Oct 14 2014 Jodha Akbar | New Promo - Akbar's Emancipation.?.

 Oct 14 2014 Jodha Akbar | New Promo

Is it Akbar's Emancipation - The End of Petticoat Government .?.

| ...My Thoughts... |

Hi Friends,

Here are my thoughts on the New Promo of Jodha Akbar which aired recently, last night. The Promo shows that after the demise of twins, Jalal has decided to return to his Old Self, i.e., the OLD ruthless warrior who ruled by sheer brute of force..!!

According to me, this "change" was bound to happen in Jalal. I have been writing about this in many posts/comments of mine, and was expecting this. I feel that this change is on similar lines.

If we see the timeline, then we notice that Akbar's twins died died in 1564. Along/After this, the "actual expansion" of the Empire with the effective participation of Akbar took place. This was the time where his army fought many wars in Rajputana, East Hindustan, etc.


I wish to tell my readers that, the time till 1564, was said to be the, "Petticoat Government Period of Akbar". Abu'l Fazl has mentioned that during this period Akbar stayed put "Behind the Veil". He did not completely act according to his own will during his time, but there were sporadic incidents when he used to deal independently..


During the period of Petticoat Government, many senior ladies of the harem had significant power in their hands, and Jalal was engaged in Agra, mostly. Especially till 1562, his activities revolved largely around the sporting and hunting pleasures, less on the empire administration. Maham Anga wielded considerable influence over Jalal and controlled the administration to a large extent. Such was the influence of the ladies that they literally controlled Akbar on many matters of policy making. Often, many offenders who enjoyed the protection of these ladies, went away free due to their influence on Akbar. The case of Adham Khan is well known in this regard. 

After the death of Maham Anga in 1562, the hold on Akbar was loosened, but still there were others who controlled him. Among them, Akbar's mother, Hamida Bano Begum was also present. 

I am mentioning the case of Hamida Bano Begum due to a special reason. In the episode, aired yesterday, it was shown that Jalal crossed Yamuna with a select group of his close aides, and got a minor wound on the forehead in the process. The reasons were not given to us in the episode. But after watching the Promo and Episode, i concluded something, as it brought some history to my mind. Read On and you will understand..

{ 
See the episode post here, by radhika.
October 13 2014 Jodha Akbar | Episode 350 Hussein under the Damocles' Sword  
}


Khwaja Muazzam, was the half-brother of Hamida Bano Begum. According to Abu'l Fazl, he was accused of many murders, but he was saved by the intercession of Akbar's mother. 

But, in 1564, he stabbed and brutally murdered his wife, Zahra, in such an atrocious and degrading manner that it is not possible to be mentioned here. Zahra was the daughter of another influential lady, Bibi Fatima, who was held in high regard by Akbar, as she was a respected figure in his father's harem. Fatima, somehow knew the intentions of Muazzam and informed Akbar about it and appealed for safety of her daughter. On her request, Akbar personally "crossed Yamuna" river with a small body of close aides, amounting to 20, to find out the status of Khwaja Muazzam and Zahra. But, by the time he reached there, Muazzam had already murdered Zahra, and when asked by Akbar to surrender, he hurled abuses and his followers attacked Akbar and his aides. Muazzam was caught, brutally beaten, and thrown into the river Yamuna as a death punishment, but he escaped, and was then put into the Prison of Gwalior Fort, where he died later.. 

I will put up a detailed post on this incident soon. 


Here, i mentioned this incident in brief, due to 2 reasons:

1.  The episode yesterday, had shown Akbar crossing Yamuna, hence i thought of sharing this event. This may not be related to the show, or shown in it, but you can read this FYI, this may add to your knowledge.

2. This incident marked the "End of the Petticoat Government", as Akbar DEFIED his Mother here, and the New Promo also signals the End of Petticoat Government, as Akbar asserts his OLD Self and seems eager to be going out on an Empire expanding spree.



Note:

1. Mirza Qasim was also executed "in private" in the prison of Gwalior Fort.
2. This Post is my own interpretation of the Promo. I could not think of a better interpretation, as my mind runs towards history for ALL answers..!!!!. Rest is upto the Creatives of Jodha Akbar.
3. We are also witnessing the Maharana Pratap-Udai Singh-Akbar track being built up. This is a precursor and built up to the rise in tensions, ultimately culminating into the Chittor War. This also leads me to think that, the Promo is an indication of something similar.

You are welcome to share your thoughts on this Promo.

This article has been posted under the  Jodha-Akbar section of  history_geek's BLOG.