The religious policies pursued by Aurangzeb that have been cited as one of the principal reasons for Aurangzeb's

undoing, and among many Hindus the name of Aurangzeb evokes a passionate hatred A year after he assumed power in 1658, Aurangzeb appointed muhtasaibs, or censors of public morals, from the ranks of the ulema or clergy in every large city. He was keen that the shariaor Islamic law be followed everywhere, and that practices abhorrent to Islam, such as the consumption of alcohol and gambling, be disallowed in public.But he was at the outset faced with one problem, namely that the treatment he had meted out to his own father, subjecting him to imprisonment, was scarcely consistent with the image he sought to present of himself as a true believer of the faith. Accordingly, Aurangzeb sought recognition of his ascent to the Mughal Emperor's throne from the ruler of the holy places in the Hijaz, and he became a great patron of the Holy Places. He is reported as well to have spent seven years memorizing the Koran, and unlike his predecessors, his reign was marked by austerity. The musicians who had adorned the courts of his predecessors were dismissed. Hindu religious fairs were outlawed in 1668, and an edict of the following year prohibited construction of Hindu temples as well as the repair of old ones. Also in 1669, Aurangzeb discontinued the practice, which had been originated by Akbar, of appearing before his subjects and conferring darshan on them.In 1679, Aurangzeb went so far as to reimpose, contrary to the advice of many of his court nobles and theologians, thejiziya or graduated property tax on nonHindus, and according to one historical source, elephants were deployed to crush the resistance in the area surrounding the Red Fort of Hindus who refused to submit to jiziya collectors. True, in north India, some Hindu temples were undoubtedly torn downThere are also records of Aurangzeb giving donations to the Hindu temples.He had no hesitation in appointing Hindu advisors and aligning himself with them when he needed. It is also notable that as a firm Sunni, Aurangzeb dealt as firmly with the Shia kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda as he did with the Hindus or Muslims. One can safely assert that Aurangzeb acted to preserve and enhance the interests of his own Muslim community, and restored the privileges of the Sunni ulema, but his actions with respect to the Hindus, Shias, and others are more open to interpretation.

There been several bad impacts of Aurangzeb's policies. Some historians had said that Aurangzeb's policies made Mughal very weak. Earlier there was no respect left for Islam and its adherents; mosques were without splendor, while idol-temples flourished; the requisites of canonical practice remained closed under bolts, while the gates of irreligious practices were flung open. That time Aurangzeb was the defender of the truth faith, converts to Islam were made much of. Many temples were given order of destruction and instead mosques built. But now because of this religious policy Mughal State had failed to yield the expected dividends. Now Aurangzeb faced difficult task of bringing under Imperial control the extensive country extending up to Jinji , populated by Hindu population and simultaneoudy he had to deal with Marathas. And situation became so worst that there seem like Aurangzeb need to make some modification in his policy. His attitude towards Hindu temples also varied from time to time according to circumstance that is political exigencies. And his attitude towards Marathas also

varied. But policy was not changed. During that time many festivals & ceremonies banned and all practice, which is found against Islamic spirit, were also banned. Jizyah's impact was also very bad. Altogether, Jizyah came into picture because of religious policy. This tax was for nonMuslims. And basic impact of this Jizyah was that people got converted into Islamic religion so as to escape from Jizyah and enjoy profits of being Islamic. But many people who were not Islamic were treated badly. Many people used to close their shops and observe hartals against the measure. But even though Jizyah had not led to any large conversion. And in this Jizyah there started lot of corruption. Aurangzeb's religious policy led to series of contractions, which he found hard to resolve.