282 N.S. !

NAMDAR

. ent Aurangzeb's emotions took charge ofh·

For a mom . . . .. ltll.. l;e
. l k at the tall minarets of the Jama MasJid pier . took
alongmg oo . . . . ·k
· . d . .. . c1ngthesL·
... t:llrt'Ung his back, he~too a · eep breath as he iqes
above. 1heu .. Watched
' . f his loyal
,armies o ·
men surgtng
.
ahead. The carts, carrying t he h the
· . . . - •·ed as they lumbered on.
cannons,,~ eavy
Tuejehad had finally begun.
They soon reached their evening camp. The cantonment had b
at a rapid pace. The green flag of the Mughals flutter. een
set uP . . _ .. 1ng atop
L - .J ..foot .. tall pole and lit with lanterns was v1s1ble for tnile
hunurcu a
s around.

They were to begin their march the next morning. After conferring with
the commanders for a while, Aurangzeb came into the zenankh
ana
where his sister Jahanara waited for him. She was to return to Delhi

I while her brother·carried out the jehad he had chosen for himself.
Jahanara was about to stand up seeing Aurangzeb enter when
he said,'Begum Sahiba, you have followed protocol for years now.
You are not getting any younger. You are excused from such rules
henceforth{ Settling down .beside her he continued, 'The Paigambar
s_ays we should start the journey by distributing alms. I want to be~n
by ex~using you of any royal duties henceforth. You are free to do what
comes.to ,your ·mind. You are not bound by any official protocol or
decorum starting now:
·Touching .her right hand to her forehead, she acknowledged
Aurangzeb's gift and said, 'Aurangzeb, I have seen you work at close
quarters and oftentimes criticized your decisions too. I apologize for
them. I hope Allah showers victory on you:
'Begum Sah1ba,
. my faith will lead me to victory. I wt·11 fieel I have
. h·ed my task. the day I am able to plant the Mughal flag on rhe
·fims
·shores of the ocean:
Jahanara could not mask her displeasure. 'You are t he Shahenshaht1l
'of Hind st d · d. But I a
, u an an are free to do what comes to your min 1beY
concerned abQut your two shahzadis and your loving begutn•
have never st d . hh f ,
aye 1n sue arsh conditions o war.
 SHAHENSHAH 283
'Begurn, Allah takes care of the poorest of t he poo . .
i r, What 1s th
~-cy• .
-1..anara could not hold back her tears• A urangzeb
. .. •d ,
J·ba
;1.1, •
J get restless seemg tears in your sai , Begum
Sah1 ' • • • eyes. I Want . .
farewell ro your brother with a smilmg face: you to bid
'Aurangzeb, I cannot help it. I have spent all my 1trewor
.c · · b
milv. I am concerned about Zebunissa and z rymg a out
the fa ,. eenat:
·Whye' .
'Aurangzeb,
. now that you ,have excused me of any . protocol, I can
voice my innermost thoughts.
'Begum Sahiba, \lease speak your mind. You are not only elder but
Af'ter conferrlllgw1th
· . also wiser than I am. · , ..
.nto the zenankhana 'Aurangzeb, you talk of the -religion of Islaim but you seem to be
1s to return to Delhi forgetting the religion of man:
1osen for himself. 'I believe there is nothing more superior than Islam: _
rangzeh ·enter when 'Don't you realize your two daughters have spent their youth
,tocol for years now. rotting in the close confines of the zenankhana?'
.sed from such rules 'Begum Sahiba!'
'Let me speak, Aurangzeb. I spent my entire life in the zenankhana.
ed 'The Paigarobar.
.U ,
My sister Roshanara's life too withered likewise. I see the lavish
alms. I want to begm
c. to do what lifestyles the begums enjoy but I wonder why it never occurs to you
ou arerree that you are committing a crime by not allowing.your daughters to get
.al protocol or
,Y 001Cl married and enjoy a complete life. ·
knowleaged 'Begum Sahiba, where will I find a suitable .alliance for · my
she ac dose shahzadis?' .
l, ork at J\u b ·f h h ses to blindfold
otl W • efor h' rangze , a man can never find an answer 1 e c 0
;ell Y I apOloti is eyes . h . .
, · wit ignorance:
tOO•
1bi~e Ih 1 .I h ve been loyal.to
LS · , ave never wavered from the path of Is am,, a
·U feel ~e t '
l wi oil Auran . u a~d not bother with
,orf· bJ fl:i~ thin gzeb, you can't take only what suits yo . b not get
rJtlg b~ hi dgs that are difficult. Tell me did Muhammad Paiga~ ar ,
e J,eJls
sn~· 1~ s a.u h ,
'Beg ters marriedr I wonder what stops you
. , from doing so,
a.(e tb~ d· ~ot ,vie1
,t.l f111t1 j11· 'If gulll Sahiba!' · tell you one
my • I want to
ctOl>( 1,ef Words disturb you, I will keep quiet,
I ] '!}~
tovl
r
 284 N·S· !NAMDAR

. are making a huge mistake making you d

thin though , you . - .- . .. r aught
g . lie • the zenankhana. You are also insulting th ers
spend
their re m e relio;
. , o•On
b e your lifu on. .
you as . _ay may be true but there are other consider· ..
8
'What you -. at1ons I
I interpret eve ryt
hing in Islam to my convenience I will fall , ·f
tnto rn
, y
own crap. .
'Th; . • vnur problem, Aurangzeb. You do interpret it
at is , - , . . . to Your
_. . _ e. I don t want this farewell to end 1n bitterness p·
converuenc . . , . • orget
. "'"'id
w:h at ,I .MU
as .an old, bitter womans rant. I wish you well. lb· .
ts sister
_f rs would be waiting eagerly to hear the trumpets signallin
o you gyour
victory. I may not b~ able to rush ~ut and welcome you or bless you,
but my thoughts will always be with you. Aurangzeb, it is time for
your namaz now. I take my leave. May Allah take care of you:
Aurangzeb had no words. He kept looking at his sister and then
murmured,'Khuda hafeez:
Jahanara left with silent footsteps~

Emotions took a back seat once the jehad was announced. The next
halt was at Ajmer-near a lake adjacent to Khwaja Moinuddin's shrine.
Tue month of Ramzan began but the rules of jehad being different,
Aur,angzeb could not afford to halt his activities and continued his
daily briefings with Akbar reported each morning and evening.
. - Ajmer's faujdar Tahawwur Khan, familiar with the Rajputana
territory, was given charge of the campaign against Jodhpur.
Within two months Tahawwur Khan reached Jodhpur defeating
s~all principalities on the way. He captured Jodhpur without much
. search o f t h e royal treasure,
reslStance a n d d·estroyed many temples 1n
lhe: soon reached Udaipur and ransacked the Lake Palace there, 'Jhe
looting of te, I . . Id .
. ,.,_ mp es y1e ed unbelievable treasures. ho
ine ·early · . · hal forces w
. . .victories gave. a moral boost to the Mug . . the
firmly believed , h .h . . . ddi Ch1st1,
S fi . · t at t ey had the blessmgs of Mo1nu n d ·pur
u saint. Ajit S. h' , . the lJ at
ah ing s mother, Jaswant Singhs wife, was •r r11,
tn ar · · . errt 0 1'
a_Jas sister. lhe Mughal soldiers combed the entire t
i
 SHAHENSHAH 285

•
. gi»to"" possible hiding places but were unable to fi n d t h e young
11
1 0Jo~ . . si·ngh or Durgadas Rath ore, who was suppo ell _L!mg
. ce /Wt . . se y ,...
0
riJ1 . But the success m the campaign was overwh l • . d
f h1ot· e nung an
P 0. £",.ct chat the heir to Jaswant Singh's throne was unt
c~e bl
,J,t .,,111or r• racea e
erlooked. .
"'";,.,.gzeb dep~ted Akb'." to camp at Chlttor and asked to
ptur< the maharaJa at ~daipur. The capture of Rajputana would
a dreaJll unfulfilled smce Shahenshah Akbar's time. Aurangzeb,
. d r ro encourage Shahzada Akbar, stayed at his camp for a few
in or e . .
da before returning to AJmer.
~ .zzam and Azam had responded to the call of jehacl and had
P"',.;sed
0 to proceed with their respective troops. Aurangzeb, having
,.,,eJ e,.rly success, did not see their presence of much value.
Aurangzeb sat in conference with his key officials•in a meeting room
i,ehind the shrine when Asad Khan arrived with an urgent message.
!-fearing the news Aurangzeb's face fell. He said, 'I am told Shiva
Bhosale arracked Jain• and damaged the shrine of Jan Muhammad
Dervish rhere, Allah will never pardon someone defiling the shrine of
apious man like Jan Muhammad. Shivis son Sambha is with US now.
We have Shiva's right hand. We need to teach him a lesson:
Amin Khan responded, 'I am told Oiler Khan has managed to
convince Sambhaji to take np arms against his fad,er. Lnck seems to be
fuvouring Badshah Salamat; we will soon see the_Maharan• of Mewar
surrender and it won't be long before we attach Shiva's 'territory to our
Deccan subah: ,
. i\min Khan, I believe in ambition being backed by action: Ask
DilerKh
,.
ak , . , c. -H· -gth
an tot e Sambhas help to capture Sh1vas xorts. ts Stren
i\ rts. Th e moment we have them, we can get h'nn too.,
isinhisfo ·
shyou command; Amin Khan said, bending low,
8 adur Kh . h .
a
With
d fr
an, avmg return•
h D can red~faced
om t e ec
defeat d b d1·ng in the
,,,. . ' manage to restore royal favours Y succee
the ~aign, with Tahawwur Khan, On the other hand, the news fi-om
ecca o·I Kh '
cant n was not good· Sambha;; had run away fi-om t er ans
0
nrne ' :, · · h'
nr and rejoined his father, Jan Muhammad Derv1s s curse
 286 N.S . (NAMDAR

ha,d no t worked. Aurangzeb, . tasting defeat after a l

. . ong ti
. alO ne in the dargah reading his prayers. tlte, s"A
nme t''-t\t

Th nrire monsoon was spent reinforcing the outp .

ee . . . Osts 111 M
and Mewar. On gettmg news of the Maharana hiding in th arwar
mountains, Aurangzeb as~ed Akbar to sur~ound the hills. ~~tavalli
contingent of twelve thousand Kazakh soldiers to help hitn. had a
The campaign resumed at the end of the rainy season E
· 'dents t he RaJputs
few scattered mci · were almost invisible' 1hJeceptfor a
· attack and t h en vams
spring a surprise · h mto
· t h e mountains.
· Sh ey Would
Akbar, camped in the Chittor Fort along with his Zenan~ada
directed the troops searching .for the Maharana. ana,
Finallv, it seemed, Khwaja Moinnudin, having seen the dev .
,, . ot1onof
his devotee, blessed Aurangzeb with good news.
Aurangzeb, though camping at Ajmer, had his sights trained on the
Deccan all the time. He received the good news of Shivaji's untimel
death. A major thorn has been finally removed. Aurangzeb attribute~
Shivajis death t!o the curse of Jan Muhammad Dervish.
The victory of the jehad finally seemed within greachBut hope and
despa,ir were inseperable twins for him. He thus restrained himself to
not get overjoyed•
.Tahawwur Khan suffered a major defeat at the hands of the
Rajputs who :-had managed to capture the Mughal cannons and
other ammunition. The Rajputs continued to spring surprise attacks
catching the Mughal soldiers off guard.
· ·Aurangz.eb received the news that Shahzada AKbar, afrai.d to get
.Into
. a d'1rect conflict, was hiding in Chittor Fort. All h.e did was issue
d
d . f~M~
or ers from his safe confines and, not surprisingly, moSt O t such
w i: Uowed. Aurangzeb was hv1d.
·· ere. not ro . . He had not expected ·ng
b,ehaviour
. from Akbar and sent him a strongly worded letter'fhe statt
verf
that h . h ·11 · ous son,
e was as amed to have sired such a pus1 anim d an attack
next day Shahzada Akbar's zenankhana narrowly escape
 y
• S1-tAHENSHAH 287
lt _L Raiputs thanks to the timely int . . .
b o•e :, ervent1on 0-f '"r
Yd h' thousand~odd soldiers. i.a.hawwur Kh
. .

'Jbe RaJputs, buoyed by their init'al

b Id en ed and started attacki ng vigo
I
I successes, Were now
em o rous y. 1h M
d themselves trapped in narrow valle ·d e ughal troops
6,un ys an . fell eas
raing Rajputs. The scenario changed ra idl . . Y prey to the
cha.r:,- h P Y· Sensing a •
urangzeb sent anot er severe message to Akb ma.,or 1oss,
A · all ar and ordered h·
o-et into the battle person y. He hoped su h h . . im
ro r:, • • c a r reat would mak
Akbar get mto real action. e
Tahawwur Khan was given the task of .
. capturing Durgadas
Rathore and the Maharana of Uda1pur without a d
. ny e1ay.

Cold winds blew relentlessly in the Rajasthan desert. Durgadas

Rarhore and his men continued their attack on the Mughal troops.
Aurangzeb received an urgent request ; •for a meeting with
Shahabuddin Khan, who had travelled m0re than siny miles to,meet
him.
Despite the cold he was sweating and ,said, without preamble, as
soon as he entered, 'Huzoor, there has been a great calamity: .
He paused for a moment before saying, 'Hazrat, ·I-don't ,know how
to put it; Shahzada Akbar has joined the Rajputs: ' ··
Shahabuddin was curious to see Aurangzeb's reaction ·but all he
could see was a calm face. Not getting any response from·the Ba~sh~,
he continued, 'Hazrat, we never expected that. We were busy fighnn~
when We received
. the message· that h e h ad d erec
c t ed to the enemy camp.

:is there anything elset - ' ·

I dare not speak further, Huzoor:
'Please I ·· , · ·
'S • am waiting. . . of Hindustan, He
h hahzada has declared himself the Badshah fr the throne:
as sent fi al f Ala Hazrat omd handed it to
a rman stating the remov O
. Shah b d d . of paper an
A. a u din took out a crumple · piece d k t it on a desk
llrangz b H . f ment an ep
e · e glanced at it for a br1e mo
nearby,
 288 N.S. INAMDAR

'Ala Hazrat, we need to take action against h

.. . diately. It seems he plans to attack the royal cant t e Sbahzac1a
,mme h· ll . ontnent h
'You may leave now. I s a pronounce my judgetnent ere:
Shahzada's actions in the durbar tomorrow: regarding
.e.@,~

The news of Akbar's revolt spread across the city of A'

d1v,Taking the help of four ulemas, · who had interpreted
. h th nelCt
1tner
,
texts to Akbar's advantage and proclaimed Aurangzeb t ehreh.gious ·

I
right to the throne, Akbar had declared himself the empas av,ngno
t A. shahi
fi nnan in his. name reached Asad Khan. 'You are not bounderor,
any commands on behalf oJ.f Aurangzeb. Akbar has removed A o carry out

.from the throne due to hts. un1ust

. an d oppressive
. policies. Tahawwur
urangzeb
l<ha,
has ,been named the new Waztr with the title of Amirul Umra If ..
Akbars forces, you too will be treated with dignity: • you Join
For many of the old soldiers it was a repeat of what had happened
nearly twenty-five years ago when Aurangzeb had claimed his stake to
the throne defeating his brother.
l
1 The durbar was in full attendance that day. All the officials present
in Ajmer were eager to hear Aurangzeb. They were shocked to hear
l'J( that Gommanders like Tahawwur Khan, loyal to the throne, had
ij\
defected. One of the officials in attendance, Inayat Khan, had married
1
~. his daughter to Tahawwur Khan. He faced a barrage of questions for
which he had no answers.
Tue murmurs subsided when Asad Khan entered the hall. He was
followed by Amin Khan. The Badshah entered a few moments later,
No one dared look up as his penetrating stare bore into the audie~ce,
A d Kh
sa an read out Akbar,s message. Everyone eagerly waitedd
to see Aurangzebs, reaction. Turning towards Fu1ad Kh an he aske ,
'How tnany troops do we have in the cantonment rig· ht now ·1 ,
Fulad Khan hesitantly answered, 'Nearly one thousandI Huzoor,has
Tur'ni:ng towards Asad Khan he asked, 'How many troops
Akbar managed to assemblet
 SHAHENSHAH 289

early rwenty thousand Mughal troops:

Id he bas n
·ra.f11 toe RajputS•~· ,
:,vtd th housand•
,..JetrlY ti£cr t f uch a large cohtingent supporting Akbar did not
l" · nO 5
'Jltt fllen° 0 . bi He continued to move the beads of his rosary
. c0 cert Aurangzeder what is holding Akbar back from attacking
J1s 11 ed 'I won
he ask ' ere thousand people to protect us. The rest is the
as We have a m . .
;_; er, d he maids and servants. He can easily capture us 1f
111
, t .
zettall ,
he\\11 d I(han licked his lips nervou~ ly. 'Huzoor, ,t h 1s
·5bes co, · wont,' h appen.
Asa allow the Shahzada to take the wrong path. I will not
ah will not
All . d ·f he comes begging for your pardon:
urprise 1
be ~I arn surprised that you have learnt nothing ~er ~eing in my
1
6 r so many years. The-Badshahs first enemy 1s his Shahzada.
company o
don't believe in false hopes. Send urgent messages to the·other two
1

~hahzadas co leave for Ajmer with their, troops immediately:

Asad Khan nodded. Fulad Khan said, 'Hazrat, it will take time for
those rwo co reach. In the meanwhile, I will create a moat around the
city within two days. I will place cannons at strategic points on the
hills and ensure that all roads leading to Ajmer are guarded. Shahzada
Akbar will not be able to attack without warning:
'Fulad Khan, I am not one to sit protected in a guarded tower. I
ascended the throne with a shamsher in my hands. I have picked up
~e sword again for jehad. It seems we will have to fight our ,own son
~tead ofrhe enemy. So be it. We will march -out tomorrow at,first
g~t. We will be the first to attack: ·
ButHuz h ,
R . . oor, we ave such a small army, Asad Khan said. . · _
have ;slling his hand to interrupt A-sad Khan, Aurangzeb said, 'If I
Allah o ·nowed the path of Islam rightfully for the past many years,
dowe W1 dgrant meth e strength of fifty thousand soldiers.'. What else
nee when h .
lho . we ave His support?'
se in art d
en ance shouted, 'Ameen, Ameen: ·
 290 N .S . INAMDAR

InaYa:t Khan, waiting outside

. _
the tent, was ushered . b
1n y th
1he moment he entered, he fell at the feet of Auran . b e guar,1
- . gze cry· '-tll,
'Huzoor, you may cut my head off 1f you wish. I •ng.
my own son-m- · Iaw h as 'Comm1tte
-. d t h'1s treachery: am asharned that
Aurangzeb asked, 'Is is true that Taha-wwur Kh ,
- . '
cllildren are m town~ gum a.ti.d
'Yes, Jahanpanah. My daughter and her children a . .
re res1din .

'Inaya~ Khan, listen to me carefully. S~nd a letter to 1'aha

Khan stanng he should come and present himself in my _Wwur
. court W1tho
any delay. If he does not do so, his daughter-will be raped b h Ut
"ld ' 1
in the town square and t h e ch 1 rens . egs and arms will b Yt eslaves
e cut off.
Ji, Huzoor. I shall send thenote immediately: ·
lnayat Khan bent to salute arid was about to leave when A
urangzeb
added, t\nd mind you! If you try any tricks, your begum and children
will
,
suffer·the same fate. Carry out my instructions as I have told you
to.

As planned, Aurangzeb left Ajmer the next morning with a thousand

soldiers and a handful of sardars. Asad Khan was asked to look after
the zenankhana and other administration.
The cannons were light and carried on camel back. Most of the
troops and ammunition were with Akbar. Aurangzeb marching with
a .small contingent reached the same place where a couple of decades
hack he had encountered his elder brother Dara. History has a way
0f . 1£• The spies
. itse
repeating . informed
. . t h at Akb ar srood just ten
him
mile& away with his troops waiting for his father. .s
.
Th e sixty-five-year-old . the batclefield, as rainen,
Badshah stood m
Iash-ed heavily.
· Astride· his horse, he gave mstrucnons
· · ro thef Jslatil
111

. one on the back, urging someone else m

patting . t h e name o

and calling out the sardars by their first names. ddi I(han
·du n '
Aurangzeb received the encouraging news that H anu
 SHAHENSHAH 29]

. g n with a contingent
ac 111 • of sixteen th·ousand
. s0 Id' . c
500
,is re hh'' rv{uazzam, rnarchmg at rapid pace. ter_
s rrom
,i. · w lle ' was expect d
oe •.1 htiav·
.£. 11 rrt.eir combined strength was e
J.•'
d e. to reach
.xpecte to reach forty
bY 11.,ig

ch0~ sand· cevening, Tahawwur Khan presented himself . h.

•,,a . h' . I· 'd 'I m ts tent. The
,uAJU . ouncing 1s
.. J att" c arr1va sa1
. , asked him to han d over. his
. . sword
.,,J....,
b. J,..,-Q'er co me berore entering the tent but he sh outed back saytn .
. ta criminal and refused to do so: g
he ,s,..~
A no
~-:id J(han warned Aurangzeb
. saying,· 'Huzoor• he. may have ill
.
•ons Do not allow him to enter armed'
. .
"'Au,angzeb, incensed at the audacious behaviour of Tahawwur
I(han shouted, 'Let him enter if he dares to:
1he guard, seeing Aurangzeb throw his·rosary away. unsheathed
his sword in one swift motion. The nett moment it landed on
Tahawwur Khan's chest.
1he sword danged against Tahawwur Kh;uis , annour but did
not hann him, Realizing that he was under attack, he ran to save his
life but tripped and fdl at the tenis guy ropes. He was overpowered
befure he could ger up, Blood-curdling screams pierced the night sky.
The silence that followed was enough for those in ·the tent to know

rhe outcome.
lnayat Khan bowed before Aurangzeb and said, 'I,wish I had·got
diechanceto punish my son-in-law for daring co revolt against you:
Aurangzeb silently moved the beads of his rosary again• · ' ·.
'Shahenshah, some of the mansabdars from Akbar's camp are here
to meet you. It seems Akbar is reconsidering h1s
· dec1s1on
· · now,'
_'Ii is good news but we should not forget the fact that we are in
~purana and that Akbar has a huge force with him, I had appointed
i Urgad,g with a lot of faith but he curned out to have kafir's bloo_d
nhim h •d dd'10 I(han coo 1s
· · . · e ave Muazzam's support and Ham• u ·
Joining h f · orrow:
Mu us s ortly. We will decide rhe next course o ac0on com .
azzam will lead the attack:
I 292 N .S . !NAMDAR

· otning the
. xt m carttontnent woke to find
Tue ne · . _ . ., · evetythi
th . was no danon call . fur actton, Sotnething . ttg silt
ere h une,cpe _ llt;
happened the previous nig t.' tl:ed baq
Akb ars camp · in the far distance was sans any act· .
,
trumpets at Aurang:z;ebs cantonment announced victory.1he: 0 on_the
. rx·sed at the turn of events, eventually catne to kn h .0 ld1ers
surp _ ow t e d . •
Apparently a letter sent by Aurangzeb to his Shah d eta1ls.
.
l·ntert:epted by the RaJputs. Durgadas Rathore heli· Za:. a hadbeel\
father and son were actually working . together to trap
, the ev1ng
n .
that the
the camp overmg · h t wit
· h out in· f.oming
· Akb ar. Most of Akb "-a.JPuts
, ' left
had already reJome. . d A urangzeb's cantonment leaving Akbars troop . s
handful of men. . u~~a
Seeing his treops vanish before his own eyes Akbar £ .
.
life, fled to the mountains. • ' , earing his
Aurangzeb's cantonment wore a festive look. He had tn
. . . .
victory without firing a single shot. His ploy of sending a fake letter
so that it would be intercepted by the Rajputs before it reached Akbar
had worked. Shahzada Muazzam was bestowed the honorific of Shah
Aliza while Asad Khan got a larger mansab to manage. Gifts were
distributed amongst the other officials. The court resounded with
shouts of 'Alamgir ! Zinda Pir !' as he sat on his throne. No one had a
doubt that Allah was with the Shahenshah.
The four ulemas, who had advised Akbar to proclaim himself
emperor were presented in court. Aurangzeb ordered them to be
whipped in the public square. Each of them received a hundred las~es.
Others, who were directly involved with the revolt, were thrown into
dungeons or punished by having their limbs cut off.
· Aurangzeb got the news that Akbar in the meantime, . had been
1 ' l ·
· t he mountains moving from one vent
h'di ng in p ace to ano ther to pre
getting caught. her ,on
· Nawab Ba1· was honoured, much to her happmess,
· because Nawab
Muazzam h ad provided timely help to Aurangzeb • As soon. z
as bunissa
Bai left, Aurangzeb called for Shamim and said,'Shahzadi ~he\,jd
PIayed a key role in instigating Shahzada Akbar agai·nst· me,
 SHAHENSH AH 293

king for Sambhaji's support. I am ordering her to be

el'lt a
lecrer
d .asthe Salimgarh Fort,
. All her privileges too are revoked
s (1S0. pe 1n ,
it1'lP . instant,
frottl thtS orning Aurangzeb spent time praying at the shrine
' ''
1"11.e ne"t tl1
. Moinuddin, . lhe cool air . of the hall was pervaded with
f J(lrwaJa ell from the incense sticks burning in one corner.
a Pleasantb sttlyed to the saint: .1a Allah, Rarwar
. . ,v . D,gaar!
. I left Delhi. to
0

.. lf'Ze pra
~oral'fi-_ he ka~rs but you made me declare a jehad against my own
fr·
.~1agamst
will dotwhatever
~· you make me do. The Shahzada has taken refuge
son- I ..< thas. I will now have to march on to the Deccan to rout both
1.

wit. bthe 1nara

. ther I shall do whatever it takes to spread your word and
togedarkness
d,, enerniesthe . from people's minds. I pray that you give me the
to remove k,
h to carry out your wor . .
strengt b red his forehead on the floor for a long nme.
Aurangze res
tQ

ter
oar
bah
Nere
with
bad a

itllse~
to be
1\ashes•

wriirito
 aJl ,!,'s camp, ,er up on the llatland near Aurangabad, spread from
A-',::, ofJljver Seen• to the base of the mountams, Tents, temporary
the b harnianas, elephant and camel stables were spread over the
.,,rages,~ The royal rent area, or the Gulalbar, distinguishing itself
wide exp
/io1" · h t he red rent cot
other rents wir I h.t~g, was set up a 1·,ttle higher
·
,h th< ,est of the cantonment, at a gentle slope on the mountain side.
. ;rent> hosting the zenankhana stood adjacent. Tue royal insignia,
tall pole nearby, fluttered in the wind and was visible from far
acop a lovely masjid was erected for the Badshah to offer his namaz
away. A
Aurangzeb was informed of an urgent request from Zeenat Begum •
fur a meeting, He waited in his tent fur the Shahzadi to arrive. She
seemed a little pale, and a careful observer aould have noticed the fine
ageing lines on her face. She was in her early forties now.
Zeenat stepped forward and kissing Aurangzeb's hand said, '.Abba

Jaan, there is good news: h

'What is it, dean' I haven't heard single good-news since I stepped
into the Deccan. Please tell me:
'Shahzada has sent a letter: .,
'Who? That rogue Akbar?' ·
Zeenat's face fell hearing her father's harsh words. '.Abba Jaan, if
I,
you, say such t h"mgs a bout your son, what will the peop1e say?, I
I
I
h' Dear, the people have already said what they had to, He showed l

th character when he revolted against his father and joined hands

is true
With
I
l\bbekafirs • My keepmg
. . qmet. w1·11 not ch ange t hat., I
'D aJaan' h e Is · young and immature: .
Deccaear,I at h·Is age I was dreaming of managing . the subah of the
n, I an. Wasworki ng hard to earn it. But now, thanks to my wayward
80
rn forced to get back into the ravines here at my a dvanced age.'
I I

297
 298 N .S. ! NAMDAR

i\kbar is willing to come here to Aurangabad to

mis-e to pardon h.im., tlleet You •.f Yott
pro'Reallyi" Aurangzeb raised his eyebrows. 'Let me see h
Reading the Ietter h e sig
. h ed d eep1y. 'Zeenat, you h t e letter.,
life in the :zenankhana and are not familiar . . with th ave .spen. t Your
.
ks
rld outside. The letter ree of a ploy. My sardars h e Po 1it1cs f
O the
wo . . ave trap ed .
and) in ·order to avoid arrest, he 1s now putting forth th P h11'll
k c
surrender and as ror par on.d , e proposal to
'It may be true but what is the harm in allowing him to
'You dont' und erstand po1·ltlcs.
. I h ave given strict . tneetyou~·
. - d ead or a live. If t.h e sardars come to kn
to ·capture ,him instructions
cor.respondence with. him,
. they would be demotivated: ow of 'mY
'.Abba Jaan; Zeenat said, her eyes wide with disbelief 'I
. · cannot
imagine you could give such an order. You can't be that harsh on him!'
'He :d id not stop at his revolt. Knowing fully well of my hatred
towards these Marathas, he has joined them and urges them to fight
against me. My men have been toiling here for the past five or six years.
At my age I should have been in the Jama Masjid offering my prayers
but I am forced to sit here in the open, hearing these cold winds, in
pursuit of a·rogue Shahzad.a who has had the temerity to challenge his
father. There is no crime which he has not committed:
;Zeenat,·made a last-ditch attempt saying, i\bba Jaan, I urge you to
have a large heart and pardon him just this time:
'It is impossible. You may let him know that if he decides to come
here with his hands tied I may meet him: ·
·.',I will do ,as you say, Abba Jaan. I am pleased you are agreeing for
this at least: She added a little coyly. 'Abba Jaan, shahzada has sen~twO
lovdy Arabian steeds for you as gift. Would you like to see rhem, 'd
A
urangzeb was not happy at her request. M aking a face he saiht,
'Nd0
, ear. I cannot accept any gift from Akbar now. T"ll~~~~
1

here as a prisoner, I cannot even meet him: . ..:M !le

n · a Jaan, how will he believe me if you don,t aceept his
'Abb ~J.J,•

won't come here. fearing the worst: Shahenshah

'Let me tell you something; the day you are born ·to a
 SHAHENSHAH 299

forget fear. The Shahenshah has to I00 . k after th

a.re ro . . .
d c rrust his own
yotJ
.
sons, Dear, 1t 1s time for tn
. . Y namaz now.eA.kbcrown
,
aJ1 110 uld not drill any sense into him. I hope h. . , ar s
~chef co , IS sisters efforts are

«asted·
110C

. ~eb could not

;.urallti- . . on his prayers th at day. It h ad been
concentrate
happen ing more often these days. He returned to his private
. quarters
.
msrea d of his durbar. The shoulders, of late' had dro oped•an d more
srran s of grey flecked his beard. The skin on the •back ofth e pal m was
d
loose and wrinkled. . .
He knelt on the carpet and opened the book of Quran but soon
realized that his eyes had moved but he had not registered anything.
His mind was elsewhere. He knew each Hne ,of the Quran by heart
and would get emotional reading them. Aurangzeb realized the words
were having no effect on him.
Sighing deeply, he picked up his rosary. The copy 0f the Quran
which he held had been written by him in his own hand. On the
borders he had repeated the words 'There is ·only one God and his
representative is Paigambar. There is no one else who represents Him:
He read the words again to no effect. It .had been five years since he
had left Delhi to relocate to the Deccan. He sometimes ,wondered
whether the officials sniggered at him behind his back.
He had been in the prime of his youth when Muhammad Sultan
had revolted against him. He had developed a kind of ' cautious
detachment since childhood. He had thus been able to .see his death
without
, gettmg • affected. ·
J I left Delhi when the call for jehad was raised; Allrangzeb mused,
Iahanara Begum had tried to tell me something but I had notagreed,
t Was a b d , d th th moment I
left f, a omen to hear of Jahanara Begums ea e .
or the D d d h s my sister. Did
she h eccan. Whatever said an one s e wa
ave a p . . Wh kn I had great hopes
of Ak remomt1on of her death? o ows. .
bar. H . h d expected him to
revoI e was a little immature but I a never
t. I tho h Akbar but I was
ug t Azam was capable of it but not '
(
300 N.S. !NAMDAR

. g What was more shocking was to see the

rovtn wron . . . number
P . hO rood by Akbar. I had never imagined people lik B of
eoplew s . e ahad
P . milk brother, to help him to escape from my du h Ur
Khan, my tc es l;
·d ged to escape each thana by a whisker. It was all pr l · e
ha mana e-p anned
d
un ou t b edly,,
and I was forced to cross the Narmada in his pu rsu1.t 1h ,
. 'gh hen I stayed at Burhanpur, the explosion of the am · . . at
m tw . munition
red •n the basement was not a mere accident. It was Allah'
sto t . . s Way of
l·ng me. ,J reached Daulatabad, the city which reminds ..,.. f
warn . "le o the
d of romance in my youth. I am seventy now hut I was in my th· .
ays 1rt1es
then. Hira's embrace was heave~ to me. I st~yed back in Daulatabad
reminiscing the old days. I was m tears hearing from my khojas that
the hillock on which I us~d to roam around freely with Hira is now
called Majnu ka tila, the hill of the romantics. I personally went to
check whether the lamp was being lit daily near Hira's grave and had
fainted seeing the burning lamp. My loyal servants had carried tne
into my raom without making a fuss and letting no one know about
it. I was lucky to have been blessed by Sheikh Zainuddin when I had
prayed at his shrine at Khuldabad. My khoja told me I was drenched
in sweat, kneeling at the grave of the saint. I had a vision of Paigarnbar,
He had pointed me to another grave, a vacant one. I could see myself
;.
'I
lying there. I saw Hazrat Paigambar personally giving a helping hand
in my burial. I was unconscious after that for nearly two days. I had
.\1,,
managed to somehow not let my mansabdars know of this incident.
I had left Daulatabad in a hurry after that. Now my destiny is being
I

'i

I I written by my own Shahzada. I will not stop till I see the Mughal flag
l fluttering on the shores of the ocean. My mansabdars are not loyal, my
l'j
·1 Shahzadas fight amongst each other and the zenankhana is not very

l happy with me. I can see all that but I am helpless. I have to walk ~e
Path 0 f d
my uty as Allah does not permit me to stop working despite
my old age:
Aurangzeb opened his eyes and, caressing his face with h'15 palms,
got up and walked towards his durbar. t rhe
Seeing Anwar he sai'd: 'Give
. the message to Zeenat tha
V SHAHENSHAH 30 l

. eeds sent by Akbar as a gift may be sent

r3-b1a.Jl sc: . . . across to the dar ah
A,/'1.uJdabad, I shall give further instructions later: g
ar iv•

'Jbe camPaign in the south .began with renewed vigour. · Aurangzeb

ha c:ransferred the old officials, used to a life of lu xury, to raraway
d. gs and had promoted new mansabdars in their 1
r

p~
e day a piece of good news reached Aurangzeb• A rew
r sardars
0n
on whose strength SW:bhaji was fighting against the Mughals, defected
andjoined Itikad Khans c~p. The sardars, Kanhoji Dakhani,Jagdevrao
vakbani, Arjoji and Achoy1 were presented before Aurangzeb.
The sardars saluted thrice as soon as they entered the durbar.
Aurangzeb asked, looking at Jagdevrao, 'Whatiis the main reason for
you to leave Sambhaji?'
J\lampanah, we are tired of Sambhaji's style of functioning. He is
ready to punish the slightest of mistakes. We tried our best to explain
to him that our fight against the Mughal might was futile but he is
adamant. We had no option but to leave him and take refuge under you:
'Waah! If all the sardars think likewise, it won't be long,before we
capture the rest of the territory:
Looking at Asad Khan he said, 'I am awarding each of these
sardars a mansab of two thousand soldiers and a cash reward of five
thousand rupiyas:
The sardars received the honours, bowing, when Aurangzeb said,
'Please remember, if you try deceiving me, you will be in great trouble:
Kanhoji Dakhani said, 'We are willing to. swear -with the water
of the Ganga in our palms. We will take up whatever responsibility
you give us:
h 'Remember! Our aim is not to loot the enemy and run away into
t ernount · If h as well return
t ams. you are hoping to do t at, you may
oyour raja:
Arjoii . h 1· d 'Shahenshah,
Zill J ' caressing his luxuriant moustac e rep ie '
e Subh . 1 al Tell us what we
ani, we are willing to prove our oy ry.
302 N .S. IN"M OAlt

__ -.J d· for that. Once we have sworn in loyalty We t..A

necu to o . ' , ,v1arathas
waver in our dunes. t\ever
Aurangzeb was t~mpt~d to give a fitting reply but checked hi
H e. sai'd , 'Your loyalties will be tested soon. I will consi'der You ltllse\f.
you pro . duce Sambha here in chains: 0 ya\ if

'Besl;akl We will do our best:

That night, in Aurangzeb's secret meeting chamber, l-Ianud d .
Khan presented another of Sambhaji's confidants. l-Ie Was u din
an bent with age, wearing a Mughal-style turban and a an old
m , 1oose-fitti
overcoat and pyjamas. Hamiduddin Khan introduced hi 'Lt n~
Mullah Haider. He was Sh1va. Bhos ales' principal
. . advisor ctn, allriel ts
matters.' Q

'I don't understand. You are a Musalman yet you serve under the
kafirs?'
'Huzoor, I intend to leave the Marathas now:
'I am willing to hear you if you apologize for working under the
kafirs:
The kazr looked directly into Aurangzeb's eyes -and said,
'Shahenshah, I worked under Shivaji Raja while he was alive. I never
felt he was a kafir. But things have changed now. I am getting old and
would like to spend the rest of my life in the service of Islam:
'It is good to hear that you have chosen the right path in the last
I
years of your life. will give you a year's time; a probation of sorts. If
I am convinced: of your loyalty, we will see what we can do with you:
Hamiduddin Khan added in the kazi's favour,'Huzoor, he has great
insights into the way the Marathas work. He also knows their territory
like the back of his hand. He will be very useful in our campaign'.
'Hamiduddin Khan, I don't plan my campaigns based on support
·firom enemy camps. But if you so strongly recommend h'im, I have a
few questions for him: . the
s·ltting
. atop a high chair, he asked, 'My men h ave been scoutingrains i
ravi• d h E the haru
nes an t e mountains for the past five years. :ven . ble to get
do not deter ·them. What then is the reason for not being a
Sambha?'
 SH
• AHENSHAH 30
3
1he kazt looked at the floor and mu ttered in
.
h
ed again, 'Mullah Haider, I want a strai h co erently. Aurangz b
ask l d db g t answ . 1h e
try to fuo me, your ea ody will I er. is is a test· 'f
You eave this c , ,I
1he kazi was shaken to the core. He had amp.
"d h. . not expect d h
rning, He sai , 1s voice sounding hel I , e sue a direct
wa p ess, I will t II h
JatoW: e W atever I
'Place your hand on the Quran before
. you speak:
Placing his hand on the holy book the k . .
. az1 said 'A
efforts will never get you Sambha: : ' ny amount of
'Why? Is he a devil incarnate who cannot b
. e seen or caughtt
'That is not the pomt. But as long as the s I f .. ·
u tans o .B1:.1apur and
Golconda are there to support him with meQ. and ..
. , ammunition, you
cannot touch h1m. ·
'Many of his sardars have defected. 'I am told the ryots too are
unhappy with his policies: .
'That may be true. But he took charge just a few years back. Shivaji
Raja had created a strong team. I request you not to assess Sambha's
strength based on the few sardars who have joined you. And about
the ryots; the millions of Hindus here in 'this mountainous region
consider Shivaji their god and are willing to pardon,many ofSambha's
sins.
• I

'I will give you a task to carry out. Will you do it?'
'Whatever you command, Huzoor: . · '
'I want you to correspond with all the Musalmans who are still
loyal to Sambha. Get them on our side. Ask them to leave Sambha's
'

camp and join us in the jehad:

e,G:@.~

Au
rangzeb had received news ofNawab Bais 1
·u
., health but unable
· h l00ked
to arr d . h fi ally visited her, s e
c. • en to It for nearly a week. When e n . h" h'ldren while
irail Shah .d with is c 1
· zada Muazzam stood on one st e
'
8
two begums stood on the other. .d 'Be um, you look
I-folding Nawab Bai's hand, Aurangzeb sai ' g
Very ill:
'1,i

. N5 !NAMDAR
30A · ·

b Bai Jid not answer; instead looked at Auran0'7 'b

Nawai . l . l . h' ...e , her e
filled with tears. A khoJ:t got a ow stoo on w ich Aurangzeb Yes
. . m you take everything to heart. That is why sat and
said, 8egu ' l d . Y0 u do . .
.. on You should fee goo seemg your son, their b not
recover so . h ' egurns and
their children ere.
'Seeing them reminds me of my eldest son:
o . membering Muhammad Sultan, Nawab Bai burst .
"e . into sobs
. ngzeb rumed his face away unable to tolerate the . ·
Aura · ernotton 1
outburst. Aurangzeb had avoided _meeting her because she alwa as
talked of Sultan. But he .had no choice now. He said, 'Begum, tt. seems Y
you don't wish to stay m the cantonment. , If you wish I shall make
arrangements to move you to De1hi. .
'Hazrat, please don't mind me speaking bluntly. I find that desp1te .
my presence here my Shahzada has not been given any special
responsibilities. I worry what his fate will be if I were to rnove away:
'Begum, your constant presence and pampering is not good for the
Shahzada. I had sent him on a mission to Konkan hut he returned
empty-handed:
'I am aware; Nawab Bai said, weakly. 'You had sent Murad Khan
along with him. His failings are being pinned on to my Shahzada:
Aurangzeb glartd at Muazzam who avoided his eyes. He said,
'Begum, he is my Shahzada too but what can I do if he does not follow
orders diligently? Quite obviously, I get annoyed and it hurts you when
ldo so:
'I was hoping you would believe in the loyalty shown by Muazzam
when that Irani begum's Shahzada revolted against you:
'Begum, I treat all my Shahzadas equally, whether he be from tbe
Rajput begum or the Irani begum: .
'B d b he Irant
. ut Hazrat, isn't it a fact that the revolt was le Y t
begum's son?'
'Have you forgotten the ill deeds of your eldest?' l ho
'H d'd . M'
. e 1 not revolt. It was your so-called confidant ir
Jumaw
enticed him into it: fixed his
When she said this no one spoke for a while; Muazzatn
 SHAHENSHAH 305

rht oor, Jhen he said, J\bba Jaah, Begum Sah 1"ba wants
. to
fl
... ,,e of1
!>~ meth.1rtg•,
(C'Joesr 50 bs eves bored into Nawab Bai and then tu d b k
J\llra.ngze , rne ac to
.'I afll waiting to hear what she has to say:
'(.Jawa b Bai said,
,111#za.nl·
"'' . 'Hazrat, I am. .not sure how long·I wi·ll live. I wts
.h
ro sen ...
....,y Shahzada on an independent
. campaign • I am sure h e
d
)1011 Uand come back with honours:
"''·nj\uraPti-
~rewe aZeb knew it .was Muazzam speaking throug·h hi's moth er.
. d bifll co no end knowing that the zenankhana was a r . t'I• .
Ir re . . . , rer 1 e
0und for all kinds of gossip to Bower. He said, I will see to it that

f, Sbabzad,. gets an independent responsibility. If he wins, he will

rove bis right to take charge of the throne and if he loses .. :
p Nawab Bai interrupted, 'He won't. I am sure of it:
Aurangzeb found it difficult to look at Nawab Bai's sunken cheeks,
dull eyes and pale skin,

The news of Aurangzeb's visit to Nawab Bai's quarters reached

UcWpuri. She was agitated hearing what had transpired there. After
mulling over it for a couple of days, she went to meet Zeenat.
Seeing Udaipuri's long face Zeenat asked, 'Begum Sahiba, what's

the matter?'
'I am told Ala Hazrat visited the Rajput begum recently. I know all
her tricks,' Udaipuri said.
'Begum Sahiba, should you not be a little careful before using such
harsh words(
Bavent, you heard? She has managed to convince. the Shahenshah
, er son on an independent campaign. I am told her Shahzad•
tosendh
aJ:mg,
0 to prove his superiority in such a campaign and gain the
, hahs confidence:
I, Begun, Sahiba, AbbaJaan loves each and everyone in the family.
ll1"l1sure he Wt·11 shower you with benefits at the appropriate
. tune,
. ,

to/dh!ne tirne is now. He did not shift to the Deccan for pleasure. I am
ehas discussed big plans in the durbar:
r 306 N.S. IN~MD/\R

t good to spy on the discussions in the durb ,

·tr
. .
1s no . ar.
,·f . l your sister Zebumssa had her ears on the d· .
U on y . tscussi
the durbar. She would not have suffered such a fate'• 0 ns in

~ ,.,.na. t flinched at the memory of what had transpired W1'th her .

17

'Shahzada Muazzam is being sent on a campaign but rn Sh 818ter.

K baksh has not been given • any important
· . task yet l-IY ahzada
.
to sit• m
•. Delhi', Udaipuri continued. nues
'You should be happy. Isn't it good that Kambaksh i
the .battlefield.i r
s away frolll
'Shahzadi, do you think I am naive? Muazzam and Az h
. . . am,
to their campaigns, are m the news all the time and are kn t anks
the sardars, whereas Kambaksh 1s. becoming
. a non-entity: own to all
'But ~e was independently managing the subah of Delhi for a while:
'I want you to request the Shahenshah to give Kamhaksh an
independent assignment. I am confident of his capabilities and
supported by the right sardars, I am sure he will come out triumphant:
Zeenat suppressed a smile: 'I will do as you say but may I suggest
something? Instead of sending him on an independent mission he will
learn alot more if he were to go with my brother Azam. He will not
only get the necessary experience hut also earn my Abba Jaan's favours:
'Go with Azam?' Udaipuri nearly screamed. 'I don't want to make
that mistake. I don't want him to get ideas of revolt from Azam:
Zeenat was hurt hearing Udaipuri, and tears gathered in her eyes.
She said, 'I will do as you say Begum Sahiba hut I request you not to
hurt me further with such insinuations.'

1h
.
e cantonment at Ahmednagar, spread over near1y ten mi'les' was
busy wit· h preparations for the campaign. Temporary worksh0 ps were
,1
I
set up to mould cannons while traders from wrrerent
J:ir countries cameh
. d'1 . h d Dute

i
in to splay their Arabian and Iranian horses. Englis an . h ·
h
mere ants showcased their guns and ammunition. M'ir Ans, ed1
0

arge f ammunition, tested the cannons. The cantonm

O

with activity.

k.
 SHAHENSHAH 3 07

11
aha.I Army was busy recruiting men from th e h J. s wh o had
'Jl,• ,.,u,,
11
Je<P und erstanding of the mountain tracks and the rorts
c . h
m t em
' e r,iar•ch• sardars, who had recently defected to the Mughals:
'l11 d . chese recruitments.
h<Ipe
'jl,eu1
ide• of recruiting locals had been proposed by Ruhullah . Khan
1'/'t.an, Curious to assess these half,naked local ·11 ·
.,,J sad "'' s w, mg to
enfistAon a meagre salary, the Badshah expressed his desire to inspect
ly recruited troops personally.
. along with
'Jhe j\,laratha sardars, . their. new recruits, stood for
inspecdon a few miles from the royal tent. Seeing the Badshah arrive,
die dark-skinned locals threw the1r spears and swords on the ground
and ,aluted him, 'There were nearly two thousand in number. After the
jnspection, the Badshah returning to his tent asked Ruhullah Khan,
'I hope these new recruits are willing to work with complete loyalty!
Jagdevrao, hearing Aurangzeb, stepped forward. ~a Hazrat need
not worry, 1hese Deccani soldiers are known for their loyalty:
'Are you caking complete onus?'
Ji, Huzoor:
'It is fine then: Turning towards his commander he said, .'You may
start their daily wages from today. But warn them - the slightest
doubt about their loyalty, and heads will roll:
On his return to the Gulalbar tent, Aurangzeb stopped to i~spect
the cannons and other ammunition. He turned his horse towards the
local korwali responsible for general law and order. The men, seeing
the Badshah come in unannounced, rushed to receive him,
'Huzoor, we have captured a few men from Pedgaon, We will
present, them m . the d urbar tomorrow morning. . , th '
,Tell me the details right away. I don't believe in postponing ings:
th
• Bahadur Khan's troops encountered a few enemy soldiers as ey
killere crossmg
. the river.
. After a brief skirnush, . JO. whJC. h our peo ple
edafewof h 1h dahundred
of h t em, the rest surrendered. ere are aroun
t em . h ,
'W, , currently being held captive in our makeshift prison ere.
ere theY carrymg
. any important documents,;'
.r1:

jt4;t.MOA R
308 N·S.
d letter written in the Hindavi script. I ha
·we (oun 1 . ' Ve translat
. .. . i for your perusal. ed
it into fars tter to my camp after the evening
· · prayers I . ·u
'Get t he 1e . · wi dis cuss
rhen: k al hed Aurangzeb's tent th
d Kh an and the otw reac ,
from Golcondas Badshah to Sambhaii ng.
The 1etter Was :i • 10 sup
·.• --~-- - .i Adil Shah's fight against the Mughals, the Golcond B Port
su~;u,Clar . . a adshah
Abd Hasan was w1llmg to send twenty thousand of his m
. u1
as extend all the monetary suppo.~t needed. The_Goldonda Badshah
through his letter, urged SambhaJl to support Btjapur. 1he letter als~
mentioned that the Mughals. were a common enemy and Aurangzeb
was cunning enough to decimate each of them separately if they did
not stick together.
Aurangzeb was lost in thought for a while. Then he issued his
order: '.Ask B~adur Khan to take these captured men back to Pedgaon.
Behead them and hang their heads at the entrance of the nearby villages.
Warn the public that anyone opposing the Mughals will be considered
an enemy and meet the same fate. If they do not follow the orders their
\ villages will be burnt down. Ask Bahadur Khan to implement this
within the next two weeks:
\
The kotwal left immediately. Aurangzeb turned towards Asad Khan
saying, 'It seems Sambha is being guided by Shahzada Akbar. Mullah
Haider's advice was right; we cannot do anything to Akbar as long as
Sambha has the support of the Badshahs of Golconda and Bijapur'.
Asad Khan nodded in agreement. It was late evening when the
meeting was over.

Zeenat got t he opportunity

. she had been waiting
. . ror.
c 1hursday
· . bletn5 at
mornings were assigned by the Badshah for resolving pro
h . • s was
. t. e Zenankhana. Shamim, responsible for the dai·1Y activ1t1e d' 5~d
6. . h d. an
~ust ms ing up with the Badshah when Zeenat wall<e in
Takhliya'· She wanted complete privacy.
.
Shamim walked away leavmg
. them alone.