My debut novel, The Final Puzzle, dealt with the politics in Akbar's court. The rivalries between the influential Muslim clergy, businessmen and the Hindus at court shaped Akbar's Hindustan( India and some surrounding countries). His rule lasted 50 years and he was known as Akbar the Great.
Here are the top lessons I learned that help me in my daily life ( not always to solve problems, but to put things in perspective):
* He is used in a gender-neutral way and implies he/she. Not to be politically correct, but to make sure I am including females in leadership roles, both the good and bad ones.
Lesson #1: There will always be rivalries between people, for as long as people exist.
Whether peace and happiness prevail, depends entirely on the character of the leader.
Just as with great kings, a true leader comes around only once in a while. The proportion of real leaders to autocrats and despots must be one in ten thousand or smaller. A good time to quote the U.S president. Sad!
Lesson# 2: This is a modification of the maxim " A person is judged by the company he keeps".
Akbar had character flaws, but the smartest thing he did was to surround himself with really good people--his "nine gems" who included men of genius like Raja Birbal and Raja Todar Mal.
A great leader recognizes and inspires talented and good people to work for him. He inspires such people to go above and beyond. Show a bad leader talented people and he immediately feels threatened. He chooses a protective human shield of yes-people and flatterers who exploit these insecurities.
Even if you are lucky to have a true leader as your boss, what about the deputies? This is where the leader's inability to choose his "gems" in modern-day life can hamper a great leader. This is particularly true in government or other bulky institutions where seniority and unions determine who climbs the ladder. In olden times, they mounted a good fashioned military rebellion, now they threaten to resign or do so.
Lesson #3: Morality- then and now. Does it matter?
A leader with 5000 women in his harem who genuinely cares about the people who depend on him ( or her) is much better than an uncaring monogamous zealot.
A (former) female colleague referred to Akbar as "gross" because of the number of women he kept.
In the #metoo era, a man in consensual polyamorous relations is less dangerous to a woman's career than the female co-worker who is willing to sleep with whomever to get promoted. The latter is the more common problem that no one wants to talk about. Education has provided women the choice to work to put food on their table, but some women still want to combine it with centuries-old ways to boost their careers.
I think I would have liked to work for Akbar. Hence the inspiration for Radha's character. Hint: She was not in the harem.
Lesson# 4: Curiosity and a desire to seek the truth.
Which in turn is synonymous with humility. Because asking the right questions to find the truth says that you accept you do not know what happened. Most folks know that there are many sides to a story. Leaders are open-minded and seek to hear all sides. They have empathy.
Those who are arrogant think they know it all.
Do you know anyone who is arrogant, abrasive, condescending and is simultaneously a good leader? I don't.
The Final Puzzle starts with Akbar roaming in disguise among his people to find the truth, in turn revealing that he cared about the facts. He went above and beyond what most monarchs do. 5000 women in the harem or not, he was motivated by a greater good to work hard. He did not remain in the comforts of his palace and believe everything his secret service ( or office snitches in modern-day parlance) relayed.
Lesson #5: Impartiality in a leader
A biased leader's days at the top are numbered. This circles back to lesson #2 about the people who surround a leader. Not to say a leader cannot like some people more than others. But every person who works for a good leader should feel that he will not be swayed easily by the first person who gets their (sob) story across. That everyone will get a chance to speak their truth. That the habitual whiners, complainers, and lazy flatterers do not set the tone and gain an upper hand to start a demoralizing downward slide for the rest. Because when everyone leaves, there is no one to lead.
One of Akbar's traits that has not received as much attention is the fact that he did not reveal what he actually thought about people. He got rid of the intolerable ones, and the rest he kept close.
Badaoni and Zain Khan are good examples. Why else would Akbar ask Badaoni, a Muslim scholar to translate Sanskrit Hindu religious texts, knowing what a hardcore religious bigot he was?
Bad leaders are reactive and aim to be punitive immediately. This is the reason that the clergy fell out of favor with Akbar. They used their position and knowledge in ways that did not serve humanity and interfered with peace in his kingdom. They meted harsher punishments to those they deemed inferior and used religion as a pretext to determine who suffered more. The rebellion in 1577 following the execution of a Mathura Brahmin by Mathura's Qazi had a domino effect on the land for years following a single incident. Smart people think before they act. The Qazi of Mathura does not appear so to posterity. And Akbar took over as the final arbitrator in matters of Justice depriving the clergy of its power.
Lesson# 6: What is your motivation? The greater good or personal glory? Or merely survival?
Self-awareness is a quintessential quality in a leader.
Whether a leader is aware of his motives or not, others will quickly recognize it. Only the person who works for the greater good, has a vision and the strength of character to inspire, will earn respect. Those who seek power for personal glory are like the Emperor with no clothes. Everyone can see their true intentions, birthmarks, paunches, and cellulite. Yikes!
Those in survival mode need help. Bad kings like Humayun, kind as he was, resorted to opium and women. Nowadays, there is such a thing as counseling. But only a self-aware person in a leadership role will seek help.
Aside from roaming incognito to find out the problems his subjects faced, Akbar married many Hindu princesses. It is hard to believe that he did this merely to enjoy the company of women. Or to have an heir. Non-fiction books indicate that later in life, Akbar regretted having so many wives. But we forgive him. He wanted peace between Hindus and Muslims. Marriages were called alliances for a reason.
I am writing my second novel, set in early 16th century India. It deals with the conflict between the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and his principal foe, Sher Shah Suri.
Sher Shah died in an accident when Akbar was only three years old. But the two men, one who ruled Hindustan for five years and the other for five decades, had a lot in common.
What I learned from Sher Shah will be in a subsequent post.
Please share your comments.
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