Afghan Rule, 1539-1576
Afghan Rule started in Bengal in 1539 after the discomfiture of Humayun at Chausa at the hands of Sher Khan and ended in 1576 with the Mughal victory at rajmahal over daud karrani. But long before Sher Khan (who assumed the title of Sher Shah after his victory at Chausa had wrested Bengal from Jahangir Quli Khan, the Mughal deputy, in October 1539, the Afghans had entered the services of the Bengal sultans. Like the Sharqi sultans of Jaunpur, the sultans of Bengal too used to recruit Afghans in their services. For example, the last Habshi Sultan Muzaffar Shah (1491-94 AD) had a few thousand Afghans in his army. Sultan Husain Shah (1494-1519 AD) too had in his service a good number of Afghan officers and soldiers who subsequently played an important role as generals and administrators under Nusrat Shah (1519-33 AD). So by the time Sher Shah conquered Bengal, the Afghans were no strangers. They now found their own man on the throne, first of Bengal and Bihar and ultimately of the Indian empire.
Bengal under the Sur governors (1539-53 AD)
Realising justly the importance of Bengal for his empire building, Sher Shah paid his utmost attention for its proper administrative reorganisation. He deposed his first governor Khizir Khan for treacherous activities within a span of two years and, as a novel scheme, subdivided Bengal including Chittagong into a number of smaller units, each under a separate Muqta, and appointed Qazi Fadilat, a learned scholar of Agra, as the supreme superintendent with a jurisdiction on all the subordinate muqtas. Sher Shah's plan worked well and the Afghans became so permanently domiciled in Bengal that its climate and culture had transformed them almost beyond recognition vis-a-vis the non-Afghan Bengalis.
Islam Shah (1545-53 AD), son and successor of Sher Shah, wielded a very firm control over the whole of Bengal. But in his bid to further centralise the administration he removed Qazi Fadilat and appointed as governor his own relative Muhammad Khan Sur in 1545 AD. The new governor retained his position by successfully chastising a rebel named Sulaiman Khan alias Kali Das Gajdani in 1546-48. Subsequently when the unworthy Adil Shah had usurped the Afghan throne of Delhi by murdering Islam Shah's son and successor Firuz Shah, Bengal governor Muhammad Sur deemed it below his dignity to acknowledge the authority of the usurper and declared independence in 1553 AD with the title of Sultan Shamsuddin Muhammad Shah Ghazi. His successors ruled Bengal up to 1563 AD, when his line was brought to an end with the ascendancy of the Karrani Afghans in Bengal.
Bihar witnessed the arrival and settlement of Afghans right from the beginning of the 13th century and this process gained momentum with Afghan ascendancy under the Lodis at Delhi in 1451 AD. Darya Khan Nuhani was succeeded by his son Bahar Khan Nuhani in Bihar. The latter shook off Lodi allegiance and with the support of the majority of the eastern Afghans declared himself independent under the title of Sultan Muhammad Nuhani sometime after 1522 AD. In 1527 his death brought his son Jalal Khan Nuhani to the throne. In the meantime Mahmud Lodi, brother of Ibrahim Lodi, championed the Afghan cause and the supporters of the fallen dynasty rallied round him. Very soon he wrested Bihar from Jalal who found political asylum with Nusrat Shah of Bengal. In spite of many initial successes Mahmud too was forced to take shelter in the court of Nusrat as a refugee in consequence of a hot pursuit by Babur.
Babur's death in 1530, however, turned the scale and Mahmud Lodi again took the field for Afghan resurgence. But he was defeated by Humayun at Dorah in 1532, retired from politics and subsequently died in Orissa in 1542 AD. In the meantime Sher Shah steered clear of the tangled politics by ousting all other rivals including Humayun.
In his administrative rearrangements Islam Shah appointed a certain Saiyyed Yahya as muqta of Bihar in 1548/9 AD. But after the former's death in 1553 AD northern Bihar passed under the control of Sultan Shamsuddin Muhammad Shah of Gaur while in southern Bihar sulaiman karrani and Fath Khan Batani were in joint command.
Independent Sur Sultanate (1553-63 AD) of the four sultans of this dynasty
Muhammad Shah and Bahadur Shah proved themselves of much ambition and ability. Sultan Muhammad Shah had not only reconquered Chittagong from the Tripura kings but also made inroads into the Arakanese territories. In Bihar also his authority was recognised. His undisputed hold over eastern India tempted him to contest with Sultan Adil Shah Sur for the sovereignty of northern India. He captured Jaunpur and thereupon marched upon Kalpi and Agra with Delhi as his goal. But at Chhapparghatta, Adil Shah and his general Himu intercepted him and the Bengal sultan was killed along with his followers except a few in the battle fought in December 1555.
This catastrophic defeat of the Bengal forces, however, did not dampen its spirit. Khizir Khan, the eldest son of the late sultan, ascended the throne with the title Ghiyasuddin Abul Muzaffar Bahadur Shah.
The new sultan killed his uncle Khan Jahan, who attempted to play a traitor, and thus secured his position. Sultan Bahadur Shah marched against Adil Shah to avenge his father's murder. In the fierce battle that look place in April. 1557 AD/964 AH at Fathpur, four miles to the west of Surajgarh in Munghyr, Bahadur's forces utterly routed Adil's army. Adil Shah too fell captive and was killed. Bahadur ruled over the vast territory from Jaunpur to Chittagong and cultivated friendship with Khan-i-Zaman, governor of akbar in the eastern provinces.
Bahadur's death in 1560 AD brought his brother Jalal Shah to power and he exercised it till his death in 1563 AD. He had alienated his nobles by arrogant and disrespectful dealings that paved the way for Karrani takeover as a result of Taj Khan Karrani's victory over the usurper Ghiyasuddin III.
Karrani dynasty (1563-76 AD)
The third quarter of the 16th century saw the rise and fall of a new Afghan dynasty in eastern India. The first decade of this era was the time when the Afghan domination in northern India had already faded away and ultimately disappeared before the re-emerging Mughal pressure under Humayun and Akbar. In consideration of their heavy losses in northern India, the Afghans regarded the emergence of the Karrani dynasty in eastern India as a new attempt to preserve their rule, and if possible, to drive away the Mughals. The fugitive Afghans from northern India turned towards Bihar and Bengal in large numbers.
Son of Jamal Khan Karrani, who was a Sahib-i-Jama and grandee of Afghan sultans like Sher Shah and Islam Shah, Taj Khan had to his credit a long political career ever since the rise of Shar Shah in the beginning of 1540. His steady rise to political eminence culminated in his assumption of sovereign status with the capture of Gaur, capital of Bengal from the usurper Ghiyasuddin III in 1563 AD. Badauni rightly calls him the wisest and most learned man among the Afghans.
Taj Khan was succeeded by his brother Sulaiman Karrani in 1563 AD. His skilful discharge of sovereign authority till his death in 1572 AD/980 AH earned him fame and glory. Sulaiman's initial measures included his shifting of the capital of Bengal from Gaur to Tandah; the climate of Gaur being detrimental to the health of both men and beasts.
Highly ambitious by nature Sulaiman Karrani was jealous of Fath Khan Batani who was predominant in south Bihar with the famous fort of Rohtas as his headquarters. Sulaiman realised that as long as his potential rival Fath khan held Rohtas his own position in Bengal could not be quite secure and accordingly he followed it as a policy that Fath Khan should either be destroyed or at least reconciled to his own authority. Through diplomatic maneuvers Sulaiman ultimately so thoroughly pacified Fath Khan that the latter forgot the entire bitter episode of the recent past and accepted service under Sulaiman until he was perfidiously put to death on malicious charge of seditious correspondence with Sulaiman's enemies. Subsequently two other Batani nobles Mian Hasan Batani and Mian Allahdad Batani whom Sulaiman had identified as his potential enemies were hunted down to his utter relief.
The conquest of Orissa was another feat of Sulaiman's glorious and outstanding military career. He defeated Mukunda Deva, the raja of Orissa, in 1567 AD/975 AH and made adequate arrangements for its administration. Sulaiman then captured Kuch Bihar in 1568 AD. The Afghans advanced as far as Tezpur and occupied a number of places in the environs and outskirts of the Kuch capital.
Expediency and far-sightedness masked Sulaiman's relation with the Mughals. He displayed unique statesmanship and skilful diplomacy by following the wise policy of placating the Mughals with occasional gifts and presents as well as by the lip service of outward submission with a promise to recite the khutba and strike the coins in the name of Akbar.
Sulaiman Shah Karrani, the ablest and greatest Afghan sultan of eastern India, died perhaps in October 1572 AD/980 AH and was buried at Tanda. His son Bayazid Karrani, who assumed all royal prerogatives with the concurrence of all the leading nobles including Lodi Khan Karrani, succeeded him. Bayazid as a prince had previously held out great promise for the future, but now as the sultan he initiated a policy of harassment and persecution. The aggrieved party at court had him murdered in less than a month's time and offered the throne to Bayazid's younger brother Daud Khan Karrani.
Daud's accession witnessed dissension among the different factions of the Afghan nobility. Daud inaugurated his rule by first avenging his brother's murder and punishing the regicide Hansu, the son of his uncle Khwaja Iliyas Karrani. He assumed absolute sovereignty by having the khutba read and coins struck in his own name to the utter displeasure of Akbar, his land-hungry and jealous neighbour. Daud's next step was to appoint the leading noble Lodi Khan to the governorship of Bihar and pacification of another potential noble Gujar Khan who was about to install Bayazid's son as a rival claimant of the throne. Once Gujar was won over, the other seditious elements in Bihar sank deep down the surface.
The dramatic shifts and tumultuous developments in the internal polities of the Afghan kingdom were of singular importance for the Mughal imperialists who were always on the look out for an opportunity to make the best use of it. In the meantime Daud foolishly had his general Lodi Khan murdered which worsened the situation and Lodi's well wishers took his son Ismail to munim khan, the Mughal governor, in order to provide for his safety.
This dramatic turn of the situation offered Munim Khan the opportunity to besiege Patna, which Daud immediately evacuated and reached Katak in the farthest Orissa via Garhi, Tanda and Satgaon. The Mughals hotly pursued him there, and war became inevitable. The battle of Tukaroi (3 March 1575) ended through signing of the Peace Treaty of Katak whereby Daud is said to have agreed to become a Mughal feudatory committing himself never to revolt.
Munim Khan's death brought Husain Qhli Khan Jahan, nephew of the famous Bairam Khan, in the Mughal war-front as the new governor. Both sides were in a frenzy of battle cry. The battle of rajmahal, fought on 12 July 1576 AD, sealed Daud's fate. He was captured alive and taken before Khan-i-Jahan who ordered his execution.
The Karrani sultans were rulers of commendable attainments. They lost their dominions more because of their internal dissension and treachery of Hindu confidants than because of the much-stressed military superiority of Mughal imperialists.
But for the rise of a new Afghan dynasty under the leadership of Qatlu Khan Nuhani, around whom the leaderless Afghans now rallied, the Afghan resistance to Mughal arms in eastern India was to die down with the extinction of the Karrani dynasty. From his main centre Ghoraghat, Qatlu wielded undisputed power over vast territories in Bihar and Orissa as well and successfully won over to his side the local Hindu landed aristocracy. His false show of submission in 1584 was cast aside leading to the Mughal punitive expeditions against him under mansingh in 1590 AD, but no harm could be caused to him till he passed away of short illness.
Among the notable Afghan leaders after Qatlu, mention must be made of Isa Khan Nuhani, his sons Khwaja Sulaiman Nuhani (1592-94 AD) and Khwaja Usman Nuhani (1594 -1612 AD). While Isa acted as regent of Qatlu's son Nasir Nuhani, Sulaiman succumbed to an explosion inside the Afghan fort in 1594 AD. It was now Khwaja Usman Nuhani's (also known as usman khan afghan) turn to assume the leadership of the Afghans. He collected a vast following of about 20,000 strong and proclaimed himself sultan. He became an ally of Isa Khan Masnad-i-Ala of Bhati and other indigenous rajahs, and zamindars with his command over vast regions beyond the Brahmaputra that flowed between his own and the Mughal territories. His protracted struggle against the Mughal reached its height during islam khan chisti's governorship (1608 –13 AD). But Usman's sudden death from a fatal injury in the battlefront led to the total surrender of his followers to their Mughal adversaries.
Bibliography
1. JN Sarkar (ed), History of Bengal, II, Dhaka, 1948;
2. MA Rahim, History of the Afghans in India, Karachi, 1961;
3. M Ibrahim, Afghan Rule in Eastern India (1535-1612), Unpublished PhD Thesis, Aligarh Muslim University, India, 1986.
|