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Why, in the midst of so much hand-wringing over evils of Mughals (&, while I do believe they contributed many great things to the Indian subcontinent, they were also oppressive rulers), there is no criticism of the countless upper-caste administrators & soldiers who collaborated?
To name just a few who collaborated with the Mughals: Birbal (1528–1586), Bhagwant Das (1537-1589), Todar Mal (died 1589), Pandit Jagannath (1590-1641), Raghunath Ray Kayastha (died 1663), Chandar Bhan Brahman (died c. 1670), and Bhimsen Saxena (lived c. 1700).
Birbal and Bhagwant Das were generals under Akbar. Todar Mal was the Chief Finance Minister under Akbar. Jagannath was a poet under Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Raghunath was a Finance Minister (eventually Chief Finance Minister) under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb....
... Chandar Bhan was a munshi (secretary) under Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. Bhimsen was a general under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. While these men stood out as prominent examples of the partnership between Brahmans and Mughals, they represent a mere handful of...
... the many others who joined in the Mughal-Brahman co-rule of India. The backbone of the civil service was composed of upper-caste Hindus. “From the middle of the 17th century onwards, most of the munshis were Hindus, and their proportion rapidly increased,” writes...
... Indian historian Jadunath Sarkar. “The Hindus had made a monopoly of the lower ranks of the revenue department (diwani) from long before the time of Todar Mal.” The privileged castes not only swelled the civil service ranks of the Mughals, but they also provided much of...
... the muscle for the imperial military. In particular, the high-caste Rajputs stepped forward to exercise force on behalf of the Empire. Indian historian Satish Chandra reports, "The policy of seeking a special relationship with the Rajputs emerged under Akbar, and was one...
... of the most abiding features of Mughal rule in India. Apart from being loyal allies, the Rajputs begin to emerge as the sword-arm of the empire.... The Rajputs emerge as partners in the kingdom.... The Rajputs not only emerged as dependable allies who could be...
... used anywhere for fighting, even against princes of blood, they also began to be employed in tasks of governance.... The Mughal-Rajput alliance was mutually beneficial.... The steadfast loyalty of the Rajputs was an important factor in the consolidation and...
... further expansion of the Mughal empire. On the other hand, service in the Mughal empire enabled the Rajput rajas to serve in distant places far away from their homes, and to hold important administrative posts. This further raised their prestige and social status....
... Service with the Mughals was also financially rewarding, beginning with Akbar." ... “To the end, Aurangzeb depend- ed on non-Muslim courtiers,” write American historians Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf. “More than a quarter of the mansab holders [bureaucrats]...
... along with his leading general, were Hindus.” In fact, according to Eraly, the co-rule of the combined Mughal-Brahman elite actually expanded during Aurangzeb’s reign. "Aurangzeb continued to employ Hindus in high offices.... In the second half of his reign, their...
... percentage was higher than ever before under the Mughals — in the rank of commanders of 5000 and above, it was 32.9 percent under Aurangzeb as against fourteen percent under Akbar; among all officers of the rank of 500 and above, it was 31.6 percent under Aurangzeb....
... as against 22.5 percent under Akbar. A Brahman, Raghunath, served for a while as Aurangzeb’s acting revenue minister, one of the highest offices in the Empire."
So if one wants 2 criticize Mughals, who were (I agree) oppressive rulers (though not necessarily more so than many others around the world at that time), why reserve criticism for them alone? What about upper-caste collaborators who helped Mughals perpetuate & expand the empire?
