Tana Shah, a victim of Mughal propaganda

The antecedents of Abul Hasan Tana Shah, the last Qutub Shahi king are shrouded in mystery. Although a kinsman of the Golconda royals, he spent his formative years as a disciple of renowned Sufi saint Shah Raju Qattal, leading a spartan existence away from the pomp and grandeur of royalty. Shah Raziuddin Hussaini, popularly known as Shah Raju, was held in high esteem by both the nobility and commoners of Hyderabad.Abdullah Qutub Shah, the seventh king of Golconda was among his most ardent devotees.
Abdullah had no male heir and as per Qutub Shahi traditions one of his sons-in-law would succeed him to the throne of Golconda. Following a prolonged siege, Golconda negotiated a treaty with the Mughals in 1656. The rather humiliating terms resulted in the king’s second daughter being given in marriage to Aurangzeb’s son Mohammad Sultan with the proviso that the Prince would succeed to the throne.
It is said that much to the astonishment of the people of Hyderabad; Shah Raju had predicted that Abul Hasan would one day be king. Even after his marriage to Abdullah’s last daughter, arranged by the saint, this prophecy seemed impossible with the claims of Prince Sultan firmly established. But the field was once again thrown open when, during the war of succession leading to Aurangzeb usurping the Mughal throne in 1658, the Prince threw in his lot with Emperor Shah Jahan and ended up in prison where he remained for the rest of his life.
Under Shah Raju’s tutelage, Abul Hasan had developed into a pious and compassionate person capable of tackling the most daunting situations with relative ease. His popularity among Golconda nobilityhad increased with time. Upon Abdullah’s death in 1672, Syed Ahmed, the eldest son-in-law attempted a palace coup which was effectively countered by the Golconda grandees who closed ranks behind Tana Shah and vowed allegiance to him as the new king.
Abul Hasan had a daunting task ahead of him when he assumed power but soon brought the glory back to Golconda. Although the kingdom was in decline with heavy annual tributes to the Mughals taxing the economy, the able administration of his ministers Akanna and Madanna brought about a late and last blossoming of the kingdom. His patronage of local art forms like Kuchipudi and grants in perpetuity of jagirs to religious and cultural institutions of all denominations enhanced his secular image and gave a boost to the syncretism nurtured over generations by Qutub Shahi rulers.
Issue of bilingual edicts in Persian and Telugu kept him in touch with the massesThis glorious period in Golconda history came to an abrupt end with the Mughal forces once again marching into the Deccan. To quell dissent among the Mughal clergy and nobles against his Deccan campaign, Aurangzeb launched a propaganda campaign against Tana Shah.
The despicable attack against Tana Shah by Mughal chroniclers both prior to and after the fall of Golconda strove to transform this mild, genial and much adored monarch into a “mean, sensualistic and vile characterless wretch” with even the Emperor chipping in personally to declare that “words fail me to describe, in full, the heinous acts of the perverted wretch”.
This malicious character assassination succeeded in creating an atmosphere where the imperial forces considered it their religious duty to save the people of Golconda from their own ruler. When the Imperial Qazi (head of clergy) objected to this reprehensible use of religious sentiment, he was sacked.
The fall of Golconda had far-reaching consequences for the Mughal empire. Europeans, who had been held in check along the Coromandel coast by Golconda forces soon gained ascendancy over the region before going on to subjugate the entire nation.
The unprovoked violence unleashed by the Mughal forces resulted in alienating the local populace. The barbaric acts of destruction and rampant looting evoked protests even from Imperialist themselves. Nemat Khan A’ali, the famed Mughal poet, was so moved by the sacking and plunder that he concludes his elegy on the fall of Golconda with the prayer:
“O Lord! In the name of Noah the Prophet,
One more deluge for the sake of Golconda.”
Tana Shah bore the humiliation and hardship of captivity with great composure for fourteen long years, interred at Daulatabad where he died in 1700. As for Aurangzeb Alamgir, he lingered on for a few more years. Of the men of letters of Golconda, many migrated to other parts of the Deccan. Those who remained had nothing but contempt for the Mughals and their emperor. For centuries after the fall of Golconda the people of Hyderabad referred to both the lowest denomination coin and a festering sore as “Alamgiri”.
(The writer is a heritage activist)