History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c61.s2.9

v4.c61.s2.9

Before opening the campaign, Jai Singh employed diplomatic trickery, of which he was a passed master, to throw Adil Shah into a sense of false security. To the Bijapuri envoy in his camp he pretended that he had received no order to invade Bijapur but only to settle the long-standing question of tribute unpaid. Besides making this false declaration, he "sent Rama (a man of Mulla Ahmad) and Govind Pandit (Muazzam Khani) to lull Adil Shah to sleep by means of smooth words and false stories of peace. If Adil Shah sends envoys to me, I shall demand an exorbitant tribute in one payment, the cession of fort Sholapur and other Nizam-Shahi mahals, Chincholi and other villages in the Bidar district, together with other hard terms which he cannot possibly accept." (H.A. 65 b—66 a.) Indeed, Jai Singh's secret correspondence fully bears out the Bijapur historian's statement.