Aurangzeb loved Dahod till the end

The state government's Gujarat Day celebrations this year will be held in Dahod town, the headquarters of the district with the same name. Dahod has an interesting connection with history. Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, was born here.

Not only that, Aurangzeb had great love for his place of birth. In 1704, he wrote a letter to his eldest son, Muhammad Azam, asking him to be kind and considerate to the people of Dahod as it was his birthplace. Muhammad Azam was then the Subedar (governor) of Gujarat.

In his letter, Aurangzeb wrote: "My son of exalted rank, the town of Dohad, one of the dependencies of Gujarat, is the birthplace of this sinner. Please consider a regard for the inhabitants of that town as incumbent on you." Eminent historian Manekshah Commissariat has quoted from this letter in his book 'A History of Gujarat: Mughal period, from 1573 to 1758'.

Incidentally, Dahod was earlier called Dohad because of its location between borders of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Dohad literally means 'two borders'.

Aurangzeb was born in the fort at Dahod in 1618. His father, Shah Jahan, was then the subedar (governor) of Gujarat while his (Shah Jahan's) father, Jehangir, was the Mughal Emperor. The fort later came to be known as 'Aurangzeb no kilo'.

Before he became emperor, Aurangzeb was made subedar of Gujarat as part of his training and was stationed at Ahmedabad. There were two riots during his rule.

He had become very old and weak when he wrote the later to his son in 1704. Aurangzeb died in 1707.