In Sir Jadunath Sarkar's 'Shivaji' pgs 320-323, one finds the english translation of a remarkable letter that the renowned Maratha leader Shivaji had written to the mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The letter was written three years prior to Shivaji's death, soon after Aurangzeb had imposed jaziya on hindus. The letter opens by paying a tribute to Akbar's policy in the sphere of religion.



"That architect of the fabric of Empire, Akbar Padshah, adopted the admirable policy of universal harmony in relation to all the various sects, such as Christians, Jews, Muslims, materialists, atheists, brahmins, and Jain priests. The aim of his liberal heart was to cherish and protect all the people. So he became famous under the title of Jagat Guru, the world's spiritual guide."



This is followed by similar appreciative references to Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Shivaji continues:



'They [i.e. Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan--Rashmun], too, had the power to levy the jaziya, but they did not give place to bigotry in their hearts as they considered all men, high and low, created by God, to be examples of the nature of diverse creeds and temperaments....Prayer and praise for these three pure souls will dwell forever in the hearts and tongues of mankind.'



The next point Shivaji makes to Aurangzeb is even more significant.



'Your peasants are downtrodden; the yield of every village has declined; it is a reign in which the army is in ferment, the merchants complain, the muslims cry, the hindus are grilled, most men lack bread at night and in the day inflame their own cheeks by slapping them in anguish. How can the royal spirit permit you to add the hardship of the jaziya to this grievous state of things?'



So Shivaji's protest against the jaziya is part of a general protest against the intolerable burdens placed on all the subjects of Aurangzeb, in which muslims are also included by Shivaji. Still further, the letter asks Aurangzeb why he did not levy the jaziya on his hindu nobles and chieftans: "Why are they exempted?"



Shivaji then goes on to say that the jaziya could be excused if there was such peace and prosperity under Aurangzeb's rule that a beautiful woman could travel unmolested from one part of his kingdom to another, but such a condition does not exist.



The last point of Shivaji's letter is also extremely important.



'If you believe in the true Divine Book and the Word of God , you will find there that God is styled Rabb-ul-alamin, the lord of all men, and not Rabb-ul-mussalmin, the lord of the Mohammedans only. Verily Islam and Hinduism are terms of contrast. If it be a mosque, the call to prayer is chanted in rememberance of Him only. If it be a temple, the bell is rung in yearning of Him only. To show bigotry for any man's creed and practices is equivalent to altering the words of the Holy Book.'