Page 50 - SST Class 07
P. 50
and gave them seats of honour in his
,
administration. Raja Man Singh Raja Todar Mal etc.
were Rajputs who got high posts in his
administration. Not only this, he established
marriage relations with the Rajputs. He himself
married Jodhabai , the daughter of the ruler of
Amber. But he never shied away from undertaking
military campaigns against those rulers who
refused to accept his authority. He fought with
Rana Pratap in 1576.
Akbar conducted military campaigns against Ibadatkhana at Fatehpur Sikri
Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, Sindh, Odisha, Central respect. So, he decided to found a new path called
India and Kandahar (Afghanistan) and annexed Din-i-Ilahi or the Faith of One God. He wanted to
them to his empire. In the Deccan, he conquered show himself to be the religious guide of the
Khandesh, Berar and Ahmednagar. At the same people. Akbar propagated universal peace through
time, he maintained friendly relations with the this faith. It was similar to Ashoka’s policy of
rulers in Central Asia, Persia and with many Rajput Dhamma . He never forced anybody to join this
rulers, such as Bikaner. faith. Raja Birbal joined this faith, but Raja Man
Singh openly disapproved of it. Din-i-Ilahi was
Religion : Akbar was a wise ruler. He had a liberal more of a code of conduct than a faith.
outlook. He knew that the majority of his subjects
were Hindus, so he had to adopt a policy of Din-i-Ilahi did not have a large following even
tolerance and peaceful coexistence. So, he treated during Akbar’s time, and it faded out after his
the people of all religions on an equal footing and death.
dealt with them on merit. He was of the view that
religion is a private matter of an individual. He Just Think!
gave them freedom to worship as they liked.
In order to manifest his secular outlook, Akbar What do you learn from Akbar’s religious belief?
abolished the pilgrim tax and jaziya which were Art and Architecture : Akbar patronised art and
imposed on the Hindus. He abolished the practice painting. He established karkhanas where artists
of converting the prisoners of war to Islam forcibly. and painters from India and abroad worked in
He participated in the Hindu festivals and allowed cooperation, thus givings form to a new type of
them to be celebrated in his palace. He allowed his fusion. Miniature paintings too flourished as new
Hindu queens complete religious freedom. He got books were written during Akbar’s reign. The chief
the Hindu sacred texts translated into Persian so subjects of paintings were scenery from royal
that the ideas were communicated between courts, battles and wildlife.
communities. He never interfered with the building
of temples and even gave grants to them. Akbar built his capital town at Fatehpur Sikri near
Agra. It has many fine buildings of red
Akbar’s secular outlook made him take interest in sandstone—Buland Darwaza, Panch Mahal,
different religions. He got the Ibadatkhana (the Jodhabai’s Palace, Diwan-i-khas etc. He got
hall of worship) built at Fatehpur Sikri. In the buildings constructed at other places also, such as
beginning he invited only the Muslim scholars, but Humayun’s Tomb at Delhi, Red Fort at Agra, a fort
later he started to invite the scholars of different at Allahabad etc. The chief features of his
religions to tell about their religions and discuss architecture were the fusion of Persian and Indian
with the members of other religions. styles. The buildings were built on a raised
After learning the basic principles of all religions, platform surrounded by gardens. This fusion also
he came to the conclusion that all religions possess influenced the construction of some temples, such
the similar principles of peace, love and mutual as the Govind Dev Temple at Vrindavan.
Contemporary Social Science-7
50
