Jahangir’s reign in Kashmir

Emperor Jahangir strengthened the Mughal Empire in India after his father Akbar. Jahangir was born on 31st August, 1569 and was named Nuruddin Salim Jahangir. Nuruddin has been derived from Arabic which means “light of faith”. Jahangir is a Persian word which means “world conqueror”. Jahangir was an able administrator who had a penchant for the finer things in life.

Jahangir was essentially a lover of nature and Kashmir, therefore, appealed to him particularly. He paid eight visits to Kashmir two of which were in the company of his father and six during his own reign, viz. 14th, 16th,18th,19th,20th and 21st.

Emperor Jahangir married many times and the girls were from very high-class noble families of the Mughals and Rajputs. A Rajput princess known as Jagat Gosain was his favorite and she gave birth to Shah Jahan, Jahangir’s successor. He also married the famous Noor Jahan, who was the widow of Sher Afghan. Noor Jahan was supposed to be unparalleled in beauty and intelligence. This was the reason why Jahangir was attracted towards her. She proved to be the driving force behind Jahangir and made him strengthen the empire. Jahangir loved fine arts and encouraged the growth the poetry, paintings, dance, music, etc. He was also a good writer and loved nature. He penned down his life and his experiences in the form of an autobiography named Tuzk-e-Jahangiri. He was a collector of paintings and many of them are still preserved in a museum. He was famous for his “Chain of Justice”, which was a golden chain attached to some bells outside his palace. Anyone in despair could pull the chain and go in for a personal hearing from the emperor himself. Jahangir died in the year 1627 and was buried in a magnificent tomb at a place called Shahdra, located in present day Pakistan.

Jahangir was accompanied by his beautiful Queen Nur Jahan “whose romantic spirit appears to have led her lord and Emperor into the most secluded and picturesque recesses of the Valley.”  “Many of these pleasant retreats are to this day pointed out as the spots where the royal pair were wont to disport themselves in those days of regal abandon.” The royal pair must have passed their time in festivities of every kind. In summer nights, the Dal lake must have reflected brilliant illuminations and fantastic fireworks, and the air must have “re-echoed to the sound of song and dance.” Akbar, Jahangir and his Nur Jahan, says Mrs. Stuart, are far more vivid personalities in India than Elizabeth or the Stuat sovereigns are in England. To please his consort, Jahangir is said to have introduced the Chinar or the plane tree from Iran, her native country. But this is wrong. The Kashmiri word bawayn shows the existence of the Chinar in Kashmir before Jahangir, who himself refers to the girth and spreading shade of chinars with wonder. Jahangir’s account of the journey and his impressions of the country, its people, their costumes and modes of life, of the variety of its picturesque scenery, his comments on men, women and things are all vividly recorded in his own inimitable style in his Memoirs. He built many palaces and summer houses. He completed the construction of the celebrated Shalimar Gardens. The ruins of palaces at Manas-bal, Acha-bal and Ver-nag, etc., attest to Nur Jahan’s taste in selecting picturesque sites.

Reference:

Sufi,G.M.D (1996). Kashmir Under The Mughals. Kashir: Being A History Of Kashmir(pp.251-253) Delhi:Capital Publishing House.