Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/145

Rh went to the mosque, crowds of expostulating and even riotous Hindús blocked his way; and though his elephants forced their way over their bodies, he could not subdue their invincible repugnance to the new instrument of bigotry. His dealings with the Rájput princes kindled these sparks of discontent into a flame. He endeavoured to get Jaswant Singh's two sons sent to Delhi to be educated, and doubtless made Muslims. under his own supervision. Of course the Rájputs would not hear of this: their loyalty and their pride alike forbade such ignominy to their hereditary chiefs. And when they learned that the bigoted Emperor had revived the ancient law of Muhammad which imposed a tax upon every soul who did not conform to Islám — a tax which Akbar had disdained, and Sháh-Jahán had not dared to think of — their indignation knew no bounds. They repudiated the religious tax, and they contrived to spirit away the infant princes of Márwár out of the Emperor’s reach.

It was the first serious rebellion during the reign, and its provoker little realized the effects which his fanatical policy would produce. He marched at once upon Rájputána, where he found two out of the three leading States, Údaipúr (Mewár) and Jodhpúr (Márwár) united against him, and only Rája Rám Singh of Jaipúr (Amber) still loyal to the empire. The Rájputs kept 25,000 horse, mostly Ráhtors of Jodhpúr, in the field, and although frequently driven into their mountains were never really subdued. At one time they seemed to be at the point of a decisive