Maharana Sangram Singh

We all know that the Mughal dynasty was founded by Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur in 1526 which would go on to rule majority of the Indian subcontinent for the next two centuries. Many believe Babur turned his attention towards India only after he was sent an invitation by Rana Sangram Singh (Rana Sanga) of Mewar. But this long-held belief is nothing more than a claim, let alone being anywhere close to the truth. Here are five reasons.

The first and foremost point is if we set aside the lone reference of Baburnama (Babur’s memoirs), we will find numerous references of Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of Punjab in the Lodi empire, as having invited Babur to India. He wanted to take advantage of the weak leadership in the Lodi dynasty and usurp power with the help of Babur’s army. Later, growing ambition resulted in a fall out between Babur and Daulat Khan which has also been well documented by historians. It is interesting to note that the lone mention in Baburnama occurs after the Battle of Panipat (1526), that too at a time when Babur was planning a war with Rana Sanga and not before his advance towards India.

Secondly, many eminent historians like like GN Sharma and Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha claim it was Babur who had extended the invitation to Rana Sanga seeking help. Babur had already decided to move towards India and asked the Rajput chieftain for a helping hand to defeat the common enemy – Ibrahim Lodi. It was quite possible that the Rana himself was open to helping Babur but backed out after the generals and ministers of the Mewar confederacy advised him against it.

Thirdly, Rana Sanga had tasted success in most battles and the Mewar confederacy was at the height of its power defeating the Sultan of Gujarat at that time. This was perhaps the last time so many Rajput kings had united under the leadership of Rana Sanga. The Rajputs had defeated Ibrahim Lodi in Khatoli (1517) and Dholpur (1518) and there was no reason for them to seek an outsider’s help to take on an enemy which had already been defeated. At best, Rana Sanga would have liked to take advantage of the two adversaries to further his efforts to establish a Hindu empire in India.

Fourthly, if Rana Sanga had extended the invitation to Babur to help defeat Ibrahim Lodi, then why didn’t he join Babur in the first battle of Panipat (1526)? Why did Rana Sanga fight a pitched battle against Babur at Bayana later that year? Even though Babur had tasted success against Lodi in Panipat, his army was soundly routed by the Rajputs at Bayana. Such was the crushing loss that Babur gave up alcohol and could only fire the imagination of his troops with the battle cry of ‘Jihad’. Babur also knew he had the surprise element of guns and cannon powder in military expeditions which gave him success despite having a smaller but well-trained army in crucial battles.

The fifth and most important point is Babur didn’t need any invitation as he had already decided on invading India. In fact, Babur’s first attempt was made as early as 1519 in Punjab without much success. He would taste victory against Lodi only in his fifth attempt at Panipat in 1526. The reason for this is because Babur was left with very few options after being soundly beaten in his bid to recapture Samarkand (1511-12) by the Uzbeks and was lucky to escape from the Fergana Valley (parts of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). He knew his only chance of survival was to take on the weakening Lodi empire and there was no going back once he entered the Indian subcontinent. It is only later when Rana Sanga realised that Babur had no plans of going back, like his predecessors, that the Mewar confederacy was pitched in a do-or-die battle at Khanwa (1527).

Our history books have given more significance to the battle of Panipat (1526) despite knowing that the Lodi empire was a spent force and was long crumbling before this. At that time, there were two superior forces which wanted to stake claim to Delhi’s throne – the Mewar confederacy and the Mughals. It is the battle of Khanwa (1527) which sealed the fate of India rather than the battle of Panipat. A win for Rana Sanga would have laid the foundations of a Hindu empire. Babur’s win at Khanwa had a double impact on India’s geopolitics – the fragmentation of Rajput unity while the Mughals consolidated their empire with tactical alliances and religious fervour.

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Betrayal of our own people leaded to defeat in Battle of Khanwa.

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#HistoryFacts : "Betrayal by Afghans & Raja Shiladitya (later Silah-al-din)"

The following chapter hasbeen taken from the historical accounts of :

▪︎Erskine, William (24 May 2012). A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-04620-6.

▪︎Wink 2012, p. 27 & pp. 157-158

▪︎Spear, Percival (1990). A History of India. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-0138368-.

▪︎Sarkar, Jadunath (1960). Military History of India. Orient Longmans. ISBN 978-0-86125-155-1.

▪︎Wink, Andre (2012). Akbar. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-78074-209-0.

▪︎Eraly, Abrahim (2007). Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls.

▪︎Barua, Pradeep (2005). The State at War in South Asia. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-0-80321-344-9.

▪︎Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of medieval India : from 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. New Delhi: Atlantic Publ. pp. 89–90. ISBN 81-269-0123-3.

▪︎Damrosch, David; Alliston, April (2004). The Longman Anthology of World Literature. Longman. ISBN 978-0-321-16980-8.

● Background of the battle: Most of the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent were already under the control of Ibrahim Lodi of the invadaving Afghan Lodi dynasty, but the empire was crumbling & there were many defectors.

Prince of the Uzbeki Timurid Empire, #Babur (born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad), descendant of Timur & Genghis Khan, had already raided Punjab in 1504 & 1518. In 1519 he tried to invade Punjab but had to return to Kabul due to complications there. In 1520-21 Babur again ventured to conquer Punjab, he easily captured Bhira & Sialkot which were known as the "twin gateways to Hindostan". Babur was able to annex towns & cities till Lahore but was again forced to stop due to rebellions in Qandhar. In 1523 he received invitations from Daulat Khan Lodi, Ibrahim Lodi's uncle, to attack the Delhi Sultanate. Daulat Khan later betrayed Babur & with a force of 40,000 he captured Sialkot from the Mughal garrison & marched towards Lahore. Daulat Khan was soundly defeated at Lahore and through this victory Babur became the unopposed lord of Punjab. Babur continued his conquest & annihilated the Lodi sultanate's army in the First Battle of Panipat, where he killed the Sultan & founded the #MughalDynasty.

There is also a segment of historians who claim that Rajput king, Maharana Sangram Singh, famously known as #RanaSanga , also invited Babur to help him defeat the Afghan invaders. However, this claim is rejected by most historians, because Rana Sanga had already defeated the huge armies of Ibrahim Lodhi twice without any foreign assistance in the 'Battle of Khatoli,1518' & 'Battle of Dholpur,1519' with a very small army. And if Rana Sanga had really invited Babur to help him fight the Afghans, than why did he not allign with Babur against the Afghans in the '1st Battle of Panipat,1526'? instead Rana Sanga gave refuge to the retreating Afghan soldiers to save them from Mughals.

On hearing the advancements of Rana Sanga to Agra, Babar sent a strike force to Bayana which was defeated & dispersed by Rana Sanga on 21 February 1527.

Rana Sanga had destroyed all the Mughal contingents that were sent against him, this caused great fear in Babur's army as Babar has written in his autobiography #Baburnama, "the fierceness and valour of the pagan army" made the troops "anxious and afraid". The Afghans in the Mughal army started to leave & the Turks started complaining about defending a land that they hated, they requested Babur to leave to Kabul with the rich spoils that they had collected. Babur writes "no manly word or brave council was heard from any one soever".

Rana Sanga had built a formidable military alliance against Babur. He was joined by all the other leading Rajput kings from #Rajasthan, including those from Harauti, Jalor, Sirohi, Dungarpur & Dhundhar. Rao Ganga of Marwar did not join personally but sent a contingent on his behalf led by his son Maldev Rathore. Rao Medini Rai of Chanderi in Malwa also joined the alliance. Further, Mahmud Lodi, the younger son of Sikandar Lodi, whom the Afghans had proclaimed their new sultan also joined the alliance with a contingent of Afghan horsemen with him. Khanzada Hasan Khan Mewati, the ruler of Mewat, also joined the alliance with his men. The Afghans who earlier considered native Indians as their enemies were aslo given complete respect & honour and merged into Rana Sanga's Army. Babur denounced that, the Afghans who joined the alliance with the Indians against him as kafirs & murtads (those who had apostatized from Islam).

● The Battle of Khanwa:

Babur had a skilled & experienced Army. He knew that his comparitively small army would have been swept by the huge army(40,000men + 200 War Elephants) of Rana Sanga, if he tried to fight them in the open, he therefore planned a defensive strategy to form a fortified encampment where he would use his muskets & artillery to weaken his foes and then strike when their morale had shattered. Babur had carefully inspected the site. Like in Panipat, he strengthened his front by procuring carts that were fastened by iron chains (not leather straps, as at Panipat) & reinforced by mantlets. Gaps between the carts were used for horsemen to charge at the opponent at an opportune time. To lengthen the line, ropes made of rawhide were placed over wheeled wooden tripods. The flanks were given protection by digging ditches. Foot-musketeers, falconets and mortars were placed behind the carts, from where they could fire and, if required, advance. The heavy Turkic horsemen stood behind them, two contingents of elite horsemen were kept in the reserve for the taulqama (flanking) tactic. Thus, a strong offensive-defensive formation had been prepared by Babur.

Rana Sanga, fighting in a traditional manner, charged the Mughal ranks & had an upper hand in the initial phase of the Battle. The fierce Rajput-Afghan charge left the Mughal army in total shock. But when the soldiers of the Mughal army were retreating from the battlefield, Babar played his master stroke.

● Betrayal by Afghans & Raja Shiladitya(later Silah-al-din):

In order to reorganize his retreating soldiers, Babur pleaded for 'Jihad' (Islamic holy war against non-Muslims), he started reading verses from the holy 'Quran'. His plan worked. Not only the Mughal soldiers, but also the Afghan soldiers of Rana's army United in the name of Jihad. The Mughal & Afghan troops charged the Rajputs. Now, the #Rajput army was left in total shock. Before Rana Sanga could recover from the shock of betrayal, he got shot multiple times and felt unconscious on the ground.

Assuming that Rana Sanga was dead, a Rajput Chieftain named Shiladitya Raisen (later converted to Islam & became Silah-al-din) also joined hands with Babur & embraced Islam. Now, the moral of the Rajput soldiers was shattered. Thus, the Rajput army was eventually defeated by the Mughal forces with a considerable change in the numbers-game.

Sanga was taken away from battlefield in unconscious state by Prithviraj Singh I Kachwaha and Maldeo Rathore of Marwar. After regaining consciousness he took an oath to never return to Chittor till he defeated Babur and conquered Delhi. He also stopped wearing Turban and used to wrap up cloth over his head. While he was preparing to wage another war against Babur he was poisoned by his own nobles who did not want another Battle with Babur. He died in Kalpi in January 1528. He was succeeded by his son Ratan Singh II.