It was a Vaishya (Rouniyar) of Sasaram who marched from Sasaram to Delhi like Napolean’s famous march of Itlay .“He came, he saw and he conquered.” The history is always written for and by the winner. It is an irony that the winner of 22nd consecutive battle, who stormed ,dethroned Akber and captured Delhi on 7-10-1556 in a crucial battle and took the avenge of standing insult of three hundred fifty years (defeat of Prithvi raj Chouhan in 1192 AD ) , does not find an adequate space in our historical discourses. This unsung and most colourful hero of medieval Indian history has unfortunately not been a darling of historians. Was it because his father was not a ruler but a petty food merchant? He himself was not a prince but a saltpeter on street ? or because he didn’t belong to one of the higher castes? Was it because of his disadvantages of being a vaishya ?? or was it because he was beheaded (after having fallen unconscious, despite being on a winning spree in the second battle of Panipat) by the mugal emperor Akber who dominated the history, by remunerating Abul Fazal for writing his deeds in his favour? Though Abul Fazal declared Akbar the great(?) a secular whereas while going through history it appears that a Hindu Commoner from Vaishya community was much superior than Mughal Emperor Akbar the great.
Voice of Vaishya: Should vaishya across the country not raise their joint voice and appeal to the government of India to build/erect a statue of Vikramaditya Hemu at the main entrance of Lal Quila to give due honour to a hero who has remained unsung till now despite being the last hindu emperor having dethroned the mughals for the first time on October 7, 1556? We, at www.rouniyar.com, strongly feel and appeal to all hindus to celebrate this red letter day as a glorious day of Indian history.
Emergence of Hemu as Napoleon of Medieval India
Hemu, the Army Chief-cum-Prime Minister of Adil Shah, was sent to crush Ibrahim (Adil Shah's brother-in-law), a rebel. He defeated Ibrahim twice at Kalpi and Khanna. Ibrahim fled to Bayana (Bulandshahar) where he was besieged by Hemu.In the meantime, Adil Shah was attacked by Mohammed Shah of Bengal. The ruler of Bengal had conquered up to Jaunpur; intending to occupy Kalpi in order to proceed to Delhi, which was under the Mughals. Under such circumstances, Adil Shah recalled his most trusted warrior Hemu. The Mughal Governors were in fact so scared of Hemu that they fled for safety of their lives as soon as they heard his name. With Hemu joining the battle, Mohammad Shah was soon defeated at Chapparghat, 20 miles from Kalpi. Adil Shah occupied Bengal.
In January 1556, Humayun died in Delhi. His son Akbar was only thirteen years old when he ascended the throne. The other rivals for the throne of Delhi were the three princes of Sher Shah Suri who were seeking to expel the Mughals from India. Akbar had placed Mughal Governor Tardi Beg Khan to defend Delhi.
In first week of Oct 1556 Hemu decided to set up his own and marched with a large force to storm Delhi. "October 7, 1556 was a red letter day for Hindus; for the alien rule had ended and a powerful Hindu Commandor, the winner of 22 nd crucial consecutive battles was on the throne of Delhi & Agra. The standing insult of three hundred fifty years was avenged by a daring Hindu commoner from a vaishya community. The entire country from Gwalior upto Satluj river came under the control of Hemachandra. Wisely he proclaimed Hindu supremacy by crowning himself as Hindu Emperor-Maharaja Hemachandra Vikramaditya. His love for Hindu swaraj and marshal skills are comparable with the qualities of great heroes like Rana Pratap or Shivaji. After coronation Hemu consolidated his position: raised an army of 30,000 Hindu soldiers. He also won the loyality of Pathans by liberal treatment and distribution of cash awards which he gave to them from time to time. Due to this a large part of their artillery and nearly 1500 elephants became part of his formidable force. With this army he prepared himself to drive the Mughals out.
He had his coronation at Purana Qila in Delhi on 6th Oct. 1556 in the presense of all Afgan Sardars and Hindu Senapatis. In course of consolidating the hindu forces to dethrone and to drive away the mughals/pathans from India, Hemu tried to unite hindu forces and had made an earnest appeal to all hindu kings to lend their support. However, the hindu kings belonging to upper castes out rightly rejected the appeal owing to his low caste and poor parentage. Thus Hemu’s heroic attempt to establish Hindu Raj in India failed, jeopardizing the sovereignty of Hindustan.
Terrified by the fast and piercing movement of Hemu, and to counter his growing power, Bairam Khan (Akbar's guardian) marched towards Delhi. On November 5 , 1556 both the armies met at Panipat. Hemu with a large army including 1,500 war elephants had initial success.
There was a pitched battle and Hemu was on a winning spree when a stray arrow struck him in the eye to reverse the fate of battle.The trouble was the Hindu Kings commanded from the front, not likes muslim generals who remained in the middle of his army formations. So the Hindu generals had to be visible constantly to their soldiers, so that the enemy targeted them easily as they sat high on elephants.The Mughals luckily won. He fell unconscious. As in many other battles, the loss of the leader caused panic among the troops and turned the tide of the battle. . Bairam pleaded Akbar to perform the holy duty of slaying the infidel and earn the Islamic holy title of 'Ghazi'. Among much self-congratulation Akbar then severed the head of unconscious Hemu with his saber. Hemu’s father was too executed when he refused the accept the islam.
There was no fault, no blunder in planning and strategy; nor was there any want of courage or bravery on the part of Hemachandra Vikramaditya or his generals, but yet the Mughals got a chance. This battle, known as Second Battle of Panipat was an epoch-making event in the history of India as it resulted in re-establishment of the Mughal empire in India. Hindus could not produce another Hemachandra Vikramaditya for nearly two centuries. It was only in 1737 AD that Baji Rao Peshwa's forces reached Turkman Gate in Delhi and Mohammad Shah was forced to take shelter in Agra.
References :- Hemu
(A) Hemu a Rauniyar Vaishya :-
1. Rahul Sanskritayan in his book “Akbar “( Page 4-10)
2. Acharya Pandit Rambali Pandey in his article Vikramadityank published by Kashi Nagripracharini Sabha
3. Hawaldhari Ram Gupta ‘Haldhar’ in his book “ History of Palamu “
( B ) Hemu a Vaishya
1. The New Cambridge History of India , John F Richards, The Mughal Emperor Page No 13
2. Glorious Contributions by backward classes to Hindustan & India By N Nirakar
3. The Kingdom of Afghanistan By G.P Tate, page 22
4. The Rediscovery of India; A new subcontinent By Ansgar Hussain Khan, Page 67
5. Hemu - A forgotten Hero of Indian History, By KK Bhardwaj
6. Hemu - Napoleon of Medieval India , By KK Bhardwaj
7. www.hindutva.org/dalithindus
8. www.hinduwiki.com/index.php.?title=Backward-caste_hindu-wariors
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