Examine the role of Akbar in the growth of composite culture in Mughal India
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"Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, reigned from 1556 to 1605 and is considered to be one of the greatest Mughal rulers of all time. In addition to considerable development in the domains of administration, economy and military, he also was an important King to have brought a composite culture together in medieval India.
To bring in religious synthesis in his kingdom, he tried to diminish the differences between the followers of Islam and the followers of other sects, especially Hindus. To do this, his most significant contribution was Din-E-ILahi.
Dīn-i Ilāhī, literally means, “Religion of God”. This was a syncretic religion propounded by Akbar in 1582 CE. The aim of Dīn-i Ilāhī was to amalgamate some of the elements of the religions of his empire, in order to reconcile the differences that divided his subjects. The elements were primarily taken from Islam and Hinduism; along with it, some others were also taken from Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.
Apart from it, in terms of architecture too, we find a blend of Persian and Indian styles. A lover of literature, Akbar created a library of over 24,000 volumes written in many languages: Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri. These were staffed by many scholars, translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers.
Akbar abolished the sectarian tax on non-Muslims. Furthermore, he appointed them to high civil and military posts. Akbar became the first Mughal ruler to win the trust and loyalty of the native subjects. He himself participated in native festivals of every religious sect. Thus, the growth of composite culture in India was one of the major accolades attained by Akbar, the Great
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