Political condition of india on the eve of Babur PDF

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Political condition of india on the eve of Babur...

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POLI TI CALCONDI TI ON OFI NDI A ON THE EVE OF BABUR’ S I NVASI ON I nt r oduct i on: Bef or et heBaur sconquer ed I ndi a,t hepol i t i calsi t uat i on i n t he count r y was exceedi ngl y unst abl e .On t he basi s oft he Tuz uki Babur iand ot herhi s t or i calsour ces,i ti s possi bl et o r econst r uctt hepol i t i calsi t uat i oni nI ndi aont heeveofBabur ' s i nvasi on.' I ndi a wasa conger i esofSt at esatt hebegi nni ng of t he16t h cent ur yandwasl i ke l yt obeeasypr eyf oran i nvader wi t ht he mi ghtand de t er mi nat i on t o at t empther conquest , ' saysDrI swar iPr asad. Thedi si nt r egat i on oft heDe l hiSul t anat ebegan wi t ht hedeat h ofMuhammedbi nTughl ugi n1526.WhenI br ahi m Lodiar r i ved t ot het hr oneofDe l hii n1517,hi spowerdi dnotext endbeyond t heci t i esofDe l hiand Agr a,aswel lasDoab and Jaunpur ,as we l las par t s ofBi har ,Bayana and Chandar i .Theor i stwho be l i evesi nt hedoct r i neoft he" Di vi neRi ghtt oRul e. "Thecour t he pr esi ded ov erwas subj ect ed t o st r i c tdi sci pl i ne,whi ch he at t empt ed t o enf or ce.Al loft he haught y Af ghan nobi l i t y who used t o shar eI br ahi m' sf at herand gr andf at heron t hecar pe t wer ef or ced t ot ake a humbl i ng posi t i on i n hi s dur bar ,wi t h t hei rar msf ol ded acr osst hei rbr east s.A publ i cdecl ar at i on by t he sul t an decl ar ed t hat ki ngshi p i s not based on bl ood r e l at i ons and t hat al l of hi s nobl es wer e hi s vassal s and ser vant s.TheAf ghan peer sat t empt ed t ocl ai mt hei ri nher i t ed r i ghtandher espondedbyi mposi ngsever epenal t i es.Ther ef or e, manyoft hehi ghes t r anki ngLodi ,Lohani ,Far mul i ,andNi yaz i Af ghansr oseupi nr evol tagai ns thi m,andhewasf or cedt ouse f or ce i n or der t o put an end t ot hei r upr i si ng.Ther e was si gni ficantc onst er nat i onandwor r yasar esul toft hi s. Sever aldi sgr unt l ed nobl esj oi ned t oget hert o assi s tAl amkhan Lodii nhi sc l ai mt ot het hr oneofDel hi ,whi chwasendor sedby t he Sul t an.The Gov er noroft he Punj ab,Daul atKhan Lodi ,

defied t he Sul t an' s aut hor i t y and conduc t ed hi mse l fi nt he mannerofa def ac t or ul eroft hepr ovi nce.Upon t hedeat h of Dar i yaKhan Lohani ,whoseson BaharKhan ( BahadurKhan) decl ar ed Bi har ' si ndependence,t he nobi l i t y ofBi har banded t oge t hert osuppor thi m.Af ghansr ebe l l ed atJaunpuraswe l l , t hi st i me under t he l eader shi p ofNasi r Khan Lohani .As a r esul t ,t heLodiKi ngdom wasmuchdi st ur bed,andt heSsul t an suffer edasi gni ficantl ossi ns t at us.Hecamei nt oconfli c twi t h Rana Sanga ofMewar ,who ul t i mat e l y conquer ed hi m.Hi s deat h,whi ch occur r ed i n Apr i lof1526,was f ol l owed by a per i od ofunr estt hatr esul t ed i nt heki ngdom ofGuj ar atbei ng si gni ficant l yweakened.Hi sson,BahadurShah,succeededhi m aski ngi nJul y1526,andhequi ckl yest abl i shedhi msel fasan ambi t i ousandsuccessf ulr ul er . Mewar Mewar was ye t anot her f or mi dabl ef or ce i nI ndi an hi st or y . Chi t t orser v ed ast henat i on' scapi t al .Ther ei gni ngf ami l ycan t r ace i t s or i gi ns bac kt ot he 6t h cent ur y A. D.The dynast y pr oduced a numberofnot abl emonar chs,t hemostnot abl eof whi ch wasRana Kumbha ( 14331468) ,who had a pr omi nent posi t i on i nt hehi s t or yofI ndi a.Hef or t i fiedt hede f encesofhi s empi r e by est abl i shi ng numer ous f or t i ficat i ons,and he al so beaut i fiedhi scapi t albyaddi ngmagni ficentst r uct ur e s.Havi ng vanqui shed t he Sul t an ofMewar ,he was abl et o cr eat et he Mewar iEmpi r east he domi nantpoweri n cent r alHi ndus t an. Babur ' scont empor ar i eson t het hr oneofChi t t ori nc l uded t he f amed RanaSangr am Si ngh,al soknown asRanaSanga,who r ei gneddur i ngt hesameper i od.A f amouswar r i orandgener al her o,hewaswounded asmanyasei ght yt i meswi t h a swar d andal ancedur i ngt hec our seofahundr edbat t l es.TheRaj put Chi efSanga,i ncont r astt ot hemaj or i t yofhi speer s ,possessed t he i nst i ni t s ofa pol i t i ci an and a s t at esman.He had cl ever l y conver t ed t hesoci alpr eemi nenceenj oyed byhi sf ami l yamong t heRaj put soft hear eai nt ohi spol i t i calsupr emacyi nt hes t at e of Raj st han t hr ough cunni ng and cunni ng. He was

accompani ed by t wo hundr ed Raj putchi ef sf r om hi s vassal s t at es.OneofRanaSanga' sambi t i onswast oes t abl i sh Hi ndu sov er ei gnt yov ert hecapi t alci t yofDe l hi .Appar ent l y ,i nor dert o car r youtt hi sambi t i ouspl an,hemadeapr omi set oBaburt hat hewoul di nvadeI br ahi m Lodi ' sar eaf r om t hesi deofAgr awhi l e Baburat t ackedI br ahi m Lodif r om t henor t h.Asar esul t ,Rana Sangawast hemostpower f ulHi ndu r ul eri n nor t her nI ndi a,i f nott heent i r ecount r y . Si ndh Dur i ng t he fir s tquar t eroft he 16t h cent ury ,t he pr ovi nce of Si ndh wasaweakandi neffect i vest at e.When Muhammadbi nr ul eTughl ug' scamet oan end,i tbecamea sov er ei gn st at e.I t wast heend oft heSumr a dynas t y ,whi ch had est abl i shed i t s domi nanceov ert hepr ovi ncei nt hel at e14t hcent ury ,andShah Beg Ar ghun,Gover norofKandhar ,who was underpr essur e f r om Babur ,was cast i ng wi st f ulgl ances t owar ds Si ndh.I n 1520,af t erbei ng f or ced t o abandon Khandart o Bahur ,Shah Begshi f t ed hi sat t ent i on t oSi ndh,wher ehebeatt heSumr as and t ook cont r olof t he pr ovi nce.Hi s son, Shah Hussai n, sol i di fied hi s aut hor i t y and even annexed t he ci t y ofMul t an. Babur ' si nvasi on occur r ed ata per i od when t he Ar ghuns i n Si ndhwer eatt hehei ghtoft hei rpower . Bengal Bengalwasaf er t i l er egi onoft hewor l d.I twasasov er ei gnst at e r ul edbyt heHusai nidynas t yt hr oughoutt het i meper i od.Fi r s t ki ngoft hi sdynast yand capabl emonar ch Al auddi n Husai n ( 14931518) r ei gned f r om 1493 t o 1518. He pushed t he boundar i esofhi sKi ngdom al lt hewayt ot hebor der sofOr i ssa, andheencr oachedont ot het own ofKamat puri n Kooch Bi har , whi ch was on t he bor der wi t h Assam. I n consequence of pr ovi di ng sanc t uar yt o Hussai n Shah Shar giofJaunpur ,he camei nt oconfli ctwi t h Si kandarLodiofDel hi ,butwasf or c ed t o make peace and agr ee t or es pectt he east er nf r ont i er of

Bi har .Hedi edi nt heconfli ct .I nNusr atShah,hi sson,whowas acont empor ar yofBaburwi t h whom hehadt ocomet ot er ms, he wr ot e:Nusr atShah was a capabl er ul erwho was al so a suppor t er of Bengal il i t er at ur e. I n accor dance wi t h hi s di r ec t i ves,t he Mahabhar at a was t r ansl at ed i nt o Bengal i .The pr ovi nce was r i ch,and t he peopl e wer e,f or t he mostpar t , happyt her e. Mal wa Mal wa,Guj ar at ,and Mewarwer et hr ee pr omi nents t at es i n Cent r alI ndi at hatwer evyi ngf orsupr emacyatt het i me.Mewar hadr i sen t ot het opoft hepol i t i calhi er ar chybyt hebegi nni ng oft he 16t h Cent ur y ,and Mal wa had achi eved i ndependence undert hel eader shi pofDi l warKhan Ghur i .However ,i n 1435, MahmudKhan,t hemi ni st eroft heGhur iKi ng,ascendedt ot he t hr one and se tt he gr oundwor kf ort he est abl i shmentoft he Khi l i j i Dynast y . Mahmud Khi l i j iwas a capabl e and ac t i ve monar ch who r ul ed wi t h ent husi asm. Mohmud I I , Babur ' s cont empor ar i es on t he Mal wa t hr one, was a weak and i ncompe t entr ul erwhor ei gnedal ongsi dehi m.Whi l ehewasi n power ,Mal was came under t he i nfluence ofMedi niRai ,a val i antRaj putChi efwhowaschosen Pr i meMi ni st erand who de l egat ed cr uci al posi t i ons of t r ust and r es ponsi bi l i t y t o member sofhi scl ansmen.TheMusl i m nobi l i t ywer eenr agedby t hi s and at t empt ed t o ov er t hr ow t he Medi ni Rai wi t h t he assi s t ance oft he sul t an ofGuj ar at ,butwer e unsuccessf ul . Medi niRai ,ont heot herhand,wasabl et owi nt heal l egi anceof Rana SongaofMewar ,whohel ped hi m def eatMahmud I Iand t r anspor thi m as a pr i soner t o Chi t t or .Usi ng t ypi calRaj ut gener osi t y ,t heRanawasabl et ol i ber at ehi sr oyalhost ageand r ei nt egr at ehi mi nt ohi ski ngdom.Ev ent hi sactofki ndnesswas unabl et o pr eser v e Mal wa, whi ch r emai ned di s t r act ed by f ac t i onals t r i f et hr oughoutt heyear . Guj ar at

Guj r atgai ned i t si ndependence f r om t he Ot t oman Empi r ei n 1401.Mahmud Begr ah was a r enowned monar ch ofGuj ar at whor ei gnedf r om 1605t o1607.( 14581511 )Zaf arKhan,t he r ul erofGuj ar atatt het i meofhi si ndependenceandascensi on t ot het hr oneundert het i t l eofMuzaffarShah,hadsever edt he pr ovi nce' st i e swi t ht hecapi t alofDe l hii n 1401.Ki ngMahmud Begar ha oft hi s dynast y was r egar ded as one oft he mos t ext r aor di nar y ki ngs i n hi st or y( 14581511) .Muz affarShah I I was t he monar ch of Guj ar at dur i ng t he t i me of Babur ' s i nvasi on,havi ngascended t ot het hr onef ol l owi ngt hedeat h of MahamudBegar hai n1511.Thr oughouthi sr ul e,hewasf or ced t ocombat . Punj ab Accor di ngt ooffici alr ecor ds,Punj abwasapr ovi ncewi t hi nt he Ki ngdom of De l hi . Howev er , Sul t an' sr e l at i onshi p wi t h t he pr ovi nce' s gover nor ,Daul atKhan Lodi ,was notposi t i v e.As soonashewasf r eeofhi scur r entdi fficul t i es,henot i fiedDaul at Khan t hatt heSul t an waspl ot t i ngsome t hi ngbad agai nsthi m and t hathe i nt ended t ot ur n hi s at t ent i on t ot he Punj ab as soon as he was f r ee ofhi s cur r entt r oubl es.As par tofhi s pr epar at i ons f or decl ar i ng hi si ndependence, Daul at khan summoned Badurt oassi sthi mi n hi spl ans.Sot heSul t anat e ofDe l hi ' s nor t her n wes t er nf r ont i er pr ovi nce was unabl et o mountanysor tofdef enceagai nstan i nvadi ngf or cef r om t he wes t . Kashmi r Shah Mi r z a est abl i shed t heaut onomousKi ngdom ofKashmi r i n 1339,maki ngi tt hefir s ti ndependentki ngdom i nt hewor l d. I ti sl ocat ed i nt he nor t heast er nr egi on oft he pr ovi nce of Punj ab.Or i gi nal l yf r om Af ghani st an,ShahMi r z awasaMusl i m expl or erwhohad enl i s t ed i nt heser vi ceoft heHi ndu r ul erof t he Happy Val l ey .He ascended t ot he t hr one i n 1339 and cr eat ed t he gr oundwor kf or t he est abl i shment ofa Musl i m dynas t y . Zai nul Abi di n was t he mos tr enowned Sul t an of

Kashmi rdur i nghi sl i f e t i me( 142070) .TheAkbarofKashmi ri s a we l l deser ved ni ckname f or hi m because he pur sued an enl i ght ened and l i ber al pol i cy of r e l i gi ous t ol er ance and s ponsor shi pf or Sanskr i tl i t er at ur e.Anar chy er upt ed i nt he af t er mat h ofhi sdeat hi n 1470.Becausei twasl ocat ed al ong di s t ance away f r om Del hi and was i n a st at e of di sar r ay . Kashmi r di d not have a si gni ficant i mpac t on t he pol i t i cal l andscapeofnor t her nI ndi a. Or i ssa TheHi ndu Ki ngdom ofOr i ssawasal ar gemonar chywi t hgr eat monar chswhor ul ed ov eradi ver sepopul at i on.Tot hi sday ,no Sul t an ofDel hihasbeen abl et oeffect i ve l yconquert her egi on. Or i ssa,ont heot herhand,di dnothav easi gni ficanti mpac ton t he pol i t i cs ofnor t her nI ndi a.However ,i tser ved a v al uabl e pur pose i nt hati tser v ed as an effec t i ve bar r i er t o Bengal ' s adv ancei nt ot hesout her nhemi spher e,whi chwasagoodt hi ng. Khandesh Khandeshwasf oundedbyMal i kRj aFar uqi ,whoi sal soknown asMal i k Rj aFar uqi .A l i t t l evi l l agesi t uat ed i nt heTapt iRi ver Val l ey Khandesh has been a sov er ei gn st at e si nce t he l ast decade oft he f our t eent h cent ur y .Mal i k Raj a,t he dynast y' s f ounder ,wasaMusl i m.Hehadacal mr ei gnanddi edi n 1399, accor di ngt ol egend.Fr om t hebegi nni ng,t heSul t ansofGuj ar at wer e adamant about consol i dat i ng t hei r domi nance ov er Khandesh and t he sur r oundi ng r e gi on.As a r esul t ,t he t wo ki ngdomswer eal waysatwarwi t h oneanot her .Fol l owi ngt he deat h ofDaud i n 1508,Khandesh wast hr own i nt ochaosasa r esul tofast al emat ebe t weent wor i valcl ai mst ot het hr one,one ofwhi ch was suppor t ed by Ahmadnag ar and t he ot her by Guj ar at ,whower efight i ngf orcont r oloft heki ngdom.I tt ooka l ong t i me, but event ual l y Sul at an Mohamud Begar ha of Guj ar at a wassuccessf uli n havi ng hi s nomi nee Adi lKhan I I I i nst al l edon t het hr oneofKhandesh.I n 1520,hedi edandwas r epl acedbyhi sson,MuhammadI ,whor ei gnedunt i lhi sdeat h

onAugust25t h.Khandeshdi dnotpl ayasi gni ficantr ol ei nt he pol i t i cs oft he per i od because ofi t s di st ance f r om De l hiand poorcondi t i on.

TheKi ngdomsoft heDeccan TheBahmaniKi ngdom oft heDeccan,cr eat ed i n 1347 ast he r esul tofa t r i umphantupr i si ngagai nstt het r ynni calr ei gn of Muhammad bi n Tughl ug,spanned f r om Ber ari nt henor t ht o t he Kr i shna i nt he sout h and was known f ori t s pl e t hor a of r oyalpal acesandt empl es.A ser i esofcapabl er ei gnscommi t t ed t hemsel v esi nanever endi ngbat t l eagai ns tt heHi nduKi ngdom of Vi j ayanagar , whi ch was l ocat ed t ot he sout h of i t , and event ual l ywon.I mmedi at e l yf ol l owi ngt heassassi nat i on oft he gr eatmi ni st er ,Mahmud Gawan.TheBahmaniKi ngdom began t ocr umbl ei n 1481,when t heShah ofI r an wasdeposed.Upon i t sr ui ns,fiveaut onomouski ngdomsar ose:Ber ar( 14841557) , Ahmadanagar ( 14891633) , Bi j apur ( 14891686) , Gol kunda ( 15121687) , and Bi dar ( 15261590) . Ber ar was t he most power f uloft hese) . Vi j ayanagar : I twasundert her ei gn ofMuhammed Bi n Tughl aqi nt he14t h cent ur y t hat t he Hi ndu empi r e of Vi j aynag ar came i nt o exi st ence. I t was a smear campai gn agai nst I sl am i n t he sout her n Uni t ed St at es.Babur ' scont empor ar i eson t het hr one i nc l udedKr i shnadevaRaya,t hegr eat estmonar c h pr oducedby Vi j ayanagarandt hemos tnot ewor t hyki ngi nt heent i r ecount r y t hr oughoutt heepochunderconsi der at i on.I naddi t i ont obei ng agr eatsol di erandgener alwhoexpandedt heboundar i esofhi s Ki ngdom by def eat i ng hi sr i val s and nei ghbour s ,he was a cul t ur ed pat r on of l i t er at ur e and ar t who i nfluenced t he pol i t i cal ,economi c,and cul t ur aldeve l opmentoft he c ount r y . Thi sKi ngdom wasati t sz eni t hatt het i meofBabu' si nvasi onof Nor t her nI ndi a.Expat s and di pl omat sf r om t hr oughout t he

wor l d wer et aken aback by t he count r y' s weal t h,pr os per i t y , and power .Vi j ayangardi dnothaveasi gni ficanti mpacton t he pol i t i cs of Nor t her n I ndi a; r at her ,i t pl ayed an i mpor t ant f unct i on i n pr ev ent i ng Musl i m e xpansi on sout hwar d and pr eser vi ngt heanci entr e l i gi onandcul t ur eofSout her nI ndi a. Al loft heses t at es,nomat t erhow ent husi ast i ct heywer eabout est abl i shi ngt hei rpar t i cul ardomi ni on,wer eper pet ual l yatwar wi t h one anot her .Because ofRaj putambi t i ons t o es t abl i sh aut hor i t yov erDe l hi ,notonl ywast hepol i t i calexpansi onoft he i nt er nal l y di vi ded Sul t anat e ofDel hisuccessf ul l y bl ocked by Raj putc hi val r y underRana Sanga,buteven t he Sul t anat e' s v er yexi st encewasi nj eopar dy .I nr eal i t y ,Sul t an I br ahi m had suffer ed a cr ushi ng de f eat at t he hands oft he Si sodi as of Mewarandhadbeenf or c edt oabandonhi spl ansf oraggr essi v e i nvasi on.I ncent r alHi ndust an,t heMusl i m ki ngdomsofMal wa and Guj ar athad suffer ed gr eat l yatt hehandsoft heRana of Chi t t or ,who had a par t i cul ar l y bad r eput at i on.A bl ockade er ec t ed by t he Hi ndu monar chs ofOr i ssa and Assam i nt he east had pr event ed t he Musl i m Ki ngdom of Bengal f r om expandi ng i t st er r i t or y .As f arast he Deccan was concer ned, t heemi r at eofVi j ayangarhadt husf areffect i ve l yr es t r ai nedt he sout hwar d expansi on of t he Bahmani Empi r e and i t s successor s,t hefiveKi ngdomsoft heDeccan.Asar esul t ,Tur ko can be f ound i n ev er y ar ea ofI ndi a.Af ghan and i ndi genous Musl i m Chi ef shad been ar r est ed and wer ef or ced t o fightf or t hei rver ysur vi val . Concl usi on As a r esul t ,byt hebegi nni ng oft he16t hc ent ur y ,I ndi a wasacompet i ngcol l ec t i onofst at es.Theemper or soft heI ndi an Empi r e mai nt ai ned a l ar ge ar my i n or der t oe xt end t hei r t er r i t or y .Becausei twasbui l ton f eudal i sm,t hei rpol i t i caland mi l i t ar y or gani sat i on suffer ed f r om i nher entweaknesses as a r esul t of t hi s. The ki ngs of I ndochi na wer e compl et el y uni nf or medofsuper i ormi l i t ar yt ec hni ques,such ast heuseof

ar t i l l er y , whi ch had become r at her popul ar wi t h t hei r count er par t si n Cent r alAsi a by t hi st i me.An i nvasi on f or ce wi t ht hepowerand r esol v et oat t emptherconquestwoul d be l i ke l y pr ey i n such a si t uat i on,and I ndi a woul d be an easy t ar getf ort hem. ....