Canberra, 23 February 2021 After the capture and execution of Shambhuji, it would have been logical for Aurangzeb to return to Delhi—the three major powers in the Deccan, the Adil and the Qutb Shahis and the Marathas, had been effectively destroyed or subdued and their territories annexed to the Empire. There was nothing more to […]
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Indian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section VI: The Last Foray into the Deccan
February 23, 2021 
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Canberra, 23 February 2021 On 8th September 1681 Aurangzeb, 63 years old and having been on the throne for 23 years, made a hasty peace with Mewar and set out from Ajmer for the Deccan, reaching Burhanpur on 13th November 1681. This was the culmination of a sequence of events in Rajputana, most of which […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section V: Shivaji Carves Out A Kingdom
February 13, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 13 February 2021 Aurangzeb spent the first half of his reign immersed in the affairs of Hindustan, North India, and dealing with the repeated Hindu rebellions, first of the Jats and then the even more serious Rajput uprising that led to veritable war. The Deccan was left to be administered by viceroys who were […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section IV: Emergence of the Marathas
February 6, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 6 February 2021 Geography and nature had never intended the Deccan Plateau to be an integral part of the greater Indian sub-continent. The Vindhya and Satpura Mountain Ranges and the River Narmada form a triple barricade that divides the high tableland of Central India from the Gangetic Plains. These formidable geographical barriers should have […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section III: Continuing Alienation of the Hindus – The Rajput War
February 2, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 2 February 2021 The Hindu Rajput princes were major allies of Mughal emperors, starting with Akbar and into the beginning of Aurangzeb’s reign, providing large military forces and unstinting, loyal and heroic leadership to the imperial Mughal army. In the chronicles of the day, the glorification of the military exploits of the Rajput princes […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 82 Jahangir Section V: The Arrival of the British
January 30, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 January 2021 By the end of the 16th century, Akbar’s fame had already spread to Europe—the story of an emperor who had conquered the whole of the exotic Hindustan; an emperor of extraordinary wisdom; an emperor who practised great religious tolerance at a time when the contemporary Tudor dynasty did not know the […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section II Alienation of the Hindus 1. The Jat Rebellion
January 20, 2021 1 Comment
Canberra, 20 January 2021 BACKGROUND Aurangzeb had won the Mughal throne as the champion of Sunni Muslim orthodoxy against the liberal-minded Dara, who had claimed the mantle of religious tolerance of his predecessors. On being defeated, Dara had been tried and convicted of being a heretic and subsequently executed, or more correctly, murdered. In the […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section I: Settling In – The First Two Decades
January 12, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 January 2021 On 5th June 1659 (or on 15th June, according to some historians), Aurangzeb celebrated his coronation for the second time, after two decisive victories, over Shuja at Khajuha and Dara at Deorai. Unlike the earlier crowning, grand banquets and dazzling illumination enlivened these functions with many loyal officers and nobles promoted […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section V: Magnificence – While It Lasted
January 2, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 02 January 2021 ‘With Shah Jahan a Pharaonic mask slides into place. The person virtually disappears behind the persona, as Shah Jahan’s official chroniclers scrub him clean of all the grime of life and present him as The Great Mughal, gilded, bejewelled and perfumed, larger than life but lifeless. — Abraham Eraly, Emperors of […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section IV The War of Succession 2. Civil War
January 1, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 1 January 2021 The four sons of Shah Jahan had started preparing for the inevitable succession struggle even before he actually fell ill. Each one attempted to win over as many nobles as possible to their individual camps; and the nobles responded in the only manner they would—attempting to side with the prince who […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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