279Burhan-ul-Mulk and Politics at the Court Initially Burhan-ul-Mulk, like his predecessors, maintained the existing pattern of relations between the Mughal court and the province. He visited Delhi three times,1 was associated with a faction and tried to obtain an important office at the court during the first five years of his subadari. At the beginning of this phase he was associated with the ‘Mughal group’ (the Turanis), as his rise to power derived from his assistance to Muhammad Amin Khan in the latter’s bid to remove the Saiyids.2 But after the death of Muhammad Amin Khan, when his cousin, Nizam-ul-Mulk, the new wazir, tried to enforce his (Nizam-ul-Mulk’s) reforms, Burhan-ul-Mulk broke away from the ‘Mughal group’. Nizam-ul-Mulk’s scheme of reforms, as we know, included the reduction of the jagirs of the ‘new nobles’ and the reinstatement of the khanazads and the old and ‘deserving’ mansabdars. Burhan-ul-Mulk, a non-khanazad, therefore, tried to retain and enhance his position at the court by developing close connections with the ‘new nobles’, like Roshan-ud-Daulah, Mu‘izz-ud-Daulah, Haidar Quli Khan and their associates.’3
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Soon Burhan-ul-Mulk’s success against the zamindars in Awadh gave him a distinct position among the other members of his faction which he tried to ensure by acquiring the leadership of his group at the court. He tried to influence appointments in other provinces4 as (p.247) well as at the centre5 and endeavoured to obtain an important office at the centre.
Burhan-ul-Mulk aspired to secure the office of the darogha-i top-khana.6 By doing so Burhan-ul-Mulk obviously endeavoured to retain his control over developments at the court. This caused an estrangement between him on the one hand and Samsam-ud-Daulah and his brother, Muzaffar Khan, who held the office at the time on the other. Tension between him and Muzaffar Khan continued mounting until it erupted in an open dispute between the two. The dispute which had its roots in court politics was related to Burhan-ul-Mulk’s reorganization of jagir administration in Awadh. Ultimately at the suggestion of Mir Jumla, it was agreed that Muzaffar Khan would resign from his existing office and take over as subadar of Awadh and Burhan-ul-Mulk would replace Girdhar Bahadur as governor of Malwa. Burhan-ul-Mulk apparently accepted the decision and giving an impression of leaving for his new (p.248) assignment in Malwa, proceeded towards Agra. At Agra, however, he suddenly crossed the Yamuna and set out for Awadh.7
Burhan-ul-Mulk’s act was one of open defiance of the imperial court. But in the circumstances there was no other course open to him. The emperor’s order, especially to the powerful governors, no longer carried weight. Burhan-ul-Mulk had seen how imperial authority had been eroded in the Deccan and Gujarat. Following the defeat and death of Mubariz Khan at Shakar Khera, the emperor had to confirm Nizam-ul-Mulk as the viceroy of the Deccan. Yet Nizam-ul-Mulk showed little deference to the emperor’s arrangements in Gujarat. He instigated his cousin, Hamid Khan, to refuse to comply with the imperial order of his dismissal from the governorship of Gujarat.8 It was thus very difficult for Burhan-ul-Mulk to pass through Malwa. The governor of the province would not have assured him a safe passage.
Again, the governorship of Malwa in 1727 was not free from hazards. It was very difficult to contain the zamindars and the inordinately ambitious Afghans of the province. More than this was the challenge of the Marathas. Though they were officially put forward only in 1717, the claims chauths of Malwa had been advanced as early as the time of Shivaji. The Maratha raids into Malwa are recorded since 1699 while after 1720 it became a regular feature of the policy of the Peshwa to send an annual detachment to the province. In 1724 the Peshwa himself crossed the Narbada. Further, Nizam-ul-Mulk’s involvement in Malwa politics was not a secret to anyone. Within a year after the appointment of Girdhar Bahadur, Nizam-ul-Mulk managed to remove him in favour of his cousin, Azimullah Khan. Though Girdhar Bahadur was reappointed to Malwa in June
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1725, Nizam-ul-Mulk was suspected to be secretly encouraging the Maratha raids in Malwa.
It is very likely that Samsam-ud-Daulah by sending Burhan-ul-Mulk to Malwa wanted to bring him into direct conflict with Nizam-ul-Mulk. In such a situation, it was not possible for Burhan-ul-Mulk (p.249) to accept the Malwa assignment, all the more because he had begun to build his base in Awadh.
Burhan-ul-Mulk had so far attempted to build a strong base at the centre. For about five years the group with which he had allied himself dominated the court. Haidar Quli’s death came as a severe blow to his strength. Roshan-ud-Daulah could not cope with the machinations of Samsam-ud-Daulah, the mir bakshi. Burhan-ul-Mulk himself was completely out-manoeuvred by the mir bakshi. The way he flouted the emperor’s order of his transfer to Malwa sealed the prospect of his obtaining any higher office at the centre. He now attempted to firmly and permanently establish himself in Awadh and to convert the province into a personal domain. It will, however, be seen that he could not afford to ignore the claims of the imperial court.