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It has been stated in articles all over the internet that Jodha wasn't the name of Jahangir's mother. So, what was her real name??
There seems to be some consensus among historians that her maiden name was either Harkha bai or Hira Kunwari / Heer kunwar and utmost unanimity on her title post Jahangir's birth i.e. Mariam uz-Zamani. In fact, even in Akbar's and Jahangir's memoirs she has been mentioned only by the title. But her rajput name has been omitted from these memoirs too.
One reason I read in a research article was that, it was too much for muslim scholars in Akbar's court to digest the fact that the future Mughal emporer was borne of a Hindu woman. Jodha wielded a lot of authority not only over the emporer but also in the imperial court, as stated in 'history_geek' 's post. This was especially resented by powerful muslim clerics, who were already unhappy with Akbar over allowance of Hindu wives to practice their religion in the mughal fort.
Therefore, these relegious bigots conveniently removed any mention of the real name of Jahangir's mother. And only used her title, making information rather ambiguous in nature. To make this omission less obvious and communal in nature, they went on to keep all the mothers of Akbar's children nameless. This was a practice not seen before among Mughals. The biographies of Babur and Humayun mention the names of the mothers and also give a detailed account of their interactions with their husbands. Something, that is sorely missing in both Akbar's and Jahangir's memoirs.
Even Jahangir's memoirs doesn't have the maiden names of the mothers in it. Khusrau and Khurram (Shah Jahan) were borne of Hindu mothers, as well. Again, only their titles are mentioned in the memoirs.
Adding to the increasing confusion, the royal family of Jaipur (the very one to which belongs the ever-famous Gayatri Devi) had stated when Jodha-Akbar movie came out, that Jodha existed and married Akbar. Jaipur is the present-day Amer. Jodha's maayka stills lives on with dignity and riches. Same can't be said about the Mughals, who were almost driven to the point of political obscurity by the British. But even they say Jodha and Akbar were married and also claim to have photos to prove so.
So, what is true, who to believe and who not too... are some questions that come in mind of someone who starts who trys finding the reason behind this issue. Even I am not fully convinced but relegious inclinations surely can be a valid reason.
Seher Hone Ko Hai
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