Canberra, 17 March 2023 The East India Company’s beginnings in India were not very promising, mainly because of the concerted Portuguese opposition and the inability of the English to obtain permission from the Mughal Viceroy of Gujarat to erect a factory in Surat. The Portuguese were opposed to any new arrivals in India and made […]
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Tag Archives: Jahangir
Europeans in India Part 8 The English East India Company Section I: Origins
March 5, 2023 
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Canberra, 5 March 2023 Before the 15th century, England was a backward agricultural country with no standing among the other kingdoms and States of the world. By the end of the 18th century, within a span of a mere three centuries, the same impoverished country had become the foremost political and economic power in Europe, […]
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 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 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 III: The Deccan Campaign
November 30, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 November 2020 Prior to Shah Jahan’s accession, Mughal interest in the Deccan had waxed and waned in direct proportion to the stability and turmoil in North India. Akbar had started a concerted effort to bring the Deccan under the Mughal flag and in 1569 had conquered Khandesh. By 1600, parts of Berar had […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section II: An Emperor’s Ambition Laid Low
November 22, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 22 November 2020 Even after the Khan-i-Jahan Lodi was chased down and killed, the Deccan campaign continued. Gradually all the major Shahi kingdoms—Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda—were involved in the conflict in different ways and to different extent. The fortunes of these three kingdoms and that of the Mughal forces in the Deccan ebbed and […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 83 Shah Jahan Section I: Early Years
November 11, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 11 November 2020 Although it was common knowledge that Emperor Jahangir had been gravely ill for some time and the possibility of his death was very real, the actual event on his way back from Kashmir came as a great blow to Nur Jahan. Her absolute hold on power and personal enthusiasm had emanated […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 82 Jahangir Section IV: An Assessment
November 4, 2020 2 Comments
Canberra, 04 November 2020 ‘What is immediately striking as we look at the portraits of Jahangir and compare his face with that of his father is the contrast between the two. Akbar appears self-contained; there is about him the inner orientation of a man who has to prove himself to no one but himself. In […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 82 Jahangir Section III: Intrigue, A Coup and the Death of an Emperor
November 2, 2020 0 Comments
Canberra, 02 November 2020 Shah Jahan was humiliated at the abject failure of his revolt and Nur Jahan overjoyed at having come out the ‘victor’ in the power struggle. However, the wheels of fortune were continuing to rotate and Mahabat Khan emerged as the most powerful noble, having been instrumental in crushing Shah Jahan’s rebellion. […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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