A brief Comparison of Two Historical events of great significance
| First Battle of Panipat | Battle of Bahraich | |
| Year | 1526 | 1033 |
| Belligerants | Timiurids under Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi | Raja Suheldev and Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud |
| Force Levels | Babur – 12,000[1]–25,000 soldiers [2][3] 15–20 field guns[1]Lodhi20,000 regular cavalry[3] 20,000 irregular cavalry[3] 30,000 infantry armed with swords, pikes, bows and bamboo rods[3][2] |
Salar Masud
1,00,000 Raja Suheldev and Confederation of 21 States 1,20,000. |
| Outcome of Battle | Babur defeated Lodhi and captured the throne of Delhi | The Turkish army was routed and every single barbarian marauder was killed in the battle. |
| Impact | 200 years of Islam’s Tyranny . | 160 years of peace . |
Almost every Indian would have heard of the battle of Panipat but a few would have heard of the battle of Bahraich
This book by Amish Tripathi is an attempt to fill that huge gap in our knowledge of history of Bharat.
The book starts around thousand years ago, in 1025, describing the looting of Somanath temple by Mahmud of Gazani. The temple is defended by a small force led by Prince Malledev of Suhasti (100km from present day Lucknow) Every single defender is brutally killed by the Turks and the temple is looted and destroyed.
This raid is followed by a period of sporadic raids and plunder by the Turks. The kings of small States make peace with the Turks , at an to enormous cost , to be on the winning side as the invaders were considered invincible.
Raja of Suhasti, Mordhwaj thought otherwise. He made a valiant effort to unite the hindu kingdoms against the islamic invaders , to defend Bharatvarsh.
In the course of his efforts to unite the kings, he travels across the country , sometime in stealth , with only a small contingent of soldiers , along with his son, Prince Suheldev.
In one such trip , he encounters a band of Turkish marauders, that he manages to defeat with very little casualty to his own troops.
That’s the time the Prince Suheldev makes up his mind to wage a guerrilla warfare against the Turks , till such time a united front could be established.
Years passed; the king continued in his efforts to create a confederation of States while the Prince and his band of soldiers made a name for themselves ,in the border villages as the nemesis for the Turkish Barbarians.
In 1033, the King dies and Prince Suheldev succeeds him.
Around the same time the nephew of Mahmud of Gazani, Salal Maqsud invades with an army of over 1,00,000 soldiers.
This time , his aim was not to loot and scoot but to rule over Bharat and establish an Islamic State.
The Chola empire under King Rajendra Chola was too powerful and the Turks intended to subjugate the northern kingdoms first and thereafter gradually expand southwards.
King Suheldev had forged a formidable alliance with 21 Kings and a large army was mobilized to confront the barbarians.
King Suheldev chose the plains near Bahraich to take on the Turks as the terrain was protected on both sides from possible outflanking moved ,by forests and a Lake.
What followed was a complete rout of the invaders. For once, the Turks were paid back in their own coin; there were no prisoners taken and every one of the invaders was killed in battle.
Till today ,the grave of Salar Masud stands testimony to the botched invasion. Ironically there is a cult following of Indian muslims for this barbarian while a memorial for Raja Suheldev is still in the making. That’s the typical Indian brand of secularism.
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On 16 February 2021, the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial was laid in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, through video conferencing by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the project that would include the installation of an equestrian statue of Maharaja Suheldev.[23] The Government of Uttar Pradesh, headed by Yogi Adityanath, celebrated the day as the birth anniversary of Suheldev and issued an official note on stating, “King Suheldev had fought, defeated and killed the Ghaznavid general Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud in a famous battle held on the bank of Chittora lake in Bahraich in 1033.”[24]
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Like all Amish Tripathi novels, the style is racy , descriptive and totally absorbing.
The book has been written not by one writer ,but a team of writers. The genesis of the story and the final writing was done by Amish Tripathi while composing of the first draft was left to a team of writers, who were given the general idea and recommended reasearch materials.
Keeping with the spirit of the book,
I sign off with
Jai Maa Bhaarat!
Glory to King Suheldev and Glory to Mother India.
Proud of you Murali. We need the leadership of the present Govt and UP Govt and more warriors like King Suheldev in the present time also. Bharat’s rise to it’s prenstine Glory can’t be stopped. Thanks for bringing it up Murali
It’s absolutely saddening that we have not even heard about such great heros like Raja Suheldev!
Our history has been deliberately distorted over the years.
1033 to 1191, thats nearly 160 years of peace obtained by this battle.
Why were we taught only the battles that we lost!!
Bharat, that’s a million dollar question!
Bahraich , today is a pilgrimage centre to glorify the barbarians,
Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud. His Dargah was built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
It should have been a pilgrimage center for hindu warriors.
Excellent heads up analysis of history that’s been deliberately obscured by the evil forces of adharmis. Looking forward to a copy of the book!
Thanks Murali for drawing awareness of this nugget of history, whenever we have fought united, we were invincible. Should be a part of our history textbooks.
Ash, thanks for reading. I am afraid , it is more than a nugget; it is a huge chunk of history that has been deliberately suppressed. The force levels as well as the intension of the invaders were far more serious than any other invasion.
King Suheldev should have been an household name in Bhaarat!.
Great reading
Was not aware earlier.