Misrule, excesses and decadence of the Mughal empire provided the ripe conditions for imperialism. It has to end.
Power corrupts. The Taj Mahal with its wonder of the world image is in fact an act arrogance on God's benevolence. The monstrous cost and labour required should be better used for the deprived masses.
People with advanced knowledge prerequisite for power eventually write history if not nail the final episode for laggards.
Power corrupts. The Taj Mahal with its wonder of the world image is in fact an act arrogance on God's benevolence. The monstrous cost and labour required should be better used for the deprived masses.
People with advanced knowledge prerequisite for power eventually write history if not nail the final episode for laggards.
(adapted: Imran Ahmed "The Grand Moofti Speaks")
Friday, 26 March 2010
As governing systems, monarchies tend to have limitations. Meritocratic traditions often suffer due to personal considerations. Policy decisions may be based on expediencies associated with dynastic loyalties or personal whims. Individual preferences are paramount, especially without a system of checks and balances.
However, monarchies sometimes represent the pinnacle of human achievements in various fields. A wealthy empire generates cash faster than Bernanke's Fed prints US Dollars. This copious amount of imperial cash is concentrated in a few influential hands.
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The last Mogul Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II who nominally presided over the Empire from 1837-1857
If the King or a close member of his Court is artistically inclined then the result is a historical artistic legacy of monumental proportions. Since royals' are far up Maslow's triangular hierarchy of needs, much money finds itself supporting the creative arts.
The Mogul Empire provides a rich example of royal patronage at work. The Mogul dynasty was founded in 1526 by Babur, an exiled Muslim warrior prince from Andijan, Uzbekistan. The dynasty formally ended with Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar being sent into unceremonious exile by British colonials in 1858, after the failed 1857 mutiny.
During the 331 years of unbroken rule by Emperor Babar's progeny, the Moguls gave the world more than just the word 'Mogul.' (The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Mogul as 'a great personage or magnate.') Perhaps the most famous gift is the Taj Mahal, completed in 1653 during the reign of Shah Jahan (aka the Great Builder).
Miniature painting depicting Emperor Jahangir (1605- 1627) preferring Sufi saint to waiting kings at his Court
Painting of Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan (1628 - 1658), builder of the Taj Mahal
The Moguls reminds one of the beauty and splendours of Courtly life, of the benevolence of an invading Central Asian Muslim conqueror's dynasty now accepted by most Indians as 'sons of the soil,' Babur's destroyed Babri Masjid notwithstanding.
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