Question

Who among the following Mughal Emperors were half Rajput?
A) Babur and Aurangzeb
B) Akbar and Jahangir
C) Shahjahan and Jahangir
D) Jahangir and Humayun

Answer 1

Hint: 1) On the Indian subcontinent, the Mughal emperors created and ruled the Mughal Empire, referring mainly to the modern countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan
2) The Mughals started to govern parts of India from 1526 and controlled much of the sub-continent by 1700.
3) The Mughals are considered as a branch of Timurid dynasty from Central Asia.

Complete answer:
Babur, the Timurid prince and ruler of Central Asia, established the Mughal Empire. The empire ranged from the outer border of the Indus basin in the west, Kashmir in the north, and northern Afghanistan in the northwest, to the Deccan plateau uplands in southern India, and highlands of modern-day Bangladesh & Assam in the east. Some of the later emperors had Persian and Indian Rajput descent via marriage alliances as kings were born to Persian and Rajput princesses.

Babur and Aurangzeb: Via Timur's marriage to a Genghisid princess, Babur was a descendant of Timur and also connected with Genghis Khan. Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were the parents of Aurangzeb. He was the third son of them. Hence, it is not the correct option

Akbar and Jahangir: Emperor Humayun and Hamida Banu Begum were the parents of Akbar. Hamida was Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami's daughter. Akbar was not half Rajput. But, Jahangir was half Rajput. Hence, it is not the correct option

Shahjahan and Jahangir: Emperor Akbar and his Hindu Rajput wife named Mariam-uz-Zamani were the parents of Jahangir. Emperor Jahangir and his Hindu Rajput wife named Jagat Gosain were the parents of Shahjahan. Hence, it is the correct option.

Jahangir and Humayun: Jahangir was a half Rajput. Emperor Babur and Maham Begum were the parents of Humayun. So, he was not half Rajput. Hence, it is not the correct option.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: 1) During the period of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire, as the largest economy, worth above 25 percent of global GDP, dominated Indian subcontinent
2) During the period of Shahjahan, the glory of the Mughal empire reached its height. It is evidenced by the Taj Mahal
3) Mughal influence declined rapidly during the 18th century, and in1857, with the establishment of the British Raj, the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was deposed.