Mughal emperor Akbar is considered to be the greatest ruler the world has ever seen and some people also argue that he is the father of our nation, not Mahatma Gandhi.

Akbar’s religious tolerance set an example for the other Muslim rulers of India so did his compassionate heart. It is also said that, Akbar had a great role to play in unifying us Indians no matter Hindus, Muslims, Shikhs or Christians. To our greatest surprise or honor, Mughal emperor Akbar has observed many Hindu rituals which earned him respect from Hindus all over the country.

He was very solicitous to the religion and he married a Rajput Hindu woman to strengthen maritime ties with the Rajputs too, it is said. In this light, many Muslims call him a Hindu and many Hindus call him a Muslim, but we wonder what idiots they were where Akbar was a true Indian.

Akbar was a visionary who knew for sure that only religious tolerance can help save India from falling in shambles and he set examples for the nation by according respect to every dominant religion of India. He gave equal honor to all the communities and sects which sets Akbar class apart from other emperor that have ruled India. In fact, when this realization dawned upon him, Akbar adapted the wise policy of Shah-e-kul which means the universal tolerance of all the religions. Although his attempt to find a common religion Dil-I-Ilahi was a failure, but Shah-e-kul was utmost success.

Of course, this goes without saying that Akbar was way ahead of his time, even ahead of the Europeans who massacred each other in the name of religion. For instance, Catholics massacaring Protestants, Protestants massacaring Catholics and both massacaring Jews in the name of religion. Emperor Akbar even went great lengths to bring all the religions together. He held discussions with the scholars from all religions such as Hinduism, Islam and Christianity because his sole agenda was to establish religious unity in the nation. The scholars received warm welcome in his court and the emperor heard their views with patience. He put up a tolerant spirit while listening to them as they sat in a conference in the Ibadat Khana or the hall of worship.

But what really has set Mughal emperor Akbar class apart was that he put a pause on cow slaughter during his stint. It is also said that he encouraged cow worship in his tenure.

As Mughal emperor Akbar had fatherly fondness towards people from all the religions, he even worshipped cows himself to elevate their spirit. This proves that nothing was at par with his religious tolerance. Akbar was one and only crowing jewel in the whole Mughal history.

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