Editing Openai/691ef1a1-976c-800d-bd1d-06358880de2a (section)

==== - Mughal policies: The early Mughals (Babur, Akbar) alternated tolerance (Akbar abolished jizya in 1579) with orthodox repression (Aurangzeb re-imposed jizya in 1679 and strictly enforced Islamic law).  Aurangzeb in particular targeted non-Muslims: he authorized destruction of Hindu temples (beyond battle zones) and even ordered the execution of Sikh Gurus.  For instance, the 9th Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, was executed in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islamsikhmissionarysociety.org<ref>{{cite web|title=sikhmissionarysociety.org|url=https://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smsarticles/advisorypanel/inderjeet-singh/understanding-the-martyrdom-of-guru-tegh-bahadar-using-17th-and-18th-century-sources/#:~:text=Guru%2C%20to%20display%20some%20miracle,15|publisher=sikhmissionarysociety.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Aurangzeb’s own proclamations and some chronicles frame conquests as jihad – he described campaigns as establishing “Islam over the infidels”en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Chittorgarh_(1567%E2%80%931568|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>#:~:text=,and%20have%20destroyed%20temples%20in).  Modern historians note that tales of forced conversions and temple-smashing under Aurangzeb are widespread (charges include reinstating jizya tax and mass “wholesale murder” of non-Muslims)repository.rice.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=repository.rice.edu|url=https://repository.rice.edu/bitstreams/18b7ddd8-a843-4976-9892-9a484025b625/download#:~:text=The%20charges%20include%20forcing%20conversions%2C,How%20to%20Build%20a%20Villain|publisher=repository.rice.edu|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  While some recent scholarship argues that Aurangzeb’s persecution was less systematic than nationalist narratives suggest, the evidence shows clear instances of religious coercion (taxing Hindus, demolishing temples, imprisoning dissenters) under his reignen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Chittorgarh_(1567%E2%80%931568|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>#:~:text=After%20capturing%20the%20fort%20on,23)sikhmissionarysociety.org<ref>{{cite web|title=sikhmissionarysociety.org|url=https://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smsarticles/advisorypanel/inderjeet-singh/understanding-the-martyrdom-of-guru-tegh-bahadar-using-17th-and-18th-century-sources/#:~:text=Guru%2C%20to%20display%20some%20miracle,15|publisher=sikhmissionarysociety.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>. ====
* Maratha policies: The Marathas were Hindu rulers and did not pursue a policy of converting conquered peoples to Hinduism or Islam.  There was no Maratha equivalent of jizya; in fact, they often protected Hindu temples.  When conflicts had a religious dimension, it was usually defensive (e.g. campaigns against Muslim-ruled states), not aimed at coercing subjects.  That said, Maratha armies occasionally plundered local shrines in wartime.  For example, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92), a Maratha contingent under Purseram Bhow reportedly destroyed the Sringeri Hindu temple (in South India), plundering it and killing or wounding the Brahmin residentsen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Mysore_War#:~:text=after%20they%20had%20committed%20treason%2C,funds%20to%20help%20restore%20the|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  This sacrilege caused outrage locally (the temple’s head appealed for Tipu Sultan’s helpen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Mysore_War#:~:text=after%20they%20had%20committed%20treason%2C,funds%20to%20help%20restore%20the|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>).  But such incidents were episodic.  On balance, Maratha rule is generally not marked by widespread religious persecution of non-Marathas; Maratha demands were almost always fiscal or strategic, not doctrinal.