section_path: Religious policy/Relation with Hindus
section_name: Relation with Hindus
paragraph_text: Relation with Hindus
  
  Akbar decreed that Hindus who had been forced to convert to Islam could reconvert to Hinduism without facing the death penalty. Akbar was well-liked by Hindus, who sang religious hymns to him and his eulogies.
  
  Akbar practised several Hindu customs. He celebrated Diwali and allowed Brahman priests to tie jewelled strings around his wrists by way of blessing. Following his lead, many nobles took to wearing rakhi (protection charms). He renounced beef and forbade the sale of all meats on certain days.
  
  His son Jahangir and grandson Shahjahan maintained many of Akbar's concessions, such as the ban on cow slaughter, having only vegetarian dishes on certain days of the week, and drinking only Ganges water. When Akbar was in Punjab, 200 miles away from the Ganges, water was sealed in large jars and transported to him. He referred to the Ganges water as the "water of immortality".