Hello, and thank you for joining me.

I'm Mr. Marchin and I'll be your history teacher for today's lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources and my top aims are to ensure not only that you enjoy our learning, but also that you can successfully meet today's lesson objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the East India Company, where we are asking ourselves, when did Mughal authority in India collapse? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the impact of Aurangzeb's religious policies on support for the Mughal Empire.

There are five key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are tolerance, gurdwara, jizya, discrimination, and guru.

Tolerance involves allowing people to do or believe what they want, even though your beliefs are different or you do not agree with them.

A gurdwara is a Sikh place of worship.

The jizya was a tax which non-Muslims had to pay in Muslim ruled countries.

Discrimination involves treating a person or particular group of people in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people because of characteristics like their race or religion.

And finally, a guru is a religious leader in the Sikh religion.

Today's lesson will be divided into three parts and will begin by focusing on religion in the Mughal empire.

The Mughals ruled over an empire which covered most of the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century, as you can see from the map on the screen.

The Mughal emperors had first gained power in India in 1526, and almost continuously expanded their empire for over a century after that point.

The Mughal empire was very diverse.

The emperors of the Mughal empire were Muslims, but the majority of the empire's population were Hindu and Muslims and Sikhs made up significant minority groups.

So we can see that people under Mughal rule came from many different religious backgrounds.

So thinking about what we've heard, which statement is most accurate? The Mughal emperors, and most people living in their empire were Muslims. The Mughal emperors were Hindu, but most people living in their empire were Muslims or the Mughal emperors were Muslims, but most people living in their empire were Hindus.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was C.

The Mughal emperors were Muslims, but the majority of people living in their empire were Hindus.

From the 1560s onwards, Mughal emperors generally followed a policy of religious tolerance.

Mughal religious tolerance included freedom of worship for non-Muslims. So this meant that Hindus were allowed to build and worship in their own temples as were Sikhs in gurdwaras.

Mughal religious tolerance also included the promotion of non-Muslims. Many leading officials in government and the army were Hindus and religious tolerance in the Mughal empire also included removing the jizya in 1564.

So non-Muslims no longer had to pay this tax.

So thinking about what we've just heard, I want you to write the missing keyword in the following sentence.

From the 1560s onwards, Mughal emperors generally followed a policy of religious blank.

So what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the missing word was tolerance.

From the 1560s onwards, Mughal emperors generally followed a policy of religious tolerance.

And let's try another question.

Why was the removal of the jizya an example of religious tolerance? Was it because non-Muslims no longer had to pay higher taxes because non-Muslims were allowed to attend their own places of worship or because non-Muslims were able to gain good promotions? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A, removing the jizya was an example of religious tolerance because it meant that non-Muslims no longer had to pay higher taxes than Muslims. So we are now ready to put all of our knowledge about religion in the Mughal Empire into practise.

Which adjective best describes the general treatment of different religious groups living in the Mughal empire after the 1560s? Is it intolerant or tolerant? I want you to explain your answer using evidence to support your view.

So, pause video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay.

Well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you which adjective best describes the general treatment of different religious groups living in the Mughal empire after the 1560s.

And you had to choose between tolerant and intolerant.

So your answer could have included the treatment of different religious groups in the Mughal empire could be described as tolerant.

For example, although the moguls were Muslims, the majority of Hindus and Sikhs living in the empire were free to follow their own religious beliefs, and Mughal emperors even promoted many Hindus to leading positions in the army and government.

So well done if your own answer look something like that model, which we've just seen.

So we're now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today, where we are going to focus on orange Aurangzeb and religion.

Emperor Aurangzeb came to power in 1658 and ruled for half a century until his death in 1707.

He's considered the most controversial Mughal emperor.

People continue to debate the significance of Aurangzeb reign, especially the significance of his religious policies.

Aurangzeb was a successful military leader.

He expanded the Mughal Empire to its greatest extent.

His wars of conquest proved costly, though Aurangzeb lost millions of soldiers and spent even more in money from 1680 to 1707 during a long war to conquer the Deccan, a region in southern India.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that reads, "The Mughal empire only benefited from Aurangzeb's wars of conquest." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Aurangzeb's armies suffered many defeats and the empire grew smaller.

The second says that or Aurangzeb's wars were expensive and millions of Mughal soldiers died.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct justification was B.

Aurangzeb's wars were very expensive and millions of Mughal soldiers died in the fighting, so these conquests, although they expanded the size of the Mughal empire, did not only lead to benefits.

Aurangzeb was a devout Muslim.

The emperor avoided behaviours such as drinking and smoking.

Aurangzeb also oversaw an increase in official discrimination against non-Muslims in the empire during his reign.

Religious discrimination under Aurangzeb occurred in different forms. One of the most widespread experiences of this discrimination was economic.

As the emperor reintroduced the jizya in 1679.

The jizya forced Hindus and Sikhs to pay taxes, which Muslims living in the Mughal empire were unaffected by Similarly, whereas previously all merchants had paid the same rates of tax, Aurangzeb increased the rate to 5% for Hindu merchants compared to 2.

5% for Muslim merchants.

Religious discrimination also included the use of violence and force.

By some estimates, 15 Hindu temples were destroyed by Mughal officials during Aurangzeb's reign.

For instance, in 1669, Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was then replaced by a mosque built on the same spot.

In Kashmir, it was even claimed that Mughal officials acting on Aurangzeb's instructions forced some non-Muslims to convert to Islam to change their religion.

When the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur, challenged these actions, Mughal officials arrested him and Aurangzeb had him beheaded for his opposition.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

What happened to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1669? Was it that Aurangzeb used his army to protect it from attack? That Aurangzeb had it destroyed and replaced by a mosque or that Aurangzeb stole important religious items from it.

Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

Aurangzeb ordered the temple to be destroyed and replaced it with a mosque.

And let's try another question.

This time we have a statement on the screen that reads, religious discrimination in the Mughal empire did not always involve violence.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay.

Well done to everybody who said that that statement was true, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that the jizya and charges on merchants forced non-Muslims to pay higher taxes.

And the second says that Aurangzeb banned non-Muslims from working in the Mughal government and army.

So each one of those two justifications is correct.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was A.

The jizya and charges on merchants force non-Muslims to pay higher taxes.

And this helps show us that religious discrimination in the Mughal empire did not always involve the use of violence.

So we're now ready to put our knowledge of Aurangzeb and religion into practise.

We have a statement on the screen that says, during emperor Aurangzeb's reign, there was increased religious discrimination against Muslims in the Mughal Empire.

I want you to correct this statement and provide two examples to support your correction.

Pause video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So we had our statement that said during Emperor Aurangzeb's reign, there was increased religious discrimination against Muslims in the Mughal empire.

I asked you to correct the statement and provide two examples to support your correction.

So your answer may have included, during emperor Aurangzeb's reign, there was increased religious discrimination against Hindus and Sikhs in the Mughal empire.

For example, Aurangzeb reintroduced the jizya tax in 1679.

Furthermore Aurangzeb even ordered the destruction of 15 Hindu temples, including the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was replaced by a mosque.

So well done if your own response look something like that model answer, which we've just seen.

So now we're ready to move on to the third and final part of today's lesson where we are going to focus on religion, rebellion and Mughal rule.

Aurangzeb's religious policies have often been described as intolerant.

It has been argued that these policies harmed the majority of people living under Mughal rule and destabilised the empire.

However, many modern historians have challenged these criticisms, so we'll think about them in a little bit more depth.

The execution of guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 was intended to discourage further opposition to Aurangzeb's policies.

However, in reality, the harsh treatment of Tegh Bahadur encouraged organised Sikh military resistance to Mughal rule during the remainder of or Aurangzeb's reign.

The 10th guru, Gobind Singh, fought multiple battles against the Mughal, including the battle of Anandpur in 1700 when Guru Gobind Singh's Sikh army defeated a Mughal force of 10,000 men.

Hindu rebellions also took place during Aurangzeb's reign.

For example, over 20,000 Hindu Jats who lived in northern India joined a rebellion against Mughal rule in 1669.

Although this was defeated, a second Jat rebellion began in 1685 during which Hindu rebels attacked mosques and symbols of Mughal power like the Taj Mahal.

Although this second rebellion was also defeated, it took the Mughals several years to achieve this victory.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

Which statement best demonstrates that Jat rebellions were partly motivated by religious anger? Is it that 20,000 people participated in the first Jat rebellion, that rebels fought against Mughal armies or that rebels attacked several mosques? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

We can tell that Jat rebellions were partly motivated by religious anger because rebels attacked several mosques, demonstrating their resentment of Muslims who had received better treatment.

And let's try another question.

This time we have a statement on the screen that reads, "Sikh" composition did not pose a serious threat to the Mughals.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here in press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Guru Gobind Singh's Sikh army took control over Delhi, the Mughal capital.

And the second says that Guru Gobin Singh's Sikh army defeated the Mughals in the battle of Anandpur in 1700.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct justification was B.

We can tell that Sikh opposition did pose a serious threat to the Mughals because in 1700 a Sikh army led by guru Gobin Singh was able to defeat a Mughal force of 10,000 men during the battle of Anandpur.

Modern historians have suggested that the extent and significance of Aurangzeb's religious intolerance may have been exaggerated.

For one, although the emperor did reintroduce the jizya, which discriminated against non-Muslims, this was mainly done to help raise funds for the Mughal army, which was fighting wars of conquest and dealing with rebellions within the Empire.

Similarly, although Aurangzeb was responsible for the destruction of multiple temples, the emperor actually supported the construction of a greater number of temples and gurdwaras than he destroyed.

This included the Mahakaleshwar temple, which was built in central India for Hindus to worship in.

Furthermore, Aurangzeb was also responsible for an increase in the number of non-Muslims working as officials in the Mughal empire.

Between 1679, the same year that the jizya was reintroduced, and 1707, the number of non-Muslim officials employed by the moguls increased by half.

In fact, 25% of generals and leading government officials were Hindus by the time that Aurangzeb died.

So, let's reflect on what we've just heard.

Which statement is most accurate? That Aurangzeb attempted to close down all temples and gurdwaras in India, that Aurangzeb destroyed some non-Muslim places of worship, but supported the creation of even more or that Aurangzeb allowed preexisting temples and gurdwaras to remain, but only allowed new mosques to be built.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B.

Aurangzeb was responsible for the destruction of multiple numbers in places of worship, but he actually supported the creation of even more temples and gurdwaras than he destroyed.

And let's try another question.

This time I want you to write the missing number for the following statement.

By the end of Aurangzeb's reign, blank percent of Mughal generals and leading government officials were Hindu.

So what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing number was 25.

By the end of Aurangzeb's reign, 25% of Mughal generals and leading government officials were Hindu.

So we're now ready to put all of our knowledge into practise.

This time we have a view from Jacob who says, the Mughal Empire lost the support of its non-Muslim population because of Aurangzeb's policies.

So I want you to do two things in response to this statement.

Firstly, I want you to write one paragraph to explain why Jacob's view could be considered correct.

And then I want you to write one paragraph to explain why Jacob's view could be considered incorrect.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you to write one paragraph to explain why Jacob's view could be considered correct, and your answer may have included Jacob's view could be considered correct because of some of the military challenges which the Mughal empire faced during Aurangzeb's reign.

For example, Hindu Jats staged two rebellions against Mughal rule.

And following the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Gobind Singh organised military resistance to Aurangzeb This suggests that religious discrimination against non-Muslims led to many Hindus and Sikhs opposing rather than supporting the Mughal empire.

So well done if your answer to question one looks something like that model.

For question two, I asked you to write one paragraph to explain why Jacob's view could be considered incorrect, and your answer may have included, Jacob's view could be considered incorrect because of the role non-Muslims continued to play in the Mughal empire during Aurangzeb's reign.

Aurangzeb continued to promote non-Muslims to positions of power so that by the end of his reign, 25% of generals and leading government officials were Hindus.

This shows that Aurangzeb was still willing to show religious tolerance and that many non-Muslims remained loyal to the Mughal empire at the start of the 18th century.

So again, well done if your own answer looks something similar to the model we've just seen.

And that means we've reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about religious tensions in the Mughal Empire.

We've seen that the Mughal emperors were Muslims but ruled over a diverse population, including Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs.

From the 1560s onwards, Mughal emperors traditionally showed religious tolerance towards non-Muslims. During Aurangzeb's reign, there were rebellions by Hindu and Sikh groups, partly in response to new forms of discrimination, like the reintroduction of the jizya.

Nevertheless, the number of Hindus and Sikhs serving as Mughal officials actually increased during Aurangzeb's reign.

So really well done for all of the effort which you've put into today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources, and I look forward to seeing you again in future as we think further about the East India Company and the Mughal Empire, and continue to ask ourselves, when exactly did Mughal power in India collapse?.