Hemchandra Vikramaditya

 

Hemchandra Vikramaditya

THE FORGOTTEN LAST HINDU KING

SARASIJ MAJUMDER

THE STRAY ARROW:

He was a capable administrator, a military genius, a shrewd politician and a far-sighted statesman. In the true sense, he was the follower of the great Hindu ruler Prithvi Raj Chauhan who fought bravely in the battlefields and sacrificed his life for the independence of country. Hemu was one of the greatest freedom fighters in the annals of Indian history, who fought  hard against the foreign rulers. In short, Hemu was a man of ideas and ideals as well as a man of prompt actions, with brilliant and courageous deeds.

He had won 22 battles for Adil Shah Suri defeating the Afghan rebels and Mughal forces of Humayun and Akbar. He assumed the title of 'Vikramaditya' after taking the control of Delhi. He was defeated by the Akbar's army in the second battle of Panipat on 5 November 1556, by chance!.

Akbar's generals were Khan Zaman I and Bairam Khan.

He was conducting the battle riding an Elephant. And in fact, he was at the doorstep of winning the battle, as written by Abul Fazal. As the bad luck had it,  a stray arrow hit his left eye,  he got injured, became unconscious, fell down from elephant, and was immediately captured by Mughals.

His army panicked and dispersed after seeing their leader went down.

Akbar won the battle,  and throne of Delhi. Mughals were reestablished.

Hemu was beheaded by Bairam Khan in spite of  Akbar’s  refusal.

Who knows—if the stray arrow missed hitting HEMU, —may be, a defeated            ‘ Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar’ would have gone back to PHARGANA with his chieftains—leaving India free of Muslim.

THE LIFE HISTORY IN DETAILS:--

Hemu was born in 1501 in the village of Machheri, near Rajgarh in Alwar, Rajasthan. He belonged to Dhusar (VARGAVA) Brahmin family. His father Puran Das was a Purohit (PRIEST) and a religious person. Puran Das took Sanyas and migrated to Vrindavan to live with famous saint Harivansh of the Vallabha Sampradaya or sect.

The family shifted to Qutab Pur, a village of Dhusar Brahmins, in Rewari (now in Haryana) for better prospects. Hemu was brought-up and educated there. He studied Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. During his childhood he was fond of wrestling and horse-riding.

Based at Rewari, which was on main route of traders from Iran, Iraq to Delhi and further EAST, Hemu started supplying cereals to Sher Shah’s army. Later on, he took up supply of saltpetre (for gunpowder) also to his army.

After Sher shah Suri’s death on May 22, 1545 A.D., Jalal Khan, the younger son of the former, assumed the title of Islam Shah and became the ruler. Islam Shah recognized the capability and the administrative skills of Hemu and therefore made him his personal advisor. He consulted Hemu in matters relating not only to trade and commerce but also pertaining to statesmanship, diplomacy and general politics. However Islam Shah initially appointed him as Shang-ah-i-bazar i.e. ‘Market Superintendent’.

In 1550 AD,  Hemu accompanied Islam Shah to Punjab when he was deputed along with other high officers to receive Mirza Kamran, the second son of Babar in the fort of Rohtas. In fact, Hemu became the consultant to Islam Shah in all matters of importance. Islam Shah was ruling entire North India from Punjab to Bengal at that time. Hemu was soon promoted as the Chief of intelligence or Daroga-ai-dak­ chauki i.e. Superintendent of Posts. In 1552 and 1553 Hemu held positions as Governor of Punjab and Delhi state also.

In November 1554 A.D.  Islam Shah died and his 12 years old son Firoz Khan became the ruler, who was killed within three days by Adil Shah Suri. His original name was Mubrez Khan or Mubarak Khan. The new king Adil Shah was an indolent, pleasure-seeker, drunkard and debauch. He faced revolts on all sides. Adil Shah looked to Hemu as Chief Advisor and practically entrusted all his work to him. Hemu now became the Prime Minister and Chief of the Afghan Army.

In the words of great historian A.L. Srivastava, “As he (Hemu) proved his worth and loyalty, he was promoted to the post of Prime-Minister and thus earned the distinction of being the first of the two Hindus, the other being Todar Mal, who occupied the position of the Chief Minister of any Mohamedan ruled state during the medieval period of our country’s history” (The Mughal Empire, 1952, P.128)

Most of the Afghan governors revolted against Adil Shah and refused to pay the taxes. Hemu went to various states in North India to crush these revolts. Hemu fought 22 battles and won all of them.

All accounts of the battles fought and victories of Hemu are given by Abul Fazl and Badauni. In the words of Historian Dr. Rajinder Singh Kushwaha “Since both of them hated Hemu, they painted him in the black colour. Their restrained praise is all the more valuable as a testimony to the valour and military skill of Hemu.”

Abul Fazl writes, “Battles took place between Hemu and Ibrahim who was a claimant for the sultanate and the former was always victorious. Sultan Mohammad, who had assumed the kingly title in Bengal, was also defeated, and was made tread the land of annihilation. Hemu was also engaged in conflicts with Taj Karrani and Rukku Khan Nuhar and defeated them. He fought twenty battles with the opponents of Mubrez Khan and was victorious  in all of them.”

When Humayun returned to India to recover his lost throne, Adil Shah sent Hemu northwards to oppose him retiring himself to Chunar Fort. When Humayun met with fatal accident on January 26, 1556 AD, Hemu remained in the field to prevent Akbar from taking effective possession of his father’s kingdom. Hemu consolidated his army and went from Gwalior to Agra. He defeated Iskandar Khan Uzbek, Governor of Agra. He occupied Agra with its huge treasure and military equipment, and proceeded towards Delhi. Tardi Beg Khan, the Mughal Governor of Delhi, frightened and immediately sent a dispatch to Akbar and Bairam Khan and demanded adequate reinforcements for the defence of the capital. Bairam Khan sent his ablest Commander Pir Mohammad Sherwani with a big army. In Delhi, the battle was fought at Tuglakabad. Hemu defeated the Mughals. Hemu won Delhi after a day’s battle on October 6, 1556 AD. Nearly 3000 soldiers died in the battle. Tardi Beg fled away. Hemu entered Delhi victorious under a royal canopy.

He occupied Delhi and declared his independent status. He had his coronation or Raj Abhishek at Purana Qilla in the presence of all the Afghans and Rajput commanders with all religious ceremonies. He issued coins in his name and assumed the historic name ‘Vikrmaditya’ or Raja Bikramjit. He reorganized the army and made certain appointments, without removing any  of the Afghans. He also made significant reforms in the mercantile system. He dismissed all the corrupt officers and replaced them. He also paid attention for the cow protection and prohibited totally the cow’s slaughter.

Though Hem Chandra Vikrmaditya ruled only 29 days,  yet it was a historical event in the history of India. He re­ established the Hindu Kingdom after centuries of foreign rule. World famous Historian Dr. R. C. Majumdar called it, “a unique episode in the history of India during the Muslim rule.”

He was the last Hindu Empire who  occupied ‘DELHI’, albeit for a short time..

REFERENCES:- ( I HAVE READ ALL THE BOOKS LISTED IN THE REFERENCES, AND TOOK NOTES TO DEVELOP THIS BLOG.)

1.0  The Mughal Empire by A.L. Srivastava.

2.0  Akbar Nama by Abul Fazl. ( Vol.-1/3)-- I read the English Translation.

3.0  Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s History And Culture Of The Indian People--- Volume VII-- The Mughal Empire—BY Dr. R.C. Majumder.

4.0  Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (منتخب التواریخ) or Tarikh-i-Bada'uni (تاریخ بداؤنی), Selection of Chronicles by `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (1540–1605)-- I read the English Translation.

 5.0  Image:-- Google. The ownership is acknowledged.