THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MUGHAL EMPIREmountain fortresses and paid Aurangzeb his respects at his court, which
was then still in Delhi. Aurangzeb granted him a low rank in the imperial
hierarchy (mansab of 500) and hoped to have bought him over in this way.
But Shivaji escaped from Delhi hidden in a basket; back in Pune, he
consolidated his hold on the countryside.
For the time being he had to avoid forays and so, in their place, he
introduced a tough land revenue system. The peasants had to deliver half
their produce to government storehouses and, when sold, this produce
gave a handsome income to the government. But the peasants also got
rural credit from the government in order to enhance their production,
which would improve their capacity to contribute more revenue. With a
good resource base of this kind Shivaji once more expanded his martial
pursuits and in 1674 he performed a great coronation ceremony with all
the ritual befitting a Hindu king. He consciously emphasised the religious
aspect of his military ventures and claimed to fight for the Hindus
against Muslim rule.
Aurangzeb who had given up the tolerant policy of his predecessors and
had reintroduced the hated jizya (poll tax) for Hindus, exacerbated this
religious confrontation. Actually, Aurangzeb did not stop cooperating
politically with Hindu princes and he did not spread his faith with his
sword. Shivaji on the other hand, did not mind having a Muslim ally when
the sultan of Golconda supported his campaign in South India, where
Shivaji’s father had held a fief in Tanjore which he claimed as his heritage.
But, in general, Aurangzeb and Shivaji were perceived as protagonists of
Islam and Hinduism respectively and their confrontation helped to
highlight this fact. When Shivaji died in 1680 his ambitions remained
unfulfilled: had he lived, he would surely have extended his sway at the
expense of Golconda and Bijapur. In the end, it was left to Aurangzeb to
conquer these sultanates.
In the year of Shivaji’s death Aurangzeb was challenged by his son
Akbar. Instead of fighting rebellious Rajputs as Aurangzeb had told him to
do, Akbar had fled south and had joined hands with Shivaji’s son and heir,
Sambhaji. Akbar wanted to depose Aurangzeb with the help of Rajputs
and Marathas and restore the tolerant policy of his great namesake. But
this proved to be a futile dream. Aurangzeb defeated Akbar and tortured
Sambhaji so that he died a painful death; he then extended his southern
campaign and annexed Golconda and Bijapur. It was at this stage that he
made Aurangabad his capital.
Shahuji, Sambhaji’s son, lived as a hostage at Aurangzeb’s court. He
grew up as a mild-mannered courtier in the shadow of the Great Mughal.
But later on it was under his guidance that great leaders arose who put an
end to the Mughal empire.
Aurangzeb died in 1707 at the age of 89. His modest tomb is at the
roadside near Aurangabad. In striking contrast to his predecessors he