Fatehpur Sikri - A Search For The Truth Part 3

Continued From: http://theforgottenempiresofindia.blogspot.ca/2015/10/fatehpur-sikri-search-for-truth-part-2.html?spref=fb

The Jesuit priests have chronicled the duplicity of Akbar. At the time of the Jesuit mission, they note that, Akbar wrote welcoming letters to the mission while he was secretly engaged in the capture of the ports held by the Portuguese. We learn from the writings of the missionary Xavier that, Akbar has disassociated himself from Islam and that, he considers himself to be a great prophet. He posed frequently as a miracle worker by offering to cure the sick by giving them the water washed off his feet. These remarks about Akbar, help size up his religious sentiments. He was neither interested in Hinduism nor Islam and nor was he interested in Christianity but, he strived to create his own religion which would enable his subjects to perceive him in a divine light thus, appeasing his ego. He called this religion the ‘din-i-lahi” which many historians have misconstrued as Akbar’s efforts to unify all religions in order to promote peace. His intentions were far from noble. His research into the comparative religious studies, enabled him to understand the role played by Islam and Christianity in the spread of imperialism. He dreamed of extending his power, beyond his territories through a brand new religion of which he himself was the divine prophet. Fazl narrates that,Akbar worked to make himself the  founder and head of a new religion, by combining various elements, taken partly from the Quran, partly from the scriptures of the Brahmans, and to a certain extent from the Gospel of Christ.

Fazl confirms that, Akbar prohibited the use of the name of Muhammad in public prayers after the creation of his new religion. He expected the citizens to enroll in the new faith by sacrificing to him their property, life, honour and their religion. (Ref: Akbar The Great Mogol By Vincent Smith). The ritual of initiating the newcomer into this new faith is well documented by Fazl. The initiate places his head on the emperor’s feet while the emperor accepts the initiate by raising him to his feet. The new recruit is then handed a likeness of the emperor to be worn on his turban to remind him that, the emperor is the supreme. People who protested against the new faith were sold as slaves in exchange for horses.  The whole scheme we are told was the outcome of vanity and a monstrous display of despotism. “The Divine Faith was a monument of Akbar's folly, not of his wisdom. His actions throughout his reign exhibited many illustrations of both qualities.” (Ref: Akbar The Great Mogol By Vincent Smith).

Fazl states that from 1579 to 1585, new mosques were not built and old ones were leveled. In this statement, we find another clue. If old mosques were leveled, why wasn’t the jama mosque in Fatehpore Sikri levelled? Was it because, the original builders hadn’t intended for this building to be used as a mosque? The Emperor stayed in Sikri till 1585 while the rules about demolishing the mosques were imposed in 1579 and yet the building now knows as the Jama mosque has survived. We can only surmise that, in Akbar knew that the, original builders hadn’t built it as a mosque. 

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Fatehpur Sikri - A Search For The Truth Part 2

Continued From: http://theforgottenempiresofindia.blogspot.ca/2015/10/fatehpur-sikri-search-for-truth-part-1.html

The very first thing we learn about the emperor from Fazl’s biography is that, he wasn’t an Indian. More than his citizenship, his ancestry shocks us, because, he is the direct descendant of Genghis Khan on his father’s side and Tamerlane on his mother side; both known as ruthless invaders and  known for the brutality of their military invasions which resulted in wholesale massacre of civilians. Genghis Khan is said to have wiped out 11% of the world’s population and Tamerlane during his campaign in Delhi alone, slaughtered 100,000 Hindus and built gruesome towers from the skulls of the slain. Akbar, Fazl notes, continued this macabre practice; his first tower was built after he defeated the Indian King Hemu in battle. How did Akbar who’s military campaigns made the campaigns of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane pale in comparison, came to be known as the most tolerant ruler? We flip through the biography searching for answers. Was he really tolerant and the builder of the magnificent monuments at Sikri which showcase some of the best architecture styles of the Rajputs, the Hindu rulers? 

As we flip through the three volumes of the biography composed by Fazl, many things become clear but, at the same time, we are also faced with new enigmas. After studying the Akbarnama written by Fazl, we learn that, Akbar loved riches and the accumulation of wealth, being, rather penurious and retentive of money. It seems highly improbable that a scrooge like Akbar who was involved in a battle almost every single year of his life, would have spent large sums of money on Sikri only to abandon the city in 1585. We are informed by Fazl that, the emperor loved the prospect of looting wealth after a successful campaign and in this manner, he fattened his treasury.

To our astonishment, Fazl describes the hatred the emperor felt towards Islam. He writes in his book that, ‘to ask permission to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca was equal to requesting to be beheaded!’ Fazl notes that the emperor was involved with military campaigns almost every single year of his rule. He had declared a state of emergency in the country and had taken over every single mosque with the pretext of using the area to house elephants. After a few years, the emperor demolished the minarets stating that, since the mosques were not in use, there was no requirement for minarets. Prince Salim the future emperor Jahangir, who hated Abu Fazl, felt extreme joy when he surprised Fazl who was working with 40 scribes in translating the Quran. Relationship between the emperor and Fazl was strained after Prince Salim revealed Fazl’s treachery to the emperor. Akbar must have harboured a serious grudge against Fazl because, he did not even start an investigation when Fazl was murdered.

Most people believe that Akbar’s harsh treatment of Islam was because he embraced Hinduism or Jainism. Fazl immediately quells our doubts and states clearly that, the emperor had neither embraced r Hinduism nor Jainism. The emperor didn’t trust any Hindu. His mistrust led to the demolition of bathing ghats at Allahabad in the year 1567 and this is the reason why the ancient Hindu city of Allahabad, previously known as Prayag, does not have any bathing ghats. From Prayag, Fazl tells us that, the emperor marched on to Benares where he commanded his troops to plunder the city.  Akbar’s harsh treatment of the Hindus is brought to light by Fazl who records that, once when two groups of Hindu pilgrims had a disagreement, they asked the emperor to mediate. Akbar commanded them to indulge in a hand to hand combat to help reach a verdict. When he realized that, they were not strong enough to engage in a duel, he had his own soldiers participate along with the pilgrims in a deadly duel which resulted in the loss of many innocent lives. It is estimated that at least a thousand people lost their lives to satisfy the sanguinary taste of Akbar. The legend that, Akbar had abolished the jizya a tax imposed on non-muslims for retaining their rights to practice religions other than Islam is but a myth. We gather the following facts from the narration of Fazl which contradict the fact that, the emperor had abolished the Jizya.

A treaty drawn up between the Prince of Amber and Akbar lists the following conditions.

(1) that, the Chiefs of Bundi should be exempted from the degrading custom of sending a bride to the royal harem

(2) exemption from paying the jizya

(3) they should be exempted from the obligation of sending their wives or female relatives  to

hold a stall in the Mina bazaar

(4) their sacred edifices should be respected

The above treaty illustrates that, the jizya had not been abolished. Had it been abolished, it wouldn’t have been included in the above treaty. 

Continued On:http://theforgottenempiresofindia.blogspot.ca/2015/11/fatehpur-sikri-search-for-truth-part-3.html

Fatehpur Sikri - A Search For The Truth Part 1

At Sunset, the red sandstone buildings of Fatehpur Sikri a town about 43 Kms from the city of Agra, look grand but, there is an air of mystery which surrounds the buildings. We are greeted by eerie silence. The air feels dense. The long shadows cast by the setting sun seems to mirror the gloomy past witnessed by the walls of this fort city.  The Buland Darwaza, the main entrance to this ancient fort, looks foreboding. Its gates look daunting, unyielding of the ancient secret housed within its walls! Centuries of secrets about war, treachery, incest and royal politics are contained within its massive doors. It seems unnerving to tackle the doors. We abandon our resolve to force open the doors at dusk and return to the fort in the morning.

The ancient fort sits on a rocky ledge. It covers an area of 3 Sq Kms and is enclosed within 6 Kms of massive wall on three sides and by a lake on the fourth side. It is said to have been built between 1569 and 1585; a massive ancient city, completed in just 16 years! A nagging doubt arises in our mind. How was a city, spread over 3 sq Kms developed in just 16 years? The West Edmonton Mall, the largest mall in North America is sprawled over 0.5 Sq Kms. It is just 1/6^th of the area of Fatehpur Sikri but, it took nearly 30 years to near construction. The mall was built in 3 phases with each phase nearing completion in a decade. The suburban area of Evergreen in the City of Calgary in Canada covers an area of 4.6 Sq Km; construction was completed in two sections. Just for the older section, the completion took 19 years from 1980 to 1999. If construction of residential and commercial complexes take over 16 years in modern times with the help of computers and power tools, it should have taken more than 16 years to complete Fatehpur Sikri which, was constructed with the help of ancient manual tools. To complicate matters, many European travelers who visited the city during this period, did not notice construction on a massive scale. The travelers should have come across large work camps, excavation and storage zones and yet, they only remark that the city seems to have been developed overnight as if by magic! Where did the construction crew with their work animals stay? Where was the area cordoned off to store raw materials? What did they do with the excavated earth? Will this ancient city reveal the answers to our questions? We are sure that the clue must be contained within its walls. We proceed with the tour with eyes searching for any possible clues.

As we walk through the fort observing the buildings, it is hard to miss the similarity they share with other forts known to have been constructed by the Rajput kings. The buildings and the great tank, look more Hindu than Islamic. It almost feels as if the tank should have been part of a temple.  

The great hallway part of the Jama Masjid reminds us of hallways in Hindu temples. We wonder why anyone would use such tightly placed columns in a mosque.

 

The walls of the buildings are further adorned with swastika symbols. When we raise this question, the guides pour forth the well-rehearsed answer. “The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585.The planned construction of the city took 16 years. Akbar planned the architecture of the city by fusing together Persian style with traditional Indian architecture. Thus, he created a style which was unique and was his own design. The emperor known as”Akbar the great”,  was the greatest emperor during the Mughal period. He is known to have fostered religious tolerance to foster communal harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims. “ The era of his rule is quite often portrayed as the golden age of peace and prosperity.

Intrigued by the facts we have just learnt about the great Mughal emperor, we proceed to the library for some research. Here, we come across a biography about the emperor titled “Akbar Nama” written by Abul Fazl., the vizier of the emperor. Hailing from a family which faced hardship, Fazl quickly rose to great heights within Akbar’s ministry on account of his sharp mind.

The very first thing we learn about the emperor from Fazl’s biography is that, he wasn’t an Indian. More than his citizenship, his ancestry shocks us!

Continued On: http://theforgottenempiresofindia.blogspot.ca/2015/10/fatehpur-sikri-search-for-truth-part-2.html