Character of Aurangazeb
The private life character of Aurangzeb was almost ideal. Mughal King Aurangzeb was an extremely industrious man, methodical and disciplined in habits and thought and an indefatigable worker. In food and dress he was very simple, and the number of his wives in his long life never exceeded the Quranic limit of four at a time. He was also faithful to conjugal love, had no weakness for women, abstained completely from wine and was free from other defects so common among born aristocrats.
Possessed of an inborn taste for scholarly pursuits, he was a master of Arabic and Persian and could also speak Turki and Hindi with fluency. He was a lover of books and an accurate scholar. He cultivated self-control, self-knowledge and self reverence, and exercised a curb over his tongue and temper. He was humble and considerate and thoroughly devoted to his religion, praying five times every day, keeping the fast of Ramzan and meticulously going through other observances prescribed by the Quran. If there were any defects in his private life, they were his ambition and non-tolerance which made him believe that all others were wrong and he alone was right.
Aurangzeb was a great soldier and general. He possessed a great physical courage, endurance and coldness of temperament and never refused to risk his life.He displayed considerable presence of mind and fearlessness during the Balkh campaign and in the midst of fighting dismounted his horse in order to offer the obligatory Zuhr prayer. He was a good strategist and always took advantage of his enemy’s mistakes and weaknesses.
Aurangzeb was devoted to the business of government in letter and spirit. In the matter of Madad-i-Maash grants, he laid down minute rules of succession to the holders of such allowances among the heirs of the grantees.
Aurangzeb,however, did not prove to be a good son. He deposed and imprisoned his father, Shah Jahan.
Inspite of being brave and intelligent, Aurangzeb cannot be called a great or a successful ruler of men, for he lacked that supreme quality needed in every king, namely, concern for the welfare of all his subjects. He labored all through his life to realize his ambition, but as it turned out, he labored only to destroy and not build and consequently failed to achieve success. He had no comprehensive programme for the economic and social good of the people.
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb didnt learnt that there cannot be a great empire without a great administrative machinery. His distrust of others urged him to supervise personally every detail of administration. This reduced his ministers and other high officers to the status of’ clerks and made them during the long period of his reign helpless puppets without initiative or sense of responsibility. The result was complete administrative degeneration.
During the last twenty years of his reign, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, failed to maintain peace and order on account of his engagement in the Deccan wars. Rebellion broke out in many parts of Northern India.
