Who killed Abul Fazl at the behest of Jahangir?

CONCEPT

When a historical question asks who performed an act at another ruler’s behest, distinguish the instigator from the person who carried out the act.

The answer is the actor identified by historical accounts as executing the event; chronology and identity help separate that actor from figures of other periods.

APPLICATION

In 1602, while Abul Fazl was returning from the Deccan, Prince Salim—later Emperor Jahangir—arranged for the Bundela chief Bir Singh Deo to intercept him. Bir Singh Deo and his men attacked Abul Fazl, and Bir Singh Deo carried out the killing.

CONTRAST

• Madhukar Dev belonged to the preceding Orchha generation and died in 1592, before the 1602 assassination.

• Bakhatvali refers to a much later Bundela-era figure associated with Shahgarh in the nineteenth century, not the 1602 episode.

• Chhatrasal was born in 1649 and became prominent later in the seventeenth century, decades after Abul Fazl’s death.

CROSS-CHECK

Government of India historical material identifies Bir Singh Deo, chief of Orchha, as Abul Fazl’s murderer at Prince Salim’s instigation; accounts of Jahangir’s memoirs describe the same arrangement.

RESULT

Therefore, Veer Singh Bundela killed Abul Fazl at Jahangir’s behest.