How Astonishing Akbar The Great Actually Was
By
Karan Thapar
Mar 21,
2020
It was
“Zeeks” Sinha at Doon School who taught me there are two Indian monarchs we can
legitimately consider “Great”, Ashoka in the 3rd century BC and, 18 centuries
later, Akbar. I took his word for it. As I grew older and read more widely, I
realised he was right. But now a biography of Akbar has revealed just how
astonishing this emperor actually was. Today I want to share some of the insights
I’ve gleaned from Ira Mukhoty’s Akbar: The Great Mughal.
Akbar negotiated a place of dignity for each person and every creed
(Alamy Stock Photo)
------
By the end
of the 16th century Akbar’s was “the greatest empire on earth” and “greater
than any previous Indian kingdom bar the Mauryan Empire”. With an annual income
estimated at 100 million pounds Akbar was “by far the richest ruler in the
world”. However, what made Akbar great was not his power or the size of his
kingdom. It was his amazing personality.
For our
time the most striking quality is Akbar’s ecumenism. He believed “all religions
are either equally true or equally illusory”. Mukhoty writes: “In his quest for
spiritual truths he prostrated himself in front of many gods — he prayed to the
sun, he whispered mantras, he worshipped fire, he kept fasts and he examined
his conscience.” His young son Murad was “entrusted to the Jesuits for an
education”, taught the sign of the cross and to take the names of Jesus and
Mary at the beginning of lessons. His Rajput Hindu wives were not required to
convert to Islam. They had “complete freedom to exercise their own religion”.
He abolished the Jiziya and aware of the sentiments of his people
“prohibited the slaughter of cows and the eating of their flesh”. On weekends,
he was vegetarian.
Though his
proud lineage stretches back to Chengiz Khan and Timur, Akbar “often wore a
dhoti of fine silk rather than the usual pyjamas”. Mukhoty adds he “began
appearing in the Diwan-E-Aam with a tilak on the forehead and a Rakhi
on the wrist, tied by a Brahmin, as a blessing.” This open-hearted liberalism
was also reflected in the décor of Fatehpur Sikri. There were “frescoes painted
of Christ, Mary and the Christian saints in the private chambers” and Akbar’s
dining room had “images of Christ, Mary, Moses and Muhammad”. In 1582, he had
the Mahabharata translated from Sanskrit to Persian. Thereafter the Ramayana,
Rajatarangini and the story of Nala and Damyanti.
Not
surprisingly, he chose his courtiers on the basis of talent not faith. Mukhoty
calls this “Akbar’s genius”. So Todar Mal and Man Singh were as powerful and
influential as Bairam Khan and Shirazi. Indeed, “for a while Man Singh was the
highest paid Mansabdar of the land, Hindu or muslim”. Perhaps more tellingly by
1580, 24 years into his reign, out of 272 Mansabdars, 43 were Rajput, 47
Persian, 44 Indian Muslim whilst his own Turani were marginally ahead at 67.
After all
this, it hardly merits saying Akbar was also a great general. “He disregarded
all the old rules of warfare”, writes Mukhoty, “and used speed, fury and
firepower in such a manner that it appeared as though he was able to bend the
very forces of nature to his will.” Among his innovations were “ingenious
rockets” and “lightweight canon”. Yet — and this is the paradox — Akbar was
“effectively unschooled and practically illiterate”. As a child, he was
“distracted, undisciplined and rambunctious”. Mukhoty says: “In the parlance of
the 21st century, (he) may have suffered from attention-deficit disorder”.
Other historians have said he was dyslexic.
However,
let me end with what makes Akbar so pertinent today. In Mukhoty’s words it’s
“his determination, in a complex and complicated land, to negotiate a place of
dignity for each person and every creed.” That’s so different to the men who
rule us today. They want to rectify the perceived wrongs of the past by
revising and reinterpreting history. If only they would open their eyes and
heed Akbar’s lessons instead. It might make India great again.
----
Karan
Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story
Original
Headline: Why Akbar the great remains so relevant
Source: The Hindustan Times
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/how-astonishing-akbar-great-actually/d/122905
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism