Historiography in an ideological state becomes a tool to justify it by distorting events and misinterpreting facts. Pakistan came into being on the basis of the 'two nation' theory and so the historians tried to legitimise it on the basis of history. To begin with, the task of tracing the roots of Hindu-Muslim separation was undertaken by I.H. Qureshi, who in his writings, provides a historical basis for the theory. He was followed by Moinul Haq and S.M. Ikram. These historians redefined the history of the Indian subcontinent with the perspective of the two nation theory and therefore criticised and condemned all those historical personalities who deviated from it and contributed to a composite culture. One of their victims is Akbar who, in their opinion, weakened the Muslim power in India by making alliances with the Hindus and inducting them in his service.
I.H. Qureshi in The Muslim Community of Indian subcontinent argues that “The most obvious reason was that Akbar changed the nature of polity profoundly. The Muslims were still a dominant group in the state, but it had ceased to be a Muslim state...Now Muslims were only one of the communities in the empire which controlled the Council and the armed might of the state. Akbar had weakened Islam through his policies.”
S. M. Ikram in his book History of Muslim Civilization in India and Pakistan writes that “His efforts at religious syncretism were doomed to failure. Of course, roots of this failure went even deeper — to the fundamental differences between Islam and Hinduism and the basic reluctance of the two communities to merge.”
Shaikh A. Rashid, writing on the Mughals in A Short History of Pakistan repeats I.H. Qureshi's views that “In the beginning they saw with satisfaction and even pride that the Hindus had started wielding the sword of Islam, they soon learnt that the sword would not always be wielded in the interest of Islam.”
One historian who challenges this analysis and provides a fresh perspective about Akbar and his policies is Ahmad Basher, former professor of history, University of Sindh, whose book Akbar, the Great Mughal His New Policy, His New Religion was published in 1967 when the views of I.H. Qureshi and S.M. Ikram and other ideological historians dominated Pakistani historiography; consequently it could not be distributed and remained unknown to scholars. Recently it was published by an Indian publisher and provides a different point of view of Akbar than that of most Pakistani historians.
According to Basher's point of view Akbar's Rajput policy was not the product of his religious policy. He adopted it when he was quite young and a deeply religious man. However, he realised that good relations were important for the state. His first marriage with the Rajput princess was not the result of coercion or force; it was by mutual consent of both the parties. After marrying Rajput women, he inducted their families to the Mughal administration. They became part of the royal family. He not only respected them but treated them on equal basis visited their palaces on different occasions, awarded them on their services, and trusted them beyond any doubt. They were assigned the task to guard the royal harem. Raja Bhagwan Das was appointed his deputy in his absence from the capital. He was also appointed governor of Afghanistan. Man Singh became the mansabdar of 7,000 soldiers - a post which was reserved for princes. The Rajputs paid back and fought for the expansion of the Mughal Empire.
Akbar's policy towards other Hindu rajas was not to make them tributary but ask them to become a part of his empire and serve him as his nobles. He appointed Todar Mal as his Diwan or finance minister who was next to the king in hierarchy. He opened all posts on merit which made the state equal for both Hindus and Muslims. “Hindus were serving under Muslim nobles, Muslims were fighting under Hindu generals. They were all serving the Emperor.” Akbar created such mutual understanding that Hindus and Muslims “lived together, worked together, were put in charge together, were with their Emperor together, even in privacy.”
Akbar's major contribution towards a composite culture was to adopt the Indian cultural traditions. He was deeply interested in Hindu epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana which he ordered to be translated into Persian. He enjoyed the company of Hindu saints and rishis. He kept Hindu physicians at the court. He loved Indian music. He patronised Hindu painters and provided them all facilities.
His court adopted Hindu festivals such as diwali, holi and desehra and they were celebrated with grandeur. He also adopted the Indian tradition of Tuldan; i.e. the weighing ceremony of the emperor in different kinds of goods which were then distributed among the poor.
Akbar's entire concept was that he was the king of all his subjects irrespective of their religion caste and creed. By Indianising the court he converted the Mughals into Indians. His policy was not opportunistic but genuine to create a composite culture. He kept religion aside in the construction of his state structure. The results of his policy were not negative as some Pakistani historians derive in their analysis. It made the Mughal state strong enough to withstand all challenges and it retained its authority till 1707 in spite of the changes which were made by Aurangzeb.
During Akbar's entire reign both Hindus and Muslims felt secure and the emperor was loved by his Hindu subjects who called him Mahabali or the mighty one.
Ahmad Bashir concludes that “All that which Akbar stands for in history — toleration of all religions and citizenship for all subjects, recognition of merit, eligibility for one and all for every post, even the highest in the state service, and appreciation of everything appreciable, Muslim or Hindu — was not due to any deviation from Islam on his part. It was the work of a keen-sighted statesman.”
