Provincial Kingdoms

Answer : Hemu was a saltpetre dealer in Rewari belonging to the Dhusar class, apparently a self division of the Gaur Brahmans. He had started his life as a superintendent of the market under the Sur ruler Islam Shah. He rapidly rise under Adil Shah. He was so trained in the art of warfare that he had not lost a single one of the twenty two battles in which he had fought. Adil Shah had appointed him the wazir with the title of Vikramaditya, and entrusted himwith the task of expelling the mughals. He captured Agra, and with the army of 50,000 cavalry, 500 elephants and a strong park of artillery marched upon Delhi.

In a well contested battle, Hemu defeated the Mughals near Delhi and occupied the city. The Afghans, under the leadership of Hemu, drove out the Mughal governors from the Agra-Bayana region. Delhi, which was suffering from a terrible famine, had been seized by Hemu. Akbar’s nervous followers urged him to retreat to Kabul, but both he and Bairam were determined not to leave India without making every effort to regain the throne. On 5 November 1556 Hemu’s army met Akbar at Panipat in a fierce battle. Hemu drove back the Mughal archers and cavalry and was about to win the day by bringing in his war elephants and reserve cavalry to scatter Akbar’s centre, when an arrow pierced his eye. Consternation spread instantly among Hemu’s army, which broke and fled. Later at Bairam Khan’s request Akbar annoyingly struck him on the neck with his sword, and Bairam finished him off.

The historian Abul Fazal pays an unqualified tribute to Hemu’s administrative and military talents and suggests that, had his life been spared, Akbar’s training would have made him one of the architects of the mughal empire.

Answer : The rise of Sher Shah from the position of a petty leader of troops to being the ruler of one of the biggest empires which had risen in north India since the death of Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the middle of the 14th century is a saga of courage and determination. The conflict between Sher Khan and Humayun has been often seen as a conlict between Afghans and Mughals. After his victory over Humayun at Kannauj, Sher Shah formally crowned himself. His first task was to hound the Mughals out of India and to ensure that they were not able to return. He was able to do this without much difficulty on account of the deep division in the Mughal camp. Having secured his position in Punjab and the North West, Sher Shah had time to building up a sound system of administration, rather than to engage himself in a career of constant conquest, as was the current ideal. First Sher shah nipped in the bud signs of a rebellion in Bengal. Thereafter, Sher Shah's campaigns were confined to Malwa, Rajasthan, Multan and Upper Sindh. His last step was to assert his suzerainty over Bundelkhand.