A magisterial biography of Dara Shukoh opens up new vistas of understanding

Supriya Gandhi's magisterial biography of Dara Shukoh opens up new vistas for understanding the political structure and intellectual ambience that fashioned the Mughal Empire

Indian history is often seen in terms of polarities: non-violence and violence, religious tolerance and bigotry, Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb. One could sum up such pairings thus: Fine and terrible. Given this schema it is indeed ironic that Aurangzeb has been written about much more than Dara Shukoh. One reason for this is the fact that the former was an emperor and also an easy target to vilify since the time Jadunath Sarkar, his historian, painted him in monochromatic terms as a Muslim bigot whose policies led to the downfall and disintegration of the Mughal Empire. Dara Shukoh, on the