The Dearest Son of Akbar?

For a tree to nurture it's roots, the soil must provide sufficient space and freedom for it to grow. While born on this day was the youngest son of the Akbar clan, none of his sons could retain the kingdom as they grew in hatred for each other.

Like father, like son; Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

One knows how the greatest Mughals of all time, Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar became ruler of two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent with his will and power. Unlike others, his inclusive nature as a ruler compelled him to acknowledge the diverse religions in his kingdom. Yet, when the kingdom was at stake, he had always been ruthless and strict.

Surprisingly, it was unfortunate that this trait of Akbar's was passed down to the three of his sons, Salim, Murad, and Daniyal. An excellent ruler, but not a great father to his lovely sons, Akbar's greatest contribution was to uphold throne values and the result was that they all died surrounded by insecurity, resentment, and frustration.

It was the seeds of competitions that were unknowingly sown by the strict and controlling Akbar right from the beginning, who wanted to retain the best for his kingdom. This may explain why Salim and Murad were insecure about each other and ended up in an addiction to alcohol. Afterwards, he had a third son, Daniyal, who was both the youngest and the dearest to him. He was always on good terms with Akbar, but it didn't last long because he resorted to the same drinking habit as his father and brothers.

Despite this, the two shared a 'like father, like son' relationship for quite some time, as Daniyal too had a fine taste in poetry, and was a poet himself, writing in Urdu and Persian. It is unknown, however, who his mother was, but one of Akbar's royal concubines gave birth to him. As part of a gesture of honour to Raja Bharmal's family, Daniyal was further brought up by his wife in Ajmer, when Akbar was away in Gujarat for several months.

On account of their age, Daniyal's rank was elevated to 6000 under the Mansabdar system. Like his brother, this provided an experienced guardian who would help them create their own households, military force, and court factions.

The three brothers would often be found in a cold war because of their jealousy, but unlike previous generations, they didn't lust for one another's blood or try to even kill each other in succession wars. Also Daniyal was closer to his job as an administrator.

In one such episode when Akbar aimed to conquer the Deccan, Daniyal, who was just 22, went along with his trained army to the battlefield. Though he was given supreme command over the war after the death of his brother, but he ended it with his brilliance. The day war of Deccan ended, he was dearly welcomed at the camp by his father.

In the honour of Daniyal's success, Khandesh, incorporated into the empire, received the new designation 'Dandesh'; which was bestowed on him.

Hence the favourite son of Akbar, Daniyal also proved to be an excellent warrior and a caretaker who was able to fulfil the expectation of the throne, as his smartness and courage led to him being crowned as a Viceroy of Deccan.

While Akbar had been trying to control his alcohol addiction for long, Daniyal was drawn towards drinking habits that grew with time as he succumbed to severe alcoholism when he was just thirty-two. Even though the emperor was devastated by the loss of his son, he didn't look surprised by the news. It almost seemed like such a fate that even Akbar died soon after this. All that remained was a throne that appeared dear to all...

Sadly, it was this empire with great rulers but all were put to death only because of their drinking habits, which may prove, they all were nurtured in the soil of their fathers. The difference was only rooted in hatred and jealousy, which led to Akbar's fall in embitterment and sadness.