Aurangzeb's Tax on Kashmiri Pandits

Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History · Oct 17, 2026 · 8m · transcript

We often hear that Aurangzeb’s reign was defined by the reintroduction of the jizya tax, a policy that strained the empire’s finances and alienated many subjects. But there is another layer to his fiscal policies that has been largely overlooked in popular histories: the specific taxation of the Kashmiri Pandit community. In this episode, we look at how the Mughal administration targeted these Brahmin scholars and priests in the late 17th century, not just for revenue, but as a tool of political control. We explore the role of Raja Ram Singh, the local governors who enforced these edicts, and…