#History: Game of Thrones: Bairam Khan and Rahim

History is full of mesmerizing and horrifying events. The Mughals established the Mughal Empire in India and some people appreciate them for being settlers rather than invaders. But the legacy they have left behind all through their timeline reeks of such a culture of treachery and blood-bath that even the TV series Game of Thrones would appear gentle in their comparison. Let us see the story of the family of Rahim - one of the Nav Ratnas from Akbar's court.

It all started for us with Bairam Khan. Bairam Khan was a Turk, born in Badakhshan in Central Asia. His grandfather and father had served Babur. Even his great grandfather was related to Babur's wife as brother. So the family ties of Bairam Khan to the Mughals were very strong. Bairam Khan entered into Babur's service at the age of 16. When Humayun became the king, Bairam Khan played key role in his military quests. He was the commander of his army. After Humayun's death in 1556, Bairam Khan was appointed regent over the young monarch Akbar. He served as the guardian, teacher and adviser of Akbar. Bairam Khan also had Salima Sultan, one of the cousins of Akbar as his second wife.

In the second Battle of Panipat between Akbar and Hemu, Bairam Khan defeated Hemu while Akbar was still a young man. When Akbar turned old and experienced enough, he found Bairam Khan at cross to his own opinions. Due to the differences in opinion between them and due to conspiracy against Bairam Khan (he was a Shia Muslim while Mughals were dominated by Sunnis) in the Mughal court, he was ordered by Akbar to either retire or else go on Haj pilgrimage. That must be an emotional moment for him, because it was Bairam Khan who had helped build the Mughal empire, defeated Hemu and virtually raised and trained Akbar. He chose to go on Haj. While passing through Gujarat, he and his men were attacked and killed by a Pathan General loyal to Hindu king Hemu, as a revenge for the killing Hemu. Thus unfortunately ended the otherwise splendid life of this warrior general.

After Bairam Khan was dead, his second wife, Salima Sultan was re-married to Akbar, her cousin. But the story of Bairam Khan's family tree does not end here.

Rahim was Bairam Khan's son. Yes, the same Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana, the famous poet and one of Akbar's nine prominent ministers - the Navaratnas. It might look weird that after getting rid of Bairam Khan, Akbar appointed his son Rahim as one of the Navratnas in his court. Since Akbar had married Salima Sultan, step-mother of Rahim, in this way, Rahim had also become Akbar's step-son. Rahim was a devotee of Lord Krishna and wrote many poems in his devotion. Rahim was a contemporary of Tulsidas and had some interesting conversations with him.

Rahim has written a lot of poems which we have read in our school text books. A sample is as follows, to help you recall:

रहिमन वे नर मर चुके, जे कहू मंगन जाही,

उनते पहेले वे मुए, जिन मुख निकसत नहीं.

“Rahim says - he who has to ask something from another is no longer a man/ human being. But those who refuse to give were never men/ humans to begin with.”

रहिमन धागा प्रेम का, मत तोड़ो चटकाय,

टूटे से फिर न जुड़े, जुड़े गाँठ पड़ जाये.

“Rahim says - do not break the thread of love/ friendship in a haste. Once it snaps, it cannot be rejoined and if you do try to rejoin it, it will always have a knot in it.”

So, what is the next phase in this story?

Near the end of Akbar's life, his son Jahangir tried to snatch power from him. Jahangir was a fanatic and did not shared the religious tolerance of his father. He rebelled against Akbar and made a march to Agra with his army. In retaliation, Akbar declared his grandson Khushru Mirza (Jahangir's son) as his own successor instead of Jahangir. But when Akbar died of dysentery in 1605, a struggle for succession broke between his prominent and legitimate sons. Finally, Jahangir captured the power and became the Fourth Mughal ruler of Delhi. In the meanwhile, Khusrau Mirza revolted against Jahangir; was defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. As a punishment Khusrau Mirza was partially blinded and died or killed in custody.

During the power struggle, Rahim had stood with Khusrau Mirza. After all, that was the "will" of Akbar before he died! When we look at the long history of Bairam Khan's family serving the Mughals, it only appears normal that Rahim tried to do what his master and stepfather Akbar wanted. But he paid heavily for his decision.

After Jahangir became king, he got both sons of Rahim killed for standing against Jahangir in his quest for power. They were executed at a gate now famously called "Khooni Darwaja" in Delhi. Their bodies were left to rot.The gate still stands today, on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg opposite the Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Ground.

With both sons killed, no one remained in the family of Bairam Khan after Rahim's death at the age of 70.

The unfortunate story of this family does not end there.

Rahim had built a tomb for his wife in 1598 in Delhi. But after Rahim's death, he was buried in this very tomb in 1627. That means, no one cared to build a new tomb for him. Still, the tomb was beautiful. After all, it was built by Rahim - one of the poet gems from Akbar's court. The tomb was decorated with stucco work on red sandstone, Delhi quartzite and marble. Its structure was similar to that of Humayun's tomb.

Then, in 1753, the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula constructed a tomb in Delhi for his father - Mirza Mukin Abul Mansur Khan 'Safdarjung'. He stripped Rahim's Tomb of its precious stones and marbles and used that to build Safdarjung's tomb! The Safdarjang's Tomb is situated next to the Safdarjang Airport in Delhi.

The picture with this post shows the tomb in Nizamuddin, Delhi, where Rahim is buried. You can see its walls and dome from where all the marble and precious stones are gone! In the background you would see Humayun's tomb, standing beautifully.

I have found that most of the Mughal architecture in Delhi have been 'restored' beautifully by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) using tax payer's money. I wonder if they would some day look at Rahim's Tomb too. Or if they would let it remained robbed off its marble and stand disgraced, in true identification with the history and becoming of this famous personality who is buried there.

Thus ended this part of history from the time of the Mughal Empire.

- Rahul Tiwary

[#History] [#Nature] How the Royalty Killed the Cheetah

Do you know that Cheetah is extinct in India? Once upon a time cheetahs roamed freely in Indian forests, but were caught and tamed by Indian royalties to be used in hunting expeditions in so large numbers that not a single cheetah remained now. 

The last sighted cheetah in India was one sighted in Koriya district, MP (now Chhattisgarh) in 1951.

The name "cheetah" is derived from the Hindi word चीता (cītā), which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word चित्रकायः (citrakāyaḥ) meaning "bright" or "variegated".

The book "Wild Cats of the World" by Mel Sunquist & Fiona Sunquist mentions about history of human persecution of cheetahs:

A Mesopotamian seal dating from the 3rd millennium BC depicts a cheetah-like cat on a leash, and tame cheetahs were enshrined on many Egyptian tombs and rock temples. The pharaohs believed that the cheetah, as the fastest animal on land, would carry their spirits away after death. Some of the earliest images of training and using cheetahs for hunting come from the 17th and 18th dynasties in Egypt. Later the cats were widely used in the Middle East, Afghanistan, southern Russia, Pakistan, India and China. Tame cheetahs were used to hunt goitered gazelles, foxes, and hares in Russia and Mongolia, and the sport flourished during the middle ages in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. In 1474 one Armenian ruler owned 100 hunting cheetahs. In 1555, Akbar was presented with a cheetah named Fatehbaz and thus was first Indian potentate introduced to the hunting with cheetahs. Akbar later devised a new method of capture and training for the cat, and at one time his menagerie held a thousand cheetahs. During his lifetime Akbar reportedly collected over 9000 cheetahs, using them for hunting gazelles and blackbuck.

Painting: The Presentation of a cheetah to Akbar 

Painting: Akbar hunting with cheetah

In Europe, the nobility have been hunting with tame cheetahs for nearly a thousand years. In November 1231, Fredrick III went to Raenna, Italy with an entourage of bodyguards, astrologers, huntsmen and falcons. The court was accompanied by a menagerie that included elephants, camels, cheetahs and falcons. By 14^th and 15^th centuries, the sport of coursing with cheetah had become extremely popular in Italy, France and England. Wealthy landowners and royalty spent large sums of money to acquire and keep these elegant hunting cats which were used to run down hares and roe deer. Cheetah was not native to Europe but was imported from Africa.

A Parisian woman and her Cheetah, 1932 

Coming back to India, even the British officers in India found pleasure in using cheetah for their hunting campaigns. The sport was so well known throughout India that during the British Raj Asiatic cheetahs were known as "hunting-leopards". There are large number of paintings and photographs from that era which show cheetahs in pitiful state.

Cheetah on cart, used for hunting in British India

For taming, adult cheetahs were preferred since they had already perfected their hunting skills in the jungle; as against small cheetahs which were difficult to be taught hunting. Once cheetahs were tamed, they did not breed and hence their population declined severely. There is only one case of a baby cheetah born in captivity, otherwise none of the tamed cheetahs produced any kids.

Cheetahs as hunting assistants during British Raj in India 

Tiger Hunt by Lord Reading, Viceroy of India

The last three Cheetahs killed in India ended with end of the Brtish Raj.

There are about 10000 cheetahs left in the world, majorly in Africa. For Asiatic Cheetah, it is believed that only about 100 such cheetahs remain only in Iran, roaming in the central deserts.

- Rahul Tiwary

[#History] Mughal Ruler Shah Jahan

The best thing about Mughals is that they are known today for what they built and what they ruined; but never for what they stood for.

If we think about what they stood for, we would be aghast. They had a history of cold blooded murders, execution of people from other religions, sons fighting war with fathers, and brothers killing brothers for throne.

Here, some history of Shah Jahan, of Taj Mahal fame: 

http://www.rediff.com/news/special/sangeet-som-is-right-foreigners-built-the-taj-mahal/20171017.htm

Some excerpts: 

Shah Jahan was born on January 15, 1592 in Lahore to Mughal emperor Jahangir and his Rajput princess Jagat Gossain, also called Jodh Bai, whose father was Uday Singh Rathor of Marwar. On the sixth day of his birth, the child was named Khurram (Joyous) by Akbar, and was handed over to Ruqaiya Begum -- Akbar's childless wife -- who became his foster mother when the little prince was four years, four months and four days old.

In 1607, when Shah Jahan was 16, he married Arjumand Banu Begum aka Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan had two other wives. However, their children did not survive. Only Mumtaz Mahal gave him an heir. Seven of the royal couple's children survived, four boys and three girls: Jahanara Begum, Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja, Raushanara Begum, Aurangzeb, Murad Bakhsh and Goharara Begum.

Shah Jahan went to war against his own father Jehangir. Shah Jahan was defeated and was imprisoned. Jehangir later took pity on his son and released him from prison. After Jehangir's death, his wife Nur Jahan passed on the baton to Jehangir's other son, Shahryar, and not Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan took Shahryar on in battle and killed him. He also killed his other brothers, Dawar Bakhsh and Garshasp.

Mumtaz Mahal died on June 17, 1631 while giving birth to her 14th child, Goharara Begum. Devastated by his wife's death, the emperor withdrew from public life for a week. Mumtaz Mahal was buried at Burhanpur on the banks of the Tapti river. Six months later, her body was exhumed and she was re-interred on January 8, 1632, on the banks of the Yamuna where the Taj Mahal was built. Initially, Shah Jahan called her tomb the Rauza-i-Munavvara (the illumined tomb). It was later called Mumtaz Mahal, then the Taj Mahal.

37 creative minds worked on the design on the Taj Mahal. 20,000 labourers toiled day and night from 1631 to 1654. Ustad Isa -- a Turk who either came from Constantinople (today's Istanbul) or from Shiraz or Isfahan in Persia -- is usually credited as the Taj's architect. From Turkey came Ismail Afandi, a designer of hemispheres and a builder of domes. To oversee the finances and the daily supervision of work on the site, the emperor chose Abdul Kari and Mukarrimat Khan, seasoned administrators from Shiraz, Persia. Master calligrapher Amanat Khan -- whose name is located at the base of the Taj's interior dome near the lines from the Quran -- was also a native of Shiraz. The lines, by the way, read, 'Written by the insignificant being, Amanat Khan Shirazi.'

Though he did not impose jiziya on the Hindus (the practice was abolished by Akbar) Shah Jahan, an orthodox Sunni Muslim, was harsh towards Hindus.

According to Abraham Eraly's book, Emperors of the Peacock Throne, '76 temples were destroyed in Benares and so were many churches in Agra.'

'Shah Jahan also prohibited Muslims from changing their religion but encouraged conversions to Islam by offering stipends and other favours to converts,' Eraly writes.

Eraly quotes Abdul Hamid Lahori, who wrote Padshanama during Shah Jahan's time and notes, 'Shah Jahan also issued an order that if a Hindu had a Muslim wife he could keep her only if he became a Muslim, otherwise he was to be fined and his wife separated.'

'He also directed that Hindus should keep to their own style of dress, tying their tunics on the left, unlike Muslims, who tied it on the right. Further Hindus were asked to discontinue practices which were offensive to Islam, such as the sale of alcohol, the cremation of the dead of the performance of sati near a Muslim cemetery.'

'He only mellowed down in final years of his reign and that too under the influence of his son, Dara Shikoh, and he presented a stone railing to the great temple built in Mathura by Bir Singh.'

Shah Jahan took ill in 1657 and shortly thereafter declared his eldest son, Dara Shikoh, as his successor. This was contested by his other sons and a battle broke out. At the end of the bloody campaign, Aurangzeb triumphed and got killed his all three brothers Shuja, Murad and Dara. After he declared himself emperor, Aurangzeb kept Shah Jahan in prison till death in 1666.

Taken from: 

http://www.rediff.com/news/special/sangeet-som-is-right-foreigners-built-the-taj-mahal/20171017.htm