A new biography highlights Akbar’s general Raja Man Singh’s statesmanship and patronage of the arts

While Mughal forces and Maharana Pratap continued to engage against each other in one part of the Subcontinent for over fifteen years after Haldighati, Man Singh along with his father, Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber, had been posted to Punjab and the north-west region along the still-fluid frontier of the Mughal Empire in 1578. It was as effective a way as any to take them away from Dhoondhar as well as Mewar, and for that matter from Agra, while giving them the opportunity of garnering more honour, fame and the chance of enhanced mansabs. Abu’l Fazl’s Akbarnama records that Akbar deputed his minister, Raja Todar Mal, to proceed to Punjab and arrange for the jagirs to be given to Raja Bhagwant Das and Kunwar Man Singh.

The Kachhwaha father-son duo, with their separate retinues, reached Punjab for their new duties in April 1578 and reported to the emperor. They presented themselves to Akbar while he was hunting in the neighbourhood of Bhera (now part of Pakistan’s present-day Sargodha district. The district was called Shahpur while it was part of undivided India). The city of Bhera, on the Jhelum River, had been sacked by Mirza Muhammad Hakim in 1566. Akbar had made Bhera one of the headquarters of a sub-division of the suba of Lahore.

The emperor deputed Man Singh to find and punish Hazi Khan and the other Baluchi chiefs who had previously submitted to him, but later had secretly left the Imperial camp. In the beginning, Man Singh was unsuccessful in his mission. In part, this was because there was a delay in the order being conveyed to him, during which time the Baluchi chiefs escaped and travelled a fair distance. For this lapse, Man Singh earned the emperor’s censure and was debarred from presenting himself before Akbar for a short period.

However, Akbar could never stay angry or displeased with Prince Man Singh for a long period of time, and soon gave him important assignments which the prince carried out successfully. When Yusuf Khan, who ruled Kashmir, faced internal rebellion, he called upon Man Singh’s protection. Man Singh and Muhammad Yusuf Khan, a Mughal officer, enabled king Yusuf Khan of Kashmir to travel safely to the Imperial Court in January 1580.

Meanwhile, Akbar had attached Raja Bhagwant Das, Raja Gopal, Jugmal and other Kachhwaha warriors with the Governor of Punjab, Said Khan. The Akbarnama states Akbar directed them to exert themselves in service, follow the counsel of Said Khan and not slumber in administering the province.

During this period, it became known to Akbar that his half-brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim planned to send an expedition against King Shahrukh Muhammad, ruler of Badakshan and an ally of Akbar. Akbar also learnt that Mirza Hakim had garnered the support of Sulaiman Mirza, a man formerly under Akbar’s protection. The emperor directed several of his officers based in the Punjab and Multan areas – among them Man Singh, Raja Bhagwant Das and Muhammad Yusuf Khan, to assist of king Shahrukh of Badakshan. However, Mirza Hakim’s proposed attack against Badakshan never happened, and the officers could stand down, though not before Kachhwahas saw another tract of land.

In January 1580, Man Singh was given charge of the law-and-order situation of the northwestern part of the Empire – a task he took up with enthusiasm. He also replaced the Nazim (Administrator) of Sindh, who had mismanaged the affair earlier. This period of Man Singh’s military career saw him hold the mansab rank of 3,500 in Akbar’s Court. When Sialkot in Punjab became part of Man Singh’s jagir, and his headquarters, he repaired the old fort at Sialkot and beautified the city.

Under Man Singh’s patronage, Sialkot also became well-known for its paper industry. The paper was valued for its texture and durability, and was in high demand for official work and court records. It was also exported to other parts of the Mughal Empire. A special pattern of silk-paper produced under Man Singh’s direction became much sought-after and was called “Man Singh Shahi Kagaz” (The Royal Paper of Man Singh).

It is more than probable that the famous handmade paper making at Sanganer, not far from present-day Jaipur, or from the old capital of Amber, was first started following Man Singh’s patronage of paper-making in Sialkot. The Sanganer and Jaipur-based paper-making community – many of them using the appellation of “Kagzi” (literally, of paper, that is, one associated with paper), as a last name, assert that they are from Samarkand and Central Asia, and came to India along with Babur. That may or may not be the case, but the Sialkot connection with Man Singh and his Man Singh Shahi Kagaz is undeniable.

Much later, Man Singh’s 18th-century descendant, Maharaja Sawai Ishwari Singh (r.1743–1750), son of the founder of Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, popularised and patronised an “Ishwari Shahi” paper that was made at Sanganer. Ishwari Shahi paper had two highly prized categories, which were buffed with cowrie shells for a glossy, glazed finish and designated as “deyrd mohuri” (one and a half mohur) and “do mohuri” (two mohur). These were sold with a special seal-watermark. It is more than likely that the handmade paper industry at Sanganer had thrived since the time of Man Singh, since the tradition of illustrated manuscripts was already flourishing in western India – including in Rajasthan – by this time, and paper had replaced the use of palm-leaf manuscripts. During the late 15th to early 16th centuries, illustrations had become resplendent in western India, with texts sometimes written using gold or silver leaf on a red or blue background.

Meanwhile, from 1580, courtiers and administrative officers of Akbar, expressing dissatisfaction with Akbar’s religious policies, started to conspire against him. Qazi Muhammad Yazdi declared it the duty of every Muslim to stand against Akbar. Over the years, Mirza Hakim positioned himself as a counterpoint to Akbar, becoming a rallying figure for anti-Akbar rebels. Concurrently, Afghan chiefs and landholders in Bihar and Bengal declared their support for him. Emboldened by the support, the Mirza even appealed to Akbar’s Central Asian officers to abandon Kabul and turn their arms against the Indian contingents of the Mughal army, but his efforts came to nothing.

Meanwhile, Akbar sent armies to Bihar and Bengal to crush this rebellion, and himself started towards Kabul. He also transferred the administration of his North-western province from Muhammed Yusuf Khan to Man Singh. Under the threat of a large-scale Afghan invasion, Man Singh shifted his headquarters from Sialkot to the Indus region.

The opportunity to cross swords with the enemy soon arrived. Shadman Beg, commander-in-chief of Mirza Muhammed Hakim, attacked the Nilab Fort, located about a mile from Attock. Shadman Beg was famed as being “the sword of the army” of Mirza Muhammad Hakim.

Man Singh and his Kachhwaha forces immediately marched to meet the threat. Crossing the great Indus, they counterattacked Shadman’s forces and won a decisive victory. Shadman was wounded by Prince Suraj Singh, another of the brothers of Man Singh, and died soon afterwards.

Meanwhile, Man Singh discovered three farmans – or royal orders, issued by Kabul ruler Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Akbar’s estranged half-brother. These were addressed to two of Akbar’s high-ranking nobles – Muhammed Qasim Khan and Khwaja Shah Mansur. The farmans were in acknowledgement of letters written earlier by these nobles, promising help to Mirza Hakim if he were to march against Akbar. In February 1581, Mirza Muhammad Hakim took up arms against Akbar and, advancing south-eastwards from Kabul, attacked Lahore in Punjab. For a while, he even besieged the fort of Lahore. To curb this invasion, Akbar deputed various commanders, including Bikaner’s ruler Rai Singh and Dhoondhar’s prince Jagannath Kachhwaha.

The Mirza, however, was confident in the knowledge that he had letters of support from Mughal nobles such as Asikabuli and Masum Farahkundi (according to Tabqat-i-Akbari). It appears that the Mirza’s maternal uncle Faridun had also encouraged him in this invasion. Judging by the fact that Akbar had been occupied with rebellions in Bengal and Bihar at that time, it was a perfect moment to attack and annexe Akbar’s north-western domains, with the emperor’s focus shifted and divided.

Excerpted with permission from The Emperor’s General: The Life and Times of Raja Man Singh of Amber, Rima Hooja, Speaking Tiger Books.