A History of Agriculture in India v2.c85.s2: Intolerance and Orthodoxy of Aurangzeb
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c85.s2
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Intolerance and Orthodoxy of Aurangzeb
v2.c85.s2.1
From 1669, Aurangzeb started a campaign for destruction of Hindu temples in Benares, Mathura and Rajastahan. Bakhtawar Khan mentions in *Mir-at-i Alam* that this difficult work was done in such a thorough manner which excites astonishment. These feats of iconoclasm resulted in the alienation of the Hindus who were denied freedom of worship. The Rajputs, who were firm supporters of the Mughal rule under Shah Jahan, Jahangir and Akbar, became hostile. Apart from ban on propagation of non-Muslim religions, even art and music were discouraged and writing of histories was forbidden.
v2.c85.s2.2
At the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire extended to the whole of India excepting the southern tip, which was under the rule of Hindu Polygars. However, it was a hollow structure and after some time started disintegrating under the impact of peasant revolts which appeared under the garb of movements of religious reforms.
v2.c85.s2.3
Aurangzeb’s government was a system of continual mistrust; every man’s character was secretly investigated, and colleagues were so selected that each may be a check on the other. ‘Yet there never was a king so much cheated and so ill-served’, observes Elephinston.
v2.c85.s2.4
In his last days Aurangzeb became ineffective. Khafi Khan mentions: ‘From reverence for the injunctions of the law he did not make use of punishment, and without punishment the administration of a country cannot be maintained. Dissensions had arisen among his nobles through rivalry. So every plan and project that he formed came to little good; and every enterprise which he undertook was long in execution, and failed of its object.’
v2.c85.s2.5
As in the case of most tyrants, realization of his guilt came to him when he was nearing his end. ‘My back is bent with weakness, and my feet have lost the power of motion,’ he lamented. ‘The breath which rose is gone, and has left not even hope behind it. I have committed numerous crimes, and know not with what punishments I may be seized.’⁸
v2.c85.s2.6
⁸ Khafi Khan, *Muntakhabu-l Lubab*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India...*, Vol. VII, p. 563