for the non-muslim population. Jizya was abolished by Akbar in 1564. However, economically weak sections of society, the elderly, children, and women, were exempted from paying these taxes.
• He also increased the land tax to meet the state expenses, which affected the Hindu Jats to a great extent.
• Aurangzeb encouraged the Persian language. During his reign, a number of Persian works on Indian Classical music were born.
• He abolished the practice of weighing the Emperor with gold, and the practice of Jharokha darshan, initiated by Akbar. Jharokha Darshan was the practice of the Emperor presenting himself from the balcony, and Aurangzeb considered this un-Islamic.
• He opposed the renovation of old houses of worship, stating that “buildings cannot last forever”.
• Aurangzeb prohibited astrologers from making almanacks.
• In 1667, he banned the use of firecrackers and fireworks in all the states under his rule.
• Aurangzeb did not try to alter the nature of the state. Indeed, he took efforts to emphasize the fundamental principles of Islam.

Abolition of temples

• He did not allow the construction of new temples, churches, synagogues, etc. Long-standing temples and religious structures were given an exception.
• However, he demolished the Somnath temple, where he faced political opposition from Marathas, Jats, etc. Apart from that, he ordered the destruction of a number of temples in Gujarat. According to him, temples were breeding grounds for rebellious activities and practices that were not acceptable to him by any means.
• In addition, Hindus and Muslims covered long distances to visit the temples in places like Banaras.He disliked this practice and undertook serious action against the temples and ordered Governors to take urgent measures to prohibit temple visits by Muslims.
• The famous Vishwanath temple in Banaras, and Keshav Rai in Mathura, were destroyed, and mosques were built in the same spot.
• Several temples in Odisha, historic temples in Udaipur and Jodhpur, along with surrounding Parganas, were also pulled down. After 1679, there was no large-scale construction of temples in the south.
• According to sources, Aurangzeb destroyed around 15 big temples during his reign.