Interesting read. With lack of proper records and history being open to interpretation, it is hard to know ...how much of Akbar-Jodha story was true and how much was a fantasy. However there are some cold hard truths
1)It was a time for bloodshed and no king specifically the one who dreamed to unifying the country could be an emotional fool. This means Akbar might have had to make some tough decisions and be ruthless in more ways than one. What is significant is that he chose to find alternative methods of securing his territory that included forging marital bonds. He was not the first king to do it nor will he be the last. King Philips, Alexander, Pharoahs, British royal family...almost the entire ruling class across the world used marriages to create lucrative bonds between powerful families and not all wives were empresses.
2)The fact is the princesses in that time were used a pawn and treated as broodmares. Jodha's life would have been no different if she had married a Rajput prince. Odds were he would have died fighting a war with Mughals at some point and she would have had to perform Sati/Jauhar. Would he have treated Jodha better...maybe...maybe not? As for her being married at 13 years...child marriage was prevalent in those times. The articles talks about Akbar's 5000 wives and his leachary...Were Rajput/Hindu king/princes monogamous? Did they not indulge in affairs, prostitution and extra marital affairs? Maybe not as blatantly as Mughals but still...
3) It does not matter what influence Jodha wielded on Akbar or how powerful she was...the fact remains that she brought a new perspective to Akbar...he became more accepting and lenient and an era of peace was ushered. Does it really matter if he did it for love or political reasons? He also made certain exceptions for her to help her adapt in her new life.
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