MISFORTUNE’S FAVOURITE: The Tragic End of Dara Shukoh

Could a worse fate befall any mortal?

History comes alive in this fast-paced novel set in mid-seventeenth-century India which recounts the last year in the life of Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan and heir apparent to the Mughal empire. Storm clouds begin gathering, as Shah Jahan falls severely ill, and Dara’s brothers Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad contest Dara’s right to the throne. In the ensuing war of succession, Dara, who finds greater satisfaction in inter-religious discourse than in statecraft, is no match for the ruthless Aurangzeb. Beset by divided counsels, he flees desperately across India, pursued relentlessly by Aurangzeb, facing defeat whenever he pauses to fight, until he is betrayed and pays for it with his life.Yet, Dara’s fate was not inglorious. Had not Alima Mooltani, whose blessings he had sought, prophesied that while Aurangzeb would wield the sceptre for a while, which would end with his death, Dara’s name would live forever in history and he would be revered down the ages as the prince of peace.