Gora Dhay Explained

Gora Dhay (Hindi: गोरां धाय) (1646–1704) was a woman from Kingdom of Marwar who exchanged her son with infant Ajit Singh, her son was later captured by Aurangzeb and was raised as Muslim.

History

Ajit Singh was born in 1679 after his father Maharaja Jaswant Singh's death. Aurangzeb, with an intention to either kill or convert Ajit Singh, put a condition that the upbringing of Ajit Singh will be done at Delhi. Gora Dhay replaced him with her own son.^[1] The slave girl along with her infant son remained behind to be captured.^[2] Aurangzeb deigned to accept this deceit and sent the child to be raised as a Muslim. Jadunath Sarkar mentioned that Aurangzeb brought up a milkman's son in his harem as Ajit Singh.^[3] Ajit Singh later constructed a Chattri in honour of Gora Dhai.

References

• Book: Bhati, Vikram singh . Muraridan ki khyat . Royal publishers jodhpur . 2014 . 978-93-82311-43-0 . 2014 . Jodhpur . 274 . Hindi.

Notes and References

1. Book: Bose, Melia Belli . Royal Umbrellas of Stone: Memory, Politics, and Public Identity in Rajput Funerary Art . 175 . According to the events of the story, with which most Marwari Rajputs are still well acquainted, one particular attempt on Ajit Singh’s life was thwarted by Gora Dai, his wet nurse, who substituted her own infant son for the king, knowing that both she and the child would be martyred for her deception. Even though Gora Dai was a non-noble, the Marwar darbār made the uncharacteristic gesture of honoring her for this sacrifice (which saved the Marwar throne) through a chatrī in Jodhpur..
2. Book: Richards, John F. . John F. Richards

   . The Mughal Empire . John F. Richards . Reprinted . Cambridge University Press . 1995 . 978-0-52156-603-2 . 181.

3. Web site: History of Aurangzeb vol.3 : Sarkar, Jadunath . Internet Archive . 2022-01-14 . 2022-03-12., p334