History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c38.34.2

v2.c38.34.2

Most of the troops and officers were withdrawn from Orissa by Shuja' for his two expeditions against Āgra and finally for his prolonged struggle with Mīr Jumlā I in the Rajmahal and Maldah districts. During this period Hindu Zamindars in the Mughal portion of Orissa practically became independent, built forts and plundered the country. By the autumn of 1659 Mīr Jumlā I had established himself sufficiently to detach Ihtishām Khān to take charge of the province of Orissa. Ihtishām says in his *Muraqāt-i-Hassan* that he would reach Medinipur on the 25th November 1658. At this time prince Shuja' was in complete possession of the country between Benares and Dacca and, therefore, no officer of Aurangzib could have reached Medinipur. Moreover Iḥtishām was detached after the defeat of Shuja‘ in January 1659 and, therefore, it is more probable that he reached Medinipur in the year 2 instead of 1 of the reign of Aurangzib, *i. e.*, on the 14th November 1659. His stay in Orissa was too short to enable him to restore order. His first act as *Ṣūbaḥdār* of Orissa was to issue an order proclaiming that the *Khuṭba* should be read in all Masjids of Orissa in the name of the new emperor Aurangzib. Next he issued an order to all officers and Zamindars announcing his own appointment to the Government of Orissa. He ordered the officers and Zamindars to meet him at Narayangadh, where he would march from Medinipur.