This is a question that is difficult to answer as depending upon perception one can opt for any warrior from Porus who stopped Alexander to Hari Singh Nalwa who brought havoc on the Afghans in the North West. Then we have Shivaji Maharaja who battled the Moguls and Guru Gobind and Banda Abrader who also fought the Moslem tirelessly. But among all these warriors my vote will go to Samrat Hemchandra Vikramaditya, popularly called Hemu.
I vote for Hemu because of the peculiarity of his reign and the period he lived in. It should not be forgotten that Hemu lived at a time when the Hindus were bested in all battles by the Moslems. In such a scenario he was like the phoenix that rose from the ashes and fought the Moslems. It is in record that Hemu won 22 battles against the Moslems on the trot. No Indian king ever had won so many battles against the Moslems. He was also the first Hindu who after 350 years was crowned as Emperor at the Purana Quila. A painting of that period shows that even Afghan and Moslem chiefs paid homage to Hemu. In fact his fame spread far and wide and Historians have recorded that the Moslems had the element of fear when they faced Hemu.At the battle of Chhapparghatta in December 1555, Hemu routed the Bengal forces under Muhammad Shah, who was killed in the battle
Hemu was thus a great warrior. Let us now come to the second battle of Panipat which he fought against Akbar and his General Bairam Khan. Much has been written about this battle, but perhaps Hemu would have won if an act of providence had not come on the side of the Moslem army. Hemu suffered an arrow hit in his eye .This was just by chance and he was rendered unconscious. And the Moguls could rally and turn the tables on Hemu. I sometimes wonder whether it was the wish of the divine that the Moslem should rule over Hindustan. I can see no explanation for the defeat of Hemu except that it was fated for Moslem rule to be established in India.
But now after a lapse of 500 years we can look back at Hemu and admire him as the greatest of the Hindu warriors.
Hemu has remained a forgotten hero in independent India. It is a mystry for me why Govt. of India does not give importance/recognition to Hemu. You have rightly assessed him as the greatest Hindu warrior of India. He was a commoner and had a humble beginning as a businessman. Because of his shear capabilities he made rapid progress and rose to become Prime Minister in Afghan regime. He lead the army himself in 22 battles pan North India from Bengal to Punjab to free the country from Mughals and defeated Akbar's forces twice at Agra and Delhi. Humanyun, who was sent packing to Kabul by Sher Shah Suri, did not dare to attack Delhi and Punjab when Hemu was in and around Delhi. Humanyun attacked Delhi in Jan. 1556 when Hemu was in Bengal quelling rebellian by Muhammed Shah. But Hemu soon captured Delhi within months and established 'Hindu Raj' in North India. This was a great achievment of a Indian who considered whole India as his interest. Abdul Fazal has written in Akbarnama, that after winning Delhi,Hemu wanted to capture Kabul and made necessary preparations for that. Mughals considered themselves unsafe against Hemu as Hemu could create a new awareness among Hindus on freedom of country in that period.
ReplyDeleteThe most appreciative achievement of Hemu was that he did not compromise with his religious values and remained a staunch Hindu. He was a Secular to the core as he opposed invading Mughals but was amicable to Afghans who were considered natives at that point in time, Afghanistan being a part of India.
I congratulate you Mr. Singh for your views on this warrior. He can definitely be called the greatest Hindu warrior of last several centuries and deserves recognition and popularity. Hemu's popularity will motivate youngesters and they will get inspiration from the fact that a commoner with humble beginning can also achive unimaginables.
I have been wanting to thank you for your comment. Its great to back my opinion
Delete