Introspection into the dressing of Rajputs and Mughal Rulers

The Mughals were not only great rulers but only great builders and innovator. The Mughals in the 16th century brought with them the costumes of Turks and Persia. When the Mughals set their foot in India, they had to come contact with the Rajputs, Babur and Humayun fought war with the rulers of Amber and Mewar but they could not subjugate them completely moreover they could not realize the important and friendship of the Rajputs. It was Akbar who could understand the important of the Rajputs so he entered into matrimonial and friendship relation with the Rajputs and appointed them to very high posts in the imperial services. The result was that the Rajputs who had not only stood aloof but had also fought stubbornly. This policy of Akbar towards Rajputs was not only followed by his son Jahangir but also his grandson Shah Jahan. The relations between the Mughals and Rajputs bought a new assimilation in the cultural and political sphere. The Rajputs contributed freely to social, cultural and artistic achievements and mark its impression on the fashion and artistic life. In line of fashion there was an exchange of costume between Rajputs and Mughals, even Abul Fazl remarks in his Ain-i- Akbari that Emperor Akbar adopted Rajput dresses. The Mughal paintings also describes the synthesis of the clothing pattern of the Mughals, its influence in dress mean not alone of what the Mughals gave to Rajasthan but also what had evolved out of the contact of the two important and prominent races, the Rajputs and the Mughals. When the Rajputs started working in Mughal court and exchange presents they gradually adopted the Mughal dress. The evolution in dress and ornaments of male and female was a result of frequent mixing of the two people of royal status.