ARTICLES
History of India
November 5, 2017
AKBAR, THE SCION OF THE MUGHAL DYNASTY
- Padma Mohan Kumar, freelance writer
email: padma413@gmail.com
The tragic death of the second Mughal emperor Humayun in 1556 was
followed by the accession of his son Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad
Akbar to the throne. Akbar at the time of his accession was a mere
stripling of 13. But with the passage of time he had established his
power and influence over the entire subcontinent. With his unsurpassed
skills he had dominated the economic, military, political and religious
matters of state. His enlightened policy of religious tolerance won for
him the unflinching support and loyalty of his non-Muslim subjects. His
diplomatic policy of marriage alliances with important ruling families
helped to strengthen his position. He not only patronized art and
culture but also supported the literature of several languages. It was
entirely due to his far-sighted policies that the empire developed into a
multicultural society under his rule.
Akbar's early years
Akbar's father Humayun had been vanquished by his Afghan foe, Sher Shah
Suri at the battle of Kanauj in May 1540 and had to flee for his life.
He and his pregnant wife Hamida Banu Begum were given shelter by Rana
Virsal, the Hindu ruler of Umerkot in Sindh. Rana Virsal also assisted
Humayun with men and materials so that he could carry out his plan to
march against Thatta and Bhakkar. It was at Umarkot that Akbar,
who was destined to be India's greatest Muslim monarch, was born on
October 15th, 1542. He was named Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din
Muhammad at birth. Humayun who had set out on his expedition against
Thatta and Bhakkar, was overjoyed on receiving the news of his son's
birth. He broke a pod of musk and distributed it among his followers
with the apology that this was all that he could afford to gift them.
However, misfortune seemed to dog Humayun's footsteps. His expedition
against Thatta and Bhakkar ended in failure. To make matters worse, some
of his followers fell out with Rana Virsal which cost him the Rajput
ruler's friendship. Hamida Banu Begum had to leave Umerkot along with
her baby son. She joined her husband at Jun where he had waited for six
months to capture Sindh. Humayun's efforts to take Sindh again met with
failure so he decided to go to Persia and seek the ruler's help. It was
at Mustang in Afghanistan that his brother Askari launched an attack on
him. Askari was then ruling over Afghanistan and Humayun was in no
position to meet this challenge so he fled with his wife Hamida Banu
Begum leaving his infant son Akbar behind. Askari picked up the little
boy and handed him over to his wife. She lavished full care and
attention on him. Akbar was brought up in the homes of his paternal
uncles Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza. Humayun could not get back his son
as he had to be constantly fleeing from his enemies. Akbar
was trained in the art of warfare and hunting during his growing up
years. Though he was not taught to read and write, he had a
curious, enquiring mind and would get scholars to read out learned works
on art and religion to him during his later years. His father Humayun
had fled to Persia where the ruler Shah Tahmasp provided him shelter and
support.
In 1545 Humayun marched onto Kandahar which was under Mirza
Askari. The young prince Akbar, who was with Askari at that time,
was dispatched to Kamran at Kabul so as to prevent Humayun from
recovering his son. During the course of Humayun's struggle with Kamran,
the little prince Akbar was made to stand on the battlements of Kabul
fort in an attempt to expose the child to the threat of the gunfire from
Humayun's artillery. But Humayun's gunners noticed the tiny figure on
the battlements and quickly turned their fire in another direction. Thus
the little child had a lucky escape.Akbar's early life was full of
adversities but his circumstances greatly improved after he was reunited
with his father. Bairam Khan, a highly dependable and faithful military
commander of Humayun was entrusted with the guardianship of the young
prince. He devoted himself fully towards discharging this
responsibility.
In 1551 Akbar was made the governor of Ghazni after the death of his
uncle Hindal. Humayun meanwhile was awaiting an opportunity to recover
his lost possessions in Hindustan. His chance came soon enough when the
successors of Sher Shah Sur and his son Islam Shah Sur failed to hold
the dominions together. Disunity set in among the Afghan nobles which in
turn led to the disintegration of the empire. Powerful nobles laid
claim to different parts of the domain-Muhammad Shah Adil took Agra;
Ibrahim Sur was in possession of the Punjab while Delhi was under
Sikandar Shah. Humayun, on seeing the disunity among the Afghans,
decided to seize the opportunity and marched out of Kabul in 1554 with
the objective of recovering his lost territories in Hindustan. He met
Sikandar Shah Sur's army at Sirhind and with the able support of his
young son Akbar, inflicted a heavy defeat on them. This victory enabled
Humayun to reclaim the lost throne of Delhi with the backing of the
Persian monarch Shah Tahmasp. In July 1555, he entered Delhi and
ascended the throne. Akbar was made the governor of the Punjab and he
was also declared as the heir apparent.
Humayun however was not destined to remain as monarch for long. In
1556, he met with a fatal accident while climbing down the steps of his
library. Akbar, who was 13 years old at that time, succeeded him to the
throne. The young prince was proclaimed 'Shahanshah' on February 14,
1556 at Kalanaur in Punjab. The news of Humayun's death was kept secret
from the public for 17 days. Akbar had reached the capital only then. A
look-alike of Humayun named Mulla Bekasi was asked to appear before the
public at the royal balcony till the prince reached the capital.
After his arrival, Akbar was formally declared Emperor of Delhi in
1556. Bairam Khan the military commander of the late emperor took
up the post of Regent for young Akbar and ruled on his behalf till he
reached the age of maturity.
The Second Battle of Panipat
The Mughal Empire, at the time of Akbar's accession to the throne,
comprised parts of the Punjab, Kabul, Kandahar and Delhi. He had to face
challenges right at the very outset of his rule. The very first of
these came from the Afghan ruler of Chunar, Sultan Mohammad Adil Shah
soon after Humayun's death. The Afghan ruler aspired for the throne of
Delhi and was prepared to wage war on the Mughals in order to achieve
his objective. In 1556, he sent an army under the leadership of his
Hindu general, Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya (also known as Hemu) to
capture Agra and Delhi. The invaders inflicted a humiliating defeat on
the Mughal army and compelled them to flee. Hemu crowned himself king on
October 7, 1556, thus ushering in Hindu rule after 350 years of Muslim
domination.
Akbar however was not one to take this humiliation quietly. On the
advice of his regent, Bairam Khan, he proclaimed his decision to recover
the throne of Delhi and marched to Panipat in order to realize his
objective. A conflict took place between Hemu's forces and the Mughal
army at Panipat on November 5, 1556. The Mughal army was much smaller
than the enemy forces which consisted of 30,000 horsemen and 1500
elephants. Moreover Hemu also had the backing of both the Hindu and
Afghan rulers who considered the Mughals as invaders. Bairam Khan kept
Akbar at a safe distance while he maintained his position at the back of
the army. Skilled generals were placed on the front, left and right
flanks. Hemu was initially at an advantageous position but a sudden
change in military tactics by the enemy led to his downfall. He was
seated on his elephant when he was struck in the eye by an arrow. His
mahout attempted to save him but he was pursued and captured by the
Mughal soldiers. Hemu was brought before Akbar. Bairam Khan urged Akbar
to cut off his head but on seeing the young emperor's hesitation he
beheaded Hemu himself. Thus with the death of the Hindu ruler, Mughal
supremacy was reestablished.
The victory of the Mughal forces ushered in the glorious era of Akbar's
rule. Bairam Khan captured and imprisoned Hemu's relatives, while Sher
Shah's successor Sikander Shah Sur was ultimately forced to surrender in
1557. The year also witnessed the defeat of Muhammed Adil, another
Afghan rival, who was killed in a battle. Owing to these reverses
Akbar's enemies fled from Delhi and the neighbouring areas to seek
safety in other states. Under Bairam Khan's regency Ajmer, Malwa and
Garhkatanga were also added to the Mughal dominions. Bairam Khan
remained in his post till 1560 when he was dismissed by Akbar and told
to either proceed to Mecca or to remain in retirement at the palace.
Bairam chose to go to Mecca. It was while travelling through Gujarat
that he was assassinated by an Afghan whose father had been killed in a
battle led by him about five years back. His death took place on January
31, 1561.
References:
historydiscussion.net
culturalindia.net
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