The Mughal Empire (1526-1857) played a significant role in fostering the Persian language as the language of administration, court, imperial households, and intellectuals. Being Chaghtai Turks Turkish was their mother tongue. Even Babur recorded his poetry and writings in this language. It was Akbar who set out to make Persian the leading language of the empire.

REASONS:

• Cultural Factors: 

1. Intellectual contacts with Iran, as well as a regular stream of Iranian and Central Asian migrants seeking positions at the Mughal court, might have motivated the emperor to adopt the language.
2. The Mughals, as descendants of the Timurids from their maternal side, inherited a strong Persian literary tradition. The Timurid court in Central Asia was a major center for Persian literature, and this legacy continued with the Mughals in India.
3. The Mughal chronicles were commissioned to be written in Persian and many Turkish texts, such as the Babur Nama, were translated to Persian. Translations of Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana into Persian were commissioned by the Mughals. The Persianised version of Mahabharata was called the Razmnama.

• Political Factors:

1. Adopting Persian allowed the Mughals to integrate seamlessly into the existing administrative framework, ensuring continuity and efficiency in governance.
2. Making Persian a leading language helped the Mughals implement uniformity throughout the empire. This proved to help manage the people from vast territories and different backgrounds.

• Social Factors

1. Persian was used as a means of expressing their cultural identity and legitimizing their rule. By associating themselves with the prestigious Persianate world, the Mughals enhanced their royal image and cultural sophistication, distinguishing themselves from other local rulers.

IMPACTS:

• Literary Impacts:

1. Evolution of the Language: Even when Persian was not directly used, its vocabulary and idioms heavily influenced the language of official records in Rajasthani, Marathi, and even Tamil. Since the people used Persian in the
   sixteenth and seventeenth centuries spoke other Indian languages, Persian too became Indianized. A new language Urdu sprang from the interaction of Hindavi and Persian.
2. Chronicles: The rise of the Persian language gave the empire many such great literary works about the lives of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan and the empire under their rule. Persian styles influenced Indian poetry, as seen in the works of poets like Amir Khusrau.

• Art Impacts:

1. Persian aesthetics profoundly influenced Mughal art and architecture. Persian calligraphy, miniature painting, and garden design were integrated with Indian traditions. Calligraphy, the art of handwriting, was considered
   a skill of great importance. Akbar’s favorite was the nastaliq, a
   fluid style with long horizontal strokes.

• Administrative Impact:

1. Uniformity: The adoption of the Persian language as the language of administration made record-keeping, revenue collection, and communication far easier.
2. Educational Institutions: The establishment of madrasas and libraries under Mughal patronage promoted Persian learning. Eminent scholars and poets were, thus, attracted to the Mughal court.

• Cultural Impact:

1. The Persian language facilitated the interaction between various cultural groups within the Mughal Empire, promoting a composite culture.
2. It also played a crucial role in the dissemination of Sufi thought in India, influencing Indian spiritual and mystical traditions and the integration of local devotional practices.

CONCLUSION

The patronage of the Persian language by Mughal emperors was a pivotal factor in the cultural and artistic evolution of India during the Mughal era. This linguistic and cultural patronage not only enriched the existing Indian cultural landscape but also made a unique Indo-Persian synthesis that left an impeccable mark on India’s literary, artistic, and architectural heritage.