History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v1.c3.19

v1.c3.19

The European travellers, Tavernier, Bernier, and Manucci, who visited India in this reign, have left long accounts of the country. Their works are of undoubted value as throwing light on the condition of the people, the state of trade and industry, and the history of the Christian churches in India. Moreover, the criticism of Indian institutions by foreign observers has a freshness and weight all its own. But of the political history of India, apart from the few events in which they took part or which they personally witnessed, their report merely reproduced the bazar rumours and the stories current among the populace, and cannot be set against the evidence of contemporary histories and letters in Persian. Tavernier and Bernier touch only the beginning of the reign; the former took most of his facts from Bernier, who, again, was indebted to Manucci for several particulars. The last-named writer's *Storia do Mogor* covers the whole reign; but he was a run-away lad of poor education when he reached India, and, as is admitted by his able editor, was a credulous listener. He wrote long after most of the events, and from memory; hence we cannot expect accuracy in his narrative. From their position these foreign travellers had no access to the best sources of information; the State archives were closed to them. They visited the makers of Indian history only occasionally and as suppliants for favours; hence they could not derive the oral information which only familiar intercourse with the highest personages in camp and Court could have given them. Finally, their imperfect knowledge of literary Persian prevented them from using the written annals of the time and checking the reports they had received orally. For instance, Manucci's story of how Aurangzib, when travelling slenderly guarded, met with Jai Singh at the head of an army and with great presence of mind hailed him as a friend (*Storia*, i. 320), is proved by the known dates to have been impossible. The official annals are so detailed that any wrong date in them clashes with what goes before and after, and can be at once detected. We must accept their dates as against those supplied by the European travellers. Hence, in my narrative, I have not been able to use Bernier and Manucci except to a limited extent, viz., where they supplement the official histories or record the writers' personal experiences.