Raja Todar Mal, was born in
Laharpur - Sitapur,
Utter PradeshThe Akbar Nama : Abu-I-Fazl : Translated from the Persian by
Henry Beveridge, ICS. Pages : 61-62. Vol. III in a
Punjabi Khatri family, and rose to become the
Finance Minister in
Akbar's
Darbar of the
Mughal empire. He was made in charge of
Agra and settled in
Gujarat. Later, he was made in charge of
Gujarat as well. He also managed Akbar's Mint at
Bengal as well as served in
Punjab. Raja Todamal built a fortress-cum- palace at
Laharpur,
Sitapur,
Uttar Pradesh. There is a large concentration of
Khatris at Laharpur, believed to have been arranged by Raja Todar Mal.
Beveridge records that Raja Todar Mal had got leave from Akbar and was on his way to Haridwar, but he received a letter from Akbar in which the latter is said to have said that "it was better to go on working and doing good to the world than to go on a piligrimage." When Todar Mal died on
8 November, 1589 in
Lahore. His body was burnt and Raja Bhagwan Das, his colleague in the charge of Lahore, was present at the ceremony. Of his two sons, Dhari was killed in a battle in
Sindh. Another Kalyan Das was sent by Todar Mal to bring in the Kumaon Raja. He rose to become the Finance Minister in Akbar's Darbar. Todar...
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