Why Akbar Is Regarded As The Greatest Muslim Ruler Of India?

Akbar the Great was one of the greatest rulers of Indian History. He was became a hero whose memory is immorialized as a great king in the heart of the people of India.

He has been considered as the real founder and organiser of the Mughal Empire in India. At the same time he was a statesman and an administrator of high rank.

Babur had laid to foundation of Mughal Empire in India, but it was Akbar who consolidated the empire by following a policy of reconciliation towards the Hindus.

Akbar ascended the throne in 1556. His guardian Bairam Khan performed his coronation ceremony at Kalanur in Punjab. Immediately after his accession he had to face some complicated problems.

Himu the Prime Minister of Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah Sur had occupied Dellii and Agra expelling the Mughal Governor Tradi Beg. However Bairam Khan his guardian collected a powerful army and advanced against Himu who was defeated and killed in the Second battle of Panipath in 1556.

Akbar recaptured Delhi and Agra and consolidated his position and embarked upon his career of conquest which extended for a period of forty years.

During the period from 1558 to 1560 Bairam Khan completed the conquest of Gwalior, Ajmer and Jaunpur from 1560 Akbar took the reigns of Government into his own hands and dismissed Bairam Khan.

In 1561 Alam Khan conquered Malwa. In 1563 the Rajput king Bihari Mal of Ambar offered his submission recognising the suzerainty of Akbar His daughter Jodhabai was given in marriage to the Mughul empire in 1564 Akbar conquered Gondwano. Akber besieged the fort Chittor in October 1567.

Rana Udai Singh fled to the hills with the advance of the imperial army. In 1569 Ranthambhor and Kalinjar were conquered. Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa. Kabul, Kashmir, Sind and Kandahar were also annexed with the Mughal Empire. In the south the Mughal Empire extended as far as Ahemadnagar.

Akbar was an empire builder in the real sense of the term. He took steps to secure the sympathy and support of the Hindus the majority population of the country. So he abolished the Piligrims tax and Jizya.

The Hindus were granted perfect religious freedom. Akbar appointed the Hindus in general and Rajputs in particular in different posts of power and responsibility. He established matrimonial alliance with the Rajputs who constituted the fighting class of the Hindu community.

The Rajputs like Sihari Mai, Bhagwan Das, Man Singh and Raja Todar Mai were holding posts of trust and responsibility during his reign. The Rajput alliance helped Akbar to extend and strengthen Mughal Empire in India.

Din-i-Ilahi-Akbar had followed the policy of universal tolerance in the sphere of religion. He builts the Ibadatkhana at Fathepur Sikri to conduct religious discussions. Originally the discussion was confined to the Muslim saints only. But Akbar invited the Hindu saints like Prushottam.

Devi and Jaina saints like Haravijaya Suri to take part in the religious discussion. At last Akbar realised that the essence of all religion are identical and in 1581 he promulgated Din-i-Ilahi or Divine emonotheism.

The emperor made a benevolent attempt to bring about a synthesis of various conflicting creeds under one religion in order to establish friendly relation between the people of different communities.

Akbar was an able administrator. He had divided the empire into a number of Subas or province. Each Subas was under a Subedar. The Subas were sub-divided into Sarkars. The Parganas were the lowest units of administration.

The head of the Pangana was known as Shiqdar. The village panchayat carried on the village administration. Akbar had introduced an excellent land revenue system.

Todar Mai the revenue minister had introduced this system after a careful survey and classification of the lands. The land revenue to be paid by each cultivator was fixed at 1/ 3rd production of all categories of soil.

Akbar was a true nation builder. He was very much interested for the establishment of cordial relation between different groups of peoples.

He had tried to bring about a fusion of Hindu and Muslim art and literature. During his region important Sanskrit works were translated in the Persian language and among these the Epics like Rainayan and Mahabharat were most important.

The Hindi poet Tulsi Das wrote his monumental work Ramcharita-Manasa during his reign. The buildings of Akbar at Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri reveal the impact of Hindu art.

There were thirteen Hindu painters in his courts. Akbar had constructed massiva forts at Lahore. Agra and Allahabad.

Dr. V. Smith has remarked Akbar was a born king of men with a rightful claim to be one of the mightiest sovereigns known to History. The claim rests securely on his original ideas and magnificent achievements.