Srimanta Sankardev: Vaishnavite Saint of Assam

Srimanta Sankardev is to Assam what Chaitanya is to Bengal. Considered to be the greatest saint of Bhakti Movement in Assam, he gave great impetus to Vaishnavism and made it popular in the region.

Sankaradeva was born 1449 AD at Bardowa in the Nagaon district of Assam. His parents left the world when he was still a child.

This greatest religious reformer who flourished in the fifteenth century was an exponent of Krishnite form of Vaishnavism. The essence of his teachings is monotheism of God which has been named Eka-Sarana-Harinama-dharma (religion of taking refuge in one God) 

He rejected idol worship and therefore, no image of Lord Krishna is placed in the prayer hall. At the altar of god there is placed the Bhagavata Purana like the Grantha Sahib in the Shikh Shrines. He did not advocate the worship of Lord Krishna’s consort Lakshmi or Radha.

Sankardev denounced caste or class distinction and preached to all irrespective of caste or creed in their mother-tongue. The sect he founded came to be known as Mahapurushiya dharma which has made a deep impact on every aspect of life in Assam.

Sankardeva’s chief disciple was  Sri Madhavadeva who wrote  Nam-Ghosa and Bhakti-Ratnavali.

Narsi (Narsimha) Mehta: Saint Poet of Gujarat

Narsimha Mehta was a well-known poet saint of Gujarat in the fifteenth century. His songs which are composed in Gujarati depict the immortal love of Radha and Krishna. These songs form part of the Suratasangrama. 

One of Narsi’s bhajans ‘ Vishnava jana to teno kahiye’ was close to Mahatma Gandhi’s heart.

Ahmad Shah (1748-54): Imbecile Mughal Ruler

Ahmad Shah was a Mughal ruler whose reign lasted from 1748 to 1754. After the death of his father Muhammad Shah in 1754, he ascended the throne at an age of 22.  He was the son of Udham Bai, a dancing girl of low intellect and dubious character. Though he was a man of 22 at the time of his accession, he is said to have received no education and did not hold any civil or military office ever.

A pleasure seeking ruler with debased taste, Ahmad Shah was an illiterate and indulging in sensual pursuits. Spending time with women and eunuchs for weeks, he remained content by entrusting the task of running the state to the queen mother Udham Bai and her shameless paramour and powerful eunuch Javid Khan, who dominated the affairs of the state. Javid Khan was grated the title of Nawab Bahadur and Udham Bai was got the title of Qibla-i-Alam and the rank of 50,000 horses. Her brother Man Khan, a ill-mannered professional dancer, got the title of Mutqat-ud-Daula and the rank of 6,000.

During this period Safdarjang, the governor of Oudh, became the wazir or prime minster of the Mughal empire in 1748. Javid Khan and the court party controlled by the Turks (known as Turanis) took exception to his appointment as Safdarjang was an Irani. Things came to such a pass that Javid Khan was murdered in 1752 at the instance of Safdarjang. This made Udham Bai furious who got Safdarjang dismissed in 1753. Safdarjang retired to Oudh and died there on 5th October, 1754. In his place Amir Ghazi-ud-din Imad-ul-mulk, a grandson of Nizam-ul-mulk of the Deccan, was made wazir who deposed Ahmad Shah in 1754. Azizuddin Alamgir II was placed on the Mughal throne by Imad-ul-mulk. Ahmad Shah and Udham Bai were imprisoned and blinded by the formal order of Alamgir II. He died in prison in 1775.

It was during the reign of Ahmad Shah that Afghan chief Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India twice in 1749 and 1752, when he marched up to Delhi. To make matters worse, the imbecile emperor made children of three years or less governors of Punjab and Kashmir when the empire was threatened with his invasion.

Dara Shikoh: The Mughal Scholar Prince

Born at Ajmer in 1615, Dara Shikoh (also spelt as Dara Shukoh) was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his favourite too. He was appointed his successor to the Mughal empire by Shah Jahan who gave him the title of Shahzada-e-Buland Iqbal  (“Prince of High Fortune”). A pathetic figure in Mughal history, he was slain on the orders of his brother Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal, on the charges of heresy on 30th August 1659. 

Dara Shikoh was one the greatest scholars Mughal India had produced. With an excellent command on Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, he authored several works on Sufi philosophy and has deep interest in mysticism.

In 1640 Dara completed Sakinatul Auliya, a compilation of biographical sketches of Muslim saints.

In 1657 together with the pandits from Varanasi, he translated the Upanishads into Persian which came to be known as Sirr-e-Akbar (The great secret). The work is considered one of the masterpieces of Persian literature. The Bhagavat Gita and the Yoga Vasishtha Ramayana were also translated into Persian by him.

His famous book Majm-ul-Bahrain (Mingling of the two oceans) recognizes that Hinduism and Islam lead to one goal.

Niccolao Manucci: Venetian Traveller to Mughal Court

He was an Italian traveler whose voluminous memoirs entitled Storio Dor Mogor is one of the most invaluable sources of history of Mughal India. Running away from his hometown Venice at the age of 14 he travelled to Asia Minor and Persia before reaching India in 1653.

Manucci, who was a mercenary soldier, joined the services of Dara Shikoh, eldest son of Shah Jahan. He worked as an artilleryman in his army. After the defeat of Dara Shikoh in the war of succession to the Mughal throne by his brother Aurangzeb who put him to death in 1659, Manucci adopted medicine as his profession.

Manucci gives an eyewitness account of the Mughal Court.

Abdul Hamid Lahori, Court Chronicle of Shah Jahan

Abdul Hamid Lahori was a Muslim historian who was also the court chronicle of Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor. He was the author of Padshahnama, same title as that of Amin Qazwini’s book.

Also known as Badshahnama, Padshahnama describes the reign of Shah Jahan.

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".