R.S. Khangarot
Head, Department of History
Agrawal P.G. College
Jaipur. India

Why all this hue and cry about ‘Jodha Akbar’? Let us put this issue to rest, once and for all. Let us not behave like immature, illiterate, irresponsible and ignorant people. Let us examine this like a very serious, mature and sincere student of history.
Nowhere in history, Jodha Bai is mentioned as the wife of Akbar. No historical records or historical sources give any indication that Jodha Bai was in any way related to Akbar as his wife. Let us examine as to where it all began.
It began with Col James Tod. In his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan Vol II Pg. 965, he says, “on the union of the imperial house with that of Jodhpur, by the marriage of Jodh Bai to Akbar, …..”. Here Tod has mentioned Jodha Bai of Jodhpur and not of Amber. But in the same book the editor William Crooke, quoting Ain-i-Akbari I, pg 619 has clarified Tod’s version. Crooke says “there has been some controversy about Jodh Bai, but it is clear that she was wife of Jahangir, not of Akbar”(pg 965).
At another place Col. James Tod refers to Jodha Bai as the daughter of Mota Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur (Annals…….Vol.I pg. 389). In the footnotes of the same page Crooke says– “The magnificent tomb of Jodh Bai, the mother of Shah Jahan, is at Sikandra near Agra and not far from that in which Akbar’s remains are deposited. Jodh Bai is a title, meaning ‘Jodhpur lady’. There were some doubts about her identity, but she was certainly daughter of Udai Singh and wife of Jahangir (Ain-i-Akbari pg 619).”
According to the above statement if Jodha Bai was the mother of Shah Jahan she had to be the wife of Jahangir. Also make a note that she is mentioned as ‘Jodh Bai’ and not ‘Jodha’ Bai. ‘Jodh’ naturally is a short for Jodhpur. Crooke makes it clear that Jodh bai is a title meaning ‘Jodhpur lady’.
Then came the movie ‘Mughal-i-Ajam’. The story of Mughal -i- Azam seems to have taken a clue from Tod’s version by showing Jodha Bai as the wife of Akbar. The story writer perhaps overlooked the clarification given by Crooke in the footnotes. It seems that the director, producer and storywriter took little interest in the historical facts. Moreover all those associated with the film had little idea of history.
Mughal -i-Azam was such a grand film in terms of cinematic approach that each one of us who saw the film has registered the name of Jodha Bai as the wife of Akbar. Any attempt to go against this view has therefore proved futile. This goes on to prove that how cinema, whether right or wrong, can influence the minds of a common man.
History is always based on facts and only facts. One can never and should never change the facts. Each event in recorded history has to be based on facts. What can change or be changed is the interpretation related to the event. For e.g. the I Battle of Panipat was fought on 21st April 1526 and Benazir Bhutto was killed in Dec. 2007, are facts. How, where, when, who, is a matter of interpretation.