Course:B.A.History,Honors Semester:B.A.II,4 Th,Semester
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Course: B.A.History,Honors Semester: B.A.II,4th,Semester Course Code:CC-409 Topic: Akbar’s Imperialistic Policy Prepared By: Dr Sangeeta Saxena,Assistant Professor History Department: Patna Womens’s College,Patna Email: [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Malwa: 2. Chunar: 3. Gondwana: 4. Rajasthan: 5. Gujarat: 6. Bihar and Bengal: 7. Kabul: 8. Kashmir: 9. Sindh: 10. Orissa: 11. Baluchistan: 12. Kandhar: 13. South India (Khandesh and Ahmadnagar): Imperialistic Policy Of Akbar : Akbar was an imperialist. He frankly declared and desired to pursue the policy of extension of the empire. He felt it necessary even for the security of his territories. He expressed- “A monarch should be ever intent on conquest, otherwise his enemies rise in arms against him.” Akbar, therefore, engaged himself in wars of conquest all through his life. He largely succeeded.His empire extended from Kabul in the west to Bengal in the east and from Kashmir in the north to Vindhyas in the south. He had initiated his conquest of southern India and partially succeeded before he died. Yet, he conquered the entire north India and consolidated it under his administration.The Kingdom of the Deccan was initiated by Akbar in the 16th Century. 1. Malwa: The first conquest of Akbar was that of Malwa. Baz Bahadur, the ruler of Malwa was fond of fine arts, particularly of dance and music. He was neglectful towards the affairs of the state and kept himself engrossed in romance with his talented mistress Rup Mati. Akbar despatched Adham Khan to conquer Malwa. Baz Bahadur faced the Mughul army twenty miles ahead of his capital, Sarangpur, but was defeated and he fled away. Adham Khan captured all his treasures and women of harem but Rup Mati committed suicide by taking poison before her capture. Adham Khan kept most of the captured treasure to himself which dissatisfied Akbar who went in person to Sarangpur. Adham Khan pleaded mercy, was forgiven and allowed to continue as the governor. In 1562 A.D., Pir Muhammad was appointed the governor of Malwa. He proved a tyrant to his subjects. Baz Bahadur took help of some rulers of southern India and attacked Malwa. Pir Muhammad went to fight against him but was defeated. He drowned himself in the river Narmada while returning for safety. Baz Bahadur occupied Malwa. But, his success remained short-lived. Akbar sent Abdulla Khan Uzbeg to recapture Malwa. The Mughuls succeeded in recovering Malwa. Baz Bahadur again fled away and after passing the life of a fugitive here and there accepted the service of Akbar. 2. Chunar: The Afghans revolted in Jaunpur. It was suppressed by the local governor, Khan Zaman with the help of the imperial army. But, then, he himself exhibited signs of independence. Akbar proceeded towards Jaunpur in person. Khan Zaman submitted and was pardoned. At that time, Akbar sent Asaf Khan to capture the fort of Chunar which was in the hands of the Afghans. The fort was captured in 1561 A.D. 3. Gondwana: The state of Gondwana extended from Ratanpur in the east to Raisin in the west and Rewa in the north to the frontiers of the south. Its ruler was Vir Narayan but its de facto ruler was his mother, Rani Durgavati, a Chandel princess of Mahoba. Durgavati was a brave and successful ruler. She had given no offence to Akbar. The cause of attack on Gondwana was purely imperialistic designs of Akbar who deputed Asaf Khan on this task in the year 1564 A.D. Vir Narayan and Durgavati faced the Mughuls at Narhi. Vir Narayan was wounded and was obliged to withdraw for safety in the fort of Chauragarh. Rani Durgavati was also wounded the next day and preferred to stab herself to death instead of being captured by the enemy. The Mughul army then attacked Chauragarh. Vir Narayan fought bravely but died fighting and the fort was captured by the Mughuls. Gondwana was then annexed to the Mughul empire. 4. Rajasthan: It was part of the imperial policy of Akbar to bring Rajasthan to submission. Akbar pursued a different policy than pure annexation towards the Rajput rulers. The main features of this policy were as follows: (a) He captured all important forts in Rajasthan. (b) He accepted the services of all those Rajput rulers who surrendered to him voluntarily. Their states were returned to them and some of them even entered into matrimonial alliance with the emperor. (c) He fought aggressive wars against those rulers who refused to submit to him voluntarily and annexed their territories. Akbar succeeded in getting submission of all Rajput rulers of Rajasthan except that of Mewar. However, he captured the fort of Chittor and larger part of the territory of Mewar Thus, he largely succeeded in getting submission of Rajasthan. (i) Amer (Modern Jaipur): Raja Bhar Mal, the ruler of Amer was the first Rajput ruler who submitted to Akbar and voluntarily offered to enter into a matrimonial alliance with the emperor. He met the emperor in the way while he was on a pilgrimage to the mausoleum of Shaikh Muin-ud- din Chishti at Ajmer in 1562 A.D. He accepted the suzerainty of Akbar and offered his daughter in marriage to the emperor. Akbar agreed to it. He married the Rajput princess on his return journey and took Bhagwan Das, the adopted son of Bhar Mal, and the latter’s grandson, Man Singh into his service. This very Rajput princess gave birth to the next Mughul emperor, Jahangir. (ii) Merta: Merta was in possession of Jaimal who was a vassal of Rana Uday Singh of Mewar. It was attacked by Mirza Sharafuddin, a Mughul officer near Ajmer in 1562 A.D. Jaimal left the fort but it was defended by Rajputs under Deva Das. However, the handful Rajputs numbering nearly 200 were slaughtered and the fort was captured by the Mughuls. (iii) Mewar: The Sisodiya family of the rulers of Mewar commanded a unique respect among the Rajput rulers. The power and prestige of Mewar had received a set-back after the death of Rana Sangram Singh. The then ruler of Mewar, Rana Uday Singh was trying to recover the lost prestige of Mewar. The Rana looked with contempt the ruling family of Amer who had offered submission to Akbar and gave one of its princesses in marriage to him. He not only refused to accept the suzerainty of the Mughul emperor but provided shelter to Baz Bahadur, the fugitive ruler of Malwa and also to rebellious Mirzas. Besides, Mewar had political and economic importance. It commanded the trade-route from north India to the sea-coast of Gujarat and the conquest of north India by Akbar could not be completed without the submission of Mewar. Akbar attacked Mewar in 1567 A.D. and besieged the fort of Chittor. On the advice of his nobles, Rana Uday Singh went to the forest for safety and left the care of the fort to Jaimal. The Mughuls failed to capture the fort even after five months. One night Jaimal was wounded by the gun-shot of Akbar while he was looking after the repairs of the wall of the fort. Jaimal soon died of his wound. His death disheartened the Rajputs who, then, prepared themselves for the final battle. That night the Rajput women performed Jauhar. Next morning, the Rajputs came out of the fort and under the command of Fateh Singh attacked the Mughuls. The Rajputs were killed to the last man. The resistance of the Rajputs infuriated Akbar so much that when he entered the fort, he ordered a general massacre. Nearly 30,000 persons were butchered to death. Akbar felt sorry afterwards and erected statues of Jaimal and Fateh Singh, mounted on elephants at the gate of the fort of Agra to commemorate their heroism. Colonel Tod described Uday Singh as a weak and cowardly ruler. But the statement is not acceptable to modern historians. Uday Singh left the fort not because of cowardice but on the advice of his nobles for the safety of the royal family. He never submitted to Akbar though he suffered hardships throughout his life. The Mughuls, of course, succeeded in capturing the capital and the fort of Chittor but greater part of the territory of Mewar remained under the possession of Rana Uday Singh. Uday Singh died in 1572 A.D. and was succeeded to the throne by his son Pratap Singh who took a vow on his succession that he would neither eat his food in utensils nor would sleep on the bed till he was able to recapture his capital. He observed his vow throughout his life. All attempts to convince Rana Pratap to accept the suzerainty of Akbar failed. In 1576 A.D., Akbar despatched a strong army under Man Singh and Asaf Khan to attack Mewar. Rana Pratap gave them battle at Haldi Ghati on 18 June 1576. The Rana had a very small army as compared to his enemy. Yet, his charge was so fierce that the Mughul army felt desperate. However, the numerical strength of the Mughuls paid and the Rana was hard pressed from all sides and his life was endangered. At that time his one noble, Bida Jhala snatched away crown from the head of the Rana. He was understood as the Rana by the Mughuls and was encircled. That gave Rana Pratap an opportunity to escape and he left the battlefield. The Rajputs were defeated but the Mughuls also felt so exhausted that they did not dare to pursue Rana at that time.