Few figures in Indian History evoke as much revulsion as Aurangzeb. This sixth and last great Mughal Emperor was perhaps the reason for the Hindu – Muslim schism that rose during his time and exists even today. His bigotry paved the way for the eventual dissolution of the Mughal Empire.
But this third son of Emperor Shah Jahan was not even due to be the Emperor. That honor was to go to the eldest son, Dara Shukoh – whom Aurangzeb defeated and eventually killed in the Battle of Samugarh and then waded through the slaughter to the throne. That battle was not only one of succession between Shah Jahan’s sons, Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb. It was also a battle between ideologies. Unfortunately, the wrong son won, and the wrong ideology prevailed.
Dara Shukoh Aurangzeb
It was the year 1657. The Emperor Shah Jahan fell grievously ill in 1657 and named his eldest son Dara Shukoh as his successor. That triggered off a war of succession between Dara and his three other brothers – Shujah, Aurangzeb and Murad Bakshi. Shujah was in Bengal, Aurangzeb in the Deccan and Murad Bakshi was in Gujarat when Dara was declared as Shah Jahan’s successor and the three brothers – each of whom felt he was the rightful claimant to the throne – marched towards Agra to stake their claims to the Peacock throne.
Dara, the liberal elder son, was a lover of poetry and culture. He had translated the Upanishads from Sanskrit to Persian and had written the excellent treatise Majma- ul- Bahrain (The Confluence of the Seas) in which he tried to find common ground between Islam and Hinduism. He was also a patron of the arts and a lover of music. His liberal views were frowned upon by his brothers and even some of his Muslim subjects who looked upon his tolerant ideology with suspicion.
Yet, Dara had little experience in warfare and was largely used to the comfort of Agra. Aurangzeb, on the other hand, was a seasoned campaigner who had spent most of his life under canvas and had won a string of victories for the Mughal Empire. The other two brothers Shujah and Murad Bakshi too were experienced warriors. As the three brothers marched towards Agra, Shujah from Bengal, Murad from Gujarat and Aurangzeb from the Deccan, Dara sent his ablest troops under his eldest son to contest Shujah’s advance. Shujah was defeated, but his force was unable to return to Agra for the more decisive battles ahead. Another force under Maharaja Jaswant Singh was sent to contest Aurangzeb and Murad Bakshi, who had joined hands and were now advancing together. This force was decisively defeated by Aurangzeb in the Battle of Dharmat and withdrew to Jodhpur taking no further part in the action. Even before the main battle was joined over one third of Dara’s force was frittered away. Yet he still had with him a formidable Rajput and Mughal army of 100000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry and 80 guns. Yet, many of his Muslim generals were against his liberal views and had loyalties towards Aurangzeb. They could defect at any stage.
After Aurangzeb’s victory over Raja Jaswant Singh in the battle of Dharmat, the joint forces of Aurangzeb and Murad advanced towards Agra. Dara had selected his main defenses along the line of the Chambal River and had deployed his guns on the banks to prevent a crossing. Though Aurangzeb was temporarily delayed, he was able to discover a crossing place near Dhaulpur . His army waded across the river even though over 5000 men and horses were swept away in the crossing. In two days Aurangzeb’s entire army was across the Chambal River and had established a bridgehead on the other side.
With their defenses outflanked, Dara’s forces on the Chambal River, hastily retreated toward Agra leaving behind almost all their cannons and heavy stores. This precious cannon was thus denied to Dara for the decisive battle that lay ahead, when their firepower would be sorely required.
As the combined forces of Aurangzeb and Murad closed in on Agra, Dara marched his army out and deployed around 13 kilometers east of the city. It was the hottest time of the year in an unbearably hot Indian summer and men and horses – especially those in armour- were collapsing and dying of heat stokes. Dara’s forced march with his army was the first of the many mistakes he would make during the battle.
The two armies met on 29 May 1658 in an open plain near Samugarh. Both armies deployed in the conventional pattern of the times, with a strong center, two flanks and an Advance Guard. Dara had positioned himself in the Center with Rustom Khan on his left wing and Khalil – ullah- Khan, a general of dubious loyalties on his right. His son Sipah Shukoh commanded the Advance Guard with around 12,000 Rajput and Mughal troops. Both armies faced off and Aurangzeb, the seasoned campaigner realized that in this wilting heat, the side that attacked would be at a disadvantage. He remained on the defensive and bided his time, and waited for Dara to attack.
Dara’s impatience got the better of him and he ordered his son Sipah to attack Aurangzeb’s Advance Guard. The attack met with initial success, but Aurangzeb, who had positioned himself at a vantage point and was following each move of the battle closely, sent forward his reserves and stabilized the situation.
Here is where Dara’s inexperience showed. He decided to take personal control and led an attack from the center with around 20,000 of his personal troops. He moved obliquely, thus blocking the fire of his own guns. He also came under heavy fire from Aurangzeb’s advance guard, which deflected him further and made him lose contact with his main forces. His Rajput and Mughal forces were exhausted in the heat but advanced valiantly towards Aurangzeb’s left flank held by his brother Murad Bakshi.
Dara and his personal troops – mostly Rajputs were now engaged in a pitched battles with Murad Bakshi’s forces. He was now out of contact with the rest of his force. Now came the crucial moment of the battle. Dara’s right wing under Khalil ullah Khan chose this moment to desert and slipped away to join Aurangzeb’s forces – something that had evidently been planned and pre-determined before. Dara was in the midst of Aurangzeb’s forces, without any support whatsoever. Each inroad made by his exhausted forces was countered by Aurangzeb sending up fresh troops and by around midday, his forces were spent. He also made the mistake of dismounting from his elephant and mounting a horse. Seeing his empty howdah, his men thought their leader had fallen and as has happened so often before, they panicked and fled. His faithful Rajputs who did the bulk of the fighting, suffered terrible losses. Dara himself was carried away to safety leaving behind all his guns, baggage and equipment on the battlefield over which Aurangzeb held complete sway.
Aurangzeb reached Agra three days later and entered the capital with the grandeur of a conquering emperor. His father, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in Agra fort where he would spend the rest of his life, pining away and gazing at his beloved Taj Mahal. Dara who had fled Agra, was pursued and captured near Multan and then beheaded on Aurangzeb’s personal orders. His brother Murad Bakshi, who had fought valiantly by his side, met the same fate as Aurangzeb eliminated all future competition. On 31 July 1658, Aurangzeb took over as the Sixth Mughal Emperor of India. His reign would unleash a wave of intolerance and bigotry that would eventually lead to the fall of the Mughal dynasty and bring about the divide in Indian society that remains even today.
Aurangzeb seeing the head of Dara
So what if Dara had won. He would have definitely been a tolerant, liberal king who treated all subjects equally. Perhaps he could have even got about a peaceful co-existence of the two religions that would enable them to live in harmony. But he did not. It was the wrong son that won, and the wrong ideology that prevailed.