Mughal History: He himself drank excessively, but used to impose restrictions on others! Know the interesting history of prohibition of liquor in Mughals from Babar to Aurangzeb

An interesting paradox of Mughal history has been that most of the Mughal emperors themselves drank heavily and alcohol and opium became the cause of fatal diseases and untimely death of many princes and emperors. But despite this, these rulers were well aware of the social and administrative disadvantages of alcohol. Despite his addiction, he kept trying to keep people away from it. The reasons cited behind this were people’s health, law and order, maintaining public peace and religious ideals. Strict orders were issued from time to time to prevent drunken fights, especially during festivals, although in practice these proved to be ineffective.

When Babar repented just before the battle of Khanwa

Babar, who laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India, has openly mentioned his love for alcohol and gatherings in his autobiography ‘Baburnama’. However, before the famous battle of Khanwa in 1527, there was a major change in Babar’s thinking. He took a tough decision to give up alcohol forever and broke all his precious standards of drinking alcohol. After this he also appealed to his army and officers to give up alcohol. Because of his own example, his appeal played a turning point in boosting the morale of the soldiers and uniting them religiously.

Akbar’s policy: ‘Drink a little, but not everywhere’

During Humayun’s reign, there is mention of consumption of opium more than alcohol, but he made no attempt to ban alcohol. Akbar, who came to power after that, also did not shy away from alcohol, but he used moderation. According to Ain-e-Akbari, Akbar was strictly against public intoxication. Instead of imposing a complete ban on alcohol throughout the empire, he adopted a policy of social control over its use. Under this, the sale of liquor in the capital was made subject to the licensing system and the shops were limited. Coming to the court drunk was strictly prohibited.

Prohibition of liquor was included in the early decrees of Jahangir.

In the Mughal period, Jahangir’s name comes at the top in the matter of intoxication. Due to his excessive drug addiction, the real command of governance came into the hands of Mallika Noorjahan. In his autobiography ‘Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri’, he himself admitted that he used to drink 20-20 cups of liquor every day since the age of 18. Later, on the advice of doctors, he reduced alcohol and resorted to opium. Despite this, one of the 12 royal decrees he issued upon assuming the throne included an order prohibiting the manufacture and sale of narcotics. However, according to historians, this order of Jahangir remained only a moral ideal and he himself lost his life due to addiction to alcohol and opium.

Shahjahan: Restrained attitude towards alcohol

Compared to his father Jahangir, Shahjahan was quite restrained in the matter of alcohol. According to the travelogues of French traveler François Bernier and Italian traveler Nicolao Manucci, Shah Jahan was not a slave to alcohol and drank limited quantities only occasionally. He did not issue any formal prohibition orders like his father nor did he adopt strict religious policies like his son Aurangzeb. During his rule, liquor was available to foreign traders at the court, although drunkenness was not openly encouraged in public.

Aurangzeb’s prohibition of liquor: When the Qazi himself turned out to be the secret master

Unlike his ancestors, Aurangzeb stayed away from all kinds of intoxicants. After coming to power in 1658, he issued decrees imposing a complete ban on the sale and production of liquor, cannabis and other intoxicants in the empire. He deployed Muhatsib (moral inspectors), who kept a close watch on gambling and the sale of liquor. Despite this, indigenous breweries continued to operate and sell liquor secretly in this vast empire with a pagan and Muslim population.

Big nobles and ministers of the empire (like Asad Khan) used to crave for alcohol every day. Annoyed by his failure and the addiction of his officers, Aurangzeb had once said, “There are only two people in India who have abstained from alcohol – one is myself and the other is Qazi-e-Mumalik Abdul Wahab.” However, this assumption of the king also proved wrong. According to the Italian traveler Nicolao Manucci, he himself used to secretly send bottles of cheap liquor to Qazi Abdul Wahb, which the Qazi drank so discreetly that the king never got to know about it.