History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v1.c18.9

v1.c18.9

∗ If we can trust Khafi Khan's gossip, Ali Naqi fell a victim to a *faqir's* curse. "Ali Naqi was so strict in administration and chastisement that for a trivial fault he would order the offender's bile to be squeezed out. One day they brought to him a *faqir* arrested on suspicion of theft, and the minister, without making any investigation, ordered his bile to be pressed out. The *faqir* under torture turned his face to the heavens and cried out, 'You are slaying me unjustly. I pray that you too may meet with a similar fate under suspicion.'" But we must remember that a *faqir's* garb is the commonest of all disguises in India and the one first adopted by criminals trying to escape the officers of justice.