Mughal Emperor Sultan Aurangzeb Alamgir : Bad Ruler or Bad History?

By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

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 write
rs 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 a
warding high administrative positions, and who interfered in their religious mat
ters. This view has been heavily promoted in the government approved textbooks i
n 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, un-biased, liberal, magnanimous, tolerant, competent, and far-sighted.
Fortunately, in recent years quite a few Hindu historians have come out in the o
pen disputing those allegations. For example, historian Babu Nagendranath Banerj
ee rejected the accusation of forced conversion of Hindus by Muslim rulers by st
ating that if that was their intention then in India today there would not be ne
arly four times as many Hindus compared to Muslims, despite the fact that Muslim
s had ruled for nearly a thousand years. Banerjee challenged the Hindu hypothesi
s that Aurangzeb was anti-Hindu by reasoning that if the latter were truly guilt
y of such bigotry, how could he appoint a Hindu as his military commander-in-chi
ef? Surely, he could have afforded to appoint a competent Muslim general in that
position. Banerjee further stated: "No one should accuse Aurangzeb of being com
munal minded. In his administration, the state policy was formulated by Hindus.
Two Hindus held the highest position in the State Treasury. Some prejudiced Musl
ims even questioned the merit of his decision to appoint non-Muslims to such hig
h offices. The Emperor refuted that by stating that he had been following the di
ctates of the Shariah (Islamic Law) which demands appointing right persons in ri
ght positions." During Aurangzeb's long reign of fifty years, many Hindus, notab
ly Jaswant Singh, Raja Rajrup, Kabir Singh, Arghanath Singh, Prem Dev Singh, Dil
ip Roy, and Rasik Lal Crory, held very high administrative positions. Two of the
highest ranked generals in Aurangzeb's administration, Jaswant Singh and Jaya S
ingh, were Hindus. Other notable Hindu generals who commanded a garrison of two
to five thousand soldiers were Raja Vim Singh of Udaypur, Indra Singh, Achalaji
and Arjuji. One wonders if Aurangzeb was hostile to Hindus, why would he positio
n all these Hindus to high positions of authority, especially in the military, w
ho could have mutinied against him and removed him from his throne?
Most Hindus like Akbar over Aurangzeb for his multi-ethnic court where Hindus we
re favored. Historian Shri Sharma states that while Emperor Akbar had fourteen H
indu Mansabdars (high officials) in his court, Aurangzeb actually had 148 Hindu
high officials in his court. (Ref: Mughal Government) But this fact is somewhat
less known.
Some of the Hindu historians have accused Aurangzeb of demolishing Hindu Temples
. How factual is this accusation against a man, who has been known to be a saint
ly man, a strict adherent of Islam? The Qur'an prohibits any Muslim to impose hi
s will on a non-Muslim by stating that "There is no compulsion in religion." (su
rah al-Baqarah 2:256). The surah al-Kafirun clearly states: "To you is your reli
gion and to me is mine." It would be totally unbecoming of a learned scholar of
Islam of his caliber, as Aurangzeb was known to be, to do things that are contra
ry to the dictates of the Qur'an.
Interestingly, the 1946 edition of the history textbook Etihash Parichaya (Intro
duction to History) used in Bengal for the 5th and 6th graders states: "If Auran
gzeb had the intention of demolishing temples to make way for mosques, there wou
ld not have been a single temple standing erect in India. On the contrary, Auran
gzeb donated huge estates for use as Temple sites and support thereof in Benares
, Kashmir and elsewhere. The official documentations for these land grants are s
till extant."
A stone inscription in the historic Balaji or Vishnu Temple, located north of Ch
itrakut Balaghat, still shows that it was commissioned by the Emperor himself. T
he proof of Aurangzeb's land grant for famous Hindu religious sites in Kasi, Var
anasi can easily be verified from the deed records extant at those sites. The sa
me textbook reads: "During the fifty year reign of Aurangzeb, not a single Hindu
was forced to embrace Islam. He did not interfere with any Hindu religious acti
vities." (p. 138) Alexander Hamilton, a British historian, toured India towards
the end of Aurangzeb's fifty year reign and observed that every one was free to
serve and worship God in his own way.
Now let us deal with Aurangzeb's imposition ofthe jizya tax which had drawn seve
re criticism from many Hindu historians. It is true that jizya was lifted during
the reign of Akbar and Jahangir and that Aurangzeb later reinstated this. Befor
e I delve into the subject of Aurangzeb's jizya tax, or taxing the non-Muslims,
it is worthwhile to point out that jizya is nothing more than a war tax which wa
s collected only from able-bodied young non-Muslim male citizens living in a Mus
lim country who did not want to volunteer for the defense of the country. That i
s, no such tax was collected from non-Muslims who volunteered to defend the coun
try. This tax was not collected from women, and neither from immature males nor
from disabled or old male citizens. For payment of such taxes, it became incumbe
nt upon the Muslim government to protect the life, property and wealth of its no
n-Muslim citizens. If for any reason the government failed to protect its citize
ns, especially during a war, the taxable amount was returned.
It should be pointed out here that zakat (2.5% of savings) and ushr (10% of agric
ultural products) were collected from all Muslims, who owned some wealth (beyond
a certain minimum, called nisab). They also paid sadaqah, fitrah, and khums. No
ne of these were collected from any non-Muslim. As a matter of fact, the per cap
ita collection from Muslims was several fold that of non-Muslims. Further to Aur
anzeb's credit is his abolition of a lot of taxes, although this fact is not usu
ally mentioned. In his book Mughal Administration, Sir Jadunath Sarkar, foremost
historian on the Mughal dynasty, mentions that during Aurangzeb's reign in powe
r, nearly sixty-five types of taxes were abolished, which resulted in a yearly r
evenue loss of fifty million rupees from the state treasury.
While some Hindu historians are retracting the lies, the textbooks and historic
accounts in Western countries have yet to admit their error and set the record s
traight.

Aurangzeb's Charity.
When it was reported to His Majesty Aurangzeb, that in the reign of his father e
very year a sum of seventy-nine thousand rupees was distributed through the Sadr
u-s Sudúr amongst the poor during five months of the year, viz. twelve thousand rupe
es in each of the months of Muharram and Rabí'u-l awwal, ten thousand in Rajab, fi
fteen thousand in Sha'bán, and thirty thousand in the sacred month of Ramazán, and tha
t during the remaining seven months no sum was distributed in charity, His Majesty
ordered the Sadru-s Sudúr and other accountants of the household expenses, that w
ith regard to those five months they should observe the same rule, and in each o
f the other months also they should give ten thousand rupees to be distributed a
mong the poor; so that the annual sum expended in charity, including the increas
e which was now made, amounted to one lac and forty-nine thousand rupees.
The Habits and Manners of the Emperor Aurangzeb.
Be it known to the readers of this work that this humble slave of the Almighty i
s going to describe in a correct manner the excellent character, the worthy habi
ts and the refined morals of this most virtuous monarch, Abú-l Muzaffar Muhiu-d dín
Muhammad Aurangzeb 'Álamgír, according as he has witnessed them with his own eyes. T
he Emperor, a great worshipper of God by natural propensity, is remarkable for h
is rigid attachment to religion. He is a follower of the doctrines of the Imám Abú H
anífa (may God be pleased with him!), and establishes the five fundamental doctrin
es of the Kanz. Having made his ablutions, he always occupies a great part of hi
s time in adoration of the Deity, and says the usual prayers, first in the masji
d and then at home, both in congregation and in private, with the most heartfelt
devotion. He keeps the appointed fasts on Fridays and other sacred days, and he
reads the Friday prayers in the Jámi' masjid with the common people of the Muhamm
adan faith. He keeps vigils during the whole of the sacred nights, and with the
light of the favour of God illumines the lamps of religion and prosperity. From
his great piety, he passes whole nights in the Mosque which is in his palace, an
d keeps company with men of devotion. In privacy he never sits on a throne.He ga
ve away in alms before his accession a portion of his allowance of lawful food a
nd clothing, and now devotes to the same purpose the income of a few villages in
the district of Dehlí, and the proceeds of two or three salt-producing tracts, wh
ich are appropriated to his privy purse. The Princes also follow the same exampl
e. During the whole month of Ramazán he keeps fast, says the prayers ap*pointed fo
r that month, and reads the holy Kurán in the assembly of religious and learned me
n, with whom he sits for that purpose during six, and sometimes nine hours of th
e night. During the last ten days of the month, he performs worship in the mosqu
e, and although, on account of several obstacles, he is unable to proceed on a p
ilgrimage to Mecca, yet the care which he takes to promote facilities for pilgri
ms to that holy place may be con*sidered equivalent to the pilgrimage.
From the dawn of his understanding he has always refrained from prohibited meats
and practices, and from his great holiness has adopted nothing but that which i
s pure and lawful. Though he has collected at the foot of his throne those who i
nspire ravish*ment in joyous assemblies of pleasure, in the shape of singers who
possess lovely voices and clever instrumental performers, and in the commenceme
nt of his reign sometimes used to hear them sing and play, and though he himself
understands music well, yet now for several years past, on account of his great
restraint and self-denial, and observance of the tenets of the great Imám (Sháfi'í),
(may God's mercy be on him!), he entirely abstains from this amusement. If any o
f the singers and musicians becomes ashamed of his calling, he makes an allowanc
e for him or grants him land for his maintenance.
He never puts on the clothes prohibited by religion, nor does he ever use vessel
s of silver or gold. In his sacred Court no improper conversation, no word of ba
ckbiting or falsehood, is allowed. His courtiers, on whom his light is reflected
, are cautioned that if they have to say anything which might injure the charact
er of an absent man, they should express themselves in decorous language and at
full detail. He appears two or three times every day in his court of audience wi
th a pleasing counte*nance and mild look, to dispense justice to complainants wh
o come in numbers without any hindrance, and as he listens to them with great at
tention, they make their representations with*out any fear or hesitation, and ob
tain redress from his impartiality. If any person talks too much, or acts in an
improper manner, he is never displeased, and he never knits his brows. His court
iers have often desired to prohibit people from showing so much boldness, but he
remarks that by hearing their very words, and seeing their gestures, he acquire
s a habit of forbearance and tolerance. All bad characters are expelled from the
city of Dehlí, and the same is ordered to be done in all places through*out the w
hole empire. The duties of preserving order and regularity among the people are
very efficiently attended to, and throughout the empire, notwithstanding its gre
at extent, nothing can be done without meeting with the due punishment enjoined
by the Muhammadan law. Under the dictates of anger and passion he never issues o
rders of death. In consideration of their rank and merit, he shows much honour a
nd respect to the Saiyids, saints and learned men, and through his cordial and l
iberal exertions, the sublime doctrines of Hanífa and of our pure religion have ob
tained such prevalence throughout the wide territories of Hindústán as they never ha
d in the reign of any former king. The Emperor is perfectly acquainted with the
commentaries, traditions and law. He always studies the compilations of the grea
t Imám Muhammad Ghizálí (may God's mercy be on him!), the extracts from the writings o
f Shaikh Sharaf Yahyá Munírí (may his tomb be sanctified!), and the works of Muhí Shírazí,
nd other similar books. One of the greatest excellences of this virtuous monarch
is, that he has learnt the Kurán by heart. Though in his early youth he had commi
tted to memory some chapters of that sacred book, yet he learnt the whole by hea
rt after ascending the throne. He took great pains and showed much perseverance
in impressing it upon his mind. He writes a very elegant Naskh hand, and has acq
uired perfection in this art. He has written two copies of the holy book with hi
s own hand, and having finished and adorned them with ornaments and marginal lin
es, at the expense of seven thousand rupees, he sent them to the holy cities of
Mecca and Medína. He also wrote an excellent Nasta'lík and Shikastah hand. He is a v
ery elegant writer in prose, and has acquired proficiency in versification, but
agreeably to the words of God, Poets deal in falsehoods, he abstains from practisi
ng it. He does not like to hear verses except those which contain a moral. To ple
ase Almighty God he never turned his eye towards a flatterer, nor gave his ear t
o a poet.
The Emperor has given a very liberal education to his fortu*nate and noble child
ren, who, by virtue of his attention and care, have reached to the summit of per
fection, and made great advances in rectitude, devotion, and piety, and in learn
ing the manners and customs of princes and great men. Through his instruction th
ey have learnt the Book of God by heart, obtained proficiency in the sciences an
d polite literature, writing the various hands, and in learning the Turkí and the
Persian languages.
In like manner, the ladies of the household also, according to his orders, have
learnt the fundamental and necessary tenets of religion, and all devote their ti
me to the adoration and worship of the Deity, to reading the sacred Kurán, and per
forming virtuous and pious acts. The excellence of character and the purity of m
orals of this holy monarch are beyond all expression. As long as nature nourishe
s the tree of existence, and keeps the garden of the world fresh, may the plant
of the prosperity of this preserver of the garden of dignity and honour continue
fruitful!