Religion in India During The reign of saw the continuation of the spirit of religious tolerance for which the Mughal dynasty could claim credit. But the war of succession in 1658 is considered a turning point in the history of politics and religion in India by the historians who view the Medieval Indian history as a struggle between the Hindus and the Muslims. According to them, Dara Shikoh stood for religious tolerance and Aurangzeb for religious orthodoxy. But Muhammad Athar Ali is of the view that the religious question was not involved in the War of Succession. As mentioned in the other article, Aurangzeb’s Nishan (Farman of Udaipur Records) which was sent to Raja Raj Singh clearly states that men of all the communities should live together and different communities should not interfere in each other’s matters. 1. Religious Factor in Aurangzeb’s Politics: It was important for Aurangzeb to justify his father’s imprisonment and his brother’s execution. Soon after 1659, The Jats under Gokula rebelled. Satnamis rose in rebellion in 1672 and Marathas declared an open war in 1670 against Aurangzeb in Deccan. With all this anarchy, Aurangzeb was in need of an explanation for his coup de’ etat in 1658-59. Thus, he played the religious card. Soon after, a discriminatory policy against the Hindus commenced which culminated with the imposition of Jaziya in 1679. Aurangzeb was attempting to associate the Mughal crown with religious orthodoxy as closely as possible. Nobles like Mahabat Khan expressed his surprise at Aurangzeb’s attempt to turn falcons the captives and sparrows the hunters. “The able and experience officers of the state are deprives of the trust while full reliance is placed on mystical hypocrites.” That Aurangzeb was going in wrong direction was not seen by Mahabat Khan alone. Akhabarat have proved that the influential princes such as Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara made known their views against those measures. 2. Question of Religion in India During Aurangzeb: Beside all the above mentioned facts, some other factors should also be kept in mind. Muhammad Athar Ali has proved in his book The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb that the Hindus constituted 21.6% of the nobility under Aurangzeb. In more precise terms, the Hindu presence in the military and nobility had increased under Aurangzeb. 3. Hindus during Aurangzeb’s Reign: The Akhbarat have also proved that Aurangzeb often praised and acknowledged the loyalty and valor and even commends the Brahman officers for their courage. Jhan Chandra has published a list of endowments and grants issued by Aurangzeb to the Hindus. Muhammad Athar Ali has written about a Farman issued on 7th February 1704 declaring that a Hindu pilgrimage in Braj Bhum Chaitanya Gosain deserved a fee of one rupee per annum from each village in eighteen Parganas of and the vicinity, half a rupee at each harvest. Aurangzeb’s policy therefore was not sectarian in essence. He tried to apply a rational policy of religious tolerance in the grab of a theoretical justification. Abul Fazal has written in Akbarnama that God is in the centre of the Universe and the sovereign is his representative on earth. Such a state cannot be called a secular state and this was the essence of Aurangzeb’s religious policy. In essence, religion in India during Aurangzeb was an important factor but it was not a decisive factor. Aurangzeb used religion for the sake of politics.