INDIA’S FIVE TRAITORS
SARASIJ
MAJUMDER
There were several notable betrayals and acts of treachery
that shaped the course of history of INDIA. Here are some of the biggest
traitors and their acts, and undesirable consequences. Surprisingly—our history
book touched them mostly like foot notes.
1.0 King
Ambhi Kumar (4th CENTURY BC)
Ambhi Kumar of Gandhar was a very rude,
greedy and stubborn king. Ambhi was the son of king Gandhar Raj. He was also
thrown out of Takshashila University because of his behaviour towards teachers
or his gurus and also his fellow students. King Ambhi Kumar, the ruler of
Taxila in the 4th century BCE, welcomed Alexander the Great into India and
ceded his territory to him. Ambhi's intentions were to see the rival kingdoms
of Porus and Abisares fall.
After enjoying Ambhi’s hospitality, Alexander sent a word
out to the neighbouring kings to meet him and pay him a tribute. While few did
go, one king stayed away: Porus, who was not going to follow Ambhi’s footsteps.
When Alexander’s envoy met Porus and asked him to meet Emperor Alexander the
Great and pay him a tribute; Porus replied,” I will definitely come to meet
Emperor Alexander, but with an army in the Battlefield.”
Yes—That was the battle of ‘HYDESPAS’ by the side of
Jhelum. I covered it in another BLOG.
Ultimately—Porus and Alexander enter into an agreement, and
handover the kingdom of Ambhi to Porus. Ambhi remained a VASSAL King, till
Porus was alive.
Some historians believe Ambhi may have acted as an agent for
Alexander even before the conqueror arrived. Ambhi's actions by sending a GUIDE allowed Alexander to
enter the Indian subcontinent which ultimately led to the loss of his own independence.
Later Ambhi was killed by Chandragupta Maurya, the emperor
of the Mauryan Empire who annexed Taxila. Taxila became the capital of the
northern province of the Mauryan Empire.
Raja Jayachandra Rathod (1173-1193)
Raja Jayachandra, was the ruler of Kannauj. At his
time, the kingdom stretched from Banaras to Gaya and Patna, in the fertile area
between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. He belonged to the Gaharwar dynasty, subsequently known as
the Rathore dynasty. He is believed to have betrayed Prithiviraj Chauhan by
providing aid, and support to Muhammad Ghori during the Second Battle of Tarain
in 1192 CE. It is recorded that the
FREAUD between him and Prithwiraj started, when Prithwiraj took away his
daughter SANYUKTA from Swayam Var Sava, based on a secret letter from her to
Prithwiraj..
Prithwiraj did defeated GHORI in the first battle, but
granted him life, and allowed him to escape.
Ghori returned next year, after securing an agreement with
Jay Chandra—and Prithwiraj lost the battle and was killed.
Although some
historians contest this claim due to lack of proper evidence, the legend
persists in the epic Prithviraj Raso. Jayachandra's alleged betrayal surely
assisted Ghori, which led to
Prithviraj's defeat and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, paving the
way for further foreign invasions, and establishment of Mughal Dynasty.
MIRJAFAR (1691—1765)
Mir Jafar is considered TRAITOR OF TRAITORS in Indian
history. As the commander (SIPAH-SALAR) of
the Military forces commanded by him under Siraj-Ud-Daulah, the last Nawab of
Bengal, he betrayed him during the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Mir Jafar had
secretly allied with the British East Indian Company, fighting under Robert
Clive, and at a crucial moment, he withdrew his troops, even then a small troop
under Mir Madan, and Mohanlal were fighting tooth and nail. The may have won. But Clive played his
second Card. Mir Jafar sent a wrong
information to Nawab—and got the war stopped for the day, allowing the British
to escape defeat. In the night, British Fouz attacked the resting, retired, and
sleeping Nawab's forces. Siraj escaped,
but got caught by another betrayal by a fellow Muslim, and was killed. This
betrayal paved the way for the British East India Company to establish its rule
in Bengal and eventually across India.
However, his death is shrouded in Mistry. He died in 1765.
Jayajirao
Scindia (1835—1886)
Jayajirao Scindia was born as Bhagirath Shinde, son of Hanumant
Rao Shinde on 19 January 1835. After the death of His Highness Jankoji Rao
Scindia II, in 1843, his widow Tara Bai adopted Bhagirath Rao, who became the
ruler of Gwalior under the name of His Highness Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia on
22 February 1843. In 1857, Jayaji Rao
Scindia an erstwhile Maharaj of Gwalior and his Minister Dinkar Rao had decided
to stay on the side of British East
India company though their ancestors had fought with Britishers
earlier. Jayajirao Scindia betrayed Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi by pretending
to give her shelter, then informed Britishers. British came for her, and
Scindia provider her a SICK HORSE to escape. And British Soldiers followed her.
She was caught in the chase—but she didn’t surrender, and fought unto death.
Raja Man
Singh ( Nineteenth Century)
Raja Man Singh, was the ruler of Narwar in the early 19th
century. In January 1859, Man Singh Jhala, Raja of Narwar came
across Maratha General Tatya Tope who
had escaped alone into the jungles of Paron after
being defeated by the British. Tatya befriended
Man Singh and decided to stay with him. Man Singh was in dispute with the Maharaja
of Gwalior. British successfully negotiated with Man Singh Jhala to
surrender Tatya to them in return for Man safety of Man Singh's life and
protection of his family from any reprisals by the Maharaja of Gwalior. After
this Tope was alone.[ The
British forces had failed to subdue him for over a year. Tope was betrayed into
the hands of the British by his trusted friend, Man Singh, while asleep in his
camp in the Paron forest. He was captured on 7 April 1859 by a detachment of
native infantry from British General Richard John Meade's troops led to him by Man
Singh and escorted to Shivpuri where he was tried by a military court, and
hanged.
External Links:
IMAGE:- PRITHWIRAJ & GHORI/ GOOGLE. Merged by me.
The article is emphasizing on traits of our race that go against brotherhood, society and nation. Greed, jealousy, revenge, not to be happy on the prosperity of others are predominant traits that have acted against our society from ages and are in open today shamelessly. The society seems care less. The present day environment does not discourage such people from following their nefarious pursuits. Society does not have mechanism of cleaning the dirt. So, the practice continues unabated.
ReplyDeleteThanks-- You are right. Society should reject them, and shall start at family level.
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