Question

Give two reason why Babar was able to defeat the Indian solider at panipath and
khenus?​

Answer 1

Answer:

Whenever there is a reference to the first battle of Panipat it is a common practice to talk of the blood of Timur and Genghis Khan in Babar’s veins. Further, the use of light cannons and guns shielded by a barricade of carts and the flanking maneuvers deployed by Babar are considered as the decisive factor in his victory at Panipat(1). However, there is a serious need to cross check these factors.

It is often ignored that Babar’s career in Central Asia is one of frequent defeats and not of glorious success. He captured and lost Samarqand in 1497 and again in 1501-02. Babar also failed to hold his ancestoral kingdom of Farghana. In utter despair and he left for Tashkant which was held by his maternal uncle. In his account of 908 (A.H.) July 7th 1502 to June 26th 1503(C.E.) Babar writes :

“During my stay at Tashkint I endured poverty and humiliation. No country or hope of one! If l went to my Khan dada’s gate, went sometimes with one man, some times with two….., I used to go to Shah Begim, entering her house, bareheaded and barefoot, just as if it were my own(2) .”

Babar has also described how in the region of Akshi, which was once a part of his own kingdom, he was forced to flee in front of Tamble’s men though they did not number more than 20-25 on one occasion and 100 on the other(3).

Catherine B. Asher and Synthia Talbot, India before Europe, Cambridge University Press, 2007, P.116

Babur-Nama, translated from the original Turki text of Zahirud-din Muhammad Babur Padshad Ghazi, by A.S. Beveridge, (first pub. 1922) oriental books Reprint, 1970, Vol. I, P.157

Ibid, P.177