Nur Jahan: Powerful Queen of Mughal India

Nur Jahan was a favourite wife of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor. She was one of very few women who was part of decision making process in the affairs of the Mughal state. She had deep influence on Jahangir who took pride in saying that he had handed her the country in lieu of a cup of wine and few pieces of mutton. She was the first Mghal queen in whose name coins were struck. 

Daughter of a Persian immigrant, Mirza Giyas Beg of Teheran, Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa, married Jahangir after the death of her first husband Sher Afghan (Ali Quli Istajlu), who was a Mughal officer posted in the province of Bengal. Sher Afghan was killed fighting Kutubuddin, the governor of Bengal, in 1607. Nur Jahan married Jahangir in 1611.  

After her marriage with Jahangir, she came to be known as Nur Mahal (Light of the Palace). Five years later she was bestowed the title of Nur Jahan (Light of the Palace) by the emperor. 

The contention of some that Jahangir was instrumental in the murder of Sher Afghan is disputed. 

Tombs of Sher Afghan and Qutubuddin In Burdwan in West Bengal / Image source

Being a favourite consort of Jahangir it was natural that important posts and positions in the state were given to her relatives while the emperor enjoyed wine and opium. Her father received high office and was given the title of Itmad- ud- Daulah. Her brother, Asaf Khan, became the prime minister of the empire. Asaf Khan’s daughter Mumtaz Mahal was married to Shah Jahan who later succeeded Jahangir.

As Nur Jahan grew more powerful, she invited the jealousy of other Mughal officers. Her relations with Khurram (Shah Jahan) became sour. She married off her daughter, Mihr-un-nissa Begum better known as Ladli Begum (from her first husband, Sher Afghan), to Shaharyar, another son of Jahangir in 1621, and pushed his claim to the Mughal throne. 

Under the influence of Nur Jahan who created a wedge between Jahangir and Khurram, the former deprived the later of all posts. Khurram rose in revolt but was defeated by the imperial forces in 1623.

Jahangir died in 1627. Nur Jahan survived him by 18 years and died in 1645. She was buried in a tomb at Shahdara, Lahore, which she herself got built during her lifetime.

Nur Jahan was a great patron of art. She built an elegant tomb for her father known as Itmad- ud- Daulah’s tomb located in Agra. This monument has the deep "imprint of the refined feminism of Nur Jahan".

Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi

Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi is a famous historical work of Medieval India. Also called Tuhfat-i-Akbar Shahi, it was written by Abbas Khan Sarwani on the instruction of Akbar. The work is useful for knowing more about Sher Shah, the Afghan ruler who defeated Mughal emperor Humayun, father of Akbar.

But for his untimely death of Sher Shah who drove Huayun out of India and the weaknesses of his successors, the nascent Mughal empire might have been relegated to the dustbin of history. Sarwani was connected by marriage with family of Sher Shah. Later historians of the Mughal period like Badauni and Nizamu-ddin drew heavily from Sarwani. 

Bahlul Khan Lodi: Founder of Lodi Dynasty

Bahlul (also written as Buhlol, Bahlol and Buhlul) Khan Lodi was the founder of the Lodi dynasty, the last of the five dynasties, the combination of which is known as Delhi sultanate. The Lodis, who were Afghan by race, ruled for seventy five years from 1451-1526 till their last ruler Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed by Babur in the First battle of Panipat in 1526 resulting in the establishment of Mughal empire in India.

Buhlul Lodi ruled for long thirty-nine years (1451-89). He was the governor of Lahore and Sirhind during the rule of Muhammad Shah of Sayyid dynasty. In 1451, Buhlul was given the throne of Delhi on a platter by Muhammad’s son Ala-ud-din Alam Shah, the last of the Sayyids. 

During Buhlul’s reign, Mahmud Shah of the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur tried to capture Delhi. He, however, failed in his attempt. Buhul compelled Ahmad Khan of Mewat, lsa Khan of Koil, Dariya Khan of Sambhal, Raja Pratap Singh of Mainpuri and Bhongaon, Mubarak Khan of Suket, Qutb Khan of Rewari, and the chiefs of Etawah, Chandwar and other districts of the Doab, to owe their allegiance to him. These chieftains were, however, not treated with iron hand by Buhul. As a result they readily submitted to the rule of Delhi Sultanate.

Buhlul’s biggest achievement was the conquest of the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur which was annexed into the Delhi Sultanate. His eldest surviving son Barbak Shah, was appointed governor of Jaunpur in 1486.

Buhlul Lodi died in l489, near the town of Jalali. His tomb is located adjacent to the shrine of the famous Sufi saint, Nasiruddin Chirag-e-Delhi, in Chirag Delhi area of South Delhi.

Kaiqubad (1287-90), Last Ruler of the Slave Dynasty

Before his death in 1287, Balban had nominated his grandson Kai Khusrav as his successor after his son Bughra Khan declined the offer. Kai Khusrav was the son of Muhammad (another son of Balban), who was killed in the fight with Mongols in 1285. But disregarding Balban’s wish, the nobles of the Slave dynasty placed Kaiqubad (Qaiqabad), son of Bughra Khan, on the throne.

Kaiqubad, brought up under the watchful eyes of Balban, himself a strict disciplinarian, was seventeen when he became Sultan. He soon plunged himself into debauchery. Real power of the kingdom came into the hands of Nizam-ud-din, son-in-law of Fakhr-ud-din, the Kotwal of Delhi. Confusion and chaos reigned supreme. Nizam-ud-din was poisoned by Kaiqubad when the former hesitated to obey the latter's diktat to transfer Nizam-ud-din to Multan. Matters were made worse by the struggle for supremacy between the nobles of the Turkish party and those belonging to the Khalji party.

Excess of wine and pleasure made Kaiqubad physically challenged. He was murdered in his palace of mirrors at Kilokhri by a Khalji noble whose father had been done to death on Sultan’s orders. Respect for sultan had reached to such a low that his corpse was thrown into the Jumna river. The Khalji nobles, under the leadership of Malik Jalal-ud-din Firuz, stamped their authority in the ongoing struggle. After killing Kayumars, an infant son of Kaiqubad, MalikJalal-ud-din Firuz ascended the Delhi Sultanate throne on the 13th June, 1290 at an age of seventy and the dynasty he founded came to be known as Khilji dynasty.

Balban: The Great Dictator of Delhi Sultanate

Balban's Tomb at Mehrauli Archaeological Park

After the death of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud of the Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate in 1266, the line of the rulers from the family of Iltutmish came to end. He was succeeded by his deputy Ghiasuddin Balban in whose hands the real power of the state resided even during his lifetime. 

Balban who was also father-in-law of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, probably murdered him to become the sultan. Slave dynasty was fortunate enough to have Balban’s accession at the time. This is because during the thirty years after the death of Iltutmish no worthy ruler, except Razia, and that too for a brief period, ascended the throne of Delhi sultanate. The rulers during the period were murdered by the frivolous slaves. This dealt a body-blow to the slave dynasty. The condition of the sultanate was such that a strong and stern ruler was the need of the hour. And he fit the bill well.

 

Since internal rebellions had to suppressed Balban took steps in the direction of strengthening the army which involved introduction of some changes in the armed forces and increasing their numerical strength. Balban meted out severest punishment to the Mewat Rajputs inhabiting the area round Alwar in Rajasthan. The Mewatis were danger to the order of the capital. After clearing the jungles in the vicinity of Delhi, ‘a hundred thousand males above twelve’ of them were murdered.  A fort at Gopalgir was built by Balban who put several posts near the city of Delhi in charge of Afghan officers.

In 1267 Balban crushed the brigands in the Doab who had their heydays in their strongholds at Kampil, Patiali and Bhojpur where Balban erected forts besides repairing the fort of Jalali. Balban also suppressed the rebellions in Katehr (now in Rohilkhand). The refractory hill tribes of the mountains of Jud were also suppressed by Balban.

Balban did not lose sight of the Mongol danger that was lurking in the north-west frontier of the kingdom. Balban’s cousin Sher Khan Sunqar was ably defending the frontier. However, Balban grew suspicious of him and got him murdered. His death left the field open for the Mongols to indulge in their incursions of the frontier tracts. Prince Muhammad, Sultan’s eldest son, was governor of Multan to check the Mongol menace. Bughra Khan, his second son, was placed in charge of the territories of Samana and Sunam. In 1279 they, together with  Malik Mubarak Bektars from Delhi, successfully repulsed the Mongol invasion.

However, in A.D. 1285 Mongols under their leader Tamar invaded Punjab. Prince Muhammad proceeded towards Lahore and Dipalpur and was killed during his fight against the Mongols. He was given the title of Shahid, "the Martyr" and came to be known as Khan-i-Shahid, (the Martyr Prince).

Crushing Tughril Khan’s rebellion in Bengal

In 1279, Tughril Khan, the Sultan's deputy in Bengal, rose in rebellion against him.

Balban sent an army under Amir Khan who was defeated by the rebel governor. This infuriated Balban so much that Amir Khan was hanged over the gate of Delhi on his orders. Another military campaign under Malik Targhi in the next year met the same fate. Now the Sultan himself decided to proceed to Bengal.  Accompanied by his son, Bughra Khan, he headed towards Bengal. Tughril Khan was killed. Bughra Khan was appointed governor of the Bengal province.

After an iron rule of about twenty-two years, Balban died in A.D. 1287. His tomb and that of his son Prince Muhammad (Khan-i-Shahid) are located in Mehrauli Archaeological Park in Delhi. The dilapidated tomb betrays no hint of Balban's fame as one of the most powerful rulers of medieval India. 

Kingship under Balban

During the weak rule of Balban’s predecessors, the institution of kingship had lost respect and there was danger of Sultans being considered as imbecile by the people. To restore the dignity of the crown, Balban a proponent of the dignified mode of living, etiquette and rituals, organized his court after the manner of the old Persian monarchs. This was done to give legitimacy to his rule which may be contested by the rebels due to the fact of his being a salve. During his rule the splendour and glory of the royal court reached heights and gave asylum to some fifteen exiled prices from central Asia. Ziauddin Barani, author of Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, writes, “Fear and awe of him took possession of all men`s hearts.”

Balban appointed only men of elite class to important posts. He ensured the strict observance of the etiquette of the court. Those who attended his court  were supposed to observe sizda (prostration before the sultan) and paibod (kissing his feet) (both un-Islamic practices). Balban was the first Indian ruler to introduce the celebration of the Persian new year (nao-roz) in India.

Balban called himself Naib-i-Khudai or Deputy of the God.

He created Diwan-i-Arz or the Department of Military Affairs.

Purushottam Das Tandon

As was only to be hoped that being a British colony India was slowly gearing to the adoption of English as the national language during the pre-Independent era. Even after the attainment of freedom by India in 1947, Hindi has having a tough time in achieving its due place in the country. Against this backdrop, Purushottam Das Tandon, also known as Rajarshi, is remembered for his yeomen’s service in the achievement by Hindi its due place as the National Language.

Sometimes his enthusiasm for Hindi was resented by some who accused him being communal and chauvinistic. It was by his efforts that Hindi began to be written in Devanagari script.   

One of the foremost leaders during India’s struggle for independence, Purushottam Das Tandon was also a journalist, orator and social worker. He was born on 2^nd August, 1882, at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. After receiving his primary education in the local City Anglo Vernacular School, he got a degree in law and started practising in the Allhabad High court. 

(Source: The Times Of India Group)

During his student days he joined Indian National congress in 1899. After being expelled from Mayor Central College of the Allahabad University for his revolutionary activities, he completed his studies in 1903 from a different college in Allahabad. He was one of the members of Congress Party Committee formed to look into the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Responding to the call of Mahatma Gandhi, he joined the freedom struggle by giving up his law practice in 1921. 

In 1946, Purushottam Das Tandon was elected to the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Indian constitution. He served as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh and remained in the post for thirteen years.

Though Tandon contested unsuccessfully against Pattabhi Sitaramayya for the position of the President of Congress in 1948 but was able to defeat Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani popularly known as Acharya Kriplani, in 1950 to be the president of Nagpur session. Jawaharlal Nehru was opposed to the candidacy of Tandon and he even threatened to resign. During his tenure there was a lack of co-ordination between the party and the government. Since then it has been the norm in the Congress party to have the same person as the president and head of the government or at least a pliable candidate for the post of either of the two. Purushottam Das Tandon won the Lok Sabha poll in 1952 and went to the Rajya Sabha in 1956.

On 23rd April, 1961, Purushottam Das Tandon was awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. He breathed his last on 1st July 1962.

Ashvamedha: Royal Horse Sacrifice

Ashvamedha, or horse sacrifice, was one of the main royal sacrifices in ancient India, performed to enhance the power and glory of the king. Naturally, it was the ambition of every king to conduct this sacrifice, though it can be performed only by the mighty monarchs. Apart from glorifying the king, the rite also was instrumental in bringing the prosperity and fertility to the kingdom.

As the name suggests, a stallion marked with king's name was set free to wander at will for a year. The rulers and the chieftains of the territories on which the horse, followed by a chosen bans of warriors, roamed had to either accept the suzerainty of the king or defeat the accompanying warriors in the battle.

When after a period of one year the horse returned to the kingdom accompanied by the kings of the territories where it entered, it was sacrificed. Sometimes scores of other animals were sacrificed with the horse. This elaborate sacrificial ritual, participated in by the priest, the king and the queen, was held at a great public ceremony characterized by celebration and feasting. During the ceremony, the queen had to spend one night near the dead horse.

The ritual has been described at great length in several texts, chief among them being the Shatapatha Brahmana, a text on sacrificial ritual. An interesting element in the rite was that during the ceremony, the queen had to spend one night beside the dead stallion.

Pushyamitra Sunga, the founder of the Sunga dynasty, performed this sacrifice after usurping the Mauryan throne signaling the restoration of the Vedic sacrificial rituals which went into disuse during the Mauryan period. Samudra Gupta and Kumara Gupta (c 415-454) of the Gupta dynasty, the golden period of Hinduism, performed this sacrifice.  Adityasena Gupta of the second Gupta dynasty performed this sacrifice in the latter half of the 7th century AD.  After the Gupta period, the horse sacrifice became rare and the last famous instance of this sacrifice was that was performed in the mighty south Indian empire of the Cholas. 

Ashvins, Vedic Twin Gods

Ashvins (horsemen) were the twin gods in the Vedic period. Also known as Nasatyas, they are described as driving across the sky in their three-wheeled golden chariot drawn by horses. The chariot was sometimes drawn by birds, buffaloes, deer, birds, or a single ass.

The state of Ashvins being twins connects them with the Greek Dioscuri and twin gods of pre-Christian Baltic mythology. Ashvins are shown as helpers of men in distress. Apart from providing artificial legs for the maimed, they had rescued shipwrecked mariners and found spouses for the old maids.

Ashvins were married to Surya, who was the sun-god’s daughter.

Sunga Dynasty

The founder of the Sunga dynasty was Pushyamitra, a Brahman general of Brihadratha, the last Mauryan emperor. The ease with which he overthrew Brihadratha by way of a palace revolution in about 183 BC is testimony to the weakness and inefficiency of the later Mauryas who were unable to repulse the foreign invasion. According to the Puranas, religious texts dating from the Gupta period onwards, the event took place in 187 BC.

Being a Brahman, Pushyamitra is credited with the restoration of the orthodox Hinduism and performed horse-sacrifice. He has been portrayed as a persecutor of the Buddhism which saw its hey-day during the Mauryan rule. However, the remains of the large Buddhist stupa at Bharhut built in the second century BC belie this.

During his reign apart from Patliputra, Vidisa emerged as another centre of power where the crown prince Agnimitra, hero of Kalidasa’s famous drama Malavikagnimitra, held his court.

Pushyamitra, who did not take regal titles, ruled for thirty-six years. After him, nine other rulers belonging to the Shunga dynasty ascended the throne. Prominent among them were Agnimitra, Vasumitra, Bhagvata and Devabhuti. Pushyamitra was succeeded by his son Agnimitra.

According to the Mālavikāgnimitram (Malavika and Agnimitra), Vasumitra defeated the Greeks. The Besanager inscription records that a Sunga king Bhagabhadra received an ambassador named Heliodorus from a Greek king of Taxila, Antialcidas.

After that power of the Sungas began to decline and the later rulers are mere names recorded. Devabhuti (83 to 73 BC) was the last ruler of Sunga dynasty. History repeated itself when he was killed by his minister Vasudeva Kanva who, like the founder of the Shunga dynasty, went on to establish a new dynasty, Kanva dynasty.

Foods in Ancient India

Today, Indian cooking offers a wide array of foods.  The incredible richness of the Indian foods is the result of thousands of years of cooking, and eating.

Foods of ancient India are as popular today but many of them as eaten today and widespread in modern Indian cooking were imported from Americas. Chili, or red pepper, so important part of South Indian cookery arrived in India only by the Portuguese from Americas after the latter’s discovery in the 15th century. Same is the case with the brinjal, potatoes, sweet corn or maize.

Fruits and sweetmeats of ancient India were similar to those of the present day but did not include some that have become widespread as Indian sweets such as the jalebi, which was imported by the Muslims. 

According to early fifth century Chinese traveler Fa-hsein, only people of low castes ate meat. This may not be wholly true but by the time of his visit vegetarianism was the norm for the Hindus of the higher classes. The non- vegetarianism in the Vedic period has given way to vegetarianism in the Gupta period. During the Vedic period, large number of animals were sacrificed and consequently eaten.

However, by the days of the Upanishads, which stressed the doctrine of non-violence, vegetarianism began to come into vogue. It also got impetus with the rise of Buddhism and Jainism.  The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who took initiatives for the spread of the Buddhism as a world religion, became enamoured of vegetarian food when he came under the influence of Buddhism and as such he forbade killing of many animals in the royal kitchen. But the Arthashastra, written in the Mauryan period, does not consider anything but normal. This treatise on statecraft lays down rules for the management of slaughterhouse and the maintenance of the purity of the meat. 

Even though the growth of Mahayana Buddhism and new Hinduism contributed to the growth of strict vegetarianism, meat eating was taken recourse to by members of tantric cults of Buddhism ad Hinduism.