RELIGIOUS POLICIES OF AKBAR

Ruler Akbar of the Mughal Empire was the most well-known emperor for his religious
tolerance and reforms in the late 1500s. While Europe was engulfed in the flames of the
Inquisition Era, in the Indian subcontinent, Akbar was determined to create his kingdom a
haven of peace and togetherness.

1. RELIGIOUS REFORMS OF
AKBAR
Saptadip Nandi Chowdhury
Kirit P. Mehta School of Law, NMIMS University,
Mumbai

2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Thesoleobjectiveofthisresearchpaperistounderstandthereligious
policiesofAkbar,whichearnedhimthenameofthetolerantandsecular
Mughalemperor.Also,wewilltrytoidentifythefactorswhichinfluenced
himtoframesuchpolicies.

3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What influenced his religious policies?
What were the religious policies of Akbar?

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Thisresearchpaperwasdonewiththehelpofthesecondarysources
availablewhichmeansthatitisbasedonthepre-existinginformation
knownasprimarydata.Insecondaryresearch,theprimarydatais
properlyanalyzedandintegratedwithvariousotherdatatoproducea
newdatacalledthesecondarydata.Secondary/doctrinalresearchis
widelyusedbyresearchersaroundtheglobebecauseitislesstime
consumingandconvenient.

5. SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS
Akbarfollowedapolicyofreligioustoleranceandbelievedinadministeringequal
justicetothefollowersofallreligion.
Akbar'sgeneralreligioustolerancestemspartlyfromhisfather'sreactiontodifficult
eventshefacedasayoungster.
Akbarwasbornandbroughtupinanenvironmentwhereliberalemotionswere
enforcedandthatbeingnarrow-mindedaboutotherpeople'sreligiousbeliefswould
havebeenfrownedupon.
ThebiggestchallengethatAkbarfacedwasthathewastheemperorofareligiously
diverseregion.
AbolitionofJaziyahorpolltaxwhichwaspaidbythenon-Muslimsoftheempireto
stayintheMuslimmajoritystatewasthefirststepundertakenbyAkbarin1564.
Duringthesametime,Akbarabolishedthepilgrimagetaxtoo,whichwaspaidby
theHindusofthestatetovisitplacesofpilgrimagelikePrayag,Banaras,etc.
Continued…

6. In1575,AkbarestablishedtheIbadatKhana,orHouseofWorship,atFatehpur
Sikri,thenewcapitaloftheMughalempire.
ReligiousandspiritualtopicswerediscussedeveryFridayinthehall.
However,hisIbadatKhanasoonstartedtocrumbledownbecauseofthe
differenceofopinionamongthescholarsofvariousreligionsandtheemperor.
In1582,sevenyearsafterthecreationofIbadatKhana,Akbarestablishedthe
Din-i-IlahiorAkbar'sreligionashislastefforttounifyhispeople.
ThankstothediscussionsintheIbadatKhana,Akbarhadgoodknowledgeand
understandingofthefundamentalprinciplesofvariousreligions.Theemperor
thusutilizedthisknowledgeinframingtheprinciplesofhissyncreticreligion.
Thenewreligiondidnothaveanywrittentext,nopriests,noseparateplaceof
worship.

7. CONCLUSION
Akbar'sgoalofestablishingimperialstabilityviareligioustoleranceworkedpretty
well,howeverinwayshewasabitaheadofhistimeinthelate1500s.Atthattime,
theconceptofreligioustolerancewasconnectedwithpermittingpolytheismand
otherradicalfaiths,andallowingpeopletopursuetheirownbeliefsinpeacewas
veryrare.AllofAkbar'saccomplishmentsweremadepossibleduetohisexposure
toawiderangeofpeoplefromvariousreligionsandculturesthroughouthisearly
life.ThroughoutAkbar'sreligiousreforms,hedesiredtounitethemortalenemies
withinhisrealmtoestablishimperialstabilitysothathissubjectscouldliveinpeace,
bychangingpeople'sperceptionsofotherreligionsanddemonstratingthatall
religionsarebuiltonthesamefundamentalprinciples.

8. REFERENCE(S)
Chandra, Satish. History of Medieval India. New Delhi: Orient Black Swan, 2007,
https://pdfcoffee.com/satish-chandra-history-of-medieval-india-orient-blackswan-2007-pdf-
free.html.
Fazl, Abul. The Ain-I-Akbari. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1997.
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.32526.
Fani, Mohsin. Dabistan I Mazahib. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund, 1843.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/81966703/Books-Dabistan-E-Mazahib-44101079-Mohsin-Fani-English-
Translation.
Monserrate, Antonio. The Commentary of Father Monserrate, SJ on His Journey to the Court of
Akbar. London: Oxford University Press, 1992.
https://rarebooksocietyofindia.org/book_archive/196174216674_10155755373771675.pdf.

9. THANK YOU!