Question

Prompt

Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
No ruler took more liberties with his religion than Akbar, the greatest of the Mughals, the Muslim dynasty that dominated
India between the early 16th and 18th centuries. Like Ashoka and Gandhi, Akbar constructed a religious ideology that served
to hold together a diffuse polity as it fed his own soul.
It began with pragmatic policies of tolerance. Akbar had inherited the throne, at the age of 13, in 1556. In 1579 he abolished
the jiziya, a tax imposed on all but the poorest non-Muslims. This was the most notable in a series of measures to recruit
the Hindu majority and others to the cause of unifying and expanding his empire. He could be ruthless: his troops
massacred 20,000-25,000 non-combatants after a four-month siege of Chitor, a nearly impregnable Hindu fortress in
Rajasthan. But he preferred incentives to coercion. He defeated the war-like Rajputs, but gave them rank and married their
princesses, who were permitted to conduct Hindu rites in the harem. The Mughal-Rajput alliance was a bulwark of his
empire
"Multicultural Akbar," The Economist, 1999
a) Explain ONE specific political development that resulted from the conditions created by the religious policies described
in the passage.
b) Explain ONE specific change to Muslim-Hindu relations that resulted from the conditions created by the religious policies
described in the passage.
c) Explain ONE specific consequence of the policies described in the passage on religious minorities.
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Answer 1

A) One specific political development that resulted from the conditions created by the religious policies described in the passage is how Akbar's elimination of the jizya ultimately strengthened the empire. Akbar allowed a series of measures, one of which included abolishing the jizya, to recruit the Hindu majority as well as others with the goal of unifying and expanding the empire. He gave the Rajputs ranks and married their princesses, allowing them to conduct Hindu rites. This alliance strengthened the empire greatly by allowing two major religious groups to live in harmony.

B) One specific change to Muslim-Hindu relations that resulted from the conditions created by the religious policies described in the passage was the tolerance of Hinduism in the empire. While he defeated the Rajputs and was perfectly able to use his troops to slaughter all of them, he instead gave them mercy and rank in the empire. This agreement to ally with the Rajputs helped the empire strengthen itself and allow both Muslims and Hindus to feel included and united under one kingdom.

C) One specific consequence of the policies described in the passage on religious minorities would be the oppressive jizya, which was a tax brought upon non-Muslims. The tax exempted from those who were not able to pay, such as the poor, elderly, women, children, the handicapped, the ill, the insane, monks, hermits, slaves, and foreigners who were only residing temporarily in Muslim lands, meaning that only sane, adult, male citizens paid the tax. The tax created inequality for specifically the poor non-Muslims, separating Muslims and non-Muslims as well as the rich from the poor.

Answer 2

a) As stated in the passage "It began with pragmatic policies of tolerance. Akbar had inherited the throne, at the age of 13, in 1556. In 1579 he abolished the jiziya, a tax imposed on all but the poorest non-Muslims. This was the most notable in a series of measures to recruit the Hindu majority and others to the cause of unifying and expanding his empire........he preferred incentives to coercion. He defeated the war-like Rajputs, but gave them rank and married their princesses, who were permitted to conduct Hindu rites in the harem. The Mughal-Rajput alliance was a bulwark of his empire." which explains how there was a political improvement from the conditions created by religious policies.

b) "Akbar constructed a religious ideology that served to hold together a diffuse polity....he preferred incentives to coercion....notable in a series of measures to recruit the Hindu majority and others to the cause of unifying and expanding his empire." As stated in the texts his most notable series of measure he has taken is unifying and creating a government with a Muslim-Hindu relations, the religious policies themselves tore apart the empire, but Akbar was able to unify by making sure others feel included.

c) "...jiziya, a tax imposed on all but the poorest non-Muslims", this consequence on religious minorities took a whole a new level when the policy was created. This policy created inequality for specifically the poor non-Muslims, separating Muslims and non-Muslims and from rich and poor.

Step-by-step explanation:

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