Five months after the succession of Jahangir to the throne, prince Khusrau, whose relations with his father were not cordial at all, left Agra with 350 horsemen on the pretext of visiting the Tomb of Akbar the Great. He was joined at Mathura by Hussain Beg with about 3,000 horsemen. Further on, he was joined by Abdur Rahim, Dewan of Lahore, who was coming to Agra.
When Prince Khusrau reached Taran Taran, he got the blessings of Guru Arjun and probably also some money. After that, he marched towards Lahore and besieged the same. Lahore was defended by Dilawar Khan and hence could not be taken. Jahangir himself reached Lahore with a big army.
The rebels were defeated in the Battle of Bhairowal. After defeat, Prince Khusrau and his followers proceeded towards Kabul. However, they were captured while crossing the Chenab River. Prince Khusrau and his friends and followers were brought before Jahangir. The prince was chained and handcuffed and was weeping very bitterly. Everybody was moved by the sight but not Jahangir who ordered the Prince to be thrown into prison.
Cruel Punishments were inflicted on the followers of Prince Khusrau. To quote Jahangir himself, “I gave Khusrau into custody and I ordered these two villains to be enclosed in the skins of a cow and an ass and had to be placed on asses, faced to the tail and so to be paraded round the city.” Guru Arjun who had blessed the Prince was not excused. He was ordered to be put to death and his property was confiscated.
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In 1607, Jahangir came to know of a plot which aimed at murdering him and putting Prince Khusrau on the throne. The ring-leaders were ordered to be executed. Prince Khusrau was ordered to be Blinded, although his eyesight was not completely lost. Up to 1616, Prince Khusrau was kept in the capital as a prisoner. Then he was made over to Asaf Khan. In 1620, he was handed Over to Prince Khurram who as not well-disposed towards him. In March, 1622, the prince was murdered. Long afterwards, Aurangzeb is said to have accused Shah Jahan of the murder of Khusrau and Parvez.
Prince Khusrau was very popular with the people and the Nobility. It is stated that long after his death, his last resting in place in Allahabad was visited by people in a spirit of veneration and he was considered to be a “martyred saint”.
About Prince Khusrau, Dr. R.P. Tripathi observes thus: “What would have been the History of India had Khusrau succeeded Akbar instead of Jahangir is a question no historian can undertake to answer. There is however, no doubt that though the son of Jahangir, he was many respects superior to his father.
Thoughtful, cultured and sober, he had none of the vices which disgraced the character of Jahangir. He had no fondness for wine or any weakness for women. His pleasant features, personal charms, social grace, purity of character, liberal views, dignified manners and kind and affectionate heart had made him a pet of his Grandfather Akbar and extremely popular with the masses, and a large section of the nobles. It was believed, for good reasons, that he had imbibed the spirit of his Grandfather more than any one of his descendants and was expected to carry on his policy more faithfully and successfully than any one else.'”