A study of non Muslim shrines in north India under the Mughals 1526 to 1748 AD

Abstract

There is a general impression that many non-Muslim shrines were desecrated by the Mughal rulers. Mughal rulers except Akbar had adopted a non-tolerable attitude towards the non-Muslim shrines. However, there are references to the survival and co-existence of these shrines. There are also references to the constructions of the shrines by the order of the Mughal rulers and their nobles, continuity of religious practices and ceremonies in these shrines besides patronage given to the shrines in primary as well as secondary sources. Inscriptional records also provide information about the state patronage given to non-Muslim shrines and their functionaries by the Mughal rulers, their nobles and influential individuals like village headmen, zamindars, merchants, Banias and rich people etc. Historians have tried to show that revenue-free grants and several concessions were given to non-Muslim shrines. But historians have concentrated on one institution in a particular area or on one or two Mughal rulers whereas no one has tried to provide a total picture of Mughal India. They have not provided information about the construction of non-Muslim shrines and the performance of rituals by individuals. Thus, the basic aim of this research is to explore the actual status of non-Muslim shrines in North India, especially in the Mughal provinces of Agra, Ajmer, Allahabad, Awadh, Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Kashmir, Lahore, Multan, Thatta, Malwa and Orissa, from 1526 to 1748 A.D. An attempt has been made to provide a list of the total number of non-Muslim shrines during the reign of each and every Mughal ruler. newline