Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

LURE - THRU THE AGES

SHER SHAH SURI 1540-1557A.D. his former pupil, Jalal Khan. While the minor king remained as the nominal ruler of Bihar, Sher became the virtual head of its govern- ment. His diplomacy and military skill made him the ruler of the region from Chunar to Patna. Many Afghan leaders had meanwhile joined him. In 1536 he invaded Bengal, whose ruler Mahmud Shah promptly concluded a peace treaty with him by paying him a huge sum in indemnity. In 1539 Sherkhan and his Afghan fol- lowers defeated the army of Mughal em- peror Humayun at Chausa, near Buxar. Most of the Mughal soldiers were drowned or captured, and the life of Humayun was saved by a water carrier who carried him on his water skin across the Ganges, into which he had recklessly jumped. In the next year, Humayun suffered an even greater defeat at Kanauj at the hands of Sherkhan and he just managed to escape and later fled to Iran. By now Sherkhan was the defacto ruler of the territories extending from Kanauj in the west to the hills of Assam and Chittag- ong in the east and from the Himalayas in the north to the hills of Jharkhand and the Bay of Bengal in the south. He now as- sumed the royal title Sher Shah. In 1541 the governor of Bengal rebelled against Sher Shah. The rebellion was put down and the governor imprisoned to pre- vent any future rebellion. No governor was appointed. In 1543 Sher Shah marched against the Rajput ruler Puran Mai of Raisin in central India. The Rajputs were defeated. In 1544 Sher Shah led an expedition against Maldev, the Rajput ruler of Malwa. Shershah won a victory. In 1545 Sher Shah marched to besiege the fort of Kalingar. He succeeded in cap- turing the fort but died from an accidental explosion of gunpowder on 22nd May 1545. Administration * Sher Shah was the architect of a brilliant administrative system. His government was a highly centralised system with real power concentrated in the hands of the king. * For the sake of administration, he di- vided his empire into 47 units. His land revenue reforms are unique in the his- tory of India. He settled the land reve- nue direct with the cultivators, the state demand being fixed at one fourth or one

Overview Babur's victory at Panipat and Goghra did not result in the complete elimination of the Afghan chiefs. They were burning with discontent against the newly founded Mughul empire and only needed the guid- ance of one strong personality to coalesce their isolated efforts into an organised na- tional resistance against it. Tftis they got in Sherkhan Suri, who effected the revival of the Afghan power and established a glori- ous, though short, regime in India by ousting the newly established Mughal authority. Chronology * Shershah Suri (1540-45) * Islam Shah (son of Shershah Suri) (1545-54) * Muhammadsuri Adil (1553-57) Shershah Suri (b.l472-d,1545) : reigned 1540-45) His original name was Farid. Farid's grandfather and father migrated from Rah and served several Afghan nobles at the courts of Bahlul and Sikander Lodi. Farid was born in Bahlul's reign. Farid acquired an excellent literary education at Jaunpur through his own efforts. His career began with the administration of his father's Jagir at Sasaram in south Bihar. There he put his theoretical knowledge to practical use by establishing a clear understanding between the peasants and the village chiefs. The area prospered to the great satisfaction of Farid and his father, Hassan, but his step- mother's jealousy forced Farid to seek an- other avenue of employment. In 1522 he got into the service of Bahar Khan Lahani, the independent ruler of Bihar, whose favour he soon secured by discharging his duties honestly and assiduously. His master conferred on him the title of Sherkhan for his having shown gallantry by killing a tiger single-handed. He was soon appointed as his master's deputy and tutor of his minor son, Jalalkhan. Meanwhile his enemies poisoned his master's mind against him, and he was once more deprived of his father's Jagir which he had acquired on the death of his father. He now joined Babur's camp, where he • re- mained from April 1527 to June 1528. In return for the valuable services he rendered to Babur in his eastern campaigns, the latter restored Sasaram to him. He came back to Bihar to become once again its deputy governor and guardian of

third of the average produce, payable either in kind or in cash, the latter being preferred. He instructed the revenue officials iu show ieniency at the time of assessment and to be strict at the time ot collection of revenues. * Sher Shah connected the important places of his kingdom by a chain of well- built roads. The longest of these, the Grand Truak road, which still survives, extended for 1,500 kms from Sonargaon in eastern Bengal to the Indus. One road ran from Agra to Burhanpur, another from Agra to Jodhpur and the fort of Chittor, and a fourth from Lahore to Mul- tan. * To secure peace and order, the police system was reorganised and in the dis- pensation of justice, no distinction was made between the high and the low. * Though a pious Muslim, his treatment of Hindus was tolerant and just. He em- ployed Hindus in important offices of the state, one of his fort generals being Brahmjit Gaur. Estimate of Sher Shah * By virtue of merit and ability he rose from a very humble position to be the leader of the Afghan revival. * He was one of the great rulers of India. He was pious in his life and was re- sponsible for restoring the wives of Hu- mayun after their capture at Chausa. * His military character was a "rare com- bination of caution and enterprise". * By dint of indefatigable industry and personal attention to the smallest de- tails of administration, he restored law and order throughout Hindustan in the short span of 5 years. * His excellent taste in architecture is well attested, even today by his noble mauso- leum at Sasaram.