Gi

ri
shKar
nad'
sTughl
aq
GirishKar nad‘ sTughl aqi sar epr esent ati
onofoneoft hemosti mpor tantbutnev ertheless
negl ect edper iodsofI ndianhi story .ther ei
gnoft hefour t
eent hcent uryMughal
emper orMuhammad- Bin-Tughl aqr emai nst il
ldateoneoft hemostt urbulentper iodsofhi stor y
.
Thi sist hef ir
standmostsi gni f
icantpl ayint hepost -
independenceper i
odt ohav eengagedwi th
theSul tanateper iodi nIndi anhi stor y.thisper i
odbr oughtanendt ot he‗ gol denage‘ ofclassi cal
Hindui sm andi ntroducedI sl am asadomi nantf orce.Thisisoneoft hemosti mpor tantphases
ofI slami cimper i
alism i nI ndi a,buti tremai nsnegl ectedint henat ional i
magi narybecauseoft he
attent iongi vent ot hel aterMughal andBr i
tishimper i
alism.I nthenar rati
veoft heli
f eand
achi ev ement soft heeccent ricSul t an, Karnadsawt hepossi bi
li
tiesofcr eatingadr amaabout
cont empor arypol itical t
ur moi l
.Whi leKar nadecl ecti
call
ybor rowsf rom av ariet
yofsour cesl ike
Zia-ud- din-Bar ani‘scont empor aneousaccountofTughl aqi nTaqi kh- IFer ozShahi (1357) ,he
alsof reel
ybl endsf actandf ict i
ont ogi vethest oryacont empor ar yr elevance.Thepl ay,t
hen,
repr esent sthehopesanddi sappoi ntment si nthepol i
ti
cal li
feoft heNehr uvianerai nIndian
politics.Itv oicest hedi sill
usi onmentoft hepeopl eofKar nad‘sgener ati
onwi thNehr u‘sideal ism.
Thepl ayi sacommentoft hepol i
tical scenar i
ooft hetwodecadesaf t
erindependence, under
Nehr u‘sleader shi p.Nehr u‘sv ulner abi l
itytof ai
lure,i
nspi teofov er -archingambi t
ionandan
uncompr omi singi nt el
lecti spar alleledwi t
ht hatofTughl aq.Kar nad‘ sTughl aqisasi gnif
icant
i
nt erv enti
oni nhi stor y,asal soasi t ef orthedev el
opmentofacr eat i
v eanal ogybet weent hepast
andt hepr esent .Thecont empor anei t
yascr ibedt oahi stori
cal si
t uat ionmakest hepl ayuni que.

Scene-
wiseAnal
ysi
soft
hePl
ay

Scene-
I

Thissceneopensi nf r
ontoft heChi efCour tofJust iceinDel hi
,wher eagr oupofpr e-domi nantl
y
Musl im citizensshar etheirv i
ewsont hepol i
ticalclimat eoft heregi on.Thef ewHi nduci ti
zens
areal soinv olvedint hi
scasual exchangeofdi alogues.Theydi scussi ndetailthepol ici
esoft he
Sultanandt hei
rsev erali
mpl icat i
ons.Tughl aq‘sbenev olencet oHi ndusi scriti
quedf rom various
perspect ives.Tughlaqannouncest heproposedshi ftofcapi talfrom Del hitoDaul atabad, since
Daul atabadhadamaj ori
tyofHi ndupopul ation.Hepr ojectshi smagnani mi t
ytowar dsHi ndus
andappr opr iat
esthisqual it
yasapol it
icalstrategy .Thi sdeci si
onofhi si sconstant lyviewed
withdi sfavourbymanyofhi sMusl im subjects.Hi swhi msi cali
tyandi deali
sm ar eopenl y
condemned.Azi z,t
hef oiltot hechar acterofTughl aq, i
sal sointroducedi nthisscene.He
appear si nt heguiseofaBr ahmi nandhewi nsacaseagai nstt heSul tanhimsel f.Thi sisa
parodyoft heSul t
an‘sdecl arationt hathecanal sobeacqui t t
edi nthecour tofjustice.Azi ztraps
Sultani nhi sownnoose.Hewi nst hegamet hatt heSul tanhadst artedi naf i
tofambi t
iousness.
Azizandhi scl oseassoci ateAazam ar ethenseenshi ftingt heirattentiontowar dsmaki ng
moneybydecei vi
ngpeopl eont heirwayt oDaul atabad, thenewcapi t
al.

Scene-
II
Thesceneshi f
tsf rom t hepubl icspaceoft hecour ttoTughl aq‘schamberi nhi spal ace, wher e
hei sseenpl ayingchess.Thegameofchessi sapower fulsymbol i
nt hepl ay,whi chcoul dbe
per ceiv edassy mpt omat icoft heSul t
an‘sal i
enat i
onf rom hi ssur r
oundi ngs.I nmostoft he
i
mpor tantscenes, hei sfoundi sol atedfrom t her estofhi skingdom andpassi onat elyi nv olvedin
thegameofchess.Tughl aq‘sst ep- motherr eprimand‘ shi mf orhisr eckl essnessi nmat tersof
hisownsecur i
ty.Sher ebukeshi mf ornotinitiati
ngact iont ocount erAi n-ul -
Mul k‘sant icipated
attackonTughl aq‘ ski ngdom.MuhammadNaj i
bt hepol i
tici
anandZi a-ud- dinBar ani the
histor ian,twoi mpor tantacquai nt ancesoft heSul tan, ar eintroducedi nt hisscene.Theyof fer
differentper spect ivesonasi ngl ei ssueandt heref orer epresentconf li
ct i
ngpoi nts-of-viewon
political mat ters.Whi leNaj ibi sr ational,pragmat i
c, andashr ewdcont r
iv er, Barani isf ull of
humansy mpat hyandconcer nf ort heSul t
anandhi skingdom.Naj ibi samanofact ion, wher e
asBar ani i
samanoff orethoughtandr estraintincour tlymat ters.Naj ibi sact i
v el
yi nvol v edin
plot t
ingandcont ri
v i
ngpol i
tical strategiesandpl ansf ort heSul t
an.Tughl aq‘ scr i
meofpar rici
de
i
sment ionedi nt hisscene, andhi si nsecurityandeccent ri
cit
iesar er eferr edt o.Hemur der shis
ownf atherandbr otherf orthecauseoft her eal
izat i
onofhi spol it
ical ambi tion.Thest ep-
mot her ‘
sanxi etiesov erthewhi msi calnatur eofTughl aqar eaddr essedt oBar ani,inwhoshe
conf ides.Sheadv i
sesBar ani tokeepTughl aqawayf rom someofhi sadv isors, whomi ght
mi sleadhi m.

Scene-
II
I

SheikhI mam- ud-dinmeet sTughl aqi nDel hi,andt hismeet ingt urnsoutt obeast rategicpointin
thepl ay.Hei sthehar shestcr i
ticoft heSul tanandhi spol icies.Heopenl yaccusesTughl aqof
parricideandi nflamest hehat redofhi sopponent s.Hei sconsi deredt obet hechi efagenti n
stir
ringthef i
resofdi scont entint hekingdom.Bot hShei khandTughl aqwai tinfrontofa
mosquef oranant i
cipatedaudi ence.Tughl aqsupposedl yar rangedt hismeet ingsot hatSheikh,
hishar shestcr i
ti
c, coul dmeethi ssubj ectsandaddr esst hem i nagat her ing.TheShei khis
disappoi ntedasnotasi nglelistenert urnsupatt hepr oposedhouroft hemeet i
ng.Hebl ames
Tughl aqf orhav i
ngcr afti
l
ymanagedt okeepawayhi scitizensf rom hi saddr ess.Whatappear s
tobeTughl aq‘sopennessandmagnani mityisi nfactacunni nglycont rivedpol i
ti
cal mov e.
Sheikhaccuseshi m ofbei ngun- I
slami candofchal l
engi ngt hecent r
al tenetsoft her eli
gion.
Bothoft hem engagei nawi tt
yr eparteej ustify
ingt heirownposi ti
ons. Towar dst heendoft he
sceneTughl aqconv incesShei kh, whosephy si
cal attri
but esr esembl et hoseofhi s,togocount er
Ain-ul-Mul k‘
sat tacki nt heguiseoft heSul tan.Hepur por tedlyrequest shi mt oactasa
messengerofpeace.Ther ati
onal eforhi swei rddeci sion, i
nTughl aq‘sopi nion,wast hatAin-ul
-
Mul kwi l
l nev erpr oceedwhenheseest heShei kh,ahol yman, conv eyingamessageofpol i
ti
cal
compr omi se.

Scene-
IV

TheStep-
mothershar
esheranxiet
iesaboutTughl
aqwithShi
hab-
ud-di
n, anot
hercourt
ier
.The
suddenandunexpect
eddeathofSheikhImam-ud-
dini
sannouncedinthisscene.I
mam- ud-di
n‘
s
deathi
stest
imonytothesuccessoftheSulan‘
spl
ans.TheSul
tancunninglypl
otsShei
kh‘s
deathi nthebat t
lefi
eldi
nabi dtocounterAin-ul
-Mul k,
andiseasil
yandef fort
lesslyabsolv
edof
hisgui l
t.Thismur derbyTughlaqacquaint
st hereaderswiththedarkersideofhi scharacter
.Hi
s
soaringambi t
ioncompel shimt ocurbal
ldi
ssensi on,andthi
sisast epinthatdirecti
on.The
actual r
easonf orSheikh‘sdeathinthebat
tl
ef i
eldandt heSult
an‘shandinthemur derar
e
explainedi nsomedet ailbyRatansi
ngh,whonar ratestheeventstoShihab-ud-di
nandsay sthat
i
twasacl everl
yconceivedmur der.

Scene-
V

Thesceneshi ft
st oahousei nDel hi ,
wher eSi hab- ud-dinandRat ansi ngh, theAmi rsandt he
Say yi
dsar einv olvedi nadi scussi ont hataimst ocur bthet yrannyoft heSul tan.TheAmi rs
attempttoi nf l
uenceShi hab- ud- dinbyt al
kingaboutt headv erseef fect soft heSul tan‘spol icies
ont hem.Theypr ojecttheSul tanasbl asphemous, andi mpl oreShi hab- ud- dintoactont heir
behalf.Theyr ev eal theunder bellyoft heSul t
an‘sseemi ngl
yt olerantnat ure.TheSul tanhad
preventedt heci ti
zensf r
om at tendi ngShei kh‘saddr essev enashewaswai ti
ngi nf r
ontoft he
GreatMosqueandget t
ingdi sappoi ntedast heydi dnott urnupf ort hegat her i
ng.Fi r
esof
discontentaboutt heSul t
an‘st yrannical behav iouranddespot icdomi nat ionar eseent osoar
highinthisscene.Thepr oposedshi ftofcapi talfrom Del hitoDaul at abadi sv igor ouslydebat ed.
Intheopi nionoft heAmi r
s, thisshi ftisat rapt odi s-empowert hem, sinceDaul atabadi sapl ace
withamaj orityofHi ndupopul ation.TheAmi r
s, alongwi t
hRat ansinghsuccessf ullymanaget o
persuadeShi hab-ud- dintoengagei nt heplotoft hemur deroft heSul tan.I tisdeci dedby
commonconsensust hatTughl aqwoul dbemur deredont hedayofhi sDur bar-i-
khas, att he
ti
meofpr ay er.AlthoughShi hadst r
ongl yopposessuchamov e,heev ent uallycondescendst o
theplan.Thepl ani spresent edasadv ancingt hecauseofI slam, andt hemur deroft heSul tani s
presentedasanactofdel i
v er ancef r
om t yrannyandi nsecur i
ty.Towar dst heendoft hescene,
Shihabisst illi
nt womi ndsaboutt heappr opr iatenessoft hepr oposedactofmur der.

Scene-
VI

TheAmi rsmeett heSultanf ort heDur bar-i

-khas,andv ari
ousi ssuesaret akenupf ordi scussion
andnegot i
ation.Thesul tanannouncest hatcoppercur r
encywoul dbei ntroducedi nhis
kingdom andt hatitwillhav ethesamev alueassi lverdi
nars.Thismov ef urtherdisappoi ntsthe
Ami rs.Shihab-ud-dinadv i
sest heSul t
annott omov etoDaulatabad,asi tmightinvitethehat red
ofmanyofhi sciti
zens.TheSul tanremai nsadamantaboutt hepr oposedshi f
tanddoesn‘ tli
sten
tothesuggest i
onmadebyShi hab.TheAmi rs,
alongwi t
hShi habinit
iat
et hepl anforthemur der
byt het i
meoft hemuezzi n‘scal l f
orprayer,butar eimmedi atelyhel
dcapt i
vebySul tan‘sHi ndu
soldiers.Shihab-ud-dinismer cil
esslystabbedbyt heSult
anhi mselfinaf itofrage.Tughl aq
emer gesasabr uteandamer cilessmur der eri
nt hisscene.Anyamountofsy mpat hyt hatthe
reader smighthav ehadf orhi mi ntheear li
erscenesi slostafterthi
sepi sode.Heannounces
thatthecor psesofal ltheconspi r
atorsmustbehangedpubl iclyforpeopl etolearnal esson.He
alsobansal l prayerinhisKi ngdom, butNaj ibadv i
seshimt osuspendal lprayerti
llthe
anticipatedarrivalofGhiy as-ud-dinAbbasi d, adescendentoft heKhal i
fa.
Scene-
VII

Theset t
ingforthi sscenei sther outef r
om Del hitoDaul atabad, wher eAziz,sti
lldr
essedasa
Brahminswi ndlesi nnocentcitizensont hei
rwayt ot henewcapi t
al andmakesmoneyoutofi t
.
Azizispresentedasawor l
dly-
wi seandcunni ngperson.Hel ivesbycheat ingot her
sof thei
r
money .Hemani pulatest heorder sanddeci sionsoft heSul tanandconspeopl eint henameof
l
aw.WhenAazam quest ionshi m, heanswer s: ―You‘vebeeni nDel hi f
orsomanyy earsand
you‘r
easst upidasev er.Lookatme.Onl yafewmont hsi nDel hiandIhav edi scoveredawhol e
newwor ld—politics!Mydearf ell
ow, that‘swher eourf ut
urei s—politics!I
t‘
sabeaut i
f ul
wor l
d—weal t
h,success, posit
ion, power—andy etit‘
sf ul
lofbr ainl
esspeopl e, peopl
ewi t
hnotan
i
deai ntheirhead. ‖Hesuf f
ici
entlyjusti
fieshisactionsandi nventsnewmet hodsofcheat i
ng
fel
lowcitiz
enswi thev er
ychangi ngci rcumst ance.

Scene-
VII
I

Thescenequi cklyshif
t stoDaul at
abad, t
henewcapi tal
.Thet wosent ri
esguar dingt hef ort
commentont hepr ogressionofev entsont hewayt oDaul atabad.Thef ami l
yoft heol derof f
ici
al
diedont hewayandheconsi dershimsel ftobeunf ortunat eenought ohav esur viv edt his
calami ty.Theydi scusst her atherunhappyandsombr est ateofaf f
airsint hef ort.Tughl aq
suddenl yar r
ivesont hespotandopenshi shear toutt ot hey oungsent ry:―Ni neteen.Ni ceage!
Anagewheny out hinky oucancl aspthewhol eworldi ny ourpal ml i
kear aredi amond.Iwas
twent y-onewhenIcamet oDaul atabadfirst,andbui ltthisf ort.Isupervisedt hepl acingofev ery
brickini tandIsai dtomy self,onedayIshal lbui
ldmyownhi storyli
ket his,brickbybr ick.He
remi niscesthemomentwhenhehadar rivedwi t
hhi scitizenst oDaulatabad.Hewas
over fl
owi ngwithhopeandent husiasm, whichev entuallydi edout .Hisdi sturbedandper pl
exed
stateofmi ndisexposedi nt hisscene.Hesuf fersfrom qual msofconsci enceandi nneragony .
Thenewsofar miesmar chingt owar dshiski ngdom unner v eshi m.Heconf i
desi nBar ani,the
historian,whopr ov i
dest imel yadv i
cetohi m bysuggest ingt hatitishight imeheconsi dered
givingupt heruthlessbloodshedandmur der.Thesceneendswi ththeshocki ngnewsoft he
suddenmur derofNaj ib,thecour t
ierandacl oseassoci ateofTughl aq.

Scene-
IX

AzizandAazam wai tfor―goods‖whi chwer esupposedtoar ri

v esoon.Theydi scussv ari
ous
met hodsofmaki ngal iv
ingbycheat ingpeopl eandAzizisex posedt obemi schievously
i
ntelli
gent.Azi zordersGhi yas-ud-di
nAbbasi d, t
hepersonclaimingt obet hedescendantoft he
Khalif
atobeki dnapped.Amanar ri
veswi ththe―goods‖ ,
i.
e.Abbasi d,andhandshi m overto
Aziz.Azizt henmur dershi m anddr esseshi mselfupasGhiy as-ud-di
nAbbasi d.Disguise,whi
ch
formsani ntegralpartofthet heatri
cal t
echniquesusedinthepl ay
, i
sonceagainusedt o
magni f
yt het hemeofpar al
leli
sm bet weenAzi zandtheSultan.Azi zonceagai ncleverly
managest omani pulatetheor dersoftheSul tan.Hemakest hebestst rategi
cuseoft hepoli
ti
cal
cli
mat eofDaul at
abadandst epsi nthedi sgui
seofahol ymanwhowasi nvit
edbyt heSul t
an.
Theobser vanceofpr ayerwoul donlyber esumedaf t
erthear ri
valofthi
smuch- awaitedguest.
Scene-
X

TheSt ep-mot herquest i

onsTughl aqandr eprimandshi mf orhiserrat
icandi l
logical behav i
our .
Thepr oposal ofequat i
ngt hevalueofcoppercoi nsandsi l
verdinarshadl edtoahugepr obl em.
Ar oundf i
vehundr edcar tsofcount er f
eitcoinshadt obeexchangedf orsi l
verdinar s,andt he
step-mot herf earst hismi ghtadv erselyaf f
ectt heeconomy .Tughlaqisdisturbedbyt hedeat hof
Naj i
b,hisadv iseri npol i
tical
mat ter s.Heor der smanyoft heAmi r
sandt heirfami l
iest obeki l
led
fornotbei ngabl etor ev ealt
henameoft hemur der er.Onhear i
ngofthesei nnumer abledeat hs,
thest ep-mot herr evealst hefactthatshehadNaj ibpoi sonedt odeathassheappr ehended
furtherv i
olence.Tughl aqi sfurt
heragoni zedbyt hisr evelati
on.Hei stornapar tandbecomes
ment allyunst able.Heor dershert obest onedt odeat hf orhercr i
me.Tughl aqisf urtherisolated
from hi ssurroundi ngs.Hegoest ot heext entofev enmur der i
nghisstep-mot her,oneoft hev ery
fewpeopl ecloset ohi m.Heappear stobehel pless: ―God, Godi nHeav en,pl
easehel pme.
Pleasedon‘ tletgoofmyhand.Myski ndripswi thbl oodandIdon‘ tknowhowmuchofi ti smi ne
andhowmuchofot hers.Istart
edi nYourpat h,Lord, whyam Iwander ingnakedi nt hi
sdeser t
now?Ist artedi nsear chofy ou.Whyhav eIbecomeapi gr olli
nginthi
sgor ymud?Rai seme.
Cleanme.Cov ermewi t
hYourI nf i
ni t
eMer cy .Icanonl yclut chatthehem ofYourcl oakwi thmy
bloodyf i
ngersandpl ead.Icanonl ybeg—hav epi tyonme.Ihav enoonebutYounow.Onl yYou.
Onl yYou…You…You…You…‖Bar ani announcest hatt hedescendantoft heKhal ifhasar ri
vedand
i
ti sat imef orr esumi ngpr ayerint heki ngdom.

Scene-
XI

Theci t
izensdonotr ejoiceonhear i
ngt henewsoft hear ri
val oftheholyman.Theyar efurther
perplexedbecausei nt heiropinion,prayeri
snotabef it
ti
ngsol utionfordeat handf ami
ne.
Peopl ehav ebeenmer cilesslymur dered,manyot hershav estar v
edt odeat hint helongrun.
Prayercannomor esav etheirstarvingframes.Tughl aqwel comesAbbasi d, whoi sAzizin
disguise.Heuseshi ghf lownwor dsandhonor arytit
lesf orhim, which,seeni nthecont extofthe
play,soundhi l
ari
oussi ncet hereader sareawareoft hef actthati ti
sAzizindi sguise.AHi ndu
womanwhol ostherchi ldont hewayt oDaulat
abadr ecognizesAzi z,butissilenced.Riots
foll
owt hisepisode,sincet hisissupposedt obey etanot hercl ev
er l
ycontri
v edmeasur eat
defeatingthewi l
loftheci ti
zens.

Scene-
XII

Aazam makespl ansforescapefrom thepalacewi t

hAzi z.Azizr
esiststheseattemptsbecause
hebel i
evesheiscomfortabl
yplacedint heSultan‘
scust ody.Moreover,Aazam‘ssudden
disappearancemaygiverisetoquestions.Aazam voiceshisfearofbei ngrecogni
zed,whereas
Azi zi
scontentedwi
thhiscircumstances.Aazam realizestheseriousnessofthesituati
onand
pleadswi t
hAziztoescape,butAzizisconfidentenoughnott oev enconceiveofany t
hingl
i
ke
this.

Scene-
XII
I
Theunexpect edassassi nationofAazam br ingsAzi zt ot heSul t
an.Hi sidenti
tyisquest i
oned
andAzi zseemst obecaught .Azi zclever l
yabsol veshi mselfofal lcrimebyel oquent lyarguing
thathehasbeent het r
uedi sci pleoft heSul tan,sincehehasunf l
inchinglyobserv edeachand
ev eryorderofhis.Hewasadi sciplewhocl oselyimi tatedtheact i
onsoft heSul tanhi mself,
obey edev erybidofhi sandst oodbyev erylaw.Her ev ealst hefactt hatwhent heSul tan
declar edtheonenessofal lr eligions, he,acommondhobi ,wast hef ir
sttofi
leasui tagainstthe
Sul t
ani nthegarbofaBr ahmi n.Het henpr oducedcount erfeitcurrencyandobey edt henewl aw.
Hepl underedpeopleoft hei rweal thandbel ongi ngsont hewayt oDaul atabad.Exhaust edwi t
h
allthis,hekill
edAbbasi dandappear edi nthegar bofahol yman.Onbei ngaskedwhat
puni shmentwoul dbet hemostappr opr iateforhi m, her equest stheSul t
ant opromot ehimt o
thepostofanof f
icer.TheSul tan,amazedatt hisgeni usandhi sdeeds, appointshi mt heoff i
cial
ofDeccan. EvenBarani, t
heonl ysurviv i
ngcompani onofTughl aq,leaveshim.Tughl aq‘sisolati
on
i
scompl et
eandhei sadi f
fer entbei ngal toget her.AsTughl aqt ri
est ogetthef orbiddensl eep,
thecal lfortheprayerishear dandhef allsasleep.Af tert hepr ayer,Tughlaqget supconf used
from hi sdeepsleep.