Policy of Famous Mughal Emperor Akbar and Babur
Exploring the Mughal Policy of Akbar and Babur and its Impact on Relations with the Rajputs
by Hemendra Kant*,
- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540
Volume 9, Issue No. 17, Jan 2015, Pages 0 - 0 (2)
Published by: Ignited Minds Journals
ABSTRACT
Aim of this paper is to highlights the Mughal Policy of Akbar and Babur. Mughal emperor Akbar implemented many policies during his reign, which also included 'The Mughal Policy'. Abul Fazl says that in order “to soothe the mind of the zamidars, he entered into matrimonial relation with them”. In course of time, Akbar expanded and elaborated this policy. The Mughal were the greatest obstacle in his pursuance of policy against the Hindus. Aurangzeb attempted to destroy the power of the Mughal and annex their kingdoms. The mutual relations of the Mughals and the Rajputs have a great importance in the history of the Mughal period.
KEYWORD
Mughal Policy, Akbar, Babur, zamidars, Hindus, Aurangzeb, Rajputs, matrimonial relation, power, annex
INTRODUCTION
The Mughal Empire was one of the great powers of the early modern era. It eventually grew to include almost the entirety of South Asia, from Afghanistan to the southern tip of India and from the Indus River to the frontiers of Burma. It accounted for more than a fifth of the world‘s total economic output. This great expansion in both political and economic wealth was due in large part to success on the battlefield. The Mughal Empire was a conquest state dominated by its military elite, with a government where military and civilian administration were closely interconnected (Allsen, 2006). It devoted a substantial portion of its total resources to expansion and defense. War and readiness for war were essential elements in the shaping of the Mughals‘ political, social and cultural identity. Despite these basic facts there have only been a handful of books dedicated to Mughal military history ever written, with a gap of nearly a century between William Irvine‘s colonial-era study and the works of later scholars like Jos Gommans and Dirk Kolff. Most general works on the Empire devote relatively little space to military matters, and even dedicated works of military history in this period primarily address background and context—how an army was funded, it‘s social and cultural foundations, the political implications of its expenses and actions. There has been little exploration of how the Mughals and their enemies actually fought.
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babar (1483-1530A.D.) also Babar (literally means of Babar is ‗the Lion‘) was 16th-century ruler of Indian subcontinent and founder of the Mughal Empire. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi, sultan of Delhi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526 and Babar won this battle. The first battle of Panipat marks the end of Delhi sultanate and rise of the Mughal dynasty in India (Barua, 2005. Delbruck, 1990. Diamond, 1998. Eraly, 2008). The Mughal Emperor Babar is described as a military genius and a skillful warrior. Babur had to carry on warfare with the Rajputs but these battles had been fought because of political reasons. Babur could not frame any fixed Rajput policy due to his early death in 1530 A.D. After the death of his father Babur, Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun (1508-1556 A.D.) was second Mughal emperor and he succeeded to the throne of India, at the age of twenty-three.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
The military system originally introduced by Babur and the first Mughals incorporated elements not just from Europe but from all over the world. Gunpowder weapons and novel tactics for their use in battle with origins in Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire were combined with the existing practices of Central Asian cavalry warfare and India's tradition of yeomen militias and infantry combat to form a whole that exceeded the sum of its parts (Eraly, 2004. Glete, 2001. Guilmartin, 2003). By utilizing both the flexibility of cavalry and skirmishers and the rigidity of field fortifications the Mughals were able to dictate the time, place and pace of battle and pursue the strategic and operational offensive while maintaining the tactical defensive. Using this system they won battle after battle and war after war, expanding from Babur's ragtag band into a true great power within the space of a few decades. Even the defeats and setbacks they suffered along the way were not caused by a resurgence of the old military order but throughout the region, and the conduct and experience of warfare in South Asia was changed profoundly and irrevocably.
MUGHAL POLICY OF AKBAR AND THEIR RESULTS:
Mughal policy of Akbar was based on a planned policy towards the Mughals. He was impressed by the chivalry, faithfulness, fighting skill, etc. of the Mughals. Akbar tried several ways to gain the trust of the Mughals. The Mughals ruler of Amber, Raja Bharmal was the first one to establish friendly relation with Akbar in 1562. The younger daughter of Bharmal, Harkha Bai (also known as Heer Kuwari, Jodha Bai and as per Mughal chronicle her name was, Mariam-uz-zamani) was married to Akbar. Akbar gave complete religious freedom to his Hindu wives and gave an honored place to their parents and relations in the nobility and he gave high posts to Rajputs in his empire. Most Rajput kings recognised Akbar‘s supremacy and later on helped Akbar in expanding and consolidating the Mughal Empire.
He abolished the Pilgrimage tax in 1563 and Jizya tax in 1564 as both were based on religion discrimination. Jahangir followed his capable father‘s policy only and maintained friendly relations with those Rajputs who accepted the authority of the Mughal (Azevedo, Bernard, 1995). Akbar could not succeed in conquering Mewar due to many causes. Later on Mewar also conquer by Mughal Empire. The Rajput policy of Akbar was unique as it not only helped to end the long drawn conflict between the Rajputs and Mughal ruler but also helped Akbar in the consolidation of his empire (Lorge, 2008). It resulted in the development of a composite culture. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal Empire covered most of the northern and central India and was one of the most powerful empires of its age.
CONCLUSION:
The evolution of relations between the Mughals and the Rajputs during the reign of Akbar and Babur can be placed within more than one historical context. They can be seen in terms of the expansion of Mughal territorial control and State power, the evolution of Akbari religious policy, and the mutual need for some kind of a political accommodation on the part of both the Rajputs and the Mughals. On the whole, the study of Mughal-Rajput relations is particularly important because it illustrates, among other things, the incorporation of a distinct though not homogeneous – cultural group within the larger matrix of Mughal state power. The liberality of Akbar and Babur was the primary reason of the success of his Mughal policy. History. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Azevedo R., Bernard, R. M. (1995). ―A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Feedback in Computer-based Instruction‖, J. Educational Computing Research 13, 111-127. Barua, Pradeep (2005). The State at War in South Asia. Lincoln: University of Nebraska. Delbruck, Hans (1990). History of the Art of War, Volume III: Medieval Warfare. Lincoln: University of Nebraska. Diamond, Jared (1998). Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years. London: Vintage. Eraly Abraham (2004). The Mughal Throne: The Saga of India's Great Emperors. London: Phoenix. Eraly, Abraham (2008). The Mughal World: India's Tainted Paradise. London: Phoenix. Glete, Jan (2001). War and the State in Early Modern Europe: Spain, the Dutch Republic and Sweden as Fiscal-military States, 1500-1660. New York: Routledge. Guilmartin, John F. (2003). Gunpowder & Galleys: Changing Technology & Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the 16th Century. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. Lorge, Peter A. (2008). The Asian Military Revolution: From Gunpowder to the Bomb. New York: Cambridge.
Corresponding Author Hemendra Kant*
E-Mail – kbsinstitute9@gmail.com
