Akbar's Policy Of Toleration example essay topic

Topic: What were the contribution of the Mughal emperor Akbar to the creation of an Indian national Identity? What were the greatest obstacles to his achievement in this? The greatest of the Mughal's emperors, Akbar, attempted the creation of a national identity for India by his numerous reforms, literal and cultural development, and policies of integration and organization. His reforms included a liberal policy toward the non-Muslims, religious innovations, the land revenue system and the famous Mansabdari system. His policy of religious toleration became the most significant aspect during his reign. Akbar established a new religion, the Din-i-Ilahi.

But Akbar's attempt to create a national identity and a social equilibrium through his religious and political innovations was met with many obstacles and much opposition. Akbar's approach to the problem of effectively governing a vast empire, made up of various ethnic groups, was to identify his interests with those of the country and set himself to unite all his subjects. Akbar introduced a policy of reconciliation and assimilation of Hindus, who represented the majority of the population. Akbar understood the importance of tolerance, which was paramount to his dynasty's long-term viability. The Hindus could only be reconciled by equality of treatment and respect for their institutions. Their employment was beneficial to the empire, as many were better businessmen than the Muslim invaders who were uneducated.

Having defeated the Rajputs, the most militant of the Hindu rulers, he allied himself with them, by recruiting many capable Hindu chiefs with the highest ranks in government and by conferring honours upon them. To further build alliance with the Rajputs, he encouraged intermarriages between Mughal and Rajput aristocracy, setting himself as an example by marrying daughters of three leading Rajput chiefs. Akbar's acts of tolerance were aimed at the Hindu community as a whole and not just at the Rajputs, who became one of the pillars of the empire. His efforts to win over the Hindu population included reforms like, allowing all Hindus to practice their own religion without disturbance, and Akbar further flattered them by personally participating in the celebrations of Hindu festivals. Furthermore, he eliminated the bitterly resented tax, called jizya, which was imposed on non-Muslims from the beginning of the Islamic expansion.

In addition, Akbar eliminated the 'pilgrimage' tax required by non-believers when traveling to Hindu pilgrimage sites. Akbar allowed Hindu territories to maintain a large degree of autonomy. In all other Muslim kingdoms, non-Muslims came under the same law, the Shari'a, as all Muslims. Akbar, however, allowed the Hindus to remain under their own law, called the Dharma shastra, and to retain their own courts. For the first time in Muslim India, Hindus enjoyed the status of full citizens.

A feature of Akbar's reign was the many administrative efforts he made in his attempt to create an Indian national identity. Akbar developed a centralized federal government that delegated tasks to powerful bureaucracies. He introduced the Mansabdari system, which systematized the civil and military administration. When Akbar became Emperor, he took over a feudal lordship and through his many reforms; he left behind him a state built upon regulation and a graded imperial service. Such a service with regular ranks and fixed salaries had not been organized before. It presented an opportunity for great generals, confidential ministers, trusted women or royal princes to make their mark in history by their achievements through the empire.

Akbar paid his officers in cash. Another significant administrative contribution was the land revenue settlement. Together with his Hindu revenue minister, Raja Todar Mal, they built on the many foundations laid by Sher Shah, making his matters of economy systematic. Akbar issued a revenue schedule reconstructed by Todar Mal, so that the peasantry would not suffer, while securing a good income for the state.

Todar Mal with the assistance of Muzaffar Khan Turba ti implemented the policies of (1) the introduction of the branding regulation, (2) the abolition of the feudal system by resuming fiefs, placing them under the administration of crown officials, and paying both officers and men from the treasury, and (3) the preparation of the graded list of officials classed as amirs and mansabdari, all, whether civil or military, holding military rank. Keeping in mind that Akbar had abolished not only the poll tax and pilgrims' tax, but also over fifty minor duties, his purpose was to levy a fair rent on the land, which would support the administration without unduly burdening the cultivators. Akbar allowed no oppression and many campaigns were undertaken mainly for the purpose of punishing governors who had been guilty of self-seeking and corruption. Akbar's innovation was that the tax be assessed equally on every member of the empire. Considering that every other state in the sixteen century rarely taxed the nobility, this innovation was indeed a radical one. Akbar's fame rests on his many attempts to blend and unite Muslim and Hindu civilizations.

He dreamed of a "new united civilization that would be neither Islamic nor Hindu but Neo-Indian". He began to look into his own faith and to "observe the external forms of Muslim Orthodoxy". He built the Ibadan Khan, House of Worship, where religious discussions took place among followers of Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. Akbar practiced tolerance aimed at Hindu Muslim unification through the introduction of a new religion known as the Din-i-Ilahi, an eclectic cult, incorporating the principles of acceptance and tolerance of all religions and sects. This spirit of toleration, which originated his religion, was also significant in the emotional integration of his kingdom. He used his personal influence and his political authority in attempting to abolish customs that seemed to him nasty or underserved.

For example, he attempted to prohibit cow sacrifice and to reduce the eating of meat in order to bridge the gap it caused between the Muslims and Hindus. He encouraged widow re-marriage, discouraged child marriage and persuaded Delhi merchants to set up special market days for women, who otherwise were secluded at home. He pacified Hindus by giving them freedom of worship, while at the same time he attempted to completely abolish certain Brahman practices such as trial by ordeal and sati. Synthesis between Islam and Hinduism was not confined to religious and administrative attempts only - there was also a literary and a cultural synthesis.

The reign of Akbar was a time of renaissance of Persian literature. The Ain-i-Akbar gives the names of 59 great Persian poets of Akbar's courts. Akbar greatly contributed to the development of Indian music. Akbar had a huge volume of classics translated from Arabic, Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin into Persian. Some of the topics included literature, history, botany, theology and Indian epics, notably Mahabharata and Ramayana, which promoted Hindu learning. Akbar was a great patron of literary works and scholars.

His court had numerous scholars of the day who are well known as Nau ratan. Persian language became the polite language of all India and Persian manners set the standard for the whole subcontinent. "In the world of diplomacy and fashion, it was in India what French was in Europe". Aided by Hindu artists, Akbar developed Persian painting, to form the characteristic Mughal school of painting. Akbar was interested in architecture and during his reign, many buildings were constructed. Islamic and Hindu architecture varies in many ways, but Akbar's persistence in fusing the two religions resulted in the creation of the magnificent and individual Mughal architectural styled.

Although Persian influence had existed even prior to the Mughals, it was not until the 16th Century that it reached its greatness in structural forms and art. "One great continuous cultural movement was able to merge harmoniously two great and very different cultural traditions". Akbar faced many barriers and complication in his attempt to create a national identity for India. Akbar's religious experimentation began to have threatening consequences.

It incited a backlash among an insecure Muslim elite, which eventually helped Akbar's great-grandson, Aurangzeb, to rise to power. Even before he had promulgated his new faith, he had caused grave offence to many Muslims. Not only were the Muslims offended but also they believed that their faith was in danger. They viewed his actions as an assault on Islam.

Many deemed Akbar and his ministers with repugnance because of their unorthodox views. Consequently, the Orthodox Muslims found a figurehead in Akbar's younger brother, Muhammad Hakim, causing a rebellion in 1580. The Din-i-Ilahi religious cult established by him in 1582 never caught on among the Hindus and Muslims outside of his court. It did not succeed because it was far too complicating for the ordinary people to comprehend.

It also led to a political crisis. Akbar's religious ideas outraged the right wing of the Orthodox party of the Muslims whose criticism was led by an Orthodox Sunni, Shaikh Ahmad Sardinia. He was exceptionally fond of Mohammad's principle that "anything new which is introduced in my religion is condemnable". Although the Shaikh did not have much effect on Akbar, Shaikh's son and grandson carried on his cause and managed to gradually nearer to the side of the throne. In his new faith, Akbar audaciously proclaimed his own infallibility, deeply disturbing the Ulema, who regarded this as outright heresy. The political consequence of this was "the loss of Muslim hegemony and elevation of Hindus to equal status".

Although Akbar managed to propagate many laws, which benefited the integration of the people, he was unable to go beyond this point. The reason is because "the identification of Muslim orthodoxy and Muslim political power was too close and too real, and they would stand or fall together". Akbar's numerous administrative systems to remove opportunities of collectors from oppressing their tenants and from defrauding, the state was not always successful. Abul Fall confirms the above, as does the Akbarnamah, written by Todar Mal who catalogues in detail the excessive demands, fraudulent accounting entries, and defalcations. Todar Mal system was fairer to the peasants "despite the complications which in the end let in the abuses it was designed to prevent" Obstacles to Akbar's reforms, like that of his minister Muzaffar Khan, who intentionally neglected his orders because he was not in favour of them, caused many setbacks. Akbar faced problems with his son and future emperor, Janangir, who during the absence of his father proclaimed himself king and turned rebellious.

The last four years of Akbar's life were consumed in crushing jahangir's rebellion. Akbar's sons were not worthy to inherit the empire he had worked to unite. His sons became alcoholics, and although Janangir continued Akbar's policy of toleration in the next reign, "it made no effective headway on its own account". During Akbar's reign, "there were signs of a backlash, which by the end of the century would leave the relationship between communities worse than Akbar had found it". Many of Akbar's emotional integration policies were difficult to enforce because they interfered with religious beliefs and customs. For example, Akbar would no doubt do away with the brutal custom of sati, but he was careful not to offend Hindu sentiment.

Akbar's literary synthesis between Islam and Hinduism proved to be a failure; the obstacle being that Persian influences were prevalent in India even before the advent of the Mughals; but it was distinctively Persian, rather than Arab-Muslim influence. The greatest architectural, religious and political expression of the Persian soul, ironically unfolded in India, and not in Persia. Sadly, Akbar's life work of creating a national identity for India was eventually destroyed by the fanatic Emperor Aurangzeb who managed to undo Akbar's achievements. Akbar's achievements have had a huge impact in Indian history.

His unlimited efforts to create a national identity for India through his evolution of religious, cultural and social outlook during his reign hold a certain prominence in history. His policies managed to a certain degree, diffuse the hostility between the Muslims and Hindus. His administrative system revived the imperial concept, which was admired for its efficiency and for its capability of projecting an ideal of unity. But Akbar's work was faced with many obstacles during and after his reign. His works were eventually completely destroyed by his great-grandson, Emperor Aurangzeb.

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