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Dear Readers, 

               The subject that I touched upon in my last post is a very dear one to my heart and so I wish to add some more to its content.  Many scholars like me would have come across events, anecdotes, love-stories, tales of sacrifices etc which exemplify the shared lives of Hindus and Muslims. I am always on the look out for such pieces of information and my delight knows no bounds when I lay my hands on one. Here, I would like to share two impressive incidents which in my opinion exhibit medieval chivalry and honor in its utmost pristine form.

               Both these stories are taken from the same period in history, ie. the last quarter of the seventeenth cetury. Aurangzeb Badshah was determined to impose a strong central control over Hindustan. In pursuit of the same policy he was all set to bring the entire territory of Marwar( kingdom of Jodhpur) under direct central administration after the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in Afghanistan . This precipitated Mughal-Rathore rivalry which dragged on for more than three decades. 

               A minor son of Jaswant Singh was taken into custody by the Mughals at Delhi so that he could not claim the gaddi of Marwar and thus become a rallying point for the cavaliers par excellence, the Rathores. Surprisingly, Aurangzeb put the little child in charge of Zebunnissa, his beloved daughter and a princess wielding enormous power in the royal harem. 

               A few years later when Aurangzeb was successful in quelling the rebellion of his son Shahzada  Akbar(who was aided by the Rathores), he asked for his grandchildren who were left behind in Marwar. Durgadas Rathore, the flag-bearer of Marwar's anti-imperialist struggle, gracefully conducted the children to Delhi. They comprised of a boy and a girl. When Aurangzeb entrusted an Ulama with the task of giving religious instructions to them, he was surprised to know that they had allready memorised the Quran by heart. The Rajputs back at Jodhpur had facilitated an orthodox Islamic education for the Mughal offspring.  

                       I leave it unto you to interpret the connotations of these two acts which seriously challenge our contemporary opinion, attitudes and behaviour.....