Mughal ruler Aurangzeb is the center of discussion these days. Due to the recent Hindi film Chhava, the pages of history about Aurangzeb were turned over. It was read a lot. Today, i.e. March 3, is also Aurangzeb's death anniversary. Let us find out on this pretext why Aurangzeb's sons could not rule after his death? Who was the last emperor of the Mughal Sultanate? How did the end of the Mughal Sultanate begin gradually after Aurangzeb?
In the 331 year long Mughal reign (1526-1857), Aurangzeb was the last ruler who not only ruled for about 50 years but also kept expanding the geographical boundaries of his kingdom. Before this, Akbar's reign also lasted for about 50 years. Apart from this, whether it was Babur who laid the foundation of the Mughal Sultanate or Shah Jahan who built the famous building like Taj Mahal in Agra, no one was able to rule as well as Akbar and Aurangzeb.
During this period, a total of 21 emperors were elected, among them Sher Shah Suri and Islam Shah Suri ruled India for about 14 years. Before Sher Shah Suri, India was ruled by Mughal emperor Humayun and after the rule of Islam Shah Suri, once again Humayun took over the throne and then the members of this family ruled for many years.
In fact, whether it is Aurangzeb or any other Mughal ruler, most of them captured power by deceit and bloodshed of their own people. During the tenure of Babur, Humayun, Shah Jahan, Akbar etc., deceit and fraud in the family had not increased to that level, but Aurangzeb encouraged it a lot. He himself got his father arrested first. Then he also became the reason for his death. Aurangzeb did not hesitate in getting his brother Dara Shikoh killed as well.
Before becoming the emperor, Aurangzeb had a lot of experience in ruling. Shah Jahan entrusted him with the responsibility of many provinces. He was successful in most of them. Actually, Shah Jahan kept him away from Agra-Delhi because he loved his son Dara Shikoh more and Aurangzeb less. But he did not doubt his bravery. In such a situation, by keeping him away from the palace, he would give him everything and also keep him away from himself.
As the Mughal dynasty progressed, deceit, fraud and arrogance became part of their deeds. History books are full of their stories. How the Mughal rulers dealt with their own people for power. How they remained sworn enemies of each other for power. All this went on well during the tenure of Aurangzeb, who ruled for a long time.
The result was that after Aurangzeb, no Mughal ruler could rule for long. Be it Aurangzeb's sons or someone else. Almost everyone achieved the throne through deceit. While Aurangzeb was alive, his sons Alam Shah, Kam Bakhsh, Azam Shah etc. kept conspiring against each other. They kept fighting among themselves. Aurangzeb also did not make any special effort to stop this. He also kept ensuring participation of his daughters in the governance. The result of this was that the Mughal emperor who sat on the throne after Aurangzeb could not last long.
However, the last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar ruled for about 20 years. After that, the British ended the Mughal rule by exiling Bahadur Shah Zafar. The British sent him to Burma (today Myanmar). There he had food and lodging arrangements but he was not allowed to talk to anyone except the family members and some servants who had accompanied him. The last Mughal emperor also died there.
All the abilities and bravery of Aurangzeb's sons Alam Shah, Kam Bakhsh and Azam Shah were of no use while he was alive because these three were not in harmony with each other. Everyone had their own hobbies and weaknesses. The enemies took advantage of this and did not let the brothers stay on the throne for long. The second Aurangzeb's rule had just ended. Aurangzeb had nurtured so many enemies during his long reign that his sons had to face them.
After Aurangzeb's death, Muhammad Azam Shah took over the throne. He is also known as Bahadur Shah I. He died at the age of 68 after ruling for about five years. Azam Shah was a skilled musician and Aurangzeb's favourite. Aurangzeb's fourth son Muhammad Akbar later came to be known as Akbar II who ruled from 1806 to 1837. This reign lasted for about 31 years because this Mughal emperor had started colluding with the British and giving them many facilities so that his throne remains safe.
The last emperor of the Mughal Sultanate was Bahadur Shah II, also known as Bahadur Shah Zafar. Zafar also participated in the 1857 freedom struggle under public pressure and after this the British forcibly ousted him from power. Due to his behavior in the past, the British government did not hang him but forced him to live in exile. The emperor and his family members lived on the crumbs of the British till the last day and then after a long illness, Bahadur Shah Zafar died in Burma on 7 November 1962.
PC:TV9Bharatvarsh
