In New India, what you write about when you write about Aurangzeb

Who writes history, for whom, and why? Arguably, these are the questions – or the one, intertwined question – at the heart of Munis D Faruqui’s new interpretation of the life and times of Aurangzeb.In some ways, the question has straightforward answers. Who wrote this history? Faruqui the professional historian who has, by his own account, long wrestled with Aurangzeb as a subject and took the plunge eight years ago, scouring never-before-used primary sources to re-examine the life and legacy of the sixth Mughal. Who will read it? Aurangzeb ‘Alamgir and the Mughal Empire is a scholarly work – both in what it does (bringing fresh evidence and interpretation to the table), and in what it avoids doing. Written in three parts – one on Aurangzeb’s life and rule, one on his harem and eunuchate,