“[97] After prayers and wishes to God (Allah) I am writing these few words, may He carry them to the blessed ears (of Ahmadshah Abdali). Existence of an Islamic Emperor is a favour (of Allah). It should be understood that Hindustan (region north of Narmada river) is a vast country. Earlier Emperors have toiled very hard for a long time and through multiple attempts have managed to win over this country.

Apart from Delhi, which has been the residence of (Mughal) Emperors, other regions were under the control of various rulers, for example, Gujarat Ahmadabad was controlled by a different ruler, Tatta (Sindh) was under the control of Raja Dahir, Bengal was ruled by another ruler, Awadh was controlled by some other person [98] known as the eastern Emperor. Deccan region was collectively controlled by these principalities – 1. Burhanpur 2. Berar 3. Aurangabad 4. Hyderabad 5. Bijapur. Each of these five regions had a separate King. Malwa was also ruled by a different ruler.

Other kingdoms also had a King who had his own army and treasury. Each of these had established Masjids and Madarssas in their region. Muslims from Arabia and Iran (Arb wa Azm) migrated here and became the reason for propagating Islam. Till today, their descendants have been faithfully following the ways and practices of Islam. There is another region which almost came under the control of Islamic Emperor but continued to follow non-Islamic practices.

Though it did happen that the Emperor started collecting [99] Kharaj (tribute) from those regions. The region being mentioned here is Rajputana. This region is spread across forty stages, from the border of Tatta (Sindh) and upto the border of Bengal and Bihar and from the borders of Delhi and Agra upto Gujarat and Ujjain over twenty stages. This is the vast extended region which did not become the dwelling of Islam. In short, Mughal Emperors formed a pact with Rajputs and assuming that this courage was inferior and that they would be secure and protected from this resistance, they gave up war …

… There is a non-Muslim clan known as Marathas led by a General. This clan has raised its head from the districts of Deccan and has spread its influence all over Hindustan. Later Mughal Emperors, out of lack of foresight, negligence and fear of retaliation, gave away Gujarat province to the Marathas and due to same carelessness and fear gave away Malwa province and made them Subhedars of the region. Eventually Marathas gained strength and many times Islamic regions came under their control. Marathas started exacting tribute from both Hindus and Muslims and called it Chauth (one fourth tax).

[100] Marathas could not gain supremacy over Delhi because it was inhabited by nobles who are descendants of previous Emperors, princes and nobility. Compelled by this situation, the Marathas treated them with respect and signed a pact with them. By establishing good relations with these nobles and by gaining their trust, they tactfully separated the Delhites. Late Nizam-ul-mulk’s son prevented these Marathas from gaining control over Deccan by his policy of creating dissent within Maratha ranks or sometimes by aligning with the British. In this way, Nizam-ul-mulk’s son established his control over big cities like Burhanpur, Aurangabad and Bijapur but the surrounding regions were left to the Marathas.

In short, apart from key areas of Delhi and Deccan, the Marathas have overall control. It is not difficult to defeat the Marathas if the Ghazis of Islam make a strong resolve. Actually the Maratha army is insignificant but is held together by a General. If even one of their groups is distracted, the army will disintegrate and this defeat itself will make them weak. As this clan will assume bigger proportions, a similar sized army will be required (to counter) which will be numerous than ants and locusts, and courageous and will have ample provisions of war. In short, the uprising of Marathas is the biggest in Hindustan.

[101] May Allah bless the person who will crush this uprising. Another non-Muslim clan is of Jats who reside around the areas of Delhi and Agra. Both these cities had residences for the Emperor. At one point in time, Mughal Emperor resided in Agra and their fear spread as far as Rajputana. Sometimes they stayed in Delhi and their name and fame spread to Sarhind and it’s environs.

Jats used to engage in clashes in areas between Delhi and Agra. During Shahjahan’s time, they were ordered to not to mount on horses, not to carry guns and not to build any fortifications for themselves. Later Emperors did not pay much attention to them and using this carelessness as a boon, this clan built many forts, collected guns and started looting people. At that time, Aurangzeb was busy fighting for Bijapur and Hyderabad. He sent an army from Deccan under the leadership of his grandson to quash Jats. But the nobles from Rajputana opposed this Prince and a discord was caused in the army. The Mughal army returned after a little bit pleading from the Jats.

The opposition from this clan increased substantially during the reign of Muhammad Faruqsiyar.”