History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c62.s1.5

v4.c62.s1.5

This alien aristocracy of office naturally formed no integral part of the State. Its aim was purely personal gain, and so long as the pay and pension of its members were secure they did not care who was the sovereign of the country of which they were nominally a part. No doubt, the different members of this dominant class occasionally united under the banners of the central Government; but it was always from hope of personal gain or fear of personal loss, as, for instance, when a rich neighbouring Hindu principality was to be raided, or when a Mughal invasion which threatened them all with removal from office had to be resisted. But such men could always be bought by the enemy for a price; they had no patriotism because they had no *patria*; they were truly political Bedouins, "orphans of the heart,"* nomads who lived in India but were not of it.