New History of the Marathas v2.c27.40

v2.c27.40

The wicked Mughlani Begam began to play a double game. As the messenger of the Wazir arrived on a mission of mediation, she attained importance, got ready access to Abdali's counsels and managed to gain her own ends by supplying to the Afghan Shah all kinds of useful and valuable information about the Delhi government and its weakness. He too did not omit to humour her by showing extreme favour to her in order to profit by the information she disclosed of hoarded wealth. She knew men and affairs of Delhi intimately and disclosed full details to the Shah, including the plans and intrigues of the officials, the bankers and wealthy inhabitants and their secret treasures. The Shah was shrewd enough. To gain his own ends he treated her with affectionate favour, calling her his own daughter, and conferring on her the title of Sultan Mirza, as if she were his son. He bestowed on her as jagir the districts of the Jalandar Doab and Kashmir, and also obtained from her full details of the married and unmarried beauties of the Mughal palace and of the outside gentry including Hindus. This was indeed a selfish game of the Shah who arranged his further plans of squeezing wealth on the information he thus obtained.