AKBAR

Death of Adam Khan In November 1561, Munim Khan, appointed as vakil by Maham Anaga, was replaced by Atga Khan. Munim’s main qualification had been his enmity to Bairam. This meant nothing in Agra now. Besides, it was Atga who had defeated Bairam near Jalandar and ferreted him out of Tilwara. Atga Khan’s wife, as we earlier noticed, was also a foster mother of Akbar. Maham had once been quite close to Atga but now she resented his elevation. The unity of the harem party was broken. There was now a Maham Anaga group and an Atga Khan one. The embittered Adam Khan deteriorated to the status of a hitman of a group of malcontents. They pointed out that he had been deliberately ignored. The campaign in Malwa over, Adam had been forced to relinquish his command. Between two commands, a general is powerless. Adam thought that Atga Khan had insisted on his recall. He awaited another posting. Nothing was forthcoming. Had Atga induced Akbar to dismiss him? On May 16, 1562, a year after the fall of Malwa, Adam decided to take matters into his own hands. Atga Khan was seated in the prime minister’s chair. Other officers of state were reading petitions and transacting business, as usual. When Adam Khan and his goon-squad arrived, Atga rose to greet him. One of Adam’s bodyguards drew out his dagger and stabbed Atga in the chest. Reeling under this unexpected blow and bent with pain, the amir staggered out of the hall into the courtyard. The bullies closed round him and cut him to pieces. He collapsed dead on a pile of lime accumulated for constructional work. The other ministers were aghast. They were simply numbed by these happenings. Though Adam Khan’s ruffians were armed, they were hugely outnumbered by the imperial bodyguard. Yet they had stormed their way in and brutally murdered the vakil. None of the guards had prevented Adam’s entry. They knew that he was Maham Anaga’s son. The assembled noblemen did not expect this violent behavior from him in the royal palace itself. They had no idea how Akbar would react. Adam Khan now tried to make his way into the harem but was prevented by a eunuch from doing so. The eunuch seemed to be the only man in this assemblage of old women. Akbar woke from his afternoon nap and enquired of Rafique, a trusted servant what was the matter? He pointed to Akbar the corpse of Atga near the chunam heap. Akbar had always loved Atga. He was many years senior to Adam Khan. Akbar wondered why Adam could not simply await his turn. Akbar called for his scimitar and sword in hand came to confront the murderer. He saw Adam Khan in a corner. “ #@///**”, said Akbar, “**///#@”. Akbar’s normal loudspeaker voice had reached an unusually high pitch. “Batcha i lada”, bellowed Akbar, “why have you killed our Atga?” Adam Khan tried to reply. He held Akbar’s hand. Probably the Emperor escaped assassination by a hair’s breath. Akbar wrenched himself free. He followed his vigorous adjectives with a vicious backhander and a straight left. He smashed his fist into Adam Khan’s face that it crumpled like a ripe mango. The thug fell unconscious. Akbar commanded the guards to do their duty. He ordered Adam Khan to be bound and thrown down from the balcony. This did not kill him. The terrace was only about nine feet from the ground. Akbar directed his guards to take Adam up and heave-hoe him again. This time Adam Khan’s ‘neck was broken and his brains destroyed’. The numskull was no more. His murderous sidekicks were quickly rounded up. The high profile, low budget horror movie called Adam Khan’s life was over. When the news reached Maham Anaga, she rushed to the palace to confront her foster son. “Adam Khan killed our Atga,” said Akbar, “we have inflicted retaliation upon him.” Probably, the words made no impact on her. When the truth registered in her mind, her lip fell. Her eyes were contorted. Her face was drained of color. It became like putty. She asked to see the body of her son. Akbar did not want his foster mother to see the mangled corpse of Adam Khan. He turned down her request. Maham Anaga made no complaint. She was too great a respecter of the Chingizi imperial tradition to indulge in backchat. She bore her sorrow in silence. Forty days later she was dead.