October 24, 2001
An immigrant from Samarqand, Mir Shahabuddin, rose to high rank and won the title Ghaziuddin Khan Bahadur Firoz Jung. (The warrior for the Faith and victorious in battle commanding general.)
Despite becoming blind he retained command his service ended only at his death.
What was the cause of this remarkable success?
Ghaziuddin Firoz was a professional who kept his army in peak condition at all times. All income whether, it was the regular salary received or the bounty bestowed upon him from time to time for outstanding performance, was spent in maintaining his army its equipment and the scout corps which gathered information.
It is recorded that when he paraded his forces before the Emperor the infantry cavalry and artillery made a great impression. There were shiny new mortars mounted on camel elephant and horse besides the heavy cannon on the ground.
Awrungzeyb (Aurangzeb) used his position as Emperor to appropriate whatever ordnance captured his fancy and added it to the army under the direct command of the Imperial family.
He took this opportunity to speak his mind out to his grandson Bedar Bukht son of his favourite son Aazam Shah, Awrungzeyb said
‘As a Prince of the House of Timur you hold a rank which is double that of the Khan and have an income to match. Your army and men do not compare with his. He has all that he should have. In fact it can be said that he has what he should not have! This does not augur well for the future of our family’.
These words were to prove prophetic.
After the death of Awrungzeyb his sons fought a war of succession for the throne. Muazzam came from Kabul where he was governor and Aazam from Ahmadnagar.
Aazam proclaimed himself Emperor, struck coin and had the khutba read in his name. He then asked his most experienced noble, Zulfiqar Khan, for advice. In the manner of the princes of the day he said ‘You are now given permission to proffer whatever advice you consider appropriate for the requirements of the situation we face’.
Zulfiqar Khan responded .
‘Following the example of the Emperor Awrungzeyb we should lodge the imperial and other families in the security of the impregnable fort of Dawlatabad.
The morale and effectiveness of our troops should be given a boost by paying them two months advance wages. This will enable them to repair and refurbish all they need for battle.
To get the best advice and support from age and experience we should travel by the route on which the experienced general Ghaziuddin Khan is located .’
Aazam was a doughty, headstrong warrior and known to be arrogant, rash and tight fisted.
His reply was
‘The late Emperor moved the women and children to Dawlatabad because Dara Shikoh was a formidable adversary. Muazzam is weak and indolent and so we need have no fear on his account.
As for the imperial troops all they do is to shout slogans wishing success and long life to whoever is Emperor. It is time they did some real honest soldiering for all the salary and perks they have enjoyed.
The third suggestion means that we abandon the straight route and shortest distance just in order to meet a blind old man. This is unnecessary’.
Aazam did not even have heavy artillery with him when he encountered Muazzam at the battlefield of Jajau just south of Agra.
Jajau was a disaster. Aazam Shah his sons and grandsons were mowed down by the artillery of Muazzam Shah. They had not expected that this apparently weak and indolent prince would move so fast and with heavy ordnance.
The new emperor entrusted the government of Gujarat to Ghaziuddin Firoz and he served there until his death in the fourth year of the reign.
Ghaziuddin Firoz had created a suburb outside the Ajmeri Gate of Shahjahanabad Dillee and ornamented it with a tank and a square around which thehre was a madrasa or seminary for teachers and scholars, a hammaam or bath besides a mosque and a mausoleum. This monument suffered grievous destruction in 1857 but survived as a seat of learning. Called the Anglo-Arabic College in 1947 it was renamed after Dr Zakir Husain. It offers is an excellent example of what places of learning were like in the 17th and 18th century India and should be refurbished perhaps as a museum of life in Mughal times.
Ghaziuddin’s descendents were to become Nizamul Mulk with Hyderabad as capital. They outlasted not only the Mughal but also the British. In the early twentieth century the Nizam was the richest man in the world and his sons took the princesses of Turkey as brides. The jewels of the Nizam continue to be the focus of public attention.
Mir Shahabuddin’s life story shows the strong bonds between India and Central Asia. The Mughals,were Chaghatai Turks and spoke Turki at home and used Persian for commerce administration and culture. Mir Shahabuddin’s family was similarly bilingual as were the Osmanli Turks who conquered Constantinople in 1453 and gave a large tract in Asia Minor the name ‘Turkey’
The links have been dimmed by India becoming a British possession and, since Partition, being cut off from the land routes because of hostile frontiers. An attempt needs to be made to reactivate the old contacts so that life is enriched instead of being impoverished and imperiled by terrorism.