Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had kept his own father Shahjahan in jail.
Today America’s bullying is in discussion. The way the Venezuelan President was captured and imprisoned through military action, defying all rules and regulations, is in itself against international laws. Apart from Venezuela, heads of states of many nearby countries are also on America’s target. This is an extreme situation in the modern world, when the army of a powerful country abducts the head of state of a small country from his home. It feels like we have gone back several hundred years. When people from Britain, France, Spain, Portugal etc. arrived on the pretext of trade and then gradually took control of the entire country. Dozens of such examples are found all over the world. It was the British who arrested the Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar in India and sent him to Rangoon.
Let us know how many Mughal emperors were taken hostage or kept in jail under the pretext of the expansionist system going on in the world? How his pride of being powerful was broken.
331 years of rule, 19 Mughal emperors, seven were imprisoned
Babar laid the foundation of Mughal rule in India in the year 1526. The Mughals ruled for a total of 331 years. During this period, a total of 19 kings sat on the throne. The longest rule was of Akbar and Aurangzeb. Both of them ruled for about 50 years each. Then there came a time when three kings ascended the throne and disappeared in the same year. This year was 1719. Rafi-ur-Darjaat and Shahjahan II sat and ascended or were deposed in this year. Then came the turn of Mohammad Shah who ruled for about 27 years from 1719 to 1748. Out of these nineteen kings, there were seven who were imprisoned by themselves and their own people and snatched away their power.
The game of imprisoning the kings started after 125 years
In the early centuries of Mughal rule, the emperor was synonymous with power, but around the year 1658, about a hundred years after the establishment of the Mughal Sultanate, succession wars, court intrigues, increasing autonomy of provincial chieftains, pressure from Marathas-Afghans and finally the rise of British power gradually turned the throne of Delhi into a symbol. The most acute sign of this decline is that many Mughal emperors themselves were made prisoners within the walls of the fort or palace. In those days, the court-designated prison system did not exist everywhere like it does today.
Aurangzeb is said to be the most cruel emperor of the Mughal Empire.
There is mention in history of even rulers being subjected to cruelties like forced detention in a fort or palace, removal from power, keeping them under guard, gouging out eyes, mutilation of body parts etc. There are at least seven Mughal emperors who were imprisoned or kept hostage after the change of power. Sometimes by his own family or the rich, sometimes by external forces.
Emperor Shahjahan.
Shahjahan: son Aurangzeb imprisoned
In the succession war between Dara Shikoh versus Aurangzeb, Aurangzeb won. After that Shahjahan was put under house arrest in Agra Fort. He remained there till his death (1666). This incident became the most symbolic turning point of the power struggle between father and son in the Mughal tradition. Shahjahan wanted Dara Shikoh to get the throne. Aurangzeb did not like this initiative of his father. As a result, he decided to fight his brother for the throne. In this struggle he imprisoned his father. After a lot of bloodshed, he got the throne and due to his skill he continued to rule India for a long time.
Jahandar Shah: captivity and end as soon as he fell from the throne
After Aurangzeb, the succession tradition had become unstable. This is the story of the year 1712-1713, when Mughal ruler Jahandar Shah was defeated by the powerful groups rising in favor of Farrukhsiyar. After the defeat, he was captured and imprisoned and then he was killed. it shows That sitting on the throne was no longer a guarantee of power, the winning factions had become the real decision makers.
Bahadur Shah Zafar II was kept in captivity by the British. Photo: Getty Images
Farrukhsiyar: Kingmaker Syed brothers got him imprisoned
He clashed with the Sayyid brothers who brought Farrukhsiyar to power. As a result he was deposed and imprisoned. The king was subjected to cruelty during his imprisonment. It is even recorded in history that even his eyes were gouged out. This was the period when the emperor had become like a seal. All decisions were taken in collaboration with powerful people like Wazir etc.
Ahmed Shah Bahadur: Dethroned, imprisoned, eyes gouged out
Till the middle of the 18th century, the power of Delhi was in the hands of court factions. One emperor was Ahmed Shah Bahadur, whose reign was from 1748 to 1754. But there was little movement. This emperor was removed from the throne and kept imprisoned in Salimgarh Fort. Tortures were given. There is mention in history of this ruler also being blinded. Salimgarh was used as a prison in the later Mughal period.
Shah Alam II: Held hostage and eyes gouged out in the Red Fort
The life of Shah Alam II is a mixed document of Mughal name and actual helplessness. In the year 1788, during the capture of Delhi, Rohilla Sardar Ghulam Qadir took Shah Alam hostage in the Red Fort and treated him very humiliatingly. There is also information recorded about Shah Alam II being blinded. This incident became the most painful scene of the public collapse of Mughal prestige.
Mahmood Shah Bahadur: First imprisoned, then puppet, imprisoned again
Puppet kings were installed many times in Delhi politics. In 1788, Shah Alam II was deposed and Mahmud Shah Bahadur (Jahan Shah) was made the nominal emperor. The important fact is that he was earlier imprisoned in Salimgarh Fort in 1754 and was imprisoned again after the turmoil of 1788.
Bahadur Shah Zafar: British imprisonment, trial, exile
After the rebellion of 1857, the British captured Bahadur Shah Zafar and imprisoned him. He was kept as a prisoner. There was a trial and then he was deported to Rangoon and kept in prison practically for life. This was the last chapter of the Mughal dynasty. After this the British decided to start their rule over the entire country.
Also read: Who was the most drunken emperor of the Mughal era, Jahangir, Humayun or Shahjahan, for whom did liquor come from Kashmir-Iran?