Evolution of sulh ikul - ..

Evolution of akbar's policy of sulh-i-kul

Akbar is seen as one of the greatest ruler of the Mughal dynasty in India
and was celebrated for his liberal ideas and religious policies based on
mutual understanding. However, a close analysis of his religious policies
and ideology shows it clearly that it was not the case always. Akbar,
during former years of his reign was a staunch follower of lIslam and was
closely associated with the ulama who dominated the court at that time.
It's only over the years, that we find certain significant changes befell in
the perception of the emperor towards the matters of religion in his
empire.
Akbar's religious policies
Before examining Akbar's religious policies, one should also pay heed to
the religious challenges posed to the emperor during his reign. We find
that that conflicts were both inter-religious and intra-religious. One of the
major intra-religious conflict was between the Shia and Sunni sects.
Mughal state clearly had close association with the Sunnis,but it
followed a policy of tolerance and unlike its contemporary Islamic states
it had not made any public proclamation of its affiliation to one particular
sect. Meanwhile, a large number of Shia migration from
the Safavid state took place which folowed a very orthodox policy.
Despite the lucrative salaries of the Mughal court and open-policy of the
state, the conflict between these two sects intensified.

In the initial years Akbar was also inclined towards the sect
of Mahadawis. The followers of this sect believed that the advent of a
Mahdi or a messiah was forecasted and did not agree with the fact that
the Prophet Mohammad was the last prophet. In Akbar's early years, this
easily identifiable class was not well inclined to Mughal rule and could be
easily be accused of disloyalty as well as of unorthodoxy. The
Orthodoxy saw them as heretics, but the Mughal state did not persecute
them for a very long time. Thus, Akbar's religious policies were
implemented in the background of such religious challenges posed to
him, of which the most crucial one was the changes in the relationship
and the constant struggle between the Crown and the ulama.

Scholars have understood Akbar's religious policies in diverse manners.

Scholarslike S. Rizvi and Athar Ali see it as representing a much wider
change in Akbar's perspective on religion and the development of his
religious ideas. Others like LA. Khan links the changes that were
introduced in the organisation of the Mughal government and religious
policy to the structure, composition and changes under Akbar. Some
other scholars like K.A. Nizami sees the change as nothing more than a
changing attitude towards the ulama. He also divides Akbar's reign in the
context of his religious ideas into 3 phases.
Islamic orthodoxy
In the first phase (1556-1574), Akbar seems to be in agreement with
the Islamic orthodoxy. There is also a tentativeness in the manner in
which he dealt with different groups. In the first 20 years of his reign, he
made serious departures from the traditional Sunni system of
government. In 1562, the pilgrimage tax on Hindus was abolished. Abu
Fazl informs us about the abolishment of jiziya in the year 1564, and
also the abolishment in the practice of enslaving the prisoners of war
and their families. All of this had great political implications. Scholar I.A.
Khan explain it in the context of the political challenges faced by Akbar
from the side of his Turani nobility. Thus, Akbar had to search for new
support groups and he turned to Rajputs as possible allies. Jiziya, a tax
on non-Muslims, was thus abolished to win them over. However, even
after adopting liberal policies like these, not allRajput groups joined him.
Thus, in 1567, Akbar changed stance and took some aggressive
measures against the rajputs. In 1567, Chittor was attacked, and in
a Fathenama issued by him after the vistory, identified it as a jihad
subjugation of the infidels. Around the same time, in 1569,
a farman was issued to the Muhtasib of Bilgram, to stamp out all kinds
of infidel worship (idol worship) in his pargana. However, scholars have
tried to explain such vigorous attitude as an attempt to appease the
Muslim orthodoxy and to win their support.

Despite these measures in favour of the Hindus, in the early phase of his
reign Akbar remained largely Islamic. The nobility in this part was also
dominated by Muslims. His inclination towards the leading orthodox
Sunni personalities prevented any overt break with the ulama and he
gave them full and independent control over the religious affairs. In his
period, dominant scholars included Makhdumul Mulk Sultanpuri and
Shaikh Abdul Nabi, both were highly conservative Sunni Mullahs. This
phase kept Akbar quite busy because of his several military conquests,
and reforms implemented in revenue, military and other sectors.
Thus, ulama had full control over affairs and were never satisfied with
Akbar's concessions. Under these elements, the non-conformists groups
like the mahadawis were also persecuted
The second phase(1574-1580) started with a visible change in Akbar's
religious beliefs. From his early childhood Akbar had held a special
interest in the spiritual matters and had felt that the orthodox view of
lslam was not giving him the needed answers. Hence, this was a phase
of intense discussions and introspection on the part of Akbar which led
to radical change in his religious views which deeply affected his future
policies. Akbar's growing awareness of repercussions of the traditional
orthodox Sunni dominance over his administration compelled him to an
active search for new solutions. He therefore, encouraged the
emergence of a new elite group.
lbadat Khana
This period is also characterized by the discussions held at the lbadat
Khana, established by Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575, after the Gujarat
campaign. The term was wrongly translated by scholar Vincent Smith as
the House of Worship. The main aim of lbadat khana was to resolve
disputes within groups through discussions. Initially, it was open only fort
he Muslim sects, but later it was opened to the representatives of other
religions and faiths also. Akbar had a keen interest in the religious and
intellectual debates and disccusions, and thus took part in them in the
hope that he would educate himself in spite of the fact that he never got
a chance to formally edcuate himself. These deliberations were not
conducted only for the sake of ingquiry and search but most of the
participants hoped for a way to obatain favours and promotions from the
court.

Contemporary historians like Badayuni often criticize the concept of

Ibadat Khana and calls it a place of worthless discussions. However,
Abu Fazl, gives us an opposite picture and finds these discussions very
useful, which according to him guided the people away from the
darkness and enlightened them. As far as the composition of the
intellectuals is concerned, lbadat khana included scholars from across
the religions. Special efforts were made to associate distinguished Sufis
with the activities of lbadat Khana. The debates were open to
the Shias as well, Hindus were also being favoured as the new alliance
was budding between the crown and the Rajputs. Akbar also invited
Zoroastrian priests, Jesuit missionaries and Jain priests to widen the
scope of discussions. However, later we find that the confluence of
different ideas led to confusion and led the debate to no conclusion.
Thus, as professor R.P Tripathi says, "Instead of bringing credit, the
Ibadat Khana brought growing discredit. Thus, Akbar himself became
convinced of the futility of these debates, and finally closed the lbadat
Khana.

Mahazarnama
Akbar's break from the orthodoxy is also symbolized with the
propagation of the Mahazarnama in 1579. This document, like a
petition, was presented by the ulama gave the Crown the right to
accept any position in case there is conflict among the orthodoxy, and
that option willthen be the final decision on the matter. This made it clear
that Akbar's position was higher than that of the mujtahid, the interpretor
of the holy laws. Many historians have provided different opinions on the
meaning and its consequence. Scholars like Vincen Smith perceives it
as an infallibility decree, influenced by papcy, stating that Akbar was
influenced by the Jesuit propagators. I.A. Khan opines that Mahzar can
only be understood if we look at Akbar's general attitude of promoting
and befriending the Indian Muslims. He wanted to show that he would
not accpet any orthodox, sharia law which lacked aql or a logical
reason. S.R. Sharma argues that Mahzar was introduced to replace
the sharia laws. Scholar Nurul Hasan has discussed Mahzar at ifferent
levels- at international level, which can be seen in the fact that Akbar
never sided with any one Islamic sect and made the Mughal state all
inclusive, unlike the Ottomans who sided with the Sunnis or the Persians
who favoured the Shia sect. At political level, Mahzar made it possible
for the king to deal with the ulama and , keep the nobility under his
influence and also placing himself above the sharia law interpretations.
Thus, as S.AA. Rizvi said, the real significance of Mahzar, it seems, was
that it was the first effective declaration of the principles of sulh-i
kul which Akbar had decided to implement firmly. Hence, we can see a
final breakup between Akbar and the ulama orthodoxy.
Din-i lahi
The final phase (1581-1605) of Akbar's religious beliefs and state is
defined by the crystallization of Akbar's ideological beliefs. The core of
Akbar's religious beliefs was his faith in Din-i llahi, based largely on the
philosophies of lbn-i Arabi. Abu Fazl links Din-i ilahiwith the concept of
Akbar being a spiritual guide of the people. He opines that the intention
of Din-i llahi was to find a common ground between the din or the
religion and the duniya or the materialistic or non-spiritual affairs.
Nizami suggests that Akbar wanted to use religion for his political
advantage. As the empire expanded, it now included people of different
faiths. Thus, Akbar thought it necessary to broaden the base of the
empire. To achieve this, he tried to establish a composite governing
class which would not be discrinimated on the grounds of religion. This
can be clearly seen in the case of assimilating the Rajputs into the
nobility. The Kachhwahas were the first Rajput clan to join Akbar and
also helped in the war against the other Rajput clans as seen in the
Chittor campaign. Also, we find that the historians like Badayuni and
others accused Akabar of completely abandoning Islam and created his
own religion of which he was the leader. However, one cannot see the
Din-i llahi concept as being developed into a new religion, as it had no
formal rituals, beliefs or the holy books like the other religions. It can be
seen as Akbar's personal faith, which he welcomed people to join in.
Thus, the biases of contemporary accounts, calling Akbar a heretic has
no basis. This proves that he did not abandon Islam, and can be seen,
as Athar Ali suggests, the accusations were all from the bitter ulama,
who were complaining against the curbs put on their revenue grants and
political ambitions and couldn't digest the fact that Akbar had moved
away from their influence of an orthodox form of religion.
Sulh-i kul
Soon after Din-i llahi, Akbar introduced Sulh-i kul as the official policy of
the empire. Sulh- i kul was the product of the synthetic effect of the
Bhakti and Sufism of the age. It was a liberal philosophy, which
translated as the universal peace. As Irfan Habib states that it meant to
inform everyone about the main spiritual truth. This can only be done by
a sovereign who is a representative of god( this link was also being
advocated in his practice of din-i ilahi). Abu Fazl's Ain-i Akbari, put
forward the theory of Rawa-i- Rozi or the social contract between the
king and his subjects. It states that like god, a king should not
discriminate, in giving his rewards amongst his subjects , on the basis of
religion they follow. The sovereign, thus, had to follow the idea of
a Insaan-i kamil or the perfect man who adopts and favours the idea of
tolerance. Therefore, we find that the king, even if he did not agree with
the ideas and prcatices of other religions, he should still uphold the
theory of sulh-i kul and treat everyone equally. Evidence of this practice
comes from the fact that Akbar disliked and thought poorly of his mintier,
Todar Mal as he was a devoted image worshiper and Akbar himself
believed that the god was besurat (limitless or formless). Regardless of
this, Akbar gave large grants of land to temples. Hence, the theory of
Sulh-i kul propagated by Akbar denied the temporal practices of the Din
and wanted to replace it with the declaration of reason, rationale and
also the rejection of superstition. Sulh i-kul was an idea which was a
result of Akbar's experiences in while he quenched his thirst of gaining
spiritual knowledge over the years, by different media like being close
with the ulamas, instituting lbadat Khana, Mahazarnama, the heavy
influence of Sufi Chisti silsilas and many others.
Therefore,we find that though Akbar had a dominating spiritual side to
him, which were clearly reflected in his religious policies, one cannot
deny the fact that not always all his policies were made with only this
contemplation. The policies were largely propelled politically, which by
the last phase is clearly expressed in the theory of Sulh-i kul, the
theory of absolute peace, where the subjects were not allowed to quarrel
with each other and were to follow their spiritual sovereign who'll guide
them to the ultimate truth