Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c42.s2.28

v3.c42.s2.28

The young Ruhelā Chief’s avarice and vengefulness were accompanied by a brutality of speech and manners which is surprising, because in a habitual drunkard like him one often finds a certain bonhomie and intervals of frankness and liberality. But Ghulām Qadir was without pity, as he was without shame or truthfulness. When his Court-patron Manzur Ali appealed to him to spare him torture by recounting how he had saved the child Ghulām Qādir’s life at Ghausgarh, the Ruhela’s reply was, “Do you not know the old proverb, ‘To kill a serpent and spare its young, is not wise’?” He forced Prince Akbar Shah, the heir to Shah Alam’s throne, to get drunk and dance, though dancing by a male is considered a most despicable act in Indian opinion. At the sight of the poor terrified youth’s tottering steps, the Ruhela laughed and cynically remarked, “If you and your family had not been singers and dancers, I should not have come to this position.” One day he cried out, “I shall order my Ruhelas to drag away the Mughal princesses to their houses without wedlock, so that from their seed a manlier race may spring.” Many more examples of such taunting are given by Khair-ud-din.