Political Condition of India on the Eve of Babur’s Invasion

• The political condition of India was chaotic before Babur’s conquest.
• According to Dr. Iswari Prasad, India was a collection of states, vulnerable to an invader with strength and will.
• The disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate began during the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.
• Ibrahim Lodi ascended the throne of Delhi in 1517, but his authority was limited to Delhi, Agra, Doab, Jaunpur, parts of Bihar, Bayana, and Chandari.
• Ibrahim Lodi believed in the Divine Right of Kings and imposed a rigid discipline at his court.
• He humiliated the Afghan nobles, forcing them to stand with arms folded during his durbar.
• Ibrahim declared that kingship knew no kinship, and his nobles were mere vassals and servants.
• When the Afghan nobles attempted to assert their hereditary privileges, Ibrahim punished them harshly.
• This led to rebellions by the top-ranking Lodi, Lohani, Farmuli, and Niyazi Afghans.
• Ibrahim had to use force to suppress the revolts, causing confusion and alarm.
• Alamkhan Lodi, an uncle of Ibrahim, claimed the throne of Delhi, supported by many discontented nobles.
• The Governor of Punjab, Daulat Khan Lodi, resisted the Sultan’s authority and acted as a de facto ruler.
• The nobles of Bihar rallied around Dariya Khan Lohani, and after his death, his son Bahar Khan (Bahadur Khan) declared independence.
• In Jaunpur, the Afghans rebelled under Nasir Khan Lohani.
• The Lodi Kingdom became severely distracted, and Ibrahim lost much of his prestige.
• Ibrahim clashed with Rana Sanga of Mewar, who defeated him.
• Ibrahim Lodi’s death in April 1526 led to a period of disturbance that weakened the Kingdom of Gujarat.
• In July 1526, Bahadur Shah, Ibrahim’s son, became king and proved to be an ambitious and successful ruler.

Mewar

• Mewar was a formidable power in India with its capital at Chittor.
• The reigning family of Mewar traced its descent back to the 6th century A.D..
• The dynasty produced several remarkable rulers, with Rana Kumbha (1433-1468) being particularly notable.
• Rana Kumbha strengthened the defences of Mewar by erecting many forts and beautifying the capital with stately buildings.
• He defeated the Sultan of Mewar and established the supremacy of Mewar in Central Hindustan.
• Babur’s contemporary on the throne of Chittor was Rana Sangram Singh (Rana Sanga), a famous and skilled warrior.
• Rana Sanga was a hero of a hundred fights, receiving eighty wounds from sword and lance.
• Unlike many other Rajput chiefs, Rana Sanga had the instincts of a politician and statesman.
• He turned the social pre-eminence of his family among Rajputs into political supremacy in Rajasthan.
• Rana Sanga was followed by two hundred vassal Rajput chiefs.
• His ambition was to establish Hindu rule over Delhi.
• Rana Sanga is said to have promised Babur that he would invade Ibrahim Lodi’s territory from the side of Agra, while Babur proceeded from the north.
• Rana Sanga was the greatest Hindu ruler in northern India.

Sindh

• The province of Sindh was a weak state in the early 16th century.
• It became independent after the end of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s reign.
• The Sumra dynasty, which had ruled Sindh since the middle of the 14th century, was in decline.
• Shah Beg Arghun, the Governor of Kandhar, was under pressure from Babur and sought to conquer Sindh.
• In 1520, after being forced to abandon Kandhar to Babur, Shah Beg turned towards Sindh.
• He defeated the Sumras and occupied the province.
• Shah Beg’s son, Shah Hussain, consolidated his rule and even annexed Multan.
• By the time of Babur’s invasion, the power of the Arghuns in Sindh was at its peak.