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Published on: 03/16/20 6:31 AM

Book Review: Dara Shukoh, The Man Who Would Be King by Avik Chanda

A mystic’s misfortune

Dara Shukoh’s vision for a just, tolerant, secular and humane India seems today as unrealised as his dream of becoming the king.

 A contemplative ‘what if’ nebula hangs over Avik Chanda’s gripping book on Dara Shukoh. Dara was Emperor Shah Jahan’s eldest, most favoured son and heir apparent. He, however, does not ascend the throne and instead meets a grisly end at the hands of his brother Aurangzib (author`s spelling). Historians have long been piqued by what might have been had Dara become king instead of Aurangzib and here is a whole book advancing that line of speculation.

Chanda’s biography of Dara Shukoh is a meticulously researched work and the author is able to make the characters, all belonging to a distant past, come alive. More importantly, one gleans how the way history plays out impacts not just the past but the future, too.

Dara, born ironically at what was considered an auspicious time, remains at his father’s side like a faithful shadow for a long while. As the Emperor ages, Dara becomes the de facto administrator of Mughal India. When Shah Jahan dies, the inevitable battle of succession ensues.

Given that in the Islamic-Timurid paradigm of power equations, on the death of a king, the first- born son did not automatically ascend the throne, any of the king’s sons could lay claim to it. This, predictably, led to fierce battles within the family. Invariably, the most ruthless, shrewd and determined son became king. In this case, it is Aurangzib.

Dara and Aurangzib are the proverbial chalk and cheese, a veritable study in contrasts. Dara is drawn as a sensitive soul, an intellectual, a dreamer, poet and author. An aspiring mystic, he becomes the disciple of two famous Sufi saints, Mian Mir and Mullah Shah.

Like his great- grandfather the Emperor Akbar, he too is interested in the study of different religions, especially Hinduism. Both Akbar and he believe in the concept of pluralism and the syncretic nature of all religions. Dara Shukoh attracted scholars, artists, theologians, mystics, magicians and yes, tricksters too, all of whom flock to the court.

Chanda’s portrait of Dara is nuanced and impartial even though the tilt of the story is decidedly romantic. He is shown as being arrogant, disdainful and dismissive of the nobleman and courtiers. In important battles, he comes across as indecisive, vacillating even incompetent.

Being a poor judge of people, he quite often follows the wrong advice. Unable to form strategic alliances at the appropriate time costs him dear in the long-drawn War of Succession. A prince more attracted to matters of the spirit rather than to that of the realm, he seems sadly out of place at a time when perpetual battle was a reality.

Aurangzib, in contrast, is shown to be very much a man of the world, an embittered, resentful son smouldering over his father’s obvious preference for Dara. In his father’s slights or dubious commands to him during battles, he sees Dara’s malicious hand. Bitterly opposed to Dara’s secular outlook, he considers him an infidel and loathes him. However, on the battlefield, Aurangzib is a shrewd accomplished military leader. Able to stitch up important alliances, sly enough to buy loyalty whenever necessary, single-minded in battle, he assiduously and mercilessly paves his way to the throne.

The battle scenes are recreated in an engrossing, detailed manner. Aurangzib’s final, relentless hunting down of Dara and the battles this entails are superbly delineated.

The other important characters during that slice of Mughal history are also drawn with a deft and engaging touch. Jahanara Begum, Dara’s elder and favourite sister, comes across as an intelligent, kind woman, able to handle both matters of the court and the household.

Interestingly, both she and her younger sister Raushanara (author`s spelling) Begum, were women who wielded considerable power and political influence in the court. Ironically again, Zebunissa, Aurangzib’s favourite daughter, declares herself a Sufi and spouts ideas similar to his hated brother. Towards the end of the book, it is her poetry that reminds Aurangzib that his name would forever be linked to that of his brother.

History, of course, remembers Aurangzib, the sixth Mughal Emperor, as an intolerant tyrant who ruled India with an iron fist. The legacy of pluralism and religious tolerance practiced by Akbar and his elder brother, was swiftly abandoned.

In an epilogue at the end,  Chanda quotes a man saying of Dara  ‘To whom history has given refuge, what harm can an Alamgir cause?’ Tragically, Dara Shukoh’s vision for a just, tolerant, secular and humane India went unrealised. That is a vision which remains relevant to this day, in fact, even more relevant today.

https://www.deccanherald.com/sunday-herald/sunday-herald-books/a-mystics-misfortune-813279.html

This ran in DECCAN HERALD of  16 March 2020.

Related links:

Book review: Jahangir by Parvati Sharma

Brief Takes: Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty

 

Avik Chandabook reviewDara ShukohDeccan Heraldmystic princeSunday Herald

Sheila Kumar • March 16, 2020


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