It was the year 1556. Medieval India was in its usual state of political chaos. The lion’s flag of the Mughal Empire had been planted in Delhi after Babur’s victory over Ibrahim Lodhi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. (See ‘An Empire Forged from Cannon Smoke’) and over the Rajputs at Khanua (See ‘Consolidating an Empire’) But within 4 years Babur was dead. His son Humayan, struggled to hold the fledging kingdom together, but buffeted on all sides, he was defeated by the Afghan chief Sher Shah Suri in the Battle of Chausa in 1539 (See Battle of Chausa’)and forced to flee to Kabul. The Suri Empire now held sway over Delhi and India.
With the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1545, the usual fratricidal wars began within his sons, weakening the Suri Empire. Humayun seized his moment to reoccupy Delhi and Agra in 1555, and once again it was Mughal rule over Delhi. But a few months after his victorious return, Humayun was dead, killed January 1556, after a freak fall down a flight of steps in the Purana Qila.
With his death, a 13 year old Akbar was hastily crowned Emperor of India in a simple ceremony at Kalanaur (near Amritsar). But he was Emperor only in name. The real power lay with his Regent – the domineering and imposing personality of Bairam Khan.
The Afghans had been pushed towards Gwalior and Adil Shah Suri, a weak, pleasure loving king, presided over the remnants of the Suri kingdom. Yet the entire functioning was in the capable hands of his Chief Minister, Hemchandra – or Hemu – one of the most charismatic figures of Indian history. The son of a humble shopkeeper from Rewari, he had risen up the ranks of the Afghan court to become Adil Shah’s most dependable general and administrator. He had won 22 consecutive battles and his political and tactical skill was legendary. With the death of Humayun, and the political chaos that followed, he realized that the time was ripe to occupy the throne of Delhi.
When Humayun presented his plan to reoccupy Delhi, Adil Shah’s response was predictable. He left the entire functioning and execution to Hemu and continued with his life of pleasure-mongering in Gwalior. Hemu meanwhile built up an alliance of Afghan and Rajput Chiefs and gathered an army of 50,000 troops, 1000 elephants, 51 cannon and 500 musketeers. He marched out in August 56, rapidly capturing the Mughal outposts of Bayana, Etawah, Shambad and Narnaul and by end September had captured Agra, the heart of the Mughal Empire. Here he consolidated himself and in end October began his march to Delhi.
Akbar and the bulk of the Mughal army were away on a campaign against rebels in Jullandhar and the defense of Delhi was entrusted to its Governor, Tardi Beg Khan – a seasoned veteran of many past campaigns. He had a force of around 30,000 cavalry, and though outnumbered by Hemu, each of his generals were seasoned veteran and his men were well-trained and battle hardened.
The armies met on 06 Oct 56 on the outskirts of Delhi with the ramparts of the Tuglaqabad fort in the background. The imposing outline of the Qutub Minar could be seen just six kilometers away, and it stood almost as a symbol of Delhi itself. Both armies arrayed themselves as per the traditional doctrine of the times – with a strong Center, two flanks, a vanguard and a reserve. The Mughal lines had Tardi Beg himself in the Center with Haider Mohamed commanding the Right Flank and Iskander Beg on the left. In the vanguard was Abdullah Uzbeg, with a strong contingent of cavalry. Hemu deployed similarly, but even as he was moving his force into their battle formation, the Mughals attacked.
The Mughal vanguard and their left flank with a combined force of around 10,000 heavily armed cavalrymen launched a furious pre-emptive strike that tore through Hemu’s right wing, killed over 3000 men and captured over 400 of his prized elephants. As Hemu’s Right Flank began withdrawing in disarray, the Mughals chased them furiously reaching right up to Hemu’s camp. Then, as was their wont, many of the soldiers stopped the battle and began looting and plundering the camp, thinking that victory was already won.
Imagine the scene. We have Hemu’s Center and Left flank intact, his right flank broken and around 10,000 Mughal cavalry looting his camp around 3 – 4 miles to his rear. His position was precarious. He could have chosen to wheel back to contest the Mughal cavalry behind him, but he did just the opposite. He realized that the Mughals too were vulnerable with their cavalry away and decided to attack the Mughal lines bang in the center.
Using 300 of his elephants and around 3000 of his best cavalry, he charged into the Mughal Left flank and Center. The attack was bolstered by the timely arrival of the Afghan Chief Haji Khan coming from Alwar who swooped down the Mughal lines from a flank while Hemu hit them from the Center. The combined assault broke the Mughal lines who fled in panic leaving behind over 8000 dead. Tardi Beg himself fled the battlefield and this set off a panicked rout.
Hemu could have chased the retreating Mughal forces and decimated it, but he did not. He chose to consolidate his position, knowing that Mughal Cavalry was still in his rear. By the time the Mughal Cavalry returned from looting his camp, Hemu had already gained control of the battlefield. They too slipped away from a flank, caught up with the rest of the withdrawing forces and went on towards Punjab to rejoin Akbar’s main forces. Hemu’s failure to decimate Tardi Beg’s forces would make a difference when the two armies met again just a month later.
The Coronation of Hemu
Hemu entered Delhi in style. He shook off his allegiance to his ineffectual ruler, Adil Shah Suri, and had himself coroneted as Samrat Hemchandra Vikramaditya – the king of kings. The sounds of Vedic chants and hymns reverberated around the Purana Qila as Hemu took over as the first Hindu king to ascend the throne of Delhi after almost 400 years. (The last being Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192). He would also be the last and his brief reign lasted just 22 days. Barely had the sounds of the celebrations died down, when Hemu once again marched out for an even more decisive confrontation with Akbar and the Mughal army which was now returning from Punjab and was poised near Panipat to contest him. His next battle – the Second Battle of Panipat – (See ‘The Cusp of Victory’) would be the only battle he ever lost, and unfortunately would also be the most decisive.