In contemporary discourses, Dara Shikoh, the heir apparent to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, is hailed as a champion of religious syncretism, a great patron of the arts, and a pioneer of translating sacred Hindu texts. But he is seldom evaluated from the public leadership angle, even though he was groomed to be a monarch. In this talk, Sreejit Datta explores the leadership credentials of Dara Shikoh, based on the historical accounts written by his contemporaries as well as by historians of a later era. This exploration also sheds light on the political history of the late Mughal period and the shaping of India’s socio-political destiny in the decades following Dara’s murder.
About Speaker: –
Sreejit Datta serves as an Assistant Professor and the Director of Centre for Civilisational Studies at the Rashtram School of Public Leadership in Sonipat, Haryana. Datta’s research interests include alaṁkāraśāstra, aesthetic philosophy, comparative philosophy, comparative literature, historiography, musicology, performance studies, Bhakti, and Vedic Studies. He is an avid translator, writer, and musician.
