History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c51.s2: §2. Akbar's treasonable conspiracy with the Rajputs.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c51.s2
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§2. Akbar's treasonable conspiracy with the Rajputs.
v3.c51.s2.1
From an early period in the campaign emissaries of the Rajputs had been tempting Akbar to rebel against his father. Tahawwur Khan, the second in command of the imperial forces in Marwar, was the intermediary of these treasonable negotiations. The Maharana Raj Singh and Durgadas, the Rathor leader, told Akbar how his father's bigoted attempt to root out the Rajputs was threatening the stability of the Mughal empire, and urged him to seize the throne and restore the wise policy of his forefathers if he wished to save his heritage from destruction. In this attempt to place a truly national king on the throne of Delhi, they promised to back him with the armed strength of the two greatest Rajput clans, the Sisodias and the Rathors.*
v3.c51.s2.2
The negotiations were protracted. First Akbar sent a confidential servant to the Maharana to communicate his secret designs orally. The Rana in return despatched one of his trusted agents to the prince's Court. Everything had been arranged for a march against Aurangzib at Ajmir, when the Maharana died, (22nd October, 1680), and during the month of mourning that followed, his successor Jai Singh naturally remained inactive. Thereafter the negotiations were resumed. Tahawwur Khan having reached the Jhilwara Pass, not far from the Rajput head-quarters at Kamalmir, the new Maharana repeated the demands of his father through the Khan, praying to the prince, "If you wish that the honour of Hindustan should not be totally lost, we clasp the skirt of your robe and hope for deliverance and happiness at your hands." He also sent a secret agent, Rao Keshari Singh, to the prince, who ratified the agreement, promised to treat the Rajputs with honour and justice like the former emperors, and admitted the Rana's claim to certain villages as part of his State. The Rana agreed to send half his army, both foot and horse, under his son or brother to fight the prince's battles. The 2nd of January 1681 was fixed as the day when Akbar would begin his march on Ajmir to contest the imperial throne.*
v3.c51.s2.3
∗ Akbar's letter to Shambhuji in Khatut-i-Shivaji.