The book begins from the reign of Jahangir, Dara Shukoh’s grandfather and also the time when the princes Khurram (later Shah Jahan), Parvez and Shahryr began competing for the Mughal throne. The newest biography of the Mughal-era personality by Supriya Gandhi, The Emperor Who Never Was: Dara Shukoh in Mughal India (Belknap Press, Harvard University Press), is an excellent attempt at uncovering these hidden aspects of the life of Dara Shukoh while placing him in the context of seventeenth century Mughal India. As the figure of Dara is inscribed with modern labels of liberal and secular, the nuances and complexities in the personality of Shah Jahan’s eldest son remain hidden. In the case of Dara, he finds appeal even among Hindu nationalists. Dara Shukoh, along with Akbar, remains among the two well-loved personalities of Mughal India.
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