Aurangzeb: The Man and The Myth | National Bestseller on Mughal History | Biography of a Controversial Emperor & His Legacy in India Paperback – 1 February 2018

I loved reading this book! The author explained such a complex personality in such a simple and enjoyable manner. MUST READ !

Amazing book providing great insight not only into the life of the emperor but also shedding light on his use as a communal and political instrument by the far-right in the subcontinent to vilify the present-day minority in the country. A book which is as important and significant today as it ever was, both historically and in terms of the current political landscape in India.

The book kept me interested enough.Always great to read of such historical figures.

"Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth is the second book I've read about Aurangzeb, and it offers a comprehensive view of his administration, decision-making, and the nobility of the era. The insights drawn from other sources, such as 'Hindu Mandir and the Farmans of Aurangzeb' by Dr. B.N. Pandey, provide a valuable context for understanding the complexities of kingship. This book is essential for anyone looking to grasp the intricacies of the Mughal Empire, Hindostan's wealth, and the impact.

I am not a fan of history books. My dada suggested me to read this book after reading its review in a newspaper.I always find history boring. However, this book has piqued my interest into the mis represented historical figures. History is always controversial.After reading this book, reader will realise that it is imperative to discard old images and understand characters in historical terms. This does not mean that the atrocities that they have committed become of less nature.The author proposes that historical figures must be evaluated in the context of times and places of the past and not the present. This crucial piece of advise can help anyone understand that we should not judge someone based on our present values and circumstances.Aurangzeb was a mixed character like many others. No historical figure can claim immunity( if they were ever to come back to life) from being judged as per the whims of those in power. Aurangzeb is no exception. Most of the historians have judged him to be a religious bigot who inflicted damage to populace of the time and led to the ruin of the Mughal empire.The above is true and not true. The reader can arrive at his conclusion after the reading the works of Audrey Truschke. The other comprehensive work on Aurangzeb was by Jadunath Sarkar. For quite few years, Jadunath Sarkar's work was the most comprehensive work on him and his work was considered as the final word. However, now historians are finding contrary evidence . Jadunath was a self made historian.Post 1857, the British funded programs to propel their idea of divide and rule. The weapon they used to make this policy a success was to push animosity between the Hindus and Muslims. Aurangzeb was used by British for self comparison and potrayal to enable a narrative where the British look soft and amenable than the Mughals.This does not mean that Aurangzeb did not harm to the Indian ethos of peace and tolerance.However, evidence against Aurangzeb has been cherry picked to suit the needs of those in power to build a popular narrative for or against any historical personality.As per author , Aurangzeb continued much of the Indian traditions. He had more Hindus in his adminstration at higher post than any previous Mughal administration. He was supported by the than princely states of the west. Aurangzeb had a complex relationship with Islam but he is not reducible to religion.As per the author, he destroyed religious places but also have numerous grants and stipends and land for temples. He restricted celebration of Holi but also clamped down on Muharram and Eid. Aurangzeb consulted Hindu aesthetics on health matters and employed more Hindus in his adminsitration than any previous Mughal.Sanskrit was highly regarded. Persian Ramayana was composed by Amar Singh in 1705 for Aurangzeb . His son Prince Akbar declared rebellion with help of Rathor- Sisodia.Raja Raghunatha was his most cherished state officers- almost acting as the vizier of his court.The above are few of the many historical facts raised by the author is support of the taking holistic view of the controversial Aurangzeb. The author also describes all major controversies and Aurangzeb's wrongdoings throughout the book.He jailed his father, he killed his brothers, destroyed religious places, introduced laws that affected the peace and labelled him as a bigot.The main content of the book is about 150 pages and hence can be finished in a day or two by an avid .The books is easy to read and we can draw our conclusions based on facts rather than opinions.Happy reading.

Audrey Truschke has recently written an interesting book on the ebb and flow of Sanskrit in Mughal court, helping us all gain new insights into imperial mind of the Mughals.Unfortunately, her effort with Aurangzeb does not meet the same high standards of scholarship and new insights. This is regrettable as Aurangzeb is pivotal in Mughal history in much the same way as Akbar was. Audrey correctly argues that It is difficult to discover the real Aurangzeb from behind the polemical smoke on both sides. However her own short essay on Aurangzeb adds very little to our knowledge and understanding. She falls into the usual polemical error of offering her views to the reader, dwelling on the positives and trying to explain away the negatives. This leaves the reader tasting wisps of smoke, rather than historical food. For example, she presents the increased percentage of Hindus in Mughal employment during Aurangzeb reign as a positive - even while she tacitly acknowledges that this was probably because he conquered new territories in Deccan and absorbed existing local officers into Mughal employment.She is also regrettably vague about the destruction of 'few dozen' temples during Aurangzeb's reign. She argues (as other notables have done before) that this was merely done for military reasons, but fails to mention a single mosque which was similarly destroyed by Aurangzeb for 'administrative' reasons. Her argument that no temples in South were destroyed is disingenuous- she has argued in her other book on Sanskrit encounters that Mughals reduced their patronage of Sanskrit as they became more established. The same logic would explain why Aurangzeb did not want to endanger his fragile hold over the South by attacking temples.She also glosses over Guru Tegh Bahadur's execution - using the old trope of his having risen rebelliously against Mughal might. She also berates Jadunath Sarkar, arguing at one point that the use of the phrase 'Mughal Crescent' shows how communal Sarkar was. All this sounds so much like a rehash of our own domestic Left wing historians that one wonders whether Audrey Truschke need have travelled all the way from US for this.There is some useful information here. For instance, it seems Aurangzeb was never forgiven his sin of deposing and imprisiong his own father. She suggests that this could explain why he tried to boost his image by wooing the ulema (appeasement politics?), using disastrous policies such as jeziya to enrich them. Another interesting tidbit is that he sacked the court historian 10 years into his reign. That may explain why we do not have a more reliable contemporary account, which in turn makes it easy for both the Left and the Right to confound all of us with their possibly concocted stories about how good or how bad Aurangzeb was.We must therefore wait some more for a more balanced history to find out who Aurangzeb was and why did the Mughal empire disintegrate with his passing.Hopefully her own longer book on Aurangzeb (due May'17) would have more facts, deeper analysis and less apology...