Historians have uncovered thousands of forgotten news reports from the 1600s that provide a unique insight into life in Mughal India. The reports, known as akhbarat, were compiled by armies of scribes, agents, and secretaries and formed the Mughal empire's information network. The reports were written in Persian and contained news of court intrigue, military campaigns, appointments, finances, and gossip. They were circulated daily between the imperial and provincial courts, helping to knit together the empire that ruled much of the Indian subcontinent and nearly a quarter of the world's population.
Historian Munis D Faruqui has spent almost two decades studying the akhbarat and has uncovered a vast collection of reports that provide access to an almost daily flow of news for years on end. The reports illuminate roughly a third of Aurangzeb's nearly half-century reign and offer a rare glimpse of how one of the world's great early-modern empires actually worked.
The akhbarat were written for the Raja of Jaipur and hundreds of other nobles, princes, and officials likely received similar reports from agents across the empire. This sophisticated information network allowed the Mughal empire to stay informed and make decisions based on accurate and timely information.
The discovery of the akhbarat has significant implications for our understanding of the Mughal empire and its rulers. It offers a fresh perspective on Aurangzeb and the empire's decline, which eventually cleared the way for British rule.