Jashn-e Chiragha'n: How Mughal Celebrations Of The Festival Of Light Shaped Modern Diwali

Diwali, or Deepavali, is one of the major Indian festivals celebrated across the country. Although deeply embedded within Hindu mythology, the festival has a much longer history that goes back to the harvest festivals celebrated in ancient India, and has never been confined to Hinduism.

In different parts of India, different communities observe Diwali for different reasons according to their own traditions. While Hindus celebrate Diwali to mark Ram's triumphant return to the Kingdom of Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile; Jains celebrate Diwali to mark the day Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankar, attained nirvana or spiritual liberation; and Sikhs celebrate the festival as Bandi Chhorh Diwas, or Day of Emancipation, to mark the day that Guru Hargobind Sahib and 52 other prisoners were released from Mughal captivity in 1611-12.

The Mughals, the erstwhile Islamic rulers of India and the antagonists in the historical narrative of Bandi Chhorh Diwas, were not immune to the allure of Diwali either. The Mughal Emperor Akbar started the tradition of Diwali celebrations in his court in Agra, and began the tradition of distributing sweets like ghevar, petha, kheer, peda, jalebi, and shahi tukda as Diwali greetings. According to Abu'l Fazal — the court historian and grand vizier to Akbar — Diwali celebrations during Akbar's reign began during Dassahra and continued for several days.

Akbar — greatly inspired by the many religions of India — was a believer of syncretism and had the Ramayana translated into Persian so he could learn from the Sanskrit epic. According to Abu'l Fazal's Ain-i-Akbari, episodes from this Persian translation of the Ramayana was read and re-enacted in his court during Diwali celebrations.

Akbar was not the only Mughal emperor to celebrate Diwali. His grandson, the Emperor Shah Jahan continued Diwali celebrations at the Mughal court in Delhi, and introduced the tradition of lighting fireworks alongside the traditional oil lamps during Diwali. Apart from puritans like Aurangzeb who banned the celebrations of Holi and Diwali in the Mughal court, many later Mughal emperors continued to actively celebrate and participate in the festival of light known as 'Jashn-e Chiragha'n' in Mughal India.

In her book 'Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi', historian Rana Safvi recounts how Diwali was celebrated with great style and enthusiasm under the later-Mughal emperor Mohammad Shah Rangeela:

"The Rang Mahal in Red Fort was lit up with diyas on Diwali as can be seen in a painting of Mohammad Shah Rangeela celebrating Diwali outside the palace with some ladies. The emperor was a poet and Rangeela was his nom de plume.

The Mughal emperor was weighed in gold and silver, which were distributed amongst the poor. It is said that some Mughal ladies would climb to the top of the Qutub Minar to watch the lights and fire-works. Fireworks under the supervision of the mir atish would be ignited near the walls of the Red Fort. And a special Akash Diya (Light of the Sky) was lit with great pomp, placed atop a pole 40 yards high, supported by sixteen ropes, and fed on several maunds of binaula (cottonseed oil) to light up the darbar."

According to journalist and author of several books about Delhi, Ronald Vivian Smith — better known as RV Smith — Diwali was observed with such grandiosity during the reign of Muhammad Shah Rangeela (1719-1748) in Delhi that the Diwali celebrations at Chandni Chowk came to be known as 'Rangeela ki Diwali', or Rangeela's Diwali, because of his annual visits to the chowk with his retinue and the ladies of the royal court.

In many way, Mughal celebrations of Diwali were the precursor to the modern Diwali celebrations in North India, and introduced or popularised many of the traditions that we associate with the festival of light today.

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