Revolt of Sikhs under Shah Jahan

Revolt of the Sikhs during the reign of Shah Jahan took place due to several reasons and is an
important part of the medieval history of India. The relations of the Sikhs were spoiled with the
Mughals just in the beginning of the reign of Shah Jahan. The quarell began with a small
incident. Shah Jahan was camped near Amritsar for the purpose of hunting. One of his hunting
hawks flew into the camp of Guru Har Govind and was captured by his disciples. When the
Mughals asked the Guru to return it, he refused and foiled several attempts of the Mughals to
recover it by force. However, a few friends of the Guru who were in Mughal service pleaded in
favour of him to Shah Jahan who left the matter as it was.

Another quarrel between the Sikhs and the Mughuls arose when Guru Har Govind started
constructing the city of Sri Govindpur near the bank of the Beas River. The Mughals attacked
but were defeated. The Mughals came in conflict with the Sikhs for the third time when Vidhi
Singh, one of the disciples of the Guru and a famous dacoit, stole two fine Imperial horses and
presented them to the Guru. The Mughals demanded them back but the Guru refused. A strong
Mughal force attacked the Guru in 1613 A.D. but was defeated. Another force of the Mughals
was defeated by the Guru near Kartarpur. But the Guru realised the futility of constant fighting
against the Mughals. He feared that it might result in the extinction of the nascent Sikh religion.
Therefore, he left and settled down at Kiratpur in the hills of Kashmir where he died in 1645
A.D. Thus, the relations between the Mughals and the Sikhs became strained during the reign of
Shah Jahan.
Revolt of Shah Jahan

Revolt of Shah Jahan resulted largely because of the towering political ambition of Nur Jahan
and her conspiracy to prevent Shah Jahan from becoming the Emperor after Jahangir. The
marriage of Ladli Begum, with prince Shahryar, in 1621 AD., changed the attitude of Nur Jahan
towards Shah Jahan. He was regarded the crown-prince of the empire, and was a member of the
Nur Jahan Junta. But Nur Jahan desired that in place of Shah Jahan, the next emperor should be
her own son-in-law, Shahryar who could be a puppet in her hands. Therefore, she planned to
reduce the power and prestige of Shah Jahan. Her mother and father being dead by 1622 A.D.,
there remained nobody to put a check to her towering ambition to keep the power of the state in
her hands even after the death of her husband. Shah Jahan also grew suspicious towards her and
the conflict between the two became inevitable.

The fort of Kandhar was besieged by Persia in early 1622 A.D. Jahangir ordered Shah Jahan to
march for its rescue. Shah Jahan agreed to march towards Kandhar after the rainy reason and
demanded entire Punjab and the fort of Rohtasgarh in return. Nur Jahan got a chance to poison
the ears of the emperor because of the demands of the prince. Shah Jahan was in the Deccan at
that time and the enraged emperor asked him to dispatch the troops and the officers under his
command immediately to the court. Another incident occurred at this very time which drove
further wedge between the two parties. Shah Jahan had asked the jagir of Dholpur from the
emperor and, believing that his request would be granted he dispatched his troops to occupy it in
advance. But Nur Jahan had already got this jagir transferred in the name of Shahryar from the
emperor. When the troops of Shah Jahan reached Dholpur they quarreled with the Faujdar who
was deputed there by Shahryar. This enraged Emperor Jahangir and therefore, ordered Shah
Jahan to send all his troops to the court.

Jahangir assigned his jagir in to Shahryar. Nur Jahan grew suspicious of the intentions of Shah
Jahan and therefore, called Mahabat Khan from Kabul to the court and deputed Asaf Khan to
safeguard the royal treasury. Shah Jahan proceeded forward from Mandu and made a surprise
attack on Agra. He was, however, defeated by the imperialists near Agra early in April 1623
A.D. He returned to Mandu. Mahabat Khan pursued him. Shah Jahan lost entire Gujarat to the
imperialists. He then went to Burhanpur and sought help from Ahmednagar and Bijapur which
was, however, refused. Mahabat Khan captured Burhanpur which was left unprotected by Shah
Jahan. Shah Jahan marched to Orissa and it fell easily in his hands. He captured Bengal as well.
He then, proceeded to Bihar and occupied Bihar including the Rohtasgarh fort, Jaunpur and
Patna. He next besieged the fort of Allahabad. Mahabat Khan followed him to the north and
forced him to fight a battle near Allahabad. Shah Jahan was defeated and agreed to retreat. He
returned to Ahmednagar via Bihar, Bengal and Bijapur. Mahabat Khan followed him to the
Deccan. But this time Shah Jahan received help from Malik Ambar and besieged the fort of
Burhanpur but had to withdraw due to timely arrival of Mahabat Khan for the rescue of the fort.
Shah Jahan retreated to Balaghat and took shelter in the fort of Rohangarh. Shah Jahan begged
mercy of the emperor which was granted to him. Jahangir gave him the governorship of Balaghat
as well. In return, however, Shah Jahan surrendered the forts of Rohtasgarh and Asirgarh to the
imperialists and sent his sons Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb to the court as hostages for his good
conduct in future.

Thus, the revolt of Shah Jahan failed. But, it troubled the empire for nearly three years.
Deccan Policy of Shah Jahan

Deccan policy of the Mughals during the reign of Shah Jahan remained quite successful. Shah
Jahan attempted either to annex the kingdoms of the Deccan or force them to accept the
suzerainty of the emperor. He was a capable commander and understood the politics of the
Deccan well. The death of Malik Ambar, the wazir of Ahmednagar, provided him good
opportunity to put pressure on Ahmednagar.

Hussain Shah sat on the throne of Ahmednagar. He opened negotiations with the Mughals and at
the same time tried to befriend Bijapur. His unscrupulous diplomacy resulted in the loss of many
loyal nobles like Shahji Bhonsle. Hussain Shah was imprisoned in the fort of Gwalior and
Ahmednagar was annexed to the Mughal Empire. It meant the end of the state of Ahmednagar
though Shahji Bhonsle continued to fight against the Mughals on behalf of another child of the
ruling dynasty of Ahmednagar, named Murtaza III. However, he surrendered the child to the
Mughals in 1636 A.D. and accepted the service of Bijapur. Qutub Shah, ruler of Golconda died
in 1626 A.D. He was succeeded by a child of eleven years of age named Abdullah Qutub Shah.
In 1636 A.D., Golconda was forced to accept the suzerainty of the Mughals. Aurangzeb, when
appointed as governor of the Deccan for the second time in 1652 A.D., again pressurised
Golconda because it had failed to pay the annual tribute to the Mughals. Aurangzeb waited for an
opportunity and he got it when Mir Jumla, one of the most prominent nobles of the Sultan,
quarreled with him and sought protection from Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb captured Hyderabad and
besieged the fort of Golconda. But before he could capture it he received orders of Shah Jahan to
raise the siege. Therefore, a treaty was signed between the two parties.

Golconda accepted the suzerainty of the Shah Jahan, married one of his daughters to prince
Muhammad, son of Aurangzeb, gave rupees ten lakhs as dowry and yet another rupees seventeen
lakhs as war-indemnity to the Mughals. Thus, though Golconda was weakened but its existence
remained. Sultan Ibrahim Shah was succeeded by Muhammad Adil Shah I in Bijapur. Adil Shah
had no fixed plan against the onslaughts of the Mughals while his nobles were divided among
themselves. The attempt of the Mughals to capture Bijapur in 1631 A.D., however, failed. The
Mughals again attacked it in 1636 A.D. and forced Bijapur to accept their suzerainty. In 1656
A.D, Adil Shah died. It was believed that he had no son but his wife, Bari Sahiba declared one
child as his son and succeeded in placing him on the throne, with the name of Adil Shah II. Shah
Jahan tried to take advantage of it. He charged Bijapur for different things and ordered
Aurangzeb to attack it. Aurangzeb besieged the fort of Bijapur but before he could capture it, he
received orders of Shah Jahan to raise the siege. A treaty was, therefore, signed between the two
by which Bijapur accepted the suzerainty of the Mughal emperor and agreed to pay rupees one
and a half crores to the Mughals. The forts of Bidar and Kalyani also remained with the
Mughals.

The state of Ahmednagar was completely annexed to the Mughal Empire and Bijapur and
Golconda were forced to accept the suzerainty of the emperor, surrender part of their territories
and a few important forts and pay annual tribute and war-indemnity. Probably, even Bijapur and
Golconda could be annexed if Shah Jahan himself would not have stopped Aurangzeb from
attempting so. Shah Jahan understood well the politics of the Deccan. Probably, he felt that the
annexation of these two states would complicate matters for the Mughals. Thus, the Deccan
policy of the Mughals during the reign of Shah Jahan remained quite successful.
The Siege of Qandahar

Siege of Qandahar was a major blow to the Mughals. This citadel commanded a strategic position,
controlling the mountainous pass towards the Afghan country, and was the crossroad through which
thousands of caravans passed. Akbar had captured this fortress in 1623. Later, the Persians won it back,
but then the treacherous Persian governor, Ali Mardan Khan, surrendered it to the Mughals in 1638 and
it had been with the Mughal Empire since then. While Shah Jahan was at the Red Fort in Delhi, it was
announced that the Shah of Persia was moving towards Qandahar with intent of capture. Shah Jahan
had already received reports from his spies as well as the governor of Qandahar Khwas Khan that the
Shah was intending to march on this citadel. On 27 August 1648, the army of Shah Abbas II was already
in Mashhad in Khorasan, not far from Afghanistan. As soon as the sovereign heard this news, he
prepared an army of 60,000 cavalry and artillery with 150 Amirs and put this army under Aurangzeb's
command. He also appointed Sadullah Khan 'Minister of Pen and Sword' and left Shahjahanabad himself
for Kabul, along with this force and his newly appointed minister. His intention was to reach Qandahar
before the first snowfall.

Unfortunately, his advisers assumed that the Shah of Persia would never attack during the winter
months, and the Emperor listened to their counsel. So he stopped at Multan to muster his strength.
There would be no point in taking his troops up into the mountains in the freezing winter if it was not
necessary. But against all expectations, the Persian army, with a strength of 50,000 cavalry, mostly
Qizilbash warriors, a tribe with a fierce reputation, and supported by high-performance artillery which
the Shah had imported specially for this campaign, reached the walls of Qandahar in the middle of
December. The Emperor, Aurangzeb, and Sadullah Khan were in Multan studying what tactics they
should adopt when news of this unforeseen development reached them. Without waiting for any
auspicious date from his astrologers, Aurangzeb set off for Qandahar immediately with the main army,
the senior council following with their contingents as soon as they could organize themselves. However,
the going was rough in the freezing cold, with snow and blizzards blocking the roads and passes. It was a
race against time, and in Qandahar, the Persian sovereign knew it. He had to capture the fort before the
Mughal reinforcements arrived. On 25 February, the fortress fell after a two-month siege. The garrison,
overcome by hunger and the extreme cold, surrendered. They lost only 400 soldiers, but the Qizilbash
lost 2,000. If the Mughals had been able to hold on for two more days, the outcome would have been
very different, but once again in their campaigns against the Persians, the Mughals were too late.
When Aurangzeb's army approached Shah Abbas, having achieved his objective, retreated and left a
small contingent to defend the fort. Aurangzeb thought he could overtake the Persians at Berar by 28th
February. Finally the two armies would have confronted one another, at a time when the Qizilbashis
were exhausted after battle. However, the Emperor heard optimistic reports that the Persian sovereign
had left the fort practically unguarded and he felt it would be easier to quickly recapture the citadel,
even though the main enemy army was still intact and in the vicinity. But other reports confirmed that
the fortress was well guarded. The Emperor kept vacillating, issuing orders and then reversing them.

Aurangzeb ignored all these contradictory orders and rode after the main Persian force, but they
crossed the high range of Hazarjat, north of Qandahar, and seemed to disappear in the mountains.
Aurangzeb tried in vain to follow this army, then he had to give up and rejoin the Emperor and Sadullah
Khan, who had begun to lay siege to the fort. The minister had already had trenches dug around the
citadel, which was the usual strategy for a siege. But Shah Abbas's army was still unbeaten, and he sent
back a powerful contingent of 30,000 men under Murtaza Quli Khan to break up the blockade.
Confronted with such a strong force, Aurangzeb had to restrict himself to skirmishing, but this
continuous fighting only depleted his men while the enemy gained strength. The vain efforts of these
two armies to cripple each other continued for four months. The Emperor eventually realized that if this
went on, he would waste his entire army, so once more he gave up and ordered retreat.

Due to his failed strategies and procrastinating, Shah Jahan had lost two to three thousand men and five
thousand horses and mules, and the financial loss was considerable. Worst of all, there would now be
no revenue from Qandahar. On 25 October, the Emperor returned to Lahore, where he met Dara Shikoh
and Sadullah Khan again. Aurangzeb and General Rustam Shah Bahadur made some final forays against
the Qizilbashis across the Hindu Kush, and they even managed to capture some cannons, but the fact
was that they had been defeated. They joined the Emperor later.

Aurangzeb was sent back to his governorship of Multan immediately. However, his father had
condescended to add the rich town of Thatta on the Indus to his jurisdiction, and in 1650, when he
visited Delhi again to pay his respects to his father, Shah Jahan relieved him of his charge of Multan and
made him governor of Malwa, in Rajasthan.

In the meantime, the Emperor had not resigned himself to the loss of Qandahar. He went back to Lahore
again and began making plans to re-conquer this citadel with Rustam Shah Bahadur, Sadullah Khan, his
Amirs, and the Rajput princes. If it was her father's wish then it was her wish and, always foremost in a
good cause, Jahanara made it her mission to win back Qandahar. She invested her influence and fortune
in this undertaking. From her own purse she raised an army of 400,000 men and had Aurangzeb
nominated Supreme General. This time Shah than took every measure to attain victory. He took 50,000
cavalry, artillery with platforms to transport the cannons, and 600 Amirs and Mansabdars. The treasury
advanced three months' pay.

Again Shah Jahan lavished favours, ceremonial robes, and money on Aurangzeb. Then, on the most
auspicious day selected by the astrologers, Shah Jahan left Lahore for Kabul to take command of the
operations. He arrived there on 13 April 1652, after a difficult two-month march, and marched on
towards Qandahar. Sadullah Khan also left Kabul with his army to join the attack. Aurangzeb left Multan
on 26 July. The siege had started on 12 May, the date chosen by astrologers, so was well under way by
the time he arrived. The assault had begun to the sound of trumpets and artillery fire by the Mughal
army, but the Persians were prepared. They returned the fire with cannonballs, grapeshot and guns.
They repulsed attack after attack of the Mughals, and dead bodies heaped up around the ramparts. The
Qizilbashis made forays at night, massacring the soldiers in their trenches, on one occasion attacking
Sadullah I Khan and Rustam Shah's forces, taking prisoners and carrying away cannons. The artillery of
the Persians was imported, state-of-the-art weaponry and superior to that of the Mughals. In the
intense fighting, the Mughal cannons began to overheat while the Persians went on ravaging the
Emperor's lines.

Aurangzeb's role in this campaign was not so prominent, and Shah Jahan called for Murad Bakhsh and
Dara Shikoh during the course of the war. Jahanara's presence was also indirectly there on the
battlefield. After fighting an intense war in which he did all he could to capture the fortress, finally the
Emperor had to give up and withdraw his forces. After the unfortunate campaigns in Qandahar,
Aurangzeb was reappointed to the Deccan. Thus, at the head of his cavalry and his royal procession, the
Prince returned to the capital he had built, Aurangabad, in the last months of the year 1652.
The revolt in Bundelkhand (1628-1635 A.D.) under the reign of Shah Jahan is an important part
of the medieval history of India. During the reign Jahangir, Bir Singh Bundela was the ruler of
Bundelkhand. He had killed Abul Fazl at the instigation of Jahangir when Akbar was the Mughal
emperor. When Jahangir became the ruler, Bir Singh was given high honour and rank. After his
death his son, Jujhar Singh was accepted as a successor by Jahangir. Jujhar Singh was in the
service of the the court while his son, Bikramajit looked after the administration of Bundelkhand.
Bikramajit oppressed his subjects during the collection of revenues. When the news reached
Shah Jahan, he ordered an inquiry into the past collections. That alarmed Jujhar Singh and he
fled away from the court to Bundelkhand.

Shah Jahan ordered the Mughal army to attack Bundelkhand from different directions in 1628
A.D. and himself reached Gwalior to supervise the operations. Jujhar Singh realised the futility
of fighting against the emperor and surrendered himself in 1629 A.D. and offered one thousand
gold mohurs, fifteen lakh rupees, forty elephants and a part of his Jagirs to the emperor. Shah
Jahan pardoned him and sent him in the campaign of the Deccan. Jujhar Singh served the
emperor loyally for five years and played an important part in the wars of the Deccan. In 1634
A.D. he returned to his capital, Orcha. In 1635 A.D., he conquered Gondwana and killed the
ruler Prem Narayan. This was a crime in eyes of the emperor as no Mughal emperor allowed
fighting among his vassal rulers. The son of Prem Narayan also appealed to emperor for justice.

Shah Jahan ordered Jujhar Singh either to pay rupees ten lakhs or give up Gondwana to him or
hand over his Jagir which may be equal to Gondwana. Jujhar Sir refused to accept any of these
conditions. Shah Jahan then sent Aurangzeb to attack Bundelkhand. Jujhar Singh and his
Bikramajit abandoned the capital Orcha, and proceeded towards the Deccan. Orcha was occupied
by Aurangzeb, Hindu-temples were destroyed and mosques were raised in their places. Jujhar
Singh and Bikramajit were killed in the jungle by the Gonds and their heads were produced
before Shah Jahan. Two of the sons of Jujhar Singh and one of his grandsons were converted to
Islam. The Bundela ladies who were captured during the war were either taken over to the
Mughal harem or were distributed among the Mughal nobles.

Bundelkhand was handed over to Devi Singh, one of the relatives of Bir Singh, who had sided
with the Mughals during the war. Thus the revolt of Bundelkhand under Shah Jahan's reign was
brutally suppressed in 1635 A.D.
Religions under Shah Jahan

Islam during Shah Jahan's reign was a much revered religion, and he did much for the promotion
of the faith. The majority of the Muslims of India during this time were Sunnis, the sect that
follows the Islamic school of jurisprudence of Abu Hanifa (767 AD). Shah Jahan being a staunch
Muslim, insisted that the teachings of this school be included in the education programme for his
children. The other major sect was the Shia Sect, which followed the Jafferiya School of
jurisprudence. Since the days of Nur Jahan there had been increasing numbers of Persian Shias at
court, and the Jafferiya was a powerful lobby. The followers of this sect formed a large
community in India, concentrated mainly in The Deccan.

Being a devout follower of Islam, Shah Jahan openly favoured the religion. He himself was a
Sunni Muslim who dressed in the Muslim fashion, sported a beard, used alcohol in a restrained
manner, prayed regularly and kept fasts during Ramzaan. The policy of toleration that was
followed by Akbar was gradually abandoned during his reign and there was now seen a return to
the stricter interpretation of Islam. He ordered that all recently built Hindu temples were to be
destroyed. This was in keeping with a Muslim tradition that states that all unbelievers may keep
their already-existing shrines but not build new ones.

Shah Jahan encouraged conversion Islam throughout his reign. During his reign the war-captives
were converted to Islam and culprits who accepted Islam were set free. Hindus were forced to
accept Islam before their marriage to Muslims and those who disrespected either the holy Quran
or Prophet Muhammad were punished to death. He created a separate department for conversion
of people of other faith to Islam. He sent presents to Mecca regularly. Thus, it is clear that he set
aside the policy religious toleration of Akbar and believed in the supremacy of Islam.

However though he exhibited almost fanatical tendencies during the early years of his reign, he
abandoned this extreme stand during the later years and adopted a more tolerant attitude. This
might have been due to the influence of his liberal - minded son Dara Shikoh. The ardour with
which he was promoting Islam was now abated and he showed a friendlier disposition towards
the followers of other religions, even according them high places in his court.
Christianity during Shah Jahan's reign did not get much favour from the Emperor as was very
Orthodox in his religious views. Christianity was quite a new religion at this point in time and its
religious influence was just making headway at this point in time. For the Mughals, European
products were exotic, and they all built up collections of European curios, as their Western
counterparts did of oriental exotica. Many of the items were religious relics presented by
missionaries. The Mughals had no religious issues about these artistic works and treasured them
for their artistic value. The Mughals must have had a genuine appreciation of their aesthetic
quality, since there is much similarity in technique between the stylized pre-renaissance icons
and Mughal Miniature Painting. However, where the religion of Christianity was concerned they
had rather strong objections to the spread of the religion in the country. Shah Jahan, particularly,
was one of those Mughal Emperors who were completely against the religion. The Portuguese
came to trade, but, being staunch Catholics, they also brought missionaries. It was not until they
captured the port of Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1515 and reports began coming in that
they were forcibly converting the locals and subjecting those that resisted to Inquisition-like
trials. When such conversions started taking place, it became a cause of concern for the Mughals.

Shah Jahan's relationship with the Christians was always bitter. In 1630, Shah Jahan decided to
destroy the Portuguese colony at Hugli, in Bengal. He bore a grudge against them because they
had refused to assist him earlier when he rebelled against Jahangir, but there were also reports of
atrocities being committed on the local villagers. What finally incensed the Emperor was the
incident when Portuguese pirates kidnapped two of Mumtaz Mahal's slaves. Hugli had become a
haven for slave merchants and pirates who kidnapped the local inhabitants and sold them, so the
Emperor ordered the Governor of Bengal, Qasim Khan, to destroy the colony. Some managed to
escape after the city surrendered, but the rest, several thousand in number, mainly women and
children, were taken prisoner and sent to Agra. Many died during the seven-month journey. Shah
Jahan freed those of the men who converted, and those who did not were condemned to be
whipped or imprisoned. The women and children were distributed among the harems of the
nobles. This broke the Portuguese monopoly on trade with India, and the way was clear for other
Europeans to move in.

Thus during Shah Jahan's reign, the Christian missionaries in Agra were living in a hostile
environment and following their calling very discreetly. The Emperor did not hide his animosity
towards them. However, Shah Jahan's son Dara Shikoh had a much more tolerant and even
benevolent attitude towards the Christians. He counted Jesuits among his intimate friends. They
included Henri Uwens, known as Father Busee, (1618-87), who established himself in Agra
where he led a mission; another member of the Company of Jesus, Pedro Juzarte; and a
Neapolitan, Father Stanislas Malpiqua, General of the Jesuits in Goa. However, this Prince
tended to overdo his iconoclasticism. His outspoken, irreverent views often offended not only the
orthodox, but also the more urbane Muslim courtiers, and there were even occasions when he
annoyed his doting father.

The attitude of his son notwithstanding, Shah Jahan had rather strong reservations against the
spread of Christianity in his kingdom and did everything possible to quell the works of the
traders and missionaries.