History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c66.s8.1

v4.c66.s8.1

Shah Alam stayed for some months, first close to Golkonda and afterwards at Qutb Shah's request withdrew to Kuhir, (48 miles n. w. of it), waiting for the collection of the war-indemnity. Considering the ruined state of Golkonda finance and the disorder in the administration, this was no easy task. Abul Hasan put off the dismissal of Madanna as long as he could. At this his discontented nobles lost all patience. They regarded Madanna as the cause of all their sufferings at the hands of the Mughals,—"the cause of the ruin of the State and of the slaughter of Muslims and soldiers." In a day of national disaster, the popular fury naturally turns against the ministers who have failed to avert it, as John DeWitt of Holland had discovered to his cost only 13 years before this. A plot was formed against Madanna by the discontented Muslim nobles, whose leader was Shaikh Minhaj, and by Saruma and Jani Sahiba, the widows of Abdullah Qutb Shah, who now ruled over the king's harem with despotic powers. One night, early in March, 1686, just after Madanna had left his master's presence, he was set upon and murdered in the streets of Golkonda by Jamshid and other slaves, with the help of some of the minister's own guards who had been corrupted by the conspirators. Akkanna, who was with him, shared his brother's fate on the spot. Their brave and accomplished nephew, Rustam Rao,—whom Khafi Khan calls "a renowned master of the pen and the sword alike,"—was pursued to his house and there stabbed to death. The minister's family residences were plundered. Next, a general attack was made by the mob on the Hindu quarter of the fort and "many other Brahmans lost their lives and property in that night." (K. K. ii. 308; Ishwardas, 91 b; Dil. 191.)