02-02-2008, 10:24 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-dhu+Feb 2 2008, 08:34 AM-->QUOTE(dhu @ Feb 2 2008, 08:34 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->In the middle of 16th century, Raja Bharmal, who ruled over Amer (Jaipur), was under tremendous pressure from all sides. On the one hand, he was facing the threat of an attack from the powerful Meena chieftains, and, on the other, the ruler of Jodhpur was making determined efforts to snatch some of his territory, including the strategically located Sambhar.
In January 1562, Akbar, then 20, was on his way to Ajmer. He had camped at Dausa, about 50 km from Amer. Raja Bharmal went to see him with the hope that Akbar could help him. Historical records confirm the meeting had taken place. Akbar reciprocated to the friendship offer because he knew the value of making peace in the neighbourhood of Delhi. The young emperor hoped to solidify alliances by marrying into the families of the rulers of Amer, Bikaner and Jodhpur.
In the meeting, it was agreed upon that Raja Bharmal would offer to get his daughter, Heera Kanwar, married to Akbar. The official records of the Jaipur royal family show that on February 6,1562, Heera Kanwar's wedding was solemnised with the Mughal ruler at Sambhar. Naturally, this caused a scandal in the Rajput society. The ruling families of Mewar and Udaipur severed ties with Amer. They also advised the other Rajput royal families to follow suit as it was against their pride to marry their daughters to non-Rajputs. A Muslim groom was out of question.
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Above has a few things which are disputed by many other narratives of this episode. Especially the famous Dr A L Srivastava's account has a few differences.
But before that, there are many other *facts* which need to be told.
First of all, Akbar had another wife already at the above mentioned time: Salma Sultana Begum - who was none other than his own aunt - widow of his maternal uncle and guardian Behram Khan. Behram Khan was suspiciously trampled upon by a group of elephants when he was sleeping in his tent on an expedition. The episode was really strange because Khan had only recently survived another attempt upon his life.
Akbar - of about 17 years then (or 15, per another account) - married one of the rather good looking and young widow - Salima Sultana Begum - the mother of 3 year old boy who would later become Abdur-rahim-khankhana one of his famous krishna-devotee noble.
Above is recorded in some detail, by famous Mugal history specialist Dr. A L Srivastava in Vol 1 of 'Akbar the Great'.
Another incident must be noted to understand the lusting mind of Akbar. Another noble of his - Sheikh Abdul Wasi - was bereft of his good looking legally married bride who was forced to join Akbar's harem. Wasi is not mentioned at all after this incident in Mugal records - in all probability removed like Behram Khan.
The same book of Anandilal Srivastava also brings to light some more startling facts of why would a proud Rajput of Amer - Raja Bharmal Kachhwaha - be forced to marry his daughter off to a musalman. Such an event would have attracted a complete truncation of relations from other Rajputs and Hindu royal families amongst whom his family inter-maried. Such a thing as marrying off own's daughter to a 'turuk' would be worse than death to a Rajput - those who know medieval rajputs would vouch for it.
An addiional factor brought to light by AL Srivastava:
Mugal commander Sharf-ud-din had been raiding and ruining the Bharmal's principalities repeatedly. This was during these horror raids that he succesfully captured the 3 sons of Bharmal - princes of Amer - namely Khangar, Rajsingh, and Jagannath. They were incarcerated and Sambhar and were threatened with torturous death.
In addition to all the above things mentioned, Srivastava says that , it was to secure his princes and save the Amer kingdom which was already facing extinction from other factors, that Bharmal reluctanty agreed to sacrifice his daughter - per some accounts daughter of his muslim half-wife - at the harem door of Akbar.
The wedding itself was not performed like a wedding. The transaction took place silently in a wayside palace of Sambhar, away from Amer's capital Jaipur or Mugal capital Agra. Unlike other Rajput weddings - which lasted for weeks per the contemporary records - after bartering the princes to Bharmal, Akbar left the very next day with the 'bride' to Agra, where she was properly converted to Islam.
Go between from Bharmal side for the negotiation with Akbar was a freelance ally of Bharmal - named Chagtai Khan.
Soon after the above, Akbar employed the very similar technique with the next Rajput house - Merta. documentation of that episode is more clear.
Soon, forced with insults from other Rajpute bretheren, it would become natural hat these 'surrendered' Rajput houses would want the 'unfallen' houses to do the same - so as to avoid the selective disgrace.
This is also evident from another episode. Jaisalmer's Raval Har Rai also surrendered his daughter to the harem of Akbar. Rajput Raja Bhagwandas was the one who represented Akbar in Bikaner to conduct the business and bring the bride to Agra. It is the same Raja Bhagwandas who surrendered his own daughter to prince Salim in 1584. The "wedding" took place not in Rajasthan but in Lahore to avoid the insult in his own land.
Likewise, Raval Pratap of Banswara, and Raval Askaran of Dungarpur were 'persuaded, pressurised, and pushed' by such 'surrendeded' rajput houses - in this case Lon Karan and Birbar - who brought the surrendered ladies to Fatehpur harem.
So it was a **chain reaction**, and dynamics of which is understandable. One humiliated rajput would want others to be under the similar condition to avoid the selective disgrace.
Another Rajput however - Raja Bidhichan of Kangra at Nagarkot - refused to surrender his daughter although he fulfilled the other demads of the Turk-mongol b@st@rd. He fatly refused to not only give his daughter but any Rajput girl in a 'doli'. Srivastava quotes Badayuni's footnote that in response, the Mugal army riddled with arrows the umbrella over the deity of a certain pupolar temple, slew 200 black cows within the temple premises, and filling their shoes with cow blood, threw these all over the kafir's butkhana's floor and walls. Srivastava says the temple was none other than the famous Shakti Peetha - Goddess Jwalamukhi Temple at Bagalkot. Dispite all of this, Raja Bidhichand refused to send any 'princess' or even daughter of a noble to the harem of Akbar.
Likewise the house of Maharana, Chittod never surrendered
===
Akbar applied this harem-dawai even to muslim rulers - like the record shows where Akbar demanded the hand of the daughter of Khandesh ruler Mirza Mobarak Shah.
Or when in 1600, daughter of Bijapur ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah was married in a negotiated contract to Daniyal - the son of Akbar.
====
There was said to be a certain Muslim Maulavi - Sheikh Abdun Nabi - who was objecting to Akbar's extension of harem into other's houses. He of course did not mind this done to Hindus, but was concerned about outraging the modesty of daughters of muslim families, like the cases mentioned in the beginning - Abdul Wasi etc.
He was forced to exile in Makka, andupon return died a mysterious death in 1583.
====
Christian missionaries present in the court of Akbar have also given the account of the lustful ways of the real Akbar. One boastful jesuit even says that the only single problem that stopped him from converting Akbar to Christianism was - that Christianism allowed "only one wife and strict sexual morality whereas Akbar could never give up his harem. (read this account in detail under the Mugal History thread where I had posted the book links too)
====
I hope Gowrikar would show at least some of the above being done by Hritik Roshan.
(sources: AL Srivastava 'Akbar the Great Vol 1, and kind of response by P N Oak 'Who says Akbar was Great')
In January 1562, Akbar, then 20, was on his way to Ajmer. He had camped at Dausa, about 50 km from Amer. Raja Bharmal went to see him with the hope that Akbar could help him. Historical records confirm the meeting had taken place. Akbar reciprocated to the friendship offer because he knew the value of making peace in the neighbourhood of Delhi. The young emperor hoped to solidify alliances by marrying into the families of the rulers of Amer, Bikaner and Jodhpur.
In the meeting, it was agreed upon that Raja Bharmal would offer to get his daughter, Heera Kanwar, married to Akbar. The official records of the Jaipur royal family show that on February 6,1562, Heera Kanwar's wedding was solemnised with the Mughal ruler at Sambhar. Naturally, this caused a scandal in the Rajput society. The ruling families of Mewar and Udaipur severed ties with Amer. They also advised the other Rajput royal families to follow suit as it was against their pride to marry their daughters to non-Rajputs. A Muslim groom was out of question.
[right][snapback]77944[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Above has a few things which are disputed by many other narratives of this episode. Especially the famous Dr A L Srivastava's account has a few differences.
But before that, there are many other *facts* which need to be told.
First of all, Akbar had another wife already at the above mentioned time: Salma Sultana Begum - who was none other than his own aunt - widow of his maternal uncle and guardian Behram Khan. Behram Khan was suspiciously trampled upon by a group of elephants when he was sleeping in his tent on an expedition. The episode was really strange because Khan had only recently survived another attempt upon his life.
Akbar - of about 17 years then (or 15, per another account) - married one of the rather good looking and young widow - Salima Sultana Begum - the mother of 3 year old boy who would later become Abdur-rahim-khankhana one of his famous krishna-devotee noble.
Above is recorded in some detail, by famous Mugal history specialist Dr. A L Srivastava in Vol 1 of 'Akbar the Great'.
Another incident must be noted to understand the lusting mind of Akbar. Another noble of his - Sheikh Abdul Wasi - was bereft of his good looking legally married bride who was forced to join Akbar's harem. Wasi is not mentioned at all after this incident in Mugal records - in all probability removed like Behram Khan.
The same book of Anandilal Srivastava also brings to light some more startling facts of why would a proud Rajput of Amer - Raja Bharmal Kachhwaha - be forced to marry his daughter off to a musalman. Such an event would have attracted a complete truncation of relations from other Rajputs and Hindu royal families amongst whom his family inter-maried. Such a thing as marrying off own's daughter to a 'turuk' would be worse than death to a Rajput - those who know medieval rajputs would vouch for it.
An addiional factor brought to light by AL Srivastava:
Mugal commander Sharf-ud-din had been raiding and ruining the Bharmal's principalities repeatedly. This was during these horror raids that he succesfully captured the 3 sons of Bharmal - princes of Amer - namely Khangar, Rajsingh, and Jagannath. They were incarcerated and Sambhar and were threatened with torturous death.
In addition to all the above things mentioned, Srivastava says that , it was to secure his princes and save the Amer kingdom which was already facing extinction from other factors, that Bharmal reluctanty agreed to sacrifice his daughter - per some accounts daughter of his muslim half-wife - at the harem door of Akbar.
The wedding itself was not performed like a wedding. The transaction took place silently in a wayside palace of Sambhar, away from Amer's capital Jaipur or Mugal capital Agra. Unlike other Rajput weddings - which lasted for weeks per the contemporary records - after bartering the princes to Bharmal, Akbar left the very next day with the 'bride' to Agra, where she was properly converted to Islam.
Go between from Bharmal side for the negotiation with Akbar was a freelance ally of Bharmal - named Chagtai Khan.
Soon after the above, Akbar employed the very similar technique with the next Rajput house - Merta. documentation of that episode is more clear.
Soon, forced with insults from other Rajpute bretheren, it would become natural hat these 'surrendered' Rajput houses would want the 'unfallen' houses to do the same - so as to avoid the selective disgrace.
This is also evident from another episode. Jaisalmer's Raval Har Rai also surrendered his daughter to the harem of Akbar. Rajput Raja Bhagwandas was the one who represented Akbar in Bikaner to conduct the business and bring the bride to Agra. It is the same Raja Bhagwandas who surrendered his own daughter to prince Salim in 1584. The "wedding" took place not in Rajasthan but in Lahore to avoid the insult in his own land.
Likewise, Raval Pratap of Banswara, and Raval Askaran of Dungarpur were 'persuaded, pressurised, and pushed' by such 'surrendeded' rajput houses - in this case Lon Karan and Birbar - who brought the surrendered ladies to Fatehpur harem.
So it was a **chain reaction**, and dynamics of which is understandable. One humiliated rajput would want others to be under the similar condition to avoid the selective disgrace.
Another Rajput however - Raja Bidhichan of Kangra at Nagarkot - refused to surrender his daughter although he fulfilled the other demads of the Turk-mongol b@st@rd. He fatly refused to not only give his daughter but any Rajput girl in a 'doli'. Srivastava quotes Badayuni's footnote that in response, the Mugal army riddled with arrows the umbrella over the deity of a certain pupolar temple, slew 200 black cows within the temple premises, and filling their shoes with cow blood, threw these all over the kafir's butkhana's floor and walls. Srivastava says the temple was none other than the famous Shakti Peetha - Goddess Jwalamukhi Temple at Bagalkot. Dispite all of this, Raja Bidhichand refused to send any 'princess' or even daughter of a noble to the harem of Akbar.
Likewise the house of Maharana, Chittod never surrendered
===
Akbar applied this harem-dawai even to muslim rulers - like the record shows where Akbar demanded the hand of the daughter of Khandesh ruler Mirza Mobarak Shah.
Or when in 1600, daughter of Bijapur ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah was married in a negotiated contract to Daniyal - the son of Akbar.
====
There was said to be a certain Muslim Maulavi - Sheikh Abdun Nabi - who was objecting to Akbar's extension of harem into other's houses. He of course did not mind this done to Hindus, but was concerned about outraging the modesty of daughters of muslim families, like the cases mentioned in the beginning - Abdul Wasi etc.
He was forced to exile in Makka, andupon return died a mysterious death in 1583.
====
Christian missionaries present in the court of Akbar have also given the account of the lustful ways of the real Akbar. One boastful jesuit even says that the only single problem that stopped him from converting Akbar to Christianism was - that Christianism allowed "only one wife and strict sexual morality whereas Akbar could never give up his harem. (read this account in detail under the Mugal History thread where I had posted the book links too)
====
I hope Gowrikar would show at least some of the above being done by Hritik Roshan.
(sources: AL Srivastava 'Akbar the Great Vol 1, and kind of response by P N Oak 'Who says Akbar was Great')