Jahangir & Anarkali – The “Tragic Love Story”

Anarkali

The 1960’s classic Mughal-E-Azam, wherein Dilip Kumar played Prince Salim (Jahangir) and Madhubala played his love Anarkali, immortalized these two characters. It has been only since then, that the “love story” of the Prince and his lover has been popularized. However, a lot of historians have questioned the validity of this theory. The fact that a woman called Anarkali ever existed has been questioned by historians mostly because most of the authentic Mughal sources do not have any record of any woman named Anarkali. The questions that have arisen since then are, Was there ever a woman called Anarkali who existed? Was she buried alive by the Great King Akbar because of her “illegitimate affair” with his son? Is there any historic truth to this folklore?

Jahangir & Anarkali

The story goes something along these lines. Anarkali, born as Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nissa, was from Iran and came to Lahore in a trader’s caravan. She was considered to be a very, very beautiful woman and thus she got access into Akbar’s court very easily. Her name Anarkali, literally meaning “Pomegranate Blossom”, was her court name. She initially entered the Mughal court as a dancer but ended up falling in love with Jahangir, then Prince Salim. Akbar found out about this and ordered her to buried alive in the walls of the Lahore Fort. Thus, Jahangir is said to have built her tomb in current day Lahore, Pakistan, in her memory. Interestingly, there is no strong record stating who is actually buried within the tomb. There are two possible women who could have been buried – Anarkali or Sahib-i-Jamal Begum, the third wife of Prince Jahangir. However, there are different versions to this same story. Noor Ahmed Chishti in his book Tehqiqaat-i-Chishtia, has mentioned some details about Anarkali and her tomb, based on his personal experiences and the traditional tales. But, in his accounts, he talks about Anarkali as Akbar’s concubine, not Jahangir’s. It is said that Akbar was on a visit to the Deccan when Anarkali fell sick and dies. When he came back, he ordered a grand tomb to be built in her honour. Chishti also says that, “I saw the marble grave that has 99 names of Allah inscribed on it, and the name Sultan Saleem Akbar was written on the head side.” Anarkali’s tomb also has an engraving inscribed upon it in Persian which reads, “Ah! If I could hold the face of my beloved once more, I would thank God until the day of resurrection”. And below it is the name of the composer written, “Majnun Salim Akbar”, which refers to the Prince Salim or Jahangir, the son of Akbar. So far, this is the only lead that historians have so far and everything else is based purely on local legends.

The tomb of Anarkali in Lahore and the Persian couplet engraved upon it

There are various versions to this story and some of them even state that she died a natural death. The tomb built for her, is located in the centre of a Pomegranate Garden, which is how some people believe she got her name. According to the tombstone in the supposed grave of Anarkali, the date of death of the person buried within is 1599, which is the year that Anarkali is supposed to have died in. However, in Jahangir’s autobiography Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Anarkali finds no mention. Neither does Akbar’s biography, Akbarnama, written by the court historian Abu Fazl, have any record of Anarkali, despite the fact that the relations between the father and son were at their lowest at that time. The French historian, Alain Desoulires, an expert in the history of Urdu literature, in his paper ‘Historical Fiction and Style: The Case of Anarkali’, has proposed another theory. He believes that this story became extremely popular and was further promoted by the British immediately after the revolt of 1857, to highlight the ‘brutal rule of the Mughals’ as opposed to the ‘kind and benevolent rule of the British’. The reason this “story” became so popular is because of a play directed by Imtiaz Ali Tej in 1922, named Anarkali. Imtiaz Ali Tej had grown up in Lahore and had got this idea after listening to the local legends in his neighbourhood. However, even in his play, he clearly mentioned the fact that the play was nothing more than a work of fiction. This inspired more plays and movies, the most popular one of them being the blockbuster Bollywood movie, starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, Mughal-e-Azam.

Madhubala & Dilip Kumar in “Mughal-e-Azam”

To conclude, there is no firm source stating whether or not Anarkali existed at all. Neither Akbar’s biography nor Jahangir’s (before coronation known as Prince Salim) autobiography have any mention of any woman named Anarkali at all. So, till date Anarkali remains nothing more than a fictional character. However, blockbuster movies have been made surrounding her tragic love story with the Mughal Prince.

Sources:

https://www.livehistoryindia.com/herstory/2018/03/15/the-story-of-anarkali—fact-or-fiction

https://dawn.com/news/694833