Mughal empire was founded by Babur in c. 1526 but it was the policies of Akbar, the Great that heled in the consolidation of the empire. The religious policy of Akbar was the most significant one which helped in him in strengthening his position in India. After ascending the throne in c. 1556, Akbar did some experiments to understand the religious aspects prevailing in India that time. The successors of Akbar continued the policy of liberal views with some changes but it was reign of Aurangzeb that the religious policy of Mughal completely changed.
Also Read : Religious Policy of Emperor Akbar
Religious policy of Mughals (Babur and Humayun)
Religious Outlook of Jahangir
Jahangir continued the religious policy of his father, Akbar, without any significant change. He issued number of donations to Brahmans and temples. He allowed Hindus to built new temples. Churches were built by Christians during the reign of Jahangir because he allowed to do so. The animal slaughters were banned on Thursdays (the day of coronation) and Sundays (the day of Akbar’s birthday). He prohibited cow slaughter in the region of Punjab and Gujarat.
Rajputs continued to enjoy high status during the reign of Jahangir. Although Jahangir was liberal and progressive in his religious outlook but there were some exceptions as well. He ordered to execute Sikh Guru Arjundev in c. 1606 because of the political reason as he had blessed his rebellious son Khusrau. Some restrictions were imposed on the Jains of Ahmedabad because Jain Monk Mansingh had prophesized that Jahangir’s rule will end within 2 years but the restrictions were lifted when Mansingh begged forgiveness. Some temples in Pushkar and Kangra were demolished but due to political reason.
Religious Outlook of Shah Jahan
The religious outlook of Shah Jahan was although progressive and liberal but the orthodoxy elements also witnessed during the initial years of his reign. He was proud of his central Asian connections and hence, Turani nobles enjoyed significant place in his court and they were religiously orthodox. Pilgrimage tax was reimposed by Shah Jahan but it was removed when Pandits of Banaras led by Kavindracharya requested as he was a close friend of Shah Jahan.
Jain Scholar Jina Prabhusuri was also a close friend of Shah Jahan. Some temples of Mathura and Bundelkhand were demolished but they were largely during the revolts and rebellions. Hence, the religious policy of Shah Jahan was evolved with due circumstances.
Aurangzeb’s Religious Policy
Aurangzeb was a dedicated Sunni Muslim and hence, the religious policy of Mughals become orthodox during his reign. He used to perform Nawaz five times a day without any miss even during the battles and wars. He was a man of simple habits and his religious outlook was responsible for number of changes. He ordered to removal of silk curtains form palace, replacement of silver inkpot with prochain, stopped the practice of writing of Kalima (name of prophets) on coins, stopped Jharokha Darshan, arts like music, paintings etc. were also prohibited by him in his court.
In c. 1659, he ordered to demolished number of Hindu temples to appease the orthodox nobles as they supported him during the war of succession against Dara Shikoh. His relations with Rajput also getting low after the death of Raja Jaswant Singh. He also faced number of revolts of Jats, Satnamis and Sikhs. Thus, to tackle these challenges he needed the help of orthodox nobles. To achieve this, he prohibited public celebration of Hindus festivals in c. 1668.
He ordered to demolish Hindu temples but these orders were never executed rigidly. In c. 1679, Mewat and Marwar had declared revolt against Mughal empire and hence to tackle the challenge and to earn support of orthodox nobles and Ulemas he reimposed Jaziya. Aurangzeb was orthodox but he was not a bigot as portrayed sometimes because recent researches reveal that many Hindu temples like Jangambadi Shiva temple of Banaras, Someshwar Nath Mahadev temple of Allahabad, Umanand Temple of Guwahati etc. continued to receive grants during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb.
Impact of Religious Outlook of Aurangzeb
The religious outlook of Aurangzeb adversely impacted the strength and stability of Mughal empire and social base become narrow. The relations with Rajputs also severely impacted during his reign. His reign saw the rebellion and revolt of Jats, Sikhs and Satnamis. The socio-cultural advancement receives a setback because of the orthodoxy of Aurangzeb as he prohibited arts like music, paintings from his court. And this outlook of Aurangzeb ultimately results in downfall of Mughal empire, although it was not only the single factor in the downfall of Mughals.