Editing Aurangzeb (section)

==Rebellions==
[[File:Battle elephant.jpg|thumb|upright|Aurangzeb spent his reign crushing major and minor rebellions throughout the Mughal Empire.]]

Traditional and newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, Rajputs, [[Hindu Jats]], [[Pashtuns]], and [[Sikh]]s, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or opposition, gave them both recognition and military experience.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Metcalf |first1=Barbara D. |author-link1=Barbara D. Metcalf |last2=Metcalf |first2=Thomas R. |author-link2=Thomas R. Metcalf |year=2006 |title=A Concise History of Modern India |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistorymo00metc |url-access=limited |edition=Second |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistorymo00metc/page/n58 23]–24 |isbn=978-0-521-86362-9}}</ref>
* In 1669, the Hindu Jat peasants of Bharatpur around [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] rebelled and created [[Bharatpur State]] but were defeated.
* In 1659, [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] leader [[Shivaji]], launched a surprise attack on the Mughal Viceroy [[Shaista Khan]] and, while waging war against Aurangzeb. Shivaji and his forces attacked the Deccan, [[Janjira State|Janjira]] and [[Surat]] and tried to gain control of vast territories.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} In 1689, Aurangzeb's armies captured Shivaji's son [[Sambhaji]] and executed him. But the Marathas continued the fight.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzmkFXSgxqgC&pg=RA1-PA54 |title=An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History |first=Karl J. |last=Schmidt |location=Armonk, New York |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=1995 |page=54 |isbn=978-1-56324-334-9}}</ref>
* In 1679, the [[Rathore (Rajput clan)|Rathore]] clan under the command of [[Durgadas Rathore]] of [[Kingdom of Marwar|Marwar]] rebelled when Aurangzeb did not give permission to make the young Rathore prince the king and took direct command of [[Jodhpur]]. This incident caused great unrest among the Hindu [[Rajput]] rulers under Aurangzeb and led to many rebellions in [[Rajputana]], resulting in the loss of Mughal power in the region and religious bitterness over the destruction of temples.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laine |first1=James W. |title=Meta-Religion: Religion and Power in World History |date= 2015 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-95999-6 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-x3fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |access-date=21 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Burn|editor-first1=Richard|editor-link=Richard Burn (Indologist)|year=1937|title=The Cambridge History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoI8AAAAIAAJ|volume=IV|pages=248–252|quote=The whole country was soon occupied by the imperialists, anarchy and slaughter were let loose upon the doomed state; all great towns in the village were pillaged; the temples were thrown down|access-date=15 September 2011}}</ref>
* In 1672, the [[Satnami]], a sect concentrated in an area near Delhi, under the leadership of Bhirbhan, took over the administration of [[Narnaul]], but they were eventually crushed upon Aurangzeb's personal intervention with very few escaping alive.<ref name="Edwardes1930" />
* In 1671, the [[battle of Saraighat]] was fought in the easternmost regions of the Mughal Empire against the [[Ahom Kingdom]]. The Mughals led by [[Mir Jumla II]] and Shaista Khan attacked and were defeated by the Ahoms.
* [[Maharaja Chhatrasal]] was the warrior from Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and established his own kingdom in [[Bundelkhand]], becoming a Maharaja of [[Panna State|Panna]].<ref>Bhagavānadāsa Gupta, ''Contemporary Sources of the Mediaeval and Modern History of Bundelkhand (1531–1857)'', vol. 1 (1999). {{ISBN|81-85396-23-X}}.</ref>

===Jat rebellion===
[[File:Gate of the Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra, Agra, India, 1795.jpg|thumb|The tomb of [[Akbar]] was pillaged by Jat rebels during the reign of Aurangzeb.]]

In 1669, [[Hindu Jats]] began to organise a rebellion that is believed to have been caused by the re-imposition of ''jizya'' and destruction of Hindu temples in Mathura.{{sfn|Avari|2013|p=131|ps=: Crisis arose in the north among the Jat agriculturists dissatisfied with punitive imperial taxation ... The first to rebel against the Mughals were the Hindu Jats.}}<ref>[https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Indian_People/ag4BAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22In%201669%20the%20demolition%20of%20Hindu%20temples%20and%20building%20of%20mosques%20in%20Mathura%20led%20to%20a%20Jat%20uprising%20under%20Gokla%22 The History of Indian people by Damodar P Singhal pg 196] Quote: "In 1669 the demolition of Hindu temples and building of mosques in Mathura led to a Jat uprising under Gokla"</ref> The Jats were led by [[Gokula]], a rebel landholder from [[Tilpat]]. By the year 1670 20,000 Jat rebels were quelled and the Mughal Army took control of Tilpat, Gokula's personal fortune amounted to 93,000 gold coins and hundreds of thousands of silver coins.<ref>{{cite book|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part – II|author=Chandra, S.|date=2005|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=978-81-241-1066-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC|page=290|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>

Gokula was caught and executed. But the Jats once again attempted rebellion. [[Raja Ram Jat]], in order to avenge his father Gokula's death, plundered Akbar's tomb of its gold, silver and fine carpets, opened Akbar's grave and dragged his bones and burned them in retaliation.<ref>Vīrasiṃha, 2006, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8188629529 "The Jats: Their Role & Contribution to the Socio-economic Life and Polity of North & North-west India, Volume 2"], Delhi: Originals , pp. 100–102.</ref><ref>Edward James Rap;son, Sir Wolseley Haig and Sir Richard, 1937, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yoI8AAAAIAAJ "The Cambridge History of India"], Cambridge University Press, Volume 4, pp. 305.</ref><ref>Waldemar Hansen, 1986, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=812080225X "The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India"], p. 454.</ref><ref>Reddy, 2005, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0070604479 "General Studies History for UPSC"], [[Tata McGraw-Hill]], p. B-46.</ref><ref>Catherine Ella Blanshard Asher, 1992, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0521267285 "Architecture of Mughal India – Part 1"], Cambridge university Press, Vol. 4, p. 108.</ref> Jats also shot off the tops of the minarets on the gateway to Akbar's Tomb and melted down two silver doors from the [[Taj Mahal]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Peck |first=Lucy |year=2008 |title=Agra: The Architectural Heritage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtFbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-942-0}}</ref><ref>Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston, Leslie Haden Guest, 1937, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SvkqAAAAIAAJ The World of To-day: The Marvels of Nature and the Creations of Man], Vol. 2, p. 510</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Havell |first=Ernest Binfield |author-link=Ernest Binfield Havell |year=1904 |title=A Handbook to Agra and the Taj, Sikandra, Fatehpur-Sikri and the Neighbourhood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmgLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA75 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company |page=75}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Penfield |first=Frederic Courtland |author-link=Frederic Courtland Penfield |year=1907 |title=East to Suez Ceylon, India, China, and Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7X9Q_rOFzZIC&pg=PA179 |page=179}}</ref> Aurangzeb appointed Mohammad Bidar Bakht as commander to crush the Jat rebellion. On 4 July 1688, Raja Ram Jat was captured and beheaded. His head was sent to Aurangzeb as proof of his beheading.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.48871/2015.48871.Maasir---I---Alamgiri#page/n199/mode/2up/search/ellora | title=Maasir – I – Alamgiri| year=1947}}</ref>

After Aurangeb's death, Jats under [[Badan Singh]] established their independent state of [[Bharatpur State|Bharatpur]].

Due to the Jat rebellion, the temples of [[Pushtimarg]], [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya]], and [[Radhavallabha|Radha vallabh]] Vaishnavs in Braj were abandoned and their icons were taken to different regions or into hiding.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Saha |first=Shandip |year=2004 |title=Creating a Community of Grace: A History of the Puṣṭi Mārga in Northern and Western India |publisher=University of Ottawa |pages=89, 178}}</ref>

===Mughal–Maratha Wars===
{{Main|Mughal–Maratha Wars}}
{{See also|Maratha Empire}}
[[File:Aurangzeb au siège de Satara.jpg|thumb|upright|Aurangzeb leads the Mughal Army during the [[battle of Satara]].]]

In 1657, while Aurangzeb attacked Golconda and Bijapur in the Deccan, the Hindu [[Maratha]] warrior, [[Shivaji]], used guerrilla tactics to take control of three Adil Shahi forts formerly under his father's command. With these victories, Shivaji assumed de facto leadership of many independent Maratha clans. The Marathas harried the flanks of the warring Adil Shahis, gaining weapons, forts, and territory.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |pages=72–78}}</ref> Shivaji's small and ill-equipped army survived an all out Adil Shahi attack, and Shivaji personally killed the Adil Shahi general, Afzal Khan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji Maharaj, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |pages=121–125}}</ref> With this event, the Marathas transformed into a powerful military force, capturing more and more Adil Shahi territories.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |pages=130–138}}</ref> Shivaji went on to neutralise Mughal power in the region.<ref>{{cite book |date=2004 |orig-date=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne'' |editor-first=Claude |editor-last=Markovits |title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Anthem Press |page=102 |isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref>

In 1659, Aurangzeb sent his trusted general and maternal uncle Shaista Khan, the [[Wali]] in Golconda to recover forts lost to the Maratha rebels. Shaista Khan drove into Maratha territory and took up residence in [[Pune]]. But in a daring raid on the governor's palace in Pune during a midnight wedding celebration, led by Shivaji himself, the Marathas killed Shaista Khan's son and Shivaji maimed Shaista Khan by cutting off three fingers of his hand. Shaista Khan, however, survived and was re-appointed the administrator of Bengal going on to become a key commander in the war against the Ahoms.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

[[File:Raja Shivaji at Aurangzeb's Darbar- M V Dhurandhar.jpg|thumb|280px|Raja Shivaji at Aurangzeb's Darbar- M V Dhurandhar]]
Aurangzeb next sent general [[Jai Singh I|Raja Jai Singh]] to vanquish the Marathas. Jai Singh besieged the [[Purandar fort|fort of Purandar]] and fought off all attempts to relieve it. Foreseeing defeat, Shivaji agreed to terms.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chandra |first=Satish |author-link=Satish Chandra (historian) |year=1999 |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals |volume=2 |edition=1st |location=New Delhi |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |page=321 |oclc=36806798}}</ref> Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to visit Aurangzeb at Agra, giving him a personal guarantee of safety. Their meeting at the Mughal court did not go well, however. Shivaji felt slighted at the way he was received, and insulted Aurangzeb by refusing imperial service. For this affront he was detained, but managed to effect a daring escape.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chandra |first=Satish |author-link=Satish Chandra (historian) |year=1999 |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals |volume=2 |edition=1st |location=New Delhi |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |pages=323–324 |oclc=36806798}}</ref>

Shivaji returned to the Deccan, and crowned himself ''Chhatrapati'' or the ruler of the Maratha Kingdom in 1674.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |page=283}}</ref> Shivaji expanded Maratha control throughout the Deccan until his death in 1680. Shivaji was succeeded by his son, Sambhaji.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in Mughal History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZdCrUxFAHEC&pg=PA42|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publication|first=Ashvini|last=Agrawal|year=1983|pages=162–163|isbn=978-81-208-2326-6}}</ref> Militarily and politically, Mughal efforts to control the Deccan continued to fail.

Aurangzeb's third son [[Sultan Muhammad Akbar|Akbar]] left the Mughal court along with a few Muslim Mansabdar supporters and joined Muslim rebels in the Deccan. Aurangzeb in response moved his court to Aurangabad and took over command of the Deccan campaign. The rebels were defeated and Akbar fled south to seek refuge with Sambhaji, Shivaji's successor. More battles ensued, and Akbar fled to [[Safavid Iran|Persia]] and never returned.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Great Moghuls |first1=Bamber |last1=Gascoigne |first2=Christina |last2=Gascoigne |author-link1=Bamber Gascoigne |publisher=Cape |year=1971 |pages=228–229 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ryFAAAAIAAJ |isbn=978-0-224-00580-7}}</ref>

In 1689, Aurangzeb's forces captured and executed Sambhaji. His successor [[Rajaram Chhatrapati|Rajaram]], later Rajaram's widow [[Tarabai]] and their Maratha forces fought individual battles against the forces of the Mughal Empire. Territory changed hands repeatedly during the years (1689–1707) of interminable warfare. As there was no central authority among the Marathas, Aurangzeb was forced to contest every inch of territory, at great cost in lives and money.<ref name="The Great Moghuls">{{cite book |title=The Great Moghuls |first1=Bamber |last1=Gascoigne |first2=Christina |last2=Gascoigne |author-link1=Bamber Gascoigne |publisher=Cape |year=1971 |pages=239–246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ryFAAAAIAAJ |isbn=978-0-224-00580-7}}</ref><ref name="jstor.org">Kulkarni, G. T. "Some Observations on the Medieval History of the Deccan." Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, vol. 34, no. 1/4, 1974, pp. 101–102. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42931021. Retrieved 10 May 2024.</ref>

Even as Aurangzeb drove west, deep into Maratha territory&nbsp;– notably conquering [[Satara district|Satara]]&nbsp;– the Marathas expanded eastwards into Mughal lands&nbsp;– [[Malwa]] and [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]]. The Marathas also expanded further South into Southern India defeating the independent local rulers there capturing [[Gingee|Jinji]] in Tamil Nadu. Aurangzeb waged continuous war in the Deccan for more than two decades with no resolution.<ref name="The Great Moghuls"/><ref name="jstor.org"/>{{page range too broad|date=July 2020}} He thus lost about a fifth of his army fighting rebellions led by the Marathas in [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan India]]. He travelled a long distance to the Deccan to conquer the Marathas and eventually died at the age of 88, still fighting the Marathas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Stewart |title=The Marathas 1600–1818 |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University |location=New York |isbn=978-0-521-26883-7 |pages=101–105 |edition=1. publ. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C&q=aurangzeb+1707&pg=PR9 |access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref>

Aurangzeb's shift from conventional warfare to anti-insurgency in the Deccan region shifted the paradigm of Mughal military thought. There were conflicts between Marathas and Mughals in [[Pune]], Jinji, Malwa and [[Vadodara]]. The Mughal Empire's port city of [[Surat]] was sacked twice by the Marathas during the reign of Aurangzeb and the valuable port was in ruins.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of India|author1=Stein, B.|author2=Arnold, D.|date=2010|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC|page=181|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
Matthew White estimates that about 2.5 million of Aurangzeb's army were killed during the Mughal–Maratha Wars (100,000 annually during a quarter-century), while 2 million civilians in war-torn lands died due to drought, [[Plague (disease)|plague]] and [[Famine in India|famine]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Matthew White|year=2011|title=Atrocitology: Humanity's 100 Deadliest Achievements|publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |page=113|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5w9qmd1UeMC&pg=PP113|isbn=978-0-85786-125-2|author-link=Matthew White (historian)}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:A portrait probably made by a Mughal artist, in the Deccan, during Aurangzeb's military campaigns there.jpg|A Mughal trooper in the Deccan.
File:Bhavanidas. The Emperor Aurangzeb Carried on a Palanquin ca. 1705–20 Metripolitan Museum of Art..jpg|Aurangzeb leads his final expedition in 1705, leading an army of 500,000 troops.
File:Prince with rifle.jpg|A Mughal-era aristocrat armed with a matchlock musket.
File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art mss 1067.1 crop.jpg|Aurangzeb, in later life, hunting with hounds and falconers
</gallery>

===Ahom campaign===
[[File:Aurangzeb in old age 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Aurangzeb reciting the [[Quran]].]]
In 1660 [[Mir Jumla II]], the viceroy of Bengal, was ordered to recover the lost territories.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1973 |orig-date=1948 |title=The History of Bengal |volume=II |location=Patna |publisher=Academica Asiatica |page=346 |oclc=924890 |quote=Mir Jumla was appointed governor of Bengal (June 1660) and ordered to punish the kings of Kuch Bihar and Assam.}}</ref>

The Mughals set out in November 1661. Within weeks they occupied the capital of Kuch Behar, which they annexed. Leaving a detachment to garrison it, the Mughal army began to retake their territories in Assam. Mir Jumla II advanced on Garhgaon, the capital of the [[Ahom kingdom]], and reached it on 17 March 1662. The ruler, Raja [[Sutamla]], had fled before his approach. The Mughals captured 82 elephants, 300,000 rupees in cash, 1000 ships, and 173 stores of rice.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1973 |orig-date= 1948 |title=The History of Bengal |volume=II |location=Patna |publisher=Academica Asiatica |pages=346–347 |oclc=924890 |quote=[Mir Jumla] left Dacca on 1st November 1661 ... the Mughal army entered the capital of Kuch Bihar on 19th December ... The kingdom was annexed to the Mughal empire ... Mir Jumla set out for the conquest of Assam on 4th January, 1662 ... triumphantly marched into Garh-gaon the Ahom capital on 17th March. Raja Jayadhwaj ... had fled .. The spoils ... 82 elephants, 3 lakhs of rupees in cash, ... over a thousand bots, and 173 stores of paddy.}}</ref>

On his way back to [[Dacca]], in March 1663, Mir Jumla II died of natural causes.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1973 |orig-date=1948 |title=The History of Bengal |volume=II |location=Patna |publisher=Academica Asiatica |page=350 |oclc=924890 |quote=[Mir Jumla] set out on his return on 10th January 1663, travelling by ''pālki'' owing to his illness, which daily increased. At Baritalā he embarked in a boat and glided down the river toward Dacca, dying on 31st March.}}</ref>

The battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire into Assam. Though the Mughals managed to regain Guwahati briefly after a later Borphukan deserted it, the Ahoms wrested control in the [[battle of Itakhuli]] in 1682 and maintained it till the end of their rule.<ref>Sarkar, J. N. (1992), "Chapter VIII Assam-Mughal Relations", in Barpujari, H. K., The Comprehensive History of Assam 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 148–256</ref>

===Satnami opposition===
[[File:Emperor Aurangzeb at a jharokha window, two noblemen in the foregroundIn 1710 San Diego Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Aurangzeb dispatched his personal imperial guard during the campaign against the Satnami rebels.]]

In May 1672, the [[Satnampanth|Satnami]] sect, obeying the commands of an old toothless woman (according to Mughal accounts), organised a revolt in the agricultural heartlands of the Mughal Empire. The Satnamis were known to have shaved off their heads and even eyebrows and had temples in many regions of [[Northern India]]. They began a large-scale rebellion 75 miles southwest of Delhi.<ref name="Hansen1986p454">{{cite book |title=The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India |last1=Hansen |first1=Waldemar |year=1986 |orig-date=1972 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0225-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV--abKg9GEC |page=454 |access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>

The Satnamis believed they were invulnerable to Mughal bullets and believed they could multiply in any region they entered. The Satnamis initiated their march upon Delhi and overran small-scale Mughal infantry units.<ref name="Edwardes1930">{{cite book |last1=Edwardes |first1=Stephen Meredyth |authorlink1=Stephen Edwardes |last2=Garrett |first2=Herbert Leonard Offley |year=1930 |title=Mughal Rule in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aqU9Zu7mFoC&pg=PA119 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers and Distributors |page=119 |isbn=978-81-7156-551-1}}</ref>

Aurangzeb responded by organising a [[Army of the Mughal Empire|Mughal army]] of 10,000 troops, artillery, and a detachment of his imperial guards. Aurangzeb wrote Islamic prayers and drew designs that were sewn into the army's flags. His army crushed the Satnami rebellion.<ref name="Hansen1986p454"/>

===Sikh opposition===
[[File:Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara.jpg|thumb|[[Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib]] in Delhi is built at the place where [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] was beheaded.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-visits-gurdwara-sis-ganj-sahib-in-delhi-on-400th-prakash-parab-of-guru-teg-bahadur-101619837925141.html |title=PM Modi visits Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi on 400th Prakash Parab of Guru Teg Bahadur |date=1 May 2021}}</ref>]]

The ninth Sikh Guru, [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]], like his predecessors was opposed to forced conversion of the local population as he considered it wrong. Approached by [[Kashmiri Pandit]]s to help them retain their faith and avoid [[forced conversion|forced religious conversions]], Guru Tegh Bahadur sent a message to the emperor that if he could convert Teg Bagadur to Islam, every Hindu will become a Muslim.<ref name=sehgal /> In response, Aurangzeb ordered arrest of the Guru. He was then brought to Delhi and tortured so as to convert him. On his refusal to convert, he was beheaded in 1675.<ref name=sehgal>{{cite book |last=Sehgal |first=Narender |year=1994 |title=Converted Kashmir: Memorial of Mistakes |url=http://www.kashmir-information.com/ConvertedKashmir/Chapter14.html |location=Delhi |publisher=Utpal Publications |pages=152–153 |isbn=978-81-85217-06-2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418030529/http://www.kashmir-information.com/ConvertedKashmir/Chapter14.html |archive-date=18 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/teghbahadur.shtml#top |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

[[File:Zafarnama.jpg|thumb|[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]] is the name given to the letter sent by the tenth Sikh Guru, [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in 1705 to Aurangzeb. The letter is written in Persian script.]]
In response, Guru Tegh Bahadur's son and successor, [[Guru Gobind Singh]], further militarised his followers, starting with the establishment of [[Khalsa]] in 1699, eight years before Aurangzeb's death.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair |author2=Christopher Shackle |author3=Gurharpal Singh |title=Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8xdAgAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-84627-4 |pages=25–28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/gobindsingh.shtml |title=BBC Religions – Sikhism |publisher=BBC |date=26 October 2009 |access-date=30 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=P Dhavan |title=When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699–1799 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7HJ5idB8_QC&pg=PA45 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975655-1 |pages=3–4}}</ref> In 1705, Guru Gobind Singh sent a letter entitled ''[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnamah]]'', which accused Aurangzeb of cruelty and betraying Islam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chaitanya |first=Krishna |year=1994 |title=A History of Indian Painting: The Modern Period |volume=5 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |pages=3–4 |isbn=978-81-7017-310-6 |quote="In the letter to Aurangzeb in his ''Zafarnama'', Gobind Singh opposes the emperor not because he is a Muslim, but condemns him because he had betrayed Islam by his deceit, unscrupulousness and intolerance. 'You, who profess belief in the one God and the Koran do not have at heart an atom of faith in them... You neither recognise any God, nor do you have any respect for Prophet Mohammed.'"}}</ref> Guru Gobind Singh's formation of Khalsa in 1699 led to the establishment of the [[Sikh Confederacy]] and later [[Sikh Empire]].

===Pashtun opposition===
[[File:Aurangzeb in a pavilion with three courtiers below (6124546713).jpg|thumb|left|Aurangzeb in a pavilion with three courtiers below.]]
The Pashtun revolt in 1672 under the leadership of the warrior poet [[Khushal Khan Khattak]] of Kabul,<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Morgenstierne | first1 = G. | doi = 10.1080/03068376008731684 | title = Khushhal Khan – the national poet of the Afghans | journal = Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society | volume = 47 | pages = 49–57 | year = 1960 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Banting |first=Erinn |title=Afghanistan: The Culture ''Lands, Peoples, & Cultures'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5fqBZDuGPgC&pg=PA28 |access-date=28 February 2013 |year=2003 |publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-7787-9337-3 |page=28 }}</ref> was triggered when soldiers under the orders of the Mughal Governor Amir Khan allegedly molested a [[Parachi language|Parachi]] woman affiliated with the [[Safi (tribe)|Safi]] in modern-day [[Kunar Province]] of [[Afghanistan]]. The Safi tribes retaliated against the soldiers. This attack provoked a reprisal, which triggered a general revolt of most of tribes. Attempting to reassert his authority, Amir Khan led a large Mughal Army to the [[Khyber Pass]], where the army was surrounded by tribesmen and routed, with only four men, including the Governor, managing to escape.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Aurangzeb's incursions into the Pashtun areas were described by Khushal Khan Khattak as "Black is the Mughal's heart towards all of us Pathans".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bose |first1=Sugata |author1-link=Sugata Bose |last2=Jalal |first2=Ayesha |author2-link=Ayesha Jalal |year=2018 |orig-date=1998 |chapter=5. India between empires: decline or decentralization? |title=Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4U0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |edition=4th |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-10607-6 |quote='Black is the Mughal's heart towards all us Pathans', complained the Pushto poet Khushal Khan Khattak about Aurangzeb's incursions in the tribal regions of the northwest frontier of India.}}</ref> Aurangzeb employed the scorched earth policy, sending soldiers who massacred, looted and burnt many villages. Aurangzeb also proceeded to use bribery to turn the Pashtun tribes against each other, with the aim that they would distract a unified Pashtun challenge to Mughal authority, and the impact of this was to leave a lasting legacy of mistrust among the tribes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Omrani|first1=Bijan|title=The Durand Line: History and Problems of the Afghan-Pakistan Border|journal=Asian Affairs|date=July 2009|volume=XL|page=182|quote=The situation deteriorated and matters came to a head in 1675, at the time of the last great Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. He launched a terrible scorched earth policy, sending thousands of soldiers into the valleys, burning, despoiling, smashing villages and killing as many tribesmen as possible. He also successfully used bribery to set the tribal chiefs against each other, thus fomenting so much mutual suspicion that they were too busy fighting each other to fight the Mughal Empire. This worked up to a point. But the resulting legacy of mistrust between the tribes destroyed any prospect that unified political institutions might slowly emerge or that the laws and government of the settled regions might be adopted.}}</ref>

After that the revolt spread, with the Mughals suffering a near total collapse of their authority in the Pashtun belt. The closure of the important [[Attock]]-[[Kabul]] trade route along the [[Grand Trunk road]] was particularly disastrous. By 1674, the situation had deteriorated to a point where Aurangzeb camped at Attock to personally take charge. Switching to diplomacy and bribery along with force of arms, the Mughals eventually split the rebels and partially suppressed the revolt, although they never managed to wield effective authority outside the main trade route.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

===Rathore rebellion===
[[File:DurgadasAndAjitSingh.jpg|thumb|[[Durgadas Rathore]] and [[Ajit Singh of Marwar|Ajit Singh]]]]
Described as the ''[[Rathore rebellion]]'' (1679–1707),<ref name=GH>{{Cite book |first=Rima |last=Hooja |title=A History of Rajasthan|publisher=Rupa |year=2006 |pages=595–610 |isbn=9788129115010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqd1RAAACAAJ&q=history%20of%20rajasthan%20hooja |quote=With Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the first phase of Rathore resistance against the Mughals ended. Ajit Singh wrested the fort and city of Jodhpur from the imperial qiledar on March 12, 1707, after killing or dispersing the imperial garrison. Thereafter, while the sons of Aurangzeb were involved in a struggle for the imperial throne Ajit Singh succeeded in extending his sway over Sojat, Pali and Merta.}}</ref> the conflict between [[Kingdom of Marwar|Rajputs of Marwar]] and the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] started after the death of [[Jaswant Singh of Marwar]], due to Aurangzeb's attempt to interfere in the succession of [[Marwar]].

On 23 July 1679, Aurangzeb made attempts to divide Marwar into two [[Rathore dynasty|Rathore]] principalities, one held by Inder Singh Rathore and other by [[Ajit Singh of Marwar|Ajit Singh]]. Aurangzeb also proposed that Ajit Singh should be raised as a [[Muslim]] and offered Jodhpur in return.<ref name=RC>{{cite book |last1=Majumdar |first1=R. C. |author-link1=R. C. Majumdar |last2=Raychaudhuri |first2=H. C. |last3=Datta |first3=Kalikinkar |year=1950 |orig-year=First published 1948 |title=An advanced history of India |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.149361/page/n237/mode/1up |url-access=registration |volume=Part II |edition=2nd |publisher=Macmillan & Co. |pages=502–504}}</ref> The resistance to Mughal interference was started by the Rajput nobles under [[Durgadas Rathore]] and erupted into an all-out war between the [[Mughal empire]] and Rajputs of Marwar supported by [[Kingdom of Mewar|Mewar]] Rajputs. It lasted for almost thirty years. The rebellion reached a climax after the death of Aurangzeb on 3 March 1707 and the capture of [[Jodhpur]] by the Rathores on 12 March 1707.<ref name=JP>{{Cite book |first=Jadunath |last=Sarkar |title=A History of Jaipur |publisher=Orient Longman |year=1994 |pages=148–149 |isbn=9788125003335 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O0oPIo9TXKcC&q=history+of+jaipur+sarkar}}</ref>