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48. A Firman of Emperor Aurangzeb, 
By Ragan Ransan Sen, B.L., with a translation of the 
Firman by Linut -Cotonet D, C. Partiorr. 
While at Benares last October I ee, to come across 
a document of a unique nature likely to be of much interest 
to the antiquarian and the hiateradl alike. essrs. Saeed 
Brothers, Photographers, of Benares, gave me a photo-copy of 
a firman in Persian which they alleged to be a true and faith- 
ful. reproduction of the original, which purported to be an 
imperial decree addressed to one Abul Hosein by Emperor 
Aurangzeb ot communicated through his son Sultan Muham- 
mad Baha 
All instore have up to time been almost unanimous in 
ving to Aurangzeb a character directly opposed to whiat 
pares from the above document. He has been held to be 
bitterly opposed to the Hindus as evidenced by his imposition 
of the Jiziah tax, and has further been reputed to have de- 
mene: numbers of Hindu temples at Benares, and erected the 
mosque over the Pancha-Ganga Ghat in that city with the 
écuate of tall minarets going by the name of Madhoji-ka-deora 
upon the ruins of the old temple of Beni Madhav which he had 
destroyed. As it was, I confess, I could not but look upon the 
document in question without considerable suspicion. 
therefore thought it proper to keep silence till I obtained 
satisfactory and authentic informations regarding the existence 
of the original. On another flying visit to Benares I was 
enabled to get a sight of the original firman itself through 
the courtesy of Kear ce Sheik Muhammad Tyab, City 
Inspector of Police, Benare 
This gentleman, Wie sent for the document from its 
present owner for na inspection, gave the following history in 
connection with its find :-— 
‘In the Mungls Gauri Muhulla of this city (Benares) lived 
a Brahmin named Gopi Upadhyaya who died about 15 years 
0. is firman was in the custody of Gopi Upadhyaya. 
This man had no son, but had a daughter. His daughter has 
a son named Mangal Pandey who also lives at Mungla Ghaid 
now. Mangal Pandey had obtained the document from Gopi 
Upadhydéya along with his other papers. In April, 1905, I held 
an enquiry under orders of the Magistrate of Benares in the 
matter of a complaint by Mangal Pandey. Mangal is a ghatia 
Brahmin, who sits on the river-bank to ply his business as a 
