Submitted by: Farhan Khan
Submitted to: Prof. Syed Jaleel Hussain
Subject: Indian Strategic Thought
Course: M.A.-CAPB -2nd year
Nelson
Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Jamia Millia Islamia
Introduction:
Aurangzeb is the ruler who is most talked in present India for its role on expansion of Islam through brutal ways and his role in demolition of temples of other religions, different historians and scholars have different opinion about this but one thing all the scholars agree on is his brilliant strategic thinking of expanding his territory and his military strategy.
Aurangzeb
was the sixth ruler of Mughal dynasty in India, born on 3rd November
1618 to Shahjahan, he was considered to be the last effective emperor of Mughal
India. He reigned for 49 years.
Aurangzeb ruled nearly over all the parts of Indian Subcontinent. His military strategy resulted him the greatest of Empire which none of the early Mughal emperor had, his expansion to Southern India is one of the best example of his strategic thoughts. Under his rule the Mughal Empire stretched up to 4 million square kilometer. More than 158 million Subjects were under his rule and the revenue generated in his reign was $450 million per year, which was more than 10 times to that of the Revenue of France’s King Louis XIV. India’s GDP under his rule was around 27%, with worth over $90 billion, and India even was ahead of China in terms of World’s largest Economy. After the end of Aurangzeb’s reign the downfall of the Mughal Empire began. Oppositions, Rebellious group started engaging the Mughal armies like never before and wars resulted to the exhaustion of the Mughal Army and Treasury. He was seen as a strong Authoritarian ruler, but the expansionary movement of Mughals came to an end after his death.
Military Strategy
According
to the definition approved by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Military Strategy
is:
“The
art and science of employing the armed forces of a nation to secure the
objectives of national policy by the application of force, or the threat of
force”
The
Strategy comprises of three things Ends, Ways and Means.
With the General understanding of Strategy, ends can be defined as the Objective of the Military, Ways are the various method and process through which military forces are applied. Means refers to the use of Military resources to fulfill the task, which includes Manpower, Material, Money, Forces Logistics, etc.
Over
the period of Time Indian Military strategy has changed and has adopted various
changes, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, deals
briefly about the Military strategy of Gupta Period and also how a military
strategy should be made, then in the times of Mughal, with their own
understanding of Indian people they developed their own Military strategy, in
which Akbar is considered as the mastermind among all Mughal Rulers, then after
him Aurangzeb is considered as an expert in Military strategy and in war theory
as he expanded his reign in the south and even in the north east where Akbar
could not reach.
Then
India under British had adopted different strategy where administrative
branches were laid down in many areas, and naval forces where build and buffer
zone concept was discovered by them in which they made buffer zones to country
like Afghanistan and Myanmar, Such that a direct foreign attack is avoided.
The
Military strategy of a country is built upon different aspects; they are mainly
History of that country, Geographical location of that country, Culture of that
country. In case of India and other pre-colonized state one thing more comes
into the play- Colonial Rule, British Raj in case of India.
The
Military strategy has some key Principles of war, on which the whole strategy
and war is laid upon.
Principle
of war is a set of guided rules or idea that guide the study and conduct of
warfare.
There
has been no common principle of war for all across globe, but it varies from
country to country. The list of principle is based upon experience, heritage
and military culture of that state or nation.
Kautilya
gave rules and guidelines to follow as the Principles of war, and followed the
following factors before going into the war, these are:
· Power
in terms of strength of fighting forces, enthusiasm and energy.
· Place
of operation, type of terrain and selection of ground of own choosing.
· Time
of military engagement.
· Season
for marching towards the battleground.
· When
to mobilize different types of forces.
· Possibility
of revolts and rebellions in the rear.
· Likely
losses, expenses and gains.
· Likely
dangers.
On
the basis of Kautilya’s Principles and On present Indian Military Strategy, we
will analyze Aurangzeb’s Military strategy.
Analysis of Aurangzeb’s Strategy and Principle of war
• Concentration of Force (military
power), Selection of Aim and Leadership:
The
Mughal Army was mainly horse oriented, Akbar who fought many battels and
extended the Mughal empire for the first time had a force of near about 384,758
cavalry, and 3,877,557 matchlock-men and he had a large number of infantry.
Shah Jahan who was known for his love towards art and culture and fought less
war in comparison to Akbar and Aurangzeb maintained a force of 200,00 cavalry,
and 40,000 infantry, artillerymen and musketeers. With this even the Princes
and Nobles had another 185,000 cavalry. But Aurangzeb went one step ahead of
his grandfather and maintained 300,000 cavalry and 600,000 matchlocks-men
besides this he had a huge force of infantry. During
Aurangzeb's reign the artillery had been perfected considerably. Manufacture of
the guns was a crude process. When it came to military expeditions and
expansion, Aurangzeb defeated there rivals and rebellions by sending huge
armies.
Aurangzeb’s
forces even used rockets to capture Bidar, In 1657 Aurangzeb marched against
Sidi Marjan, Mughal forces discharged Grenades and rockets while scaling the
walls, and then Marjan himself got badly wounded after a rocket struck his
large gunpowder depot. Nearly after 27 day Bidar was brought under control of Aurangzeb’s
reign.
In
1684 to defeat Sikander Adil Shah- Ruler of Bijapur, who refused to pledge
allegiance to Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb dispatched his son, Mohammad Azam Shah
with a force of nearly 50,000, but due to usage of cannons from both side the
fort was not captured, then Aurangzeb himself joined the war with his extra
troops on 4th September 1686, he commanded to Siege Of Bijapur,
after 8 days of fighting, Aurangzeb won Bijapur.
Aurangzeb’s
military power and strategy is shown in the war of Golconda, in which Aurangzeb
defeated Abul Hasan Qutb Shah – the Qutbshahi ruler of Golconda, who refused to
surrender. The Qutbshahi ruler protected Kollur Mine, which was then an
extremely important economic asset as it was then the world’s most productive diamond
mine. In 1687 Aurangzeb led his grand military against Deccan Qutbshahi
fortress during the Siege of Golconda. The Mughal army had around 100 massive
canons, some of the canons had the ability to shoot Cannonballs weighing over
50 kg . Massive fortification was done by qutabshahis throughout many
generations and then wall stretched more than 8 mile enclosing city and it was
on hill over 400 ft high. During
the
eight-month siege the Mughals faced many hardships like small-scale famines for
weeks at a time, but whenever the Mughal Admiral Munnawar Khan arrived with
supplies and weapons with his river fleet, Aurangzeb would intensify the siege.
Aurangzeb and his force managed to penetrate the wall, by scaling the high
walls in night, after entering and capturing one of the gate, Abul Hasan Qutab
Shah surrendered peacefully.
This
annexation not only shows the Strategic thinking of Aurangzeb but also gives a
clear message that after coming into a war with his full army he never went
back, he stayed there and captured that, also after the surrender of Abul
Hasan, he never ordered Execution realizing the sentiments of Deccan people for
Qutabshahis, which could have triggered if he was executed. By this he not only
showed Good Morale but also provided good leadership for his army which fought
the battle with him for 8 months away from home.
• Offensive action and Place of operation:
The very first Annexation by Aurangzeb shows his Strategic thinking both
economically and in terms of war, as he knew the region of Deccan very well, he
attacked Bidar and captured it in year 1657. The city famous for its textile
craftsmen who produced fine embroidered carpets with fine pearls, came under
his control, this was a clear message from Aurangzeb to the Deccan region that
he won’t allow any rebellion against him.
To
cover the area of North-East, Aurangzeb sent his own maternal uncle Shaista
Khan in 1663 as the Governor of Bengal, as the area had a huge trade route
through water and the traders were being looted by Arakanis Pirates, Shaista
Khan on the order of Aurangzeb fought with the Ahoms and also the pirates from
Arakans, and even drove them out and restored the trade area and secured the
routes. As governor, he encouraged trade with Europe, Southeast Asia and other
parts of India. He consolidated his power by signing trade agreements with
European powers.
The
seize of Golconda which made Aurangzeb the richest monarch in the world, this
seize was only possible because of the use of spy, as one the military official
in the army of Qutb Shahi dynasty was bribed to open one of the gates and let
the Mughal army come in, The Golconda fortress could not have been seized from
outwards because it had massive structure and even the gates of the fortress
could have easily managed the pressure of war elephants, , the Golconda Fort
was probably the most impregnable fort in South Asia. With this the Aurangzeb
and the Mughal army had successfully conquered two Muslim kingdoms: Nizams of
Ahmednagar and the Adilshahis of Bijapur.
· Foreign
relations :
After
becoming the Emperor, Aurangzeb shared gifts to foreign Muslim rulers of west Asia;
he often used to send finest embroidered Carpets with pearls, tiles, lamps to
these Kingdom and also too different Islamic Shrines, including Mecca and
Medina.
He
constructed Ships in Surat especially to transport these gifts and even
pilgrims to Hajj.
Aurangzeb appointed Mir Aziz Badakhshi to look over the management and to carry these annual expeditions.
Aurangzeb’s
Relations with the Uzbek
Uzbek’s ruler Subhan Quli Balk was the first to recognize him In 1658, he was working with Mughal Emperor Shahjahan since 1647, then Aurangzeb was the Governor of Balkh, after Aurangzeb took the charge as an Emperor, Subhan requested for a general alliance which was accepted by Aurangzeb.
Relations
with Persia
Aurangzeb had a cordial relationship with Safavid dynasty of Persia, till in 1666 Persia attacked Mughal Army near Kandhar, Aurangzeb commanded his armies to prepare for a war but the sudden death of Abbas II caused Aurangzeb to end all hostilities. After giving refuge to Aurangzeb’s rebellious son, who took refuge in Persia, Suleiman I refused him to assist him in any military advancements against Aurangzeb.
Relations
with the French
The
French came to India for trade, but they faced severe rebels in Deccan which
destroyed their trade and put their life into threat, taking this account
Ambassadors of French East India Company- Le Gouz and Bebert presented letter
written by Louis XIV of France urging him the protection of French Merchants
from rebels in the Deccan region. Because of this letter Aurangzeb issued a
Firman (order) allowing the French to establish a new factory in Surat for
better foreign trade and relationship.
Due to the rise in trade the Sultan of Maldives was concerned about the French and English Trading companies therefore, he requested the faujedar of Balasore, but Aurangzeb had week naval forces and no control of power of Seas, So no assistance was received from the side of Aurangzeb.
The Relationship Aurangzeb and English:
To
obtain an imperial firman, The English tried to pursued Aurangzeb in 1686,
which would grant England a permanent and regular trading privileges through
the Mughal Kingdom, in which they miserably failed, as a result of this the so
called Child’s war took palce, this angered Aurangzeb and he dispatched a larger
and strong fleet from Janjira which was commanded by Sidi Yakub and manned by
Mappila loyal to Ali Raja Ali II and Abyssinian sailors blockaded Bombay in
1689, this made the company ask for forgiveness by prostrating company’s envoys
infront of the Emperor, promise for better behavior and pay a large indemnity.
In 1695 Aurangzeb nearly ordered an armed attack the English governed city of Bombay, after the capture of Grand Mughal Convoy near Surat, by an English Pirate Henry Every captured Ganj-i-Sawai, which was returning from Mecca from the annual pilgrimage. But he agreed to compromise after East India Company agreed to pay £600,000. Meanwhile Aurangzeb shut down four factories of East India Company.
· Continuity
of Action Against rebellions:
Aurangzeb
throughout his reign suffered losses and opposition due to Continues rebellions
from time to time, to check this rebellions, Aurangzeb continued to travel and
wage war against his opponents, he continued to crush them with large forces
and different tactics and mainly because of conventional warfare tactics. There
were many rebellion against Aurangzeb’s rule like:
Jat
rebellion, Pashtun Rebellions, Satnami sect rebellion, Sikh rebeliion, Rathore
clan rebellion under Durgadas Rathore, but the two very famous rebellion in
which Aurangzeb suffered great loss was the Ahom Rebellion and Maratha Rebellion which
took a form of War, in which Aurangzeb gave 27 years to crush the rebellious
Marathas and properly rule the Deccan region, but this never happened as just
after his death the Marathas became powerful in Deccan, and till he was alive
they never allowed him to rest.
Battle
of Saraighat (1671) was an hard strategic loss for Aurngzeb, in terms of his
Reputation, as a much weaker force defeated Of Ahoms, defeated the Mughal army
led by Kachwaha King and Raja Ram Singh I, And the Ahom Kingdom was led by
Lachit Borphukan.
Ahoms realized the Mughal
weakness in the hills and Navy, taking advantages of these and by brilliant
uses of the location to battel, key diplomatic negotiations, Guerrilla Tactics
and Military intelligence, Ahoms defeated Mughals In the battle of Saraighat
which was fought on river Bramhaputra and Mughal navy was weakest in terms of
Mughal Army. Though this was not the last battle between Mughals and Ahoms, as
latter Lachit Borphukan’s own brother gave Guwahati under the control in 1679
and remained loyal to Mughals till 1682, then Ahoms untied again under Gadadhar
Singha recovered it and ended Mughals control over the region.
The battle of Saraighat was the last battle and the last major attempt from Aurangzeb to extend its reign till north east of India i.e. Assam
Mughal-
Maratha War: In 1657, when Aurangzeb Attacked Golconda and Bijapur in the
Deccan, to take control back of three Adil Shahi fort which formerly came under
the control of Shivaji’s father command, The Hindu Maratha warrior Shivaji
adopted Guerrialla tactics as his military strategy against the Mighty Mughal
force, after winning back the forts Shivaji became the leader of the
independent Martha Clans, Martha’s time to time took advantage of the fights
between Adil Shahis and Mughals, and they attacked in between which led them to
gain weapons, treasury, forts and even territory. After surviving a
full-fledged attack by Adil Shahis force and personally killing the general
Afzal Khan, Shivaji’s ill equipped army transformed into a powerful military
force.
After
Shivaji’s death, Sambhaji took the charge of Martha, Sambha ji’s force gave
tough challenges to Mughal forces as just to capture the Fort Ramse, it took 7
years to Mughals. Because of the Martha kingdom disturbance in the Deccan, and
Aurangzeb’s desperate need to control over all the Decca territory, Aurangzeb
shifted his Capital to Aurangabad and Mughal Seize to forts controlled by
Marathas in Deccan was done by Contingents numbered 500,000, which was too
large then the Maratha Army.
In
!689, Auranzeb’s army captured Sambhaji and he was executed. After that as the
Maratha never had a strong central
leadership, Aurangzeb contested for every inch of territory, which costed him
huge loss to Kingdoms Finance and huge loss of Military resources and lives.
Aurangzeb
fought Maratha rebellions in Deccan for more than two decades and he reached to
no final resolution. He lost one fifth of his army fighting these rebellions.
The Indologist Stanley Wolpert says that:
The conquest of the Deccan, to which, Aurangzeb devoted the last 26 years of his life, was in many ways a Pyrrhic victory, costing an estimated hundred thousand lives a year during its last decade of futile chess game warfare. The expense in gold and rupees can hardly be accurately estimated. Aurangzeb's encampment was like a moving capital – a city of tents 30 miles in circumference, with some 250 bazaars, with a 1⁄2 million camp followers, 50,000 camels and 30,000 elephants, all of whom had to be fed, stripped the Deccan of any and all of its surplus grain and wealth ... Not only famine but bubonic plague arose ... Even Aurangzeb, had ceased to understand the purpose of it all by the time he was nearing 90 ... "I came alone and I go as a stranger. I do not know who I am, nor what I have been doing," the dying old man confessed to his son, Azam, in February 1707.
References
· Military
Strategy: Theory and Concepts by Randall G. Bowdish
· Manekshaw
Paper No. 12, 2009 ,Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, PK Mallick’s “Principles of War: Time for Relook”.
·
The Mughal Nobility Under Aurangzeb by
M.Athar Ali
· Abraham
Eraly (2000), Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals,
Penguin Books.
· Prasad,
Ishwari (1974). The Mughal Empire. Chugh Publications.
· Markovits,
Claude, ed. (2004) [First published 1994 as Histoire de l'Inde Moderne]. A
History of Modern India, 1480–1950
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Warfare: Indian Frontiers and Highroads to Empire, 1500–1700.
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Rudi (15 December 2011). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of
Isfahan
· Aurangzeb
by Munni Lal. Vikas Publications
· The
Mughal Empire By John F. Richardsar
· Article: Military Organizations of Mughals