I watched a classmate present a History class on Wednesday morning, and I was pleasantly surprised with a fantastic lesson learnt myself. The theme was the Mughal Empire, an empire that ruled most of India from approximately 1526-1857 by a dynasty of Mongol and Chagatai-Turkic origins. The class was focused on a particular Mughal Emporer, namely Akbar the Great (1542-1605). Akbar was the third ruler of the empire (succeeding his father), and began at the mere age of fourteen. He is seen as one of the greatest rulers of the empire, because as a result of the military, political, cultural and economic dominance under his rule, his power and influence extended over the entire country.
Akbar's success was in unifying the Mughal state. He established a centralised system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy so as to preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire. This won him support of his non-Muslim subjects through his adopted policies as well.
I could go on about the fascinating history of this powerful empire (thank you Wikipedia for basic facts!), but for the sake of keeping it short and sweet, I would like to emphasise just one point:
Akbar's success was owed to his ability to unite the people of the country, regardless of its cultural and religious diversity. His steadfast tolerance, and acceptance of differences was what made this character so unique, especially so long ago in history.
I was touched by the fact that his tolerance was the very reason his rule was so powerful within the vast and ever expanding empire.
Akbar: "I love my own religion, but others also love their religion. If they want to spend money on their religion, what right do I have to prevent them. Do they not have the right to the love the thing that is their own?"
This to me is POETRY...
And it affirms my own responsibility to LEARN to TOLERATE all walks of life!
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