Medieval History - The Secret Will of Babur

Babur was born in 1483 AD in Farghana, a small principality in Central Asia. He ascended its throne in 1494 at the age of twelve at a difficult time when his small empire was surrounded on all sides by enemies. And so began his career which was more full of defeats and disappointments than victories and successes, until he died, in Agra, on December 26, 1530 at an early age of 47. 

He fought dangerous battles against Uzbegs, Chaghtais, Turks and Afghans; some of which proved nearly disastrous to him. Thrice he captured Samarqand, the capital of his forefathers, but every time he was driven out. He moved to Kabul, which he captured in 1504, and then to Hindustan. On his sixth invasion, he defeated the much larger army of Ibrahim Lodhi in the first Battle of Panipat in 1526 and finally overthrew the Lodhi empire. 

We know him as a general and founder of the Great Mughal Empire in India. What we do not know is that inspite of his 36 years' ventures in war, he was essentially a man of peace: an honest and a graphic chronicler, an author, a poet, whose two diwans (collections of poems) have come down to us; an ardent lover of nature and maker of beautiful gardens; and, above all, a humanist. 

Garden-craft was his unique contribution to the art and culture of this country which he finally adopted as his home. These gardens comprised of several receding terraces with a central canal, on a charbagh (four quartered) plan, associated with such other water devices shallow canals, lotus ponds and fountains. The gardens also consisted of architectural features like pathways, parterres and tree-avenues. It was upon his legacy that his successors developed such world famous terraced gardens as the Nishat and the Shalamar in Kashmir, tomb-gardens as those of Taj Mahal and palace gardens as in Red Fort and in Agra Fort.

Babur was a devout Sunni Muslim but there was no reference to suggest he was a bigot, or even an orthodox, and that he ever indulged in any iconoclastic measures during his 26 years of military campaign from Kabul to Ganga. so free was he of any worldly greed, religious bias or any other rigidity that he earned the title 'Qalander' (recluse). Throught his life he maintained a liberal view towards fine arts: poetry, music and painting. Babur was kindly disposed towards all his non-Muslim subjects with whom he practiced and advocated a policy of peaceful co-existence, tolerance and non-interference in their religious matters. An extremely important document is on record to vouchsafe for this particular phenomenon. 

In his own secret will, which he addressed to his son and heir Humayun, on January 11, 1529,  when he was staying at 'Bag-e-Nulufar' (the Lotus Garden) at Dholpur in Rajesthan, he wrote:

"Alll praise to Allah. Secret will of Zahir'al-Din Muhammed Babur to his son Prince Nasir'al-Din Muhammed Humayun. May God prolong his life. Written for the strength of the Empire. O my son, the empire of Hindustan consists of various religions. Dominations and sovereignty where of has been bestowed on you by the grace of the Almighty. It is incumbent that religious bigotries be wiped off the tablet of the heart, and justice meted out to each religion. Specially abstain from sacrifice of cows as this would tend to win the hearts of the people of Hindustan and the  populance of the country would be loyal to the Royal favours. The temples and places of worship of whatever religion under the Royal authority may not be desecrated. Such justice may be adopted that the King may be pleased with the Rayyat (subjects) and the Rayyat with the King. Overlook the dispute between the Shias and Sunnis since such weakness still persists in Islam. Establish administration with the Rayyat of various communities in accordance with the four principal elements so that the body of the empire may be free from different diseases. The model work done by his late Majesty Timur (Tamerlane) Sahib Qiran should always be kept before the mind so that you become mature in the work of administration."

Thus did Babur lay down the policy of governance of this country based on religious tolerance which was taken forward by Humayun and later Akbar. He warned his successors not to meddle in the religious affairs of the people and to leave them free to practice their religion in accordance with their own faiths and beliefs.  

(Excerpts from the article of Mr R Nath as published in The Hindu,  June 26, 1994)

1600s: Heera Raja and The Nagvanshis of Chotanagpur

Excerpts and Adaptations from the Book: The Nagvanshis of Chotanagpur, by Dr Sudha Sinha (Reader, Ranchi College, Ranchi University).

The Nagvanshis were the rulers of Chotanagpur since the beginning of the Christian era. The first Nagvanshi ruler was Phani Mukut Rai born in 64 AD. He was the adopted son of Madra Munda, the Partha Raja of Sutiambe. It is said that when Phani Mukut Rai was found near a tank as a newborn, a hooded kobra (Nag) was protecting him. Perhaps this was the reason why he and his successors were called the Nagvanshis. Phani Mukut Rai ruled from 83AD to 162 AD. Till date, four Nagvanshavalis are available that prove that the Nagvanshis ruled over Chotanagpur plateau in India for close to two thousand years, from the 1st century to 1951 when the Zamindari was abolished. (This would put the Nagvanshis among the top dynasties that ruled the longest in the world, which include the Dulo clan in Bulgaria, The Imperial House of Japan and Hong Bang dynasty of Korea).

Till the reign of Akbar, Chotanagpur had not come under the suzerainty of the Mughals and the Nagvanshi rulers had been ruling over this region as independent rulers. Akabar was informed of a rebel Afghan sardar, Junaid Kararani, was taking shelter in Chotanagpur. Besides, the emperor also got information of diamonds being found in this area. Consequently, Akbar ordered Shahbaz Khan Turbani to attack Kokhra (the then seat of Nagvanshi kings and capital of Chotanagpur). At that time Raja Madhu Singh, the 42nd Nagvanshi king was ruling at Kokhra. Consequently Kokhra was subdued by the armies of Akbar and a sum of rupees six thousand was fixed as its annual revenues payable to the Mughals.

By the advent of the reign of Jahangir, Nagvanshi Raja Durjan Sal had come to power in Chotanagpur. He refused to pay the rent fixed by the Emperor Akbar. Jahangir ordered Ibrahim Khan (governor of Bihar) to attack Kokhra. The details of this invasion are mentioned in Jahangir’s memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri. There was also another reason behind the invasion. This was the acquisition of the diamonds found in the bed of the river Sankh in the region. Due to its diamonds Chotanagpur was also known as Heera Nagpur and its Raja Durjan Sal, being an expert of diamonds, was known as Heera Raja among the people. Thus to subdue the Raja of Chotanagpur and to acquire valuable diamonds, Jahangir decided to invade Chotanagpur.

On getting orders from the emperor, Ibrahim Khan marched against Kokhra in 1615 AD. He entered the Nagvanshi territories easily with the help of his guides. The Nagvanshi Raja Durjan Sal found himself beleaguered himself within the hills and vales. He fled and was at last found in a cave with some of his family members. He was arrested and all diamonds which were in the possession of Durjan Sal and his family were captured by Ibrahim Khan. Twenty four elephants also fell into the hands of Ibrahim Khan. After this, Kokhara was subdued and the diamonds found there were sent to the Imperial court. After his defeat and arrest, Durjan Sal offered as ransom jewels, gold and silver to the value of crores of rupees, but Ibrahim Khan did not release him and took him as a captive to Patna. From there he was sent to the Imperial court and subsequently imprisoned in the fort of Gwalior.

According to Nagvanshi traditions and Col. Dalton, Raja Durjan Sal’s confinement lasted twelve years. Ultimately, the very diamonds which had caused the misfortune of Durjan Sal secured him his release and former prosperity. It so happened that from some place, two very large diamonds were brought to Emperor Jahangir’s court. A doubt arose in the mind of the Emperor over the genuineness of one of them. As no one in his court was able to confirm or relieve his suspicion, the Heera Raja was brought to the Imperial court from his incarceration. When the two diamonds were brought before him, he without any hesitation pointed out the fake one. To prove it to the court and the Emperor, he requested two rams to be brought to the court. He then tied the two diamonds on the horns of the two rams and made them fight each other. As a result of the fight, the fake diamond shattered but there was no scratch on the pure one. The Emperor was so impressed and pleased with Durjan Sal that he not only released him but also restored the prosperity taken from him in addition to his kingdom.

The generous Durjan Sal further begged the Emperor to release the other Rajas who had been his companions in prison and his prayer was granted. Being pleased with Durjan Sal, Jahangir conferred the title of ‘Shah’ on the Kokhra ruler. On his return to Chotanagpur, Durjan Sal assumed the title of Maharaja and changed his surname. Most probably from that time ‘Shah’ was added with the names of the Nagvanshi kings. The reign of Durjan Sal lasted for about thirteen years. He died in 1639 or 1640 AD.

The Second Battle of Panipat and the Stray Arrow that Changed History

On November 5th, 1556 as the Samrat of Dilli, Hemu's armies faced the young challenger Akbar and his Mughal warriers across the plains of Panipat, it seemed as if the march of Indian history paused and watched with a bated breath. For today promised two future paths which would be very different from each other. On one side stood a potential resurgence of Hindu empire in India and on the other stood a permanent  establishment of Mughals. But to understand how this crossroad of Indian history came to be we need to look a little further back.

After the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1545, his son Islam Shah Suri was crowned emperor. Though he was a strong king, his untimely death in 1554 opened the doors for infighting and power struggle within the Sur dynasty. His successor, his son Firuz Shah Suri, who was aged only twelve was murdered by Sher Shah's nephew Muhammad Mubariz Khan, who then ascended the throne as Muhammad Adil Shah. He appointed Firuz Shah's competent wazir Hem Chandara (Hemu) as his own wazir. As Adil Shah whiled away his time in wine, opium, singing and dancing, it was left to Hemu to manage the affairs of the State.Sensing a weak ruler in Delhi, many of the Afgan governors refused to pay taxes. Ibrahim Shah Suri, the governor of Agra, revolted and overthrew Adil Shah from Delhi. At the same time Sikandar Shah Suri and Muhammad Khan Suri the governors of Punjab and Bengal respectively declared their independence. Adil Shah was left ruling small portions of land near Agra and Bihar. Leading Adil Shah's armies Hemu went from region to region crushing rebellions of various Afghan governors. In December 1555 Hemu routed the Bengal forces under Muhammad Shah, who was killed in the battle. Meanwhile, Humayun sensing opportunity to retake Delhi placed the command of his armies in the hands of Bairam Khan and marched from Kabul. Bairam Khan led Humayun's armies to victory against Sikandar Suri in Punjab and facing any further resistance, on 23 July 1555, Humayun once again sat on Babur's throne in Delhi.But the victory was short lived. Nine months later, as the thirteen year old Akbar and Bairam Khan were camped in Kalanor with the mughal armies chasing after Sikandar Suri, Humayun slipped down the steep stairs of his library and died of a fractured skull. As Stanley Lane Pool remarks " Humayun tumbled through life and tumbled out of it".

Hemu / Raja Vikramaditya

For the next seventeen days, as Akbar and Bairam Khan made preparations for return to Delhi, Humayun’s death was kept a secret from the empire. Mulla Bekasi , who resembled Humayun, was dressed up as the emperor every day and shown to the public (Jharokha Darshan) from the palace terrace. It was only on 11th February 1556, when the khutba was read in Akbar’s name from the Delhi mosques that the death of Humayun was made public. Meanwhile Akbar was formally crowned emperor on 14th February in Kalanor. He stood on a wooden platform and received oaths of fealty from his loyal amirs, generals and other nobles. Bairam Khan had expected initial threats to Akbar’s rule either from treachery from within Delhi or in the form of Sikandar Sur in the west. However, trouble came unexpectedly from the eastern part of the realm. Sensing opportunity to seize Delhi, Hemu marched with his army from Chunar and reached Delhi via Etawah, Kalpi and Agra. At Agra, the Mughal governor, Iskandar Khan Uzbeg offered some resistance but was soon overwhelmed. Hemu captured Agra with its huge trove of war equipments and treasure. On the heels of the retreating army, Hemu marched on to Delhi. Tadri Beg, the governor of Delhi sent messengers to Akbar in Kalanor and prepared for battle. Hemu and Tadri Khan’s armies met outside Delhi. Sir Jadunath Sarkar writes about the battle of Tughlaqabad as follows: “The Mughal army was thus drawn up. Abdullah Uzbeg commanded the van, Haider Muhammad the right wing, Iskander Beg the left and Tadri Beg himself the center. The van and the left wings attacked and drove the enemy forces before them and followed far in pursuit. In the assault the victors captured 400 elephants of Hemu’s and killed over 3000 of his Afghan warriors. Imagining victory already gained many of Tadri Beg’s followers dispersed to plunder the enemy camp and he was left in the field thinly guarded. All this time Hemu had been holding 300 of his choice elephants and a force of select horsemen as a reserve in the center. He promptly seized the opportunity and made charge upon Tadri Beg.” Tadri Beg panicked. Abandoning over 1000 iraqi horses, over 150 war elephants and an unprotected Delhi, Tadri Beg fled westwards to join with Akbar's advancing army. Hemu renamed Raja Vikramaditya, crowned himself king. He distibuted the captured treasures among his Afghan and Rajput nobles, had coins stuck in his name and held court from the imperial canopy. 

The Second Battle of Panipat

Then Hemu advanced from Delhi to meet with Akbar's forces. Remembering Babur's strategic use of his artillary to defeat Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of Panipat, Hemu sent his park artillary including large field guns, cannon, rockets and moartars in advance escorted by a relatively weak vanguard towars Panipat. In the narrow passages of Panipat he planned to block the advance of Akbar and Bairam Khan's forces and force them to either turn back or attempt a suicidal frontal attack.Sensing the move, Bairam Khan sent a part of his force at neck breaking speed, which made a surprise attack on Hemu's artillary before his main army could arrive and captured almost all of Hemu's artillary. However, Hemu's army arrived before Bairam Khan and Akbar could catch up with the rest of their forces and started launching massive attacks on the Moghul vanguard army. Akbar's vanguard was barely able ot hold on till help arrived. The two main foces finally met on the battlefield on 5th November 1556. The strength of Hemu's army was predominantly in its elephants. Their huge stature and built combined with effective war training made them lethal killing machines. These elephants were furnished with chain mail and defensive armour and daggers and sabers were attached to their tusks. Despite their size, they were of the most amazing swiftness and agility. Musketeers and bowmen were seated on their back. Hemu's army had around 1500 of these war elephants and a fighting strength of around 50,000 cavalry. He put them under three commands - the right wing under Shadi Khan Kakar, the left under his sister's son Ramya while sitting on his famous elephant 'Hawai' he commanded the center. The Mughal army which was smaller in number with around 25,000 horsemen. The main cavalry of the Mughal army rode forward in a two pronged attack to relieve its vanguard. They were supported by the archers and muskeeters who followed. The central army was made up of the remaining cavalry of around 4000 men. The two pronged attack initially halted Hemu's advances but soon the battle tide turned. The two flanks were slowly driven inwards and Hemu's well desciplined elephants pushed forward despite many wounds. The Mughal army's flanks were driven back towards the center. Then Hemu attacked the central flank himself leading a charge of elephants and cavalry. The Mughals deployed a strategy of meeting the elephants with a shower of arrows in a hope of making them turn around and stampede. Though this was not successful, one of such stray arrows pierced Hemu's left eye and he collapsed unconcious. This decided the fate of the battle. Hemu's army, seeing him fall, scattered to save their lives and were chased and decimated by the Mughals. Hemu himself was captured and brought to Akbar and Bairam Khan. 

According to Abul-Fazl Hemu was beheaded  by Bairam Khan on the battlefield. His head was sent to Kabul and the trunk was hung at the gates of Delhi. There it was left to rot till only bones remained. Within a few hours the Mughal army regrouped around mounts of war spoils and a pyramid of over ten thousand severed heads of Hemu's warriors. This was an age old practice of the Mughal warriors, followed by Babur and going way back to Timur and Genghis Khan. 

With this victory Akbar firmly established himself as the Emperor of India and started an consolidation process which saw him become the richest and the most powerful emperor of the world in that period.