Abstract
The paper focuses on the reigns and policies of the two Mughal Emperors, Akbar and Aurangzeb, and analyses how they have been remembered in the wider social memory. While Akbar is glorified as a 'secular' and 'liberal' leader, Aurangzeb is often dismissed and ridiculed as a 'religious bigot', who tried to impose the Shari'ah law in diversified India. The paper traces and evaluates the construction of these two grand narratives which were initially formed by the British historians in colonial India and then continued by specific nationalist historians of India and Pakistan, after the independence of the two nation-states. By citing some of the most popular misconceptions surrounding the two Mughal Emperors, this study attempts to understand the policies of these two emperors in a wider socio-political narrative and attempts to deconstruct these ‘convenient’ misinterpretations. Concluding the analysis of how these two emperors are viewed differently in both India and Pakistan, the paper asserts the importance of leaving behind the modern concepts of 'liberal versus conservative' while understanding these emperors and reinforces the practice to understand these historical figures on their own terms.
Highlights
Amongst the six major Mughal Emperors, two monarchs that have been of particular interest to the South Asian and Western historians have been Abul Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar or popularly known as Akbar and Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb or Aurangzeb
The purpose of this essay is to deconstruct some of the popular perceptions that surround the Mughal Empires of Akbar and Aurangzeb and investigate how the historical narratives surrounding their reigns have been effectively molded by fundamentalists in modern-day India and Pakistan
Akbar to be hailed as a liberal and a secular emperor and Aurangzeb to be looked upon as the black sheep of the Mughal history, it is important to look at the aforementioned actions, policies and defining decisions of both the rulers from a broader perspective and to situate them in their own cultural context, values, and background
Summary
Amongst the six major Mughal Emperors, two monarchs that have been of particular interest to the South Asian and Western historians have been Abul Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar or popularly known as Akbar and Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb or Aurangzeb. In India Akbar became the ‘idol’ Mughal Emperor while Aurangzeb was looked upon as a ‘religious bigot’ who demolished Hindu temples and imposed Sharia laws throughout his empire (Truschke, 2017).
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