Jadunath Sarkar’s statement about the marriage of Princess Hazrat Mahal with Ahmad Shah Durrani
In any confrontation, a hero of one side is often the villain of another. Renowned Indian historian Jadunath Nath Sarkar while mentioning Ahmad Shah’s marriage with Princess Hazrat Mahal in 1756, casts aspersion on the former as under:
“This tender lamb (Hazrat Mahal) was to be pounced upon by a fierce Afghan (Ahmad Shah Durrani) of grandfatherly age whose two ears docked and nose was rotting from a leprous carbuncle.”
Ahmad Shah, in 1747 AD, at the age of 23 years became King of Afghanistan. In 1756-7 AD, when he married the Princess he was about 33 years of age, which by all standards is a marriageable age. Such political marriages were in vogue amongst the Mughals, Afghans and Rajputs of the time. Babur had married Bibi Mubarika daughter of Malik Mansur Khan Yousufzaey soon after his invasion of the Yousufzi territory (William Erskine “A History of India under Baber”, p- 338. and Annette S. Beveridge, “Babur-Nama”, Appendices `K-AN’, p-xxxvi.). Likewise, Emperor Akbar had married daughters of Rajput rajas.
S. Fida Yunas, an authority on the history of Afghanistan writes:-
“Alamgir Tsani, got his niece married to Prince Taimur (son of Ahmad Shah Durrani) while Sabiha Mahal, wife of Muhammad Shah Babri (mother of Ahmad Shah Moghal) gave her own daughter in marriage to the Durrani King. Seeing the downfall of the Moghals in India, Sabiha Mahal expressed her desire to accompany her son-in-law to Kandahar.” (Afghanistan, A Political History” p-105).
Ahmad Shah Abdali had contracted the nose cancer a few years before his death in June 1773 AD. He had been out in the field even in 1770 AD. J. Nath Sarkar’s statement is therefore absolutely baseless which is contradicted by many authentic historical accounts.
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| Jadunath Sarkar |