A good film run into all sorts os trouble. Jodha-Akbar is not the first time that a certain Jodhabai has been depicted as Akbar's wife in Indian films. The classic Mughal-e-Azam (recently resuccitated in colour) also depicted Salim as the son of Jodha and Akbar. It never created the kind of political furore that Gowariker's film has.
The HT has been regularly carrying pieces by historians of repute to the effect that Jodha could not have been the name of Akbar's wife. Apaarantlly, neither the Akbar Nama nor the Ain-i-Akbari mention a Jodha among the wives of Akbar. The Rajput fraternity, following the work of some Orientalists and a few 20th century historians are claiming that Jodha was the name of Salim's (Akbar's son Jehangir's) wife who he had named Jagat Gossain.
Much of the debate seems to miss the point - that for the common man in medieval Delhi, Jodha could simply be a shorthand for the Princess of Jodhpur and legends are built by the masses.
A JNU historian recently suggested that even this would not have been possible as the princely state of Jodhpur was not established until the 17th century (Akbar ruled in the 16th having won the Third Battle of Panipat in 1526).The princely family of Jodhpur does not seem to agree with this - as per their annals, the state of Marwar was renamed as Jodhpur sometime after the capital was shifted to Jodhpur in 1450. This leaves ample time for Akbar to have married a Jodhpur princess.
Indeed, the first Jodha was a male - Raja (Rao)Jodha lived between 1415 and 1488. He was a virile man and fathered 14 sons from many wives - Rao Biharmal was the 8th. The founder of Bikaner (Rao Bika) was the 6th. Jodhpur was named after Rao Jodha, grandfather of Akbar's first wife.
This much is confirmed by all historians - that Akbar married the daughter of a certain Raja Bharmal of the family of Jodhpur. Raja Biharmal is the only one in the Jodhpur royal lineage who was a contemporary of Akbar and a prince of the clan. Interestingly, though it is universally accepted that Akbar did marry the daughter of Bharmal/Biharmal, her name does not occur in the royal annals among the few women of the state who find mention. It would not be surprising if royal courtiers at Akbar's court and Akbar's subjects referred to his wife as Jodhabai.
1) She was the first princess of Jodhpur or any Rajput state to be marrried to the Mughal King
2) She was the grand-daughter of a famous and powerful Rajput regent by the same name - Rao Jodha, whose 14 sons had spanned out and established powerful sub-clans of their own and whose grand daughter was the famous mystic Meera Bai - "Her father, Ratan Singh, was the second son of Rao Duda ji, a descendent of Rao Jodha ji Rathor, the founder of Jodhpur."(2). This appears to be the origin of the name Jodhpur. Apparantly,Rao Jodha had himself named his kingdom, eatabliished after many years of struggle, Jodhagarh. The family annals seem to suggest a simple transition of a capital. Other histories of Mawar, Mewar and Jodhpur suggest otherwise. Indeeed, Rao Jodha's father had had a power-sharing arrangement with the famous Rana Kumbha until he was assassinated by the latter.
Is it strange that in Akbar's empire, his first wife would have been popularly referred to as Jodha - the lady of the house of Jodhagarh and grand daughter of the legendary Jodha?
(1) http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Rao-Jodha
(2) http://www.chittorgarh.com/meera-bai.asp
(3)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rao_Jodha
