Social Science VSQ (2 Marks)

After being insulted by Aurangzeb Shivaji escaped from Agra and declared himself an independent king. Then, he resumed his campaigns against the Mughals. Prince Akbar rebelled against Aurangzeb and received support from the Marathas and the Deccan Sultanate. He finally fled to Safavid Iran. Aurangzeb could not remain silent. He personally managed campaigns in the Deccan against the Marathas who started guerrilla warfare, which was difficult to suppress.

• Mother of Jahangir: A Kachhwaha Princess, daughter of Rajput, ruler of Amber (now Jaipur)
• Mother of Shah Jahan: A Rathor Princess, daughter of a Rajput, the ruler of Marwar (Jodhpur).

Akbar's religious policy:He followed a liberal religious policy. Full religious freedom was allowed not only to the Hindus but also to the people of other religious faith. Also, He built a building called 'Ibadat Khana' where he held discussions with the religious leaders.

The other communities followed the tradition of Primogeniture under which eldest son inherited all his parent's property and the right to rule, but Mughal's followed the principle of Timurid custom of coparcenary whereby there was a joint heir to an undivided property.

Akbar introduced the idea of sulh-i kul or “universal peace”. Its main features were:

1. This idea of tolerance did not discriminate between people of different religions in his realm.
2. Instead it focused on a system of ethics – honesty, justice and peace – that was universally applicable.

Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the residence of Mughal Rulers.

Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority. But as the Mughals became powerful, many other rulers joined them voluntarily. The Rajputs were a good example. Many of them married their daughters into Mughal families and received high positions. But many resisted as well.

The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains.

India today is made up of many social and cultural units. But this does not pose a challenge to national integration. It is because we have now a democratic set-up in which the common people play an important role. It is they who decide through elections what they want.

The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix (1) rank, (2) salary and (3) military responsibilities.

• Dogma: A statement or an interpretation declared as authoritative with the expectation that it would be followed without question.
• Bigot: An individual who is intolerant of another person’s religious beliefs or culture.

To rule over the vast territories of the Indian subcontinent was extremely difficult because of the diversity of people and cultures in the middle ages.

Mansab system was a grading system used by the Mughal rulers to fix the rank or salary of a Mansabdar, who were basically their military commanders.

Akbar’s nobles commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue. While they were loyal the empire functioned efficiently but by the end of the seventeenth century many nobles had built independent networks of their own. Their loyalties to the empire were weakened by their own self-interest.

Babur succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494 when he was only 12 years old. However, he had to leave his ancestral throne due to the invasion of the uzbegs, a Mongol group. Babur wandered for several years. Then in the year 1504 he seized Kabul. In 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, at the battle of Panipat. Thus, he captured Delhi where he laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire. He became the first Mughal emperor and ruled from 1526 to 1530.

The mansabdar’s military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horses branded and then received money to pay them as salary.

The following reasons are:

• Strong artillery which was a new introduction in the Indian army and a well-trained cavalry.
• Good generalship. Babur arranged his soldiers in such a way that they could move easily from one part of the battle to other.

• He was a patron of art and architecture.
• He built many gardens, monuments and place of promoting their works.
• He also consolidated the empire through his vision promote many forms of art.