Escape of a Brave Elephant from Crocodile

ATTACK: The crocodile sprung from the water as a baby elephant and its mum were having a drink from the river

The baby elephant went to hide behind mum as the croc attacked

Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb: Bad Ruler or Bad History?

Of all the Muslim rulers who ruled vast territories of India from 712 to 1857 CE, probably no one has received as much condemnation from Western and Hindu writers as Aurangzeb. He has been castigated as a religious Muslim who was anti-Hindu, who taxed them, who tried to convert them, who discriminated against them in awarding high administrative positions, and who interfered in their religious matters. This view has been heavily promoted in the government approved textbooks in schools and colleges across post-partition India (i.e., after 1947). These are fabrications against one of the best rulers of India who was pious, scholarly, saintly, unbiased, liberal, magnanimous, tolerant, competent, and far-sighted.

Fortunately, in recent years quite a few Hindu historians have come out in the open disputing those allegations. For example, historian Babu Nagendranath Banerjee rejected the accusation of forced conversion of Hindus by Muslim rulers by stating that if that was their intention then in India today there would not be nearly four times as many Hindus compared to Muslims, despite the fact that Muslims had ruled for nearly a thousand years. Banerjee challenged the Hindu hypothesis that Aurangzeb was anti-Hindu by reasoning that if the latter were truly guilty of such bigotry, how could he appoint a Hindu as his military commander-in-chief? Surely, he could have afforded to appoint a competent Muslim general in that position.

Banerjee further stated:

“No one should accuse Aurangzeb of being communal minded. In his administration, the state policy was formulated by Hindus. Two Hindus held the highest position in the State Treasury. Some prejudiced Muslims even questioned the merit of his decision to appoint non-Muslims to such high offices. The Emperor refuted that by stating that he had been following the dictates of the Shariah (Islamic Law) which demands appointing right persons in right positions.”

During Aurangzeb’s long reign of fifty years, many Hindus, notably Jaswant Singh,

¤ Bahadur Shah Reign lasted For A Very Small Tenure

Aurangzeb’s son Bahadur Shah, who is commonly neglected because his reign lasted just five years, completes the gallery of the great Mughals. He was an old man of 63 when he came to power but his achievements in those five years would have done credit to most men in their prime. He made settlements with the implacable Marathas, tranquilized the Rajputs, decisively defeated the Sikhs in the Punjab, and took their last Guru into his service. He was travelling throughout his reign and only came to rest in Lahore in the last few months of his life.


¤ The Decline of Mughal Dynasty

From there on, the Mughal dynasty began to crumble at an amazing speed. Many historians blame Aurangzeb and his destructive policies for eroding the common man’s faith in the dynasty. However this is by far an overstatement. Whatever the policies of Aurangzeb, he was very much the emperor till his dying day in 1707. Though his policies did lead to resentment; the blame for the decline of the Mughals must definitely be shared.

If one agrees with the theory that after every golden period a decline must inevitably follow, then the disintegration of the Mughal Empire becomes easy to explain. The golden period of the Mughals is said to be the reign of Shah Jahan. By the end of his reign, the signs of rot setting in were clear for all to see. Aurangzeb is best remembered as a zealot who broke temples, but a closer look reveals that he was no different from his father, Shah Jahan, a bigot who followed an active anti-Hindu policy. However we look at the Taj Mahal and forgive Shah Jahan everything. Shah Jahan, who had the most peaceful reign of all, bought trouble for himself by needlessly starting an expensive Balkh campaign to win back Samarkand. and if he had been firmer with Dara Shikoh, the much-hyped battle of succession would have ended right there. But Dara was his weakness and Shah Jahan let him rule the roost leading to disastrous consequences. So the first part of the blame falls squarely in Shah Jahan’s shoulders.

The golden rays which seemed to be fading at the end of Shah Jahan’s rule were brightened to a large extent by Aurangzeb in his initial years. But the Deccan wringed Aurangzeb the man, the king, the father and the believer of all softer emotions and decorum. He simply lost his sense of balance. He alienated a sizeable portion of his subjects, allies and employees and made unnecessary enemies which cost his successors dearly. During his lifetime, he tried to put down rebellions

Shah Jahan

Born On: January 5, 1592
Died On: January 22, 1666
Achievements: Founder of the magnificent monument Taj Mahal, Also associated with the Red Fort of Delhi, Jama Masjid of Delhi, Section of Agra Fort, the Wazir Khan Mosque and the Moti Masjid in Lahore, Pakistan

Shah Jahan, his name along with the name of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, being synonymous with the existence and ever growing popularity of Taj Mahal, was a Mughal Emperor of the Southern Asia who reigned from 1627 to 1658. Born as Prince Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram in the Lahore, Pakistan of 1592, Shah Jahan was the son of Emperor Jahangir. His name Khurram, which means "joyful" in Persian, was given to him by his grandfather Akbar the Great. Displaying great military skills at an early age against numerous enemies including Mewar, the Lodi in the Deccan, and

Jahangir