Chain of justice
Also called: Zanjir-i-adl · Topic: The Mughal Empire: Babur to Aurangzeb · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The chain of justice (zanjir-i-adl) was a golden chain with bells that Jahangir says he had hung at Agra Fort. Anyone who felt wronged could pull it, ring the bells and get the emperor's attention. Jahangir describes it in his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri. It presented the ruler as just and open to all subjects. We cannot be sure how often ordinary people actually used it.
Example
Jahangir writes that he ordered the chain to run from the fort down towards the bank of the Yamuna at Agra. This was early in his reign, which began in 1605.
Don't confuse with
- Jharokha darshan: the emperor's daily appearance at a palace balcony to be seen by the public. It was a show of royal presence, not a way of asking for justice.
Related concepts
- Jahangir
- Nur Jahan
- Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri
- Itimad-ud-Daulah's tomb
- Akbar's tomb, Sikandra
- Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar
- Mughal miniature painting
- Ustad Mansur
- Muraqqa
- Shah Jahan