From Shah Jahan to Narendra Modi is a long way. But we need to take note of it because it is a journey dictated by history and, like all such journeys, it opens a window to the making of the country. It brings out the contradictions that made India now a triumph of mankind, now a misadventure. In many ways, it is something of a wonder that Shah Jahan’s India and Narendra Modi’s India are one and the same. But are they?
Shah Jahan was no doubt a dictator, a military commander who always won because he had the most formidable army of his time: 9,11,400 infantry, musketeers and artillery men in addition to 1,85,000 cavalrymen commanded by princes and nobles who owed allegiance to him. This assembly of fighters helped him put down the revolts he faced. The Rajputs of Bundelkhand and the Deccan chieftains were among those who revolted. They were all forced to acknowledge Mughal supremacy and pay annual tribute to the Emperor.