Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya: A Forgotten Hindu Emperor (Part 1 of 2)
His achievements notwithstanding, he is not a household name in India. His name does not ring any bells in the collective memory of Hindus. I am not even sure if any physical memorial of this Hindu Hero exists. Anecdotally, Prithvi Raj Chauhan is considered as the last Hindu ruler of Delhi. Even I had made the same assertion in one of my previous articles in Tattva [1]; and it took me a while to realize my error! It is incorrect to think that Hindus made no efforts to liberate Delhi in medieval India. Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya – the Hero of our story – made one such effort that succeeded – albeit for a brief interlude. As I read more about his life and his journey to the throne of Delhi, I was absolutely amazed by this great warrior-hero who almost succeeded in liberating India from foreign invaders – the Mughals. And more importantly, I don’t want to just narrate his life story – I want to put it in the general historical context of his times. As you will see below, his life (1501-1556) was an extremely tumultuous period in the history of India. Events that happened during this time-frame defined the course of Indian History for the next two and a half centuries. That is why I feel that it’s important for Hindus to know more about Samrat Hem Chandra and his courageous efforts.
Early Childhood
Not much is known about his childhood and early life. In fact, historians disagree about both his birth name and birth place. K.K. Bhardwaj [2] claims that perhaps his original name was Basant Rai, Hem Rai, Hem Raj or Hem Chandra Bhargava. R.C. Majumdar [3] writes that “he was born in a poor family of Dhansar section of the Baniya caste, living in a town in the southern part of Alwar”. Muslim historian Badayuni has described him as a resident of a small town called Rewari in the taluk of Mewat, and began his life as a green vendor.[2] Others believe that he was a hawker in the town of Mewat [2]. Historians mention that brought up in a religious environment, he was educated in Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Arithmatic. He was also trained in Horse riding and was fond of wrestling (Kushti) [4]. His rise to fame did not begin until late 1530s when he came in contact with the officers of Sher Shah Suri. But events that happened in north India during his youth were not as dull!
India in Hem Chandra’s Youth
In the early 1500s, huge portions India were under Islamic occupation. South India, Rajputana, Orissa and Assam were the only parts of India that remained free. In Delhi, Lodi dynasty was ruling large parts of north India. Independent sultanates ruled Gujarat and Central India. Under the Islamic occupation, Hindus was already burdened by the crushing Jizya tax [5]. At such point in 1526, a Central Asian tribal warrior named Babur attacked India. His armies marched from Kabul to Delhi via Punjab. In the first battle of Panipat (April 21, 1526) Babur defeated the joint armies of Ibrahim Lodi and Raja Vikramjit – king of Gwalior – and captured the throne of Delhi [6]. Now Rajputs under the leadership of Rana Sangramsingh of Chittor challenged Babur. They were also supported by Hasan Khan Meo [7]. But unfortunately their joint forces too were defeated by Babur in the battle of Khanwa. With this victory Babur now controlled northwestern India as well as parts of Gangetic Plains.
Figure 1: Babur’s March to Delhi from Samarkand in present day Uzbekistan [8
Babur’s reign was nothing short of disaster for India in general and Hindus in particular. Guru Nanak, who was a contemporary of Babur and witnessed cruelties of Babur’s armies on the people, wrote in detail about the atrocities committed by him and his troops. Guru Nanak poignantly wrote [2] ‘The Creator has sent Babur the Mughal as Yama disguised. There was so much slaughter that the people screamed – Didn’t You feel compassion, Lord?’
Mercifully, Babur died (January 1531) before he could consolidate his hold on India and was succeeded by a weak son – Humayun. Sensing an opportunity, Sher Khan Suri – an Afghan commander of the Lodis – who was stationed in Bihar during Ibrahim Lodi’s rule, attacked Humayun. He defeated the Mughals in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj and drove them out of Delhi [9]. He captured Delhi in May 1540, declared himself the emperor and took the name of Sher Shah Suri. His ascent was miraculous – born in a peasant family, he rose from the rank of a private and ultimately became the king of most of the northern India. After capturing Delhi, he pursued Humayun and chased the Mughal army out of India. Humayun survived only by fleeing to the refuge of the king of Iran. Sher Shah Suri’s victories, though ridding India from the foreign occupation for the time being, did not give respite to the large Hindu populace. In addition to Jizya, he continued to levy huge ‘pilgrimage tax’ on Hindu pilgrims.
Rise of Hem Chandra
Hem Chandra’s rise began at around this time. He was based in Rewari – 55 miles from Delhi – and started supplying cereals to Sher Shah’s army. Slowly he started other supplies like saltpeter (for gunpowder) to Sher Shah’s army and that’s when he came in contact with Ismail Shah – Sher Shah’s son. After Sher Shah’s death in 1545, Ismail Shah succeeded him. Recognizing Hem Chandra’s caliber, he initially appointed Hem Chandra as Shahang-i-Bazar, a Persian word meaning ‘Market Superintendent,’ who managed the mercantile system throughout the empire. This post gave Hem Chandra an opportunity to interact with the king frequently in order to apprise him of the trade and commercial situation of the kingdom [4]. After proving his abilities as Market Superintendent, he rose to become Daroga-i-Chowki or Chief of Intelligence [4]. Ismail Shah’s health deteriorated in 1552 and he shifted his base from Delhi to Gwalior, at which point he promoted Hem Chandra to Governor of Punjab. Hem Chandra held this position until Ismail Shah’s death in October 1553. [4]
After his death, Ismail Shah’s nephew Adil Shah killed Ismail Shah’s 12 year old son Firuz and usurped the throne. But he was not a capable ruler. Soon after becoming king, he appointed Hem Chandra as his Wazir or Prime Minister and started neglecting his responsibilities. Unhappy with the murder of Firuz and Adil Shah’s overall incompetence, various members of the Suri dynasty revolted against him. Soon, the Suri kingdom got divided into 4 large pieces [10]. Sikandar Suri declared himself the king of Punjab. Ismail Suri captured Delhi and Agra. Muhammad Suri declared himself the ruler of Bengal. Only Bihar up to the vicinity of Agra remained in possession of Adil Shah. In addition to these members of the royal family, many Afghan governors declared independence and refused to pay taxes to Adil Shah. During this time as Prime Minister, Hem Chandra proved his mettle. Commanding Adil Shah’s army, he fought numerous battles defeating each rebelling governor [2]. He defeated and killed Muhammad Shah Suri – self appointed ruler of Bengal. He defeated Ibrahim Shah Suri twice [2]. Most importantly, with these victories, he not only controlled the administration and the treasury, but also the victorious armies of the empire. In the meantime, Sikandar Suri too defeated Ibrahim Suri and captured Delhi and Agra.
At this time, sensing the general anarchy and disintegration of his Afghan enemies, Humayun – thoroughly defeated by Sher Shah 15 years ago but sustained and supported by Iranian support, invaded India once again. His commander Bairam Khan easily defeated Sikandar Suri and reinstated Humayun to the throne of Delhi (July 1555). But Humayun’s control over his newly conquered kingdom was tenuous at best and he died in January 1556. Hem Chandra was in Bengal when Humayun died. Humayun’s death gave Hem Chandra an ideal opportunity to defeat the Mughals. With about 50,000 soldiers, he embarked on a winning march from Bengal through present day Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh [4]. Many Mughal officers and commanders evacuated their positions and fled in panic. Hem Chandra’s army entered Agra without a fight [4]. He was now poised to liberate Delhi from the foreign aggressors. With a string of lightening quick victories over his enemies, he commanded the respect of his forces and trust of his officers – both Hindu and Afghan [2, 4]. At this point, rather than acting on behalf of an ineffective king, he declared himself as the king with the consent of his commanders.
Mughal general Bairam Khan, sensing the gravity of the situation, sent reinforcements to the Governor of Delhi – Tardi Beg Khan and the Mughal Army battled Hem Chandra’s forces in present day Tughlaqabad [4]. In this battle, Hem Chandra arranged 300 elephants and selected cavalry in the center with loosely guarded front and flanks. As the battle began, Mughal forces overcame the front and even attacked Hem Chandra’s flanks. At one point it appeared as if Mughals had captured 3000 Afghan men and 400 elephants. Sensing victory, Mughal armies dispersed to plunder the enemy camp. At that point Hem Chandra charged on Tardi Beg’s camp with his reserved forces in the center. Seeing a force marching directly towards them and without any armies to stop them, the Mughal commanders fled from the battle field. The result was chaos in the Mughal forces and it resulted in their total defeat.
Shreyas Limaye is a student of Hindu History. He can be reached at shreyaslimaye@gmail.com
This article is the property of Shreyas S. Limaye. Copyright and other intellectual property laws protect this article. Reproduction or retransmission of the materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, without his prior consent is a violation of copyright law.
References
1. http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2007/07/dharmaveer-sambhaji-by-shreyas-limaye/
2. Bhardwaj, KK “Hemu: Napoleon of medieval India”, Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 2000.
3. Majumdar, RC. “The History and Cultures of the Indian People”, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (in 12 Vols) , VII ,97
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samrat_Hem_Chandra_Vikramaditya
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizya#Historical_development
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babur#The_battle_with_Ibrahim_Lodi
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khanwa
8. http://maps.google.co.in
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sher_Shah_Suri
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Adil_Shah
11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Orissa
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagara_Empire
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July 3rd, 2010 13:23
QUITE AN INTERESTING ARTICLE.THROWS LIGHT ON THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY FORCES THAT WERE IN ACTION IN INDIA AT THAT POINT OF TIME.
R.S
July 7th, 2010 00:36
Is he not the renowned General HEMU?
July 23rd, 2010 07:29
Well ! Bhalchandra, this indeed is the story of the great forgotten Hindu hero HEMU. Tragedy is that he is addressed and known by different names. In the entire article above, which is a very good decription of the Last Hindu Emperor of North India, Hemu is not mentioned even once. Before February 2008, on Wikipedia, he was known only as ‘Hemu’. His full name ‘Hem Chandra Vikramaditya’ came to light when in controvertial movie ‘Jodha-Akbar’ he was shown shabbily. Even film makers had not heard much about Hemu and his achievments. He was shown as a villen in the movie to pamper the hero of the film Akbar.
But now ‘Hemu’ or ‘Hem Chandra Vikramaditya’ or ‘Hemu Vikramaditya’ is getting known is written about. Hemu was a Secular and Nationalist but followed ‘Bhartiya Sanskriti values’ and Hindutva boldly. Despite being an associate of Afghan rulers in the beginning, he never compromised on his religious values. Despite fighting and winning 22 battles across North India in which he killed many rebellions, he remained a pure vegetarian. He was not after money, as he distributed the loot promptly among his forces. These things make him a constructive, positive and respectable ruler.
Mughal historians have described him in a poor light delibrately. Hemu was a well educated person, and was dealing with Pourtugese importing Saltpetre and Guns from them. But he is described as a small time businessmsn by historians, which is not true.
Even after attaining independence from foreign rules, Hemu is not given any recognition by the Govt. of India.
September 7th, 2010 13:23
Still confused, In the second battle of panipat we see another hemu, against akbars forces, that war was commanded by bairam khan , Is this the same hemu,
Then he is a fool, all knows that in the first battle of panipat 1526, baburs army of 10,000 defeated 1,35,000 member army of ibrahim lodi and vikramjith of gwalior combined, That war was won with horses and gun powder by babur,
the elephnts of delhi defeated lodi
knowing this hemu conducted the war on elephant back and a stray arrow hit his eyes and got killed and a victory seemed war was lost by hemu
my god,
September 11th, 2010 09:18
For Hemu Panipat’s war was his 23rd battle. He had already won 22 continuously, many of them sitting on Elephants. Commanding a war sitting on an elephant has many advantages also. One can have better view of the war-zone or horses are generally scared of Elephants etc. etc.
Historians have called his hitting by an arrow ‘an accident’ as normally arrows loose momentum by the time it reaches the attacked. But yes! the fact remains that the arrow hit him when he was atop an elephant. Hemu had good stock of Cannons with him. In fact after Babur used Cannons in 1526 war at Panipat, Hemu, found good business opportunity in trading Guns and Gunpowder which he supplied to the army of Sher Shah Suri. He started importing Gunpowder initially from Portugeuse who were well entranched in Goa by then. Also Hemu established Cannon casting units in Rewari, in present day Haryana to supply to Suri empire.
September 16th, 2010 05:08
sudhir ji ,thanking you for the valuable information, Hemu was a great man for sure , in my primary classes in kerala we were taught about this great man,
He is never A FORGOTTEN HERO, the ideas of the lost warriors and the reason for their failures are now taught in army schools,which is actually giving the army great lessons, failures are indeed neccessary for success
September 16th, 2010 11:32
Suresh Ji, when we say Hemu or Hem Chandra Vikramaditya is a forgotten hero, we mean Govt. of India or Govts. of Haryana, Delhi, UP or Bihar,which have been the places of Hemu’s activities and battles have not done enough to perpetuate the memory of this great freedom fighter who fought against the Mughals. There is not a single memorial of Hemu in Delhi, where he defeated Akbar’s army and established the native secular ‘Hindu Raj’ in 1556 and was bestowed the title of ‘Vikramaditya’ and ‘Samrat’, by virtue of winning 22 battles continuously. All his commanders, Rajputs and Afghans had lent their support to Hemu. The history of ‘Purana Quila’ in Delhi does not mention the event of his Rajyabhishake at all. In fact the fort has no mention of Hemu any where. It mentions wholly about Sher Shah Suri and Humanyun. We are still taught the history written by the invaders.
Delhi is filled with Roads named after Mughal aggressers like Babur, Humanyun, Akbar, Shahjahan and even Aurangzeb etc. etc. but there is no road or memorial for Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, who was the only Hindu king to rule from Delhi for a brief period in between 1192, when Prithvi Raj Chauhan lost to Moh. Gauri, and 1947. In brief, even in independant India, the Mughal invaders who looted natives, destroyed their Temples, Sanskriti and religion are remembered by Government of India, and those who defended their mother land are ignored. This is abominable.
September 22nd, 2010 06:24
It is true that some memorials of Hem Chandra Vikramaditya at places where he won wars will inspire the youth and common people of India.
His secular credentials reveal that he was a person with extra ordinary qualities. Coming from a humble background, he reached the highest position of the land by sheer hardwork, valour and intelligence. I wonder if Govt.of India, Ministry of Culture knows about this warrior of medieval period. There seems to be no reason why this Hero should be ignored.
September 22nd, 2010 13:28
I firmly believe that Regarding Hemu, the memories and memorials are erected in our hearts, Why i dont understand is that why we always expect from the government , The people can do, Advaniji could have helped, But now it is our role and chance. I am deeply immersed in the history of hemus time, I too travelled The route humayoon took ,from delhi to kabul and from there to herat and to iran border. In a village near herat in afghan i heard people talking Kerala language and was so surprised, The traces of sanskrit language
and me also is a bit confused after reading Hemu was from near by rawalpindi in pakistan, any way govt should do something like a real study into the glorious
past histories of hemu and as well as the hindu shahi of afghanistan who fought 800 years against the arabs and seljuk turks
September 22nd, 2010 15:55
I may submit here that Hem Chandra Vikramaditya had belonged to Rewari, a place in Mewat, now part of South Haryana, 50 miles from Delhi and not near Rawalpindi as you mentioned.
It is an interesting information that you followed the route taken by Humanyun. would like to know more about your observations. Govts., and Universities unfortunately are not doing any thing to find the truth or carry out research on the period of Hemu, though he remains the only Hindu king to rule from Delhi after 1192, when Prithvi Raj Chohan was defeated by Gauri, till 1947.
Though Hemu was a secular king, yet Congress does not give him due importance. You rightly suggested that leaders like Advani can do some thing to get Hemu his due in future.
September 23rd, 2010 09:31
Thanking you very much sudha ji, Afghanistan is the only place(i think) to use go for Cow ,and go ksheer for milk, chapramancha kattil for coat,and cheruppu for slippers,outside kerala, migration of brahmins from afghanistan to kerala
The area of aryan land was from egypt to combodia and tibet to batticaloa in lanka, alexanders biography says that on reaching egypt he quoted that ,here the indica starts/ some historians pointed out hemus presence in multan,
But i believe in karma phala also, after the mahabharata war shakunis men left to kandahar their palace was empty, no gandhari( kandahari ),no shakuni
These men were so ferocious fighters that after a gap of some thousands of years they recaptured indraprastam, but the names were diferent mahmud of ghori , mahmud of ghasni,iltumish, kutbdin,
i used to smile at these karmaphalas or jokes of history, o god
Crossing so treacherous lands ghasni reached somanath and shattered the idol, he says that was mannath ,the idol which escaped prophet mohammads wrath, now the place was called so mannath or sumannath, su indicates respect. su+mannath is somanath
history is an undefined joker some times
This karma phala affected hemu as well, from victory he lost 2 nd panipat war
My god the 3 rd was fought on 12 km battle line between the marattis and afghanis led by ahmad shah abdali,, same the maratis were about to win
but during night time abdali saw 2 camp fires, to his question some body replied its the dinner time , again he asked ,so why 2 fire ,answer was schedule caste soldiers cannot go to the upper people for food
Delighted abdali ordered attack at that moment, The upper caste soldiers yelled for help. but alas schedule soldiers couldnt,
abdali left with a big booty ,22,000 elephants.23.000 women, 20.000 children
and later as an isolated man in the hills he died ,he was a leper
thanks suresh
November 19th, 2010 11:13
Birth Place & Caste of Vikramaditya Hemu ??
Some learned historians/writters claim that Hemu was born at Machheri Village of Alwar in 1501 and spent his youth in Reewari ( Haryana) . His father , a Brahmin, was a purohit. He was unable to earn sufficient income to feed his family mainly due to persecution of Hindu religious ceremonies by mugals. Therefore he started trading in food/salt and Hemu became saltpeter on street.
(These learned historians/writters fail to establish any reliable connections/ relations between Adil Shah,the ruler of Sasaram & Hemu with Alwar or Rewari . It is a matter of common sense that only closed and trusted friends since childhood would be appointed as Prime Minister cum Military chief of any Ruler especially Mugal ones. Since Adil Shah was born & bought up in Sasaram so Hemu must have belonged to Sasaram or near about area . However Hemu’s wife might have got refuge/shelter in Reewari after an escape from Delhi in 1556.As far as his caste is concerned normally it is traditionally perceived that those engaged in business/trading about six centuries ago were from Bania/Vanik or vaishya and not from Brahmin community. Thus the Rauniyar’s century old claim that Hemu was their legend, seems to be not out of contention.However a detailed investigation/research is required .
In the absence of any historical disclosure one has to go thorough the history of Sher Shah /Adil Shah (of Suri Dynasty) the Ruler of Sasaram to know who Vikramaditya Hemu was ???.
Sury Dynasty
Son of a Petty Afgan Jagirdar of Sasaram, Sher Shah was born in Punjab.He escaped from the ill treatment of his step mother. He entered the services of the Afgan Governor of Jaunpur Later on, Sher Shah took up the service under the governor of Bengal and captured whole of Bengal by 1530. Later he became the ruler of Bihar(??). He defeated Humayun in the battle of Chausa and Kanauj in AD 1540. Sher Shah also conquered Malwa in 1542 and Raisin in 1543 and died in 1545. After his death his son Jalal ruled under the title of Islam Shah till 1553. Firuz ( Son of Jalal/ Islam Shah) was put to death by Mubariz Khan who was the nephew of Sher Shah and brother of Jalal’s own mother. Mubariz Khan took up the title of Mohd. Adil Shah. He was not a capable leader. His minister Hemu rose to importance and became Army Chief-cum-Prime Minister of Adil Shah, who occupied Bengal with his base at Chunar.
Rauniyar/Rouniyar : Many Rauniyar will agree with our view that our ancestors were small traders and most of them might have expressed their solidarity as warrior and joined hands with their hero Hemu belonging to their own caste. Since Hemu lost the battle and his wife escaped from Delhi with her trusted hindu solders to a unknown destination, our ancestors started being called / termed as Raun ( battle) har ( looser). The dialect was corrupted/distorted in next few centuries to be termed as Rauniyar.
For more visit at http://www.rouniyar.com
October 17th, 2011 12:00
Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya also called ‘Hemu’ belonged to Rewari a city in Haryana now (earlier a part of Punjab). The area was also called Mewat earlier. Narnaul, another city in South Haryana(50 KMs from Rewari and earlier part of Punjab) was the birth place of Sher Shah Suri, whose grand father was a big land lord there and whose Mazar still exists in Narnaul built by Sher Shah in 1540s and presently managed by ASI. Sher Shah’s family had known Hemu’s family and this was the reason why Hemu got large supply orders during the reign of Sher Shah Suri. When Sher Shah’s son Islam Shah took the charge after Sher Shah’s death, he took Hemu as his advisor and consultant and delegated many important administrative positions to him including Governorship of Punjab and later on Delhi. After Islam Shah’s death, Adil Shah took the charge killing Islam Shah’s son. When Adil faced rebellion all around, he appointed Hemu as Prime Minister cum Chief of Army to quell rebellion in various states.