Jodhaa Akbar

One of the three main wives of Akbar, the mother of Jahangir, was known as Maan Kunwar (b. october 1, 1542). Her hindu name was changed to Hira Kunwari after marriage (as was the custom in rajasthan) and for the purpose of marrying Akbar she was converted to Islam and was rechristened Mariam-uz-Zamani after marriage.

She was born on october 1, 1542 as the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber and aunt of Man Singh I of Amber, whom later on became one of the nine jewels (Navaratnas) in the court of Akbar. In 1562, she married Akbar the Great. She was 22 days elder than Akbar. She was Akbar's third wife and one of the three chief queens of Emperor Akbar. His first queen was the childless, Ruqaiyya Begum and his second wife was Salima Sultan, widow of Bairam Khan, Akbar's most trusted general.

She is said to have been politically involved in the court until Nur Jahan became empress. According to Thomas Roe, she was involved in active sea trade and owned a ship named Ramiti which carried pilgrims to Mecca. Her quarters of the palace was decorated with pictures of Lord Krishna. She also kept cheese or paneer to offer to the lords in her room.

In 1586, she arranged a marriage of her son, Prince Salim (later Jahangir), to Man Singh's sister Princess Manmati, who was the mother of Prince Khusro. She died in 1611. As per her last wishes a vav or step well was constructed by Jahangir.

Another Mughal royal named Jagat Gosain aka Jodhi Bibi a.k.a as Jodha Bai was the daughter of Udai Singh of Jodhpur, and a wife of Jahangir. She was the mother of Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan). This is a matter of political debate in Rajasthan, with various Rajput organisations taking the field against the former royal families of Jaipur and Kishangarh about exactly which Rajput princess married which Mughal emperor. ^[1]

The name Jodha Bai as wife of Akbar was used first time in the 19th century when Colonel Tod, a British Political agent of East India COmpany, mentioned Jodhabai in his book Annals and Antiquity of Rajasthan."Colonel Tod depended on bardic literature (folk literature) of Rajputs and he mentioned Jodhabai for the first time here." This was an error which has perpetuated over time. [1]

Just a casual reference to the NCERT history book for class XI reveals that Jodhaa bai was married to Akbar’s son Jahangir.

"To strengthen his position, Udai Singh married his daughter, Jagat Gosain or Jodha Bai as she came to be called, to Akbar's eldest son Salim (Jahangir)," the book says.

According to historian Mohammad Amin, in Akbar Naama written by Abul Fazal there is a mention of Akbar marrying a Rajput princess of Amer who was named Maryam Zamani. But nowhere in Akbar Naama is she referred to as Jodhaabai. [2]

courtesy:wikipedia

Jodhaa Akbar cleared by Censor Board

 Ashutosh Gowariker’s epic romance Jodhaa Akbar has been cleared by the Censor Board with a UA certificate and without any cuts.

Scheduled to release on February 15, the Board has asked Gowariker to put a disclaimer on the various names of Jodhabai, and asked him to retain only the name Jodhabai. The director has already inserted a disclaimer in English but he has been asked to put it in Hindi too.

It maybe recalled that there has been a debate over the name of Akbar’s queen. Some historians state that she was called Harkhabai, Shai Bai and Man Mati, but Ashutosh Gowariker, reportedly, clarified that he consulted the royal family of Jaipur who gave him a clearance to use the name Jodha.

Vinayak Azad, the regional officer of the Censor Board, said, “We have advised Ashutosh Gowariker to put an additional disclaimer stating that the historical facts shown in the film are just one version of history and there may be another version.”

When asked about the clearance from the Animal Welfare Board as there are a lot of action scenes in the film involving animals like elephants and horses, Azad said, “We have received all the clearances from the Board. We had to issue a UA certificate because of certain battle scenes which showed elephants crushing people,” he added.