The release of Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar has once again sparked off the debate on artistic freedom versus historical fact. Does Bollywood have a licence to distort history while making 'epic romances'?The Rajputs are up in arms against the depiction of Jodhaa as Akbar's wife. However, is that the only controversial element of the movie? Does history validate the depiction of Akbar as a benevolent and tolerant emperor?
Reviewing the movie for AOL India, Noyon Jyoti Parasara writes, 'While your heart goes for the love between the two protagonists, the film leaves you at such heights of emotions that you would literally be shaking with excitement! The film also comes at a very right time as Akbar indeed could be a role model for people and rulers today. The king not only had a secular vision, but also a will to know what the common man wanted, apart from being kind hearted and noble.' (sic)
While gullible movie buffs like Parasara are being taken for a ride, the public would do well to keep their critical faculty alive while they are in the theatre. The research team hired by Ashutosh Gowariker (consisting of historians and scholars from New Delhi, Aligarh, Lucknow, Agra and Jaipur) seems to have fed him with an overdose of the secularised version of history that is usually taught to our kids through the official NCERT history textbooks.
Anyone who has read alternative narratives of Akbar’s life through original sources will be appalled to see the contrast of Jodhaa Akbar vs History:
Jodhaa Akbar: 14-year old Akbar refuses to behead Hemu and other enemy kings out of compassion. Bairam Khan does the dirty job for him and titles Akbar as a ‘Ghazi.’
History: Ahmad Yadgar, the Afghan historian records that Hemu was brought before Akbar unconscious, after he was injured by a chance arrow which struck his eye and was beheaded by Akbar himself. Hemu's head was sent to Kabul and hung outside Delhi Darwaza, while his torso was hung outside Purana Qila, to create terror amongst the Hindus. Acting in the spirit of a true Ghazi, Akbar constructed a victory pillar made from the heads of the dead soldiers, just like his grandfather Babur did. Pictures of such towers are displayed at the National Museum (New Delhi) and Panipat Museum (Haryana).
Jodhaa Akbar: Akbar was a kind hearted emperor who avoided bloodshed and plunder.
History: Vincent Smith in his Akbar the Great Mogul points out that Akbar ordered the massacre of 30,000 people (mostly peasants) who had taken shelter at Chittor Fort and let loose an army of 300 elephants on them! When the Rajputs in his service pleaded with him to stop this inhuman aggression on civilians, Akbar replied, 'I am in no mood to listen to the sound of good words. My ears are at present attuned only to enjoy the clang of the sword'. Blood, not nectar, holds the key to the success of a sovereign. Give me war. Peace is of no avail to me.'
Jodhaa Akbar: Akbar was a kind administrator who reduced the burden of taxation on the common man
History: Professor Meenakshi Jain, an expert on the history of the Mughal rule in India points out that, 'the sheer magnitude of the revenue demand under the Mughals is carefully concealed'. In many cases, the total tax liability of the peasants became so enormous that they were forced to sell their wives, children and cattle to meet the state demand. It is surely significant that almost sixty percent of the total Jama (state revenue) under Akbar was spent maintaining a military establishment in an era which saw no foreign invasions. In Kashmir for example, Akbar discovered that two-thirds of the crop was being extracted from the peasants and reduced it to 50 percent.
Jodhaa Akbar: Akbar adopted a policy of broad religious toleration, abolished Jizya and founded the new religious sect Din-i-Ilahi, much to the anger of the orthodox Muslim religious leaders of his time.
History: Abul Qasim Namakin, in his account Munshaat-i-Namakin quotes the fathnama-i-Chittor issued by Akbar after the brutal plunder of Chittor which speaks volumes of his tolerance: 'As directed by the word of Allah, we remain busy in jihad and we have succeeded in occupying a number of forts and towns belonging to the infidels and have established Islam there. With the help of our bloodthirsty sword we have erased the signs of infidelity from their minds and have destroyed temples in those places and also all over Hindustan.' This auspicious fathnama is in fact a foretaste of the victories to follow. Written by the Royal Order at Ajmer on 10th of the month of Ramzan 975 A.H.”
Such is the contrast between the Akbar of Ashutosh Gowariker’s imagination and the real Akbar of Indian history.
Source: http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=29&id=5771
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