Later Mughals v1.c9.s15.1

v1.c9.s15.1

During Husain Ali Khan's absence, Mir Jumla's power had gone on increasing. Farrukh-siyar had made over his seal to this favourite, and was often heard to say openly: "the word and seal of Mir Jumla are the word and seal of Farrukh-siyar." On his side, Qutb-ul-mulk was immersed in pleasure and found little or no leisure to devote to State affairs. Nor, being a soldier who had come into office without much preparation for civil affairs, was he very competent to deal with the details of administration, for which, moreover, he had no natural taste. Everything was left to his man of business, Ratan Chand, a Hindu of the Baniya caste, and a native of a village near the Sayyids' home at Jansath.* He had been recently created a Rajah with the rank of 2,000 zat. The chief dispute centred upon the question of appointments to office, the fees paid by those receiving appointments being a recognized and most substantial source of emolument. Ratan Chand, in addition to these customary fees, exacted large sums, which were practically bribes or payments for the grant of the appointment. By Mir Jumla's independent action in bringing forward candidates and affixing the seal to their warrants of appointment, without following the usual routine of passing them through the Wazir's office, the emoluments of both the chief minister and of his head officer were considerably curtailed. It is a matter of little wonder, therefore, that Qutb-ul-mulk felt aggrieved at the unusual powers placed in the hands of a rival such as Mir Jumla. This noble was much more accessible than the Wazir, and was not given to the extortionate practices of Ratan Chand. Naturally, men in search of employment or promotion sought his audience-hall rather than that of Qutb-ul-mulk. The Wazir suffered, in this way, both in influence and in income. Moreover, Mir Jumla allowed no opportunity to pass without depreciating the Sayyid brothers, and brought forward arguments of every sort to prove that they were unfitted for the offices that they held. [K. K. 739, Khush-hal 399a.]