Roshanara Begum

For|Hindustani classical singer|Roshan Ara Begum

Roshanara Begum (Urdu: شاهزادی روشن آرا بیگم ) was the second oldest daughter of the Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Born on September 3, 1617, Roshanara was a brilliant woman, talented poetess, the mastermind behind Aurangazeb's accession to the Mughal throne and one of the most notorious women in the Mughal kingdom by the time of her death in late 1671. She is today, however, best known for the Roshanara Bagh [Dalrymple, William: "City Of Dijinns - A Year In Delhi", Page 198, 1993. Harper Collins, London. ISBN 0 00-215725] , a pleasure garden located in north Delhi, next to Kamala Nagar Road and Grand Trunk Road. The present-day Roshanara Club which was constructed in the late 1800s by the British is a famous country club that was actually originally a part of the Roshanara Bagh.

Of his four sons, his oldest, Dara Shikoh, was Shah Jahan's favourite son, and heir apparent to the Peacock Throne. Shah Shuja was the second son, Governor of Bengal and a noted rebel with designs on his father's throne. Aurangzeb was the third son and was the nominal Governor of Deccan. Murad, the youngest, was granted Governorship of Gujarat, at which position he proved so weak and so ineffectual that Shah Jahan stripped him of his titles, offering them to Dara Shikoh, instead. This precipitated a family struggle between Shah Jahan and his embittered younger sons who resolved to depose the aging emperor and seize the throne for themselves. During this power struggle, Dara Shikoh received the support of his oldest sister, Jahanara Begum while Roshanara Begum sided with Aurangzeb, instead.

Roshanara successfully foiled a plot by her father and Dara Shikoh to kill Aurangazeb. According to history, Shah Jahan sent a letter of invitation to Aurangazeb to visit Delhi, in order to peacefully resolve the family crisis. In truth, however, Shah Jahan planned to capture, imprison and kill Aurangazeb in prison as he viewed his third son a serious threat to the throne. When Roshanara got wind of her father's plots, she sent a messenger to Aurangazeb, outlining the plot and warning him to stay away from Delhi.

Aurangazeb was extremely grateful to Roshanara for her timely warning. When the war of succession was resolved in favour of Aurangazeb, she quickly became a powerful figure at court. Fearing that Dara Shikoh would kill her for her role in the war of succession if he ever returned to power, Roshanara insisted that Aurangazeb order Dara's execution. Legend has it that Dara was bound in chains, paraded around Chandni Chowk and beheaded. Roshanara then had his bloody head wrapped in a golden turban, packaged neatly and sent to her father as a gift from Aurangazeb and her. Shah Jahan, who opened the package just as he was sitting down to dinner, was so distressed by the sight of his favorite son's head that he fell unconscious to the floor. He remained in a stupor for many days after the incident.

Roshanara's relationship with her older sister, Jahanara, was troubled and tinged by jealousy as the latter was undisputedly their father's favourite daughter. Roshanara scored a major victory against her sister when Aurangazeb, who had beeen displeased with Jahanara for supporting their father and brother during the war of succession, removed her (Jahanara) from her position as head of the Imperial harem, installing Roshanara in her stead.

Eventually, however, Roshanara and Aurangazeb fell out with each other. Roshanara, who was obliged to remain single, as was the tradition with Mughal princesses, instead took many lovers, some openly, some secretly. In addition, she ruled Aurangazeb's harem with an iron hand and earned the hatred of her brother's many wives. She also had a love of gold and land, and accumulated wealth on a large scale, often by corrupt methods. This resulted in numerous complaints against her, none of which were brought to justice due to her position at Court. In addition, she blatantly misused the sweeping powers Aurangazeb had granted her just before leaving for his long military campaign in the Deccan, to further her own financial ends.

Her enemies soon brought these acts of financial and moral turpitude to Aurangazeb's notice. Himself a very strict Muslim, Aurangazeb frowned on Roshanara's libertine lifestyle and her greed. On his return to Delhi, he stripped Roshanara of her powers, banished her from his court, and ordered her to remain in seclusion and live a pious life in her garden palace outside of Delhi. Finally, realizing that Roshanara was fast becoming a dangerous liability and afraid that the scandal following his sister would attach itself to his own name, he actively sought an opportunity to eliminate her from the picture.

That opportunity presented itself in late 1671, when Roshanara was discovered with yet another secret lover in her garden. The incident enraged Aurangazeb and sealed Roshanara's end. At the counsel of his ministers, he had her condemned as a "Kafir" for violating Muslim law and ordered her to be poisoned with her lover. Roshanara died a slow and agonizing death three days later at the age of 54. Aurangazeb had her interred in the Roshanara Bagh, a garden that she had designed and commissioned herself.

Notes

Further reading

*Dalrymple, William: "City of Djinns - A Year in Delhi". 1993, Harper Collins, London. ISBN 0 00-215725.
*Eraly, Abraham: "The Mughal Throne". 1997. Penguin Books, India.