Question

Following success of Babur miltry religion political?

Answer 1

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Lodis ruled the territories east of the Indus to Agra. At this time Babur, descendant of Tamerlane and Changez Khan, lost his kingdom of Fergana and moved to Kabul in Afghanistan from where he raided the areas west of the Indus four times. In 1524, the Governor of the Punjab asked Babur for help against his brother, Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, who ruled northern India from Agra. Babur’s fifth expedition to India started on 17 November 1526, he crossed the Indus at Haro; a census of the army was taken while the river being crossed, the army numbered 12,000.

Babur’s army was organised in six divisions with its day and night guards; the army was organised as a right wing, a centre and a left wing. The right and the left wings were commanded by the great ‘Begs’, the centre had the household ‘Begs’. The right wing command was the prestigious command in the army, the next in importance was the left wing command; both wing commanders had two or three subordinates.

The army moved with a vanguard, right, left, and centre followed, when it stopped for the night it retained its formation each person according to his place in battle and each prepared to take his post. At night, men on foot were posted all round the camp, commanders, including Babur, checked the guards at night at intervals and men not found at their posts had their nose slit and were led around the army.

Babur reached Panipat in the first week of April in 1526 and held a council of war where it was decided to give battle at Panipat to Ibrahim Lodi’s advancing army; a census of the army revealed that it now numbered about 25,000.

Babur planned for the forthcoming battle, he used Panipat village to rest his right flank, to protect his front he collected 700 carts and tied them together with raw hide in the ‘Ottoman fashion’, the tactic the nomads had used against the Romans. In the protective line of carts Babur sited his guns, he was amongst the first military commanders in Asia to appreciate the value of field artillery. Between every two guns, five or six mantlets (protective screens) were fixed behind which match lock men stood and fired their matchlocks; after every 200 yards a sally gap for 100 to 200 horsemen was left; the left flank was refused and protected by a ditch and a stockade made with branches of trees; on 12 April 1526 Babur was ready.

Ibrahim Lodi with 100,000 men and 1000 elephants arrived at Panipat and faced Babur’s army for eight days; the pay of some of his men was in arrears, there was discontentment in the army and they did not sally out of the camp.

Babur sent his cavalry to ride out to Ibrahim Lodi’s camp to rain arrows and cut off the head of anyone caught outside the camp. On the night 19/20 April Babur sent a raiding force of 5000 to Lodi’s camp but the raid was badly conducted. The next morning, at dawn, Ibrahim Lodi advanced in battle array, Babur took up his battle position, his son Humayun on the right, his left was commanded by Mohammad Sultan Mirza, he had a right centre, a left centre, a van, a right and left reserve; Babur also had a right and left flanking parties whose task was that when the enemy came near his front they were to turn both his flanks and attack from the rear.

When Ibrahim Lodi’s army came in sight it seemed to incline to Babur’s right and he reinforced his right with his right reserve. Ibrahim advanced swiftly but observing Babur’s protected front he halted and then could not make his men resume the advance. Babur ordered his centre to engage the enemy, his cannon to fire and his turning parties to wheel from the right and left and attack the rear, the turning parties surrounded the enemy who made some attempts to breakout but eventually fell back on their centre, caught between Babur’s line of carts and his wheeling parties; by the afternoon Ibrahim Lodi was defeated with an estimated 16,000 killed including Ibrahim Lodi. Babur distributed huge money awards and gave treasure