History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c2.s1.52

c2.s1.52

The closing remarks of Baranī lead one to the inference that Sīdī was unjustly punished and died a martyr's death. But that is not so. It is true that the sentence of death was hastily awarded and a thorough inquiry was not made, but that a conspiracy was hatched against the sultan in which Sīdī was seriously implicated is clearly attested in the narrative of Baranī himself. The revolt of Malik Chhajjū, the gauntlets thrown at Malik Tājuddīn's, and the open talks that Jalāluddīn was a misfit on the throne, had sufficiently exasperated the sultan. Following upon these came the blood-curdling conspiracy, in which Jalāluddīn was to be killed, Sīdī was to marry a royal princess and become Khalīfā. No other king would have tolerated all that happened at Sīdī's for months together. The politician-cum-saint would have received the same doom at the hands of any other king. Jalāluddīn was quite justified in ordering Sīdī's execution.⁵⁰