Chapter 5
Military Campaigns
27 years of Deccan Wars, wars against Marathas, Sikhs, and Rajputs — the military campaigns that bankrupted an empire and destroyed millions of lives.
27 years of Deccan Wars, wars against Marathas, Sikhs, and Rajputs — the military campaigns that bankrupted an empire and destroyed millions of lives.
Aurangzeb's path to power was paved with the blood of his own family:
Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan's chosen heir, was the philosophical opposite of Aurangzeb. He translated the Upanishads into Persian, believed in the essential unity of religions, and represented the pluralistic Mughal tradition of Akbar. After defeat at the Battle of Samugarh (1658), Dara was hunted, captured through treachery, paraded through Delhi on a filthy elephant, declared an apostate, and beheaded on August 30, 1659. His severed head was sent to their father Shah Jahan, imprisoned in Agra Fort.
Aurangzeb imprisoned his father Shah Jahan in Agra Fort for eight years (1658–1666), where the aging emperor spent his final years gazing at the Taj Mahal — the monument he had built for his wife. Shah Jahan died essentially as a prisoner of his own son.
Shah Shuja fled to Arakan (Myanmar) and was never heard from again, likely murdered. Murad Baksh, who had been Aurangzeb's ally, was betrayed, imprisoned, and executed in Gwalior Fort on trumped-up charges.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj represented the greatest challenge to Mughal hegemony. Key events include:
After Shivaji's death, Aurangzeb moved his entire court south and personally led a 27-year campaign to destroy the Maratha confederacy. This single decision proved catastrophic:
Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, Vols. III-V; Maasir-i-Alamgiri; G.S. Sardesai, New History of the Marathas
The Rajputs had been loyal Mughal allies since Akbar's time. Aurangzeb shattered this alliance through bigotry and political treachery:
Aurangzeb's persecution of the Sikh community produced some of the most heroic resistance in Indian history. For detailed accounts, see Religious Persecution. The military dimension included:
The irony: Aurangzeb's persecution of the Sikhs directly led to the creation of the Khalsa, which would later play a decisive role in the destruction of Mughal power in Punjab. For more context on the Bharat Files Initiative documenting such events.