Towards Inclusive India: State Legislation for Inter-Faith CoExistence during the Period of Emperor Akbar

Abstract

The current research focuses on the state legislation during the period of Mughal Emperor Akbar, his attempt to reconcile religion and state legislation and his practical efforts to bring inter-faith co-existence in India of that time. The presupposition of Akbar was based on account of Hindu majority and presence of minorities of various other faiths along with the ruling and martial race of the Muslims. Seeking holistic political and legal legitimacy, Akbar presented Dīn-i-Ilāhī, a divine theory of his own, to introduce a new religious cultural after bringing various religious figures together. The regal attempts for religiosity of the social fabric and holiness of the emperor brought social growth and legal innovations in state legislation and vice versa with the purpose to bring political and legal stability. The present study highlights the long period during which its various acts were promulgated, its impacts on the consolidation of power and social fabric in India during the period of Akbar specifically in terms of inter-faith co-existence and its impacts on the future Mughal administration. The future Mughal administration included Jahāngīr and Shāh Jahān after which it lost its worth as well as application. The study finally concludes that Akbar‟s attempts in the shape of Dīn-i-Ilāhī bore fruits in the shape of the progress and development during the era of two later Mughal emperors.