During centuries-old Islamic rule in India there
had also been the emergence of several Hindu empires led by fiercest, ablest
Hindu monarchs and generals conveying desires of the subjugated Hindu community
to attain freedom. Bengal was no exception to this too; several Hindu chieftains
rose up through centuries and prime of them included Raja Pratapaditya and,
Raja Sitaram with a few others. But none of them could match Raja Ganesha or
Raja Kans or Raja Danujamardanadeva; his stupendous rise in the politics of mediaeval
Bengal (in 1415 AD) by overthrowing the Ilyas Shahi dynasty or the first
independent Muslim dynasty then fragmented Islamic hegemony in the region and
this was based on his vengeful or rancorous activities. His supremacy perturbed
Sufi saints or Darbesh such that
Sheikh Nur Qutub-ul-Alam, well-known Muslim Chisti saint, sent a letter to
Ibrahim Shah Sharqi or the Sultan of Jaunpur to raid Bengal and relieve them
from the rule of this Kafir or
infidel.
Raja Ganesha’s rule witnessed several ups and
downs – his son was converted to Islam under compulsion and then reconverted to
Hinduism. Nevertheless, with the help of other Hindu kings he formed a confederacy
that posed severest challenges to the dream of establishing an Islamic empire. It
is worth mentioning, Raja Ganesha assisted by other Hindu kings controlled entire
Bengal even if for a brief period – remaining a dream for others in the
following centuries only.
On the word of a British historian, “Raja Kans
is the most interesting figure among the kings of Bengal. We feel that this
obscure Hindu, who rose to supreme power in Bengal, and who for a time broke
the bonds of Islam, must have been a man of vigor and capacity.”
An account of this battle, might of Sheo Singh
has been narrated by Mulla Taqyya, courtier during the reign of both Akbar and
Jehangir, and it has been translated into English from the original Farsi
language by Sri Kishori Mohan Maitra of Asiatic Society.
It is in the following lines.
“When Raja Kans, the Hindu zamindar, became
dominant over the whole of the province of Bengal, he determined to wipe out
the Muslims, and made it his aim to exterminate the root of Islam from his
kingdom. During that time, Sheo Singh, the zamindar of Tirhut, rebelled against
his father, Raja Deva Singh, and made an alliance with Raja Kans and thus
became an independent ruler of the province of tirhut. He grew in power and
through the incitement of Raja Kans, he began to rob and plunder the muslims of
his territory and caused most of the missionaries and leaders of Islam in
Darbhanga to taste the beverage of martyrdom and thus made his holiness Makhdum
Shah Sultan Hussain an object of his injury. At this time, the successor of
Makhdum Shah was Alaul Auq at Pandua, when Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi sent an army
in the year 805 (Hizira) at the request of Nur Qutubul-Islam, the worthy son of
Alaul Huq with a view to wage war against the wicked Kafirs of Bengal in order
to suppress Raja Kans. When the royal retinue reached Tirhut, Sheo Singh made a
stand against him. Although the Sultan was on his way to Bengal, when heard the
news of Sheo Singh reaching the neighborhood of his camps, the flames of
Sultan’s anger rose high and with great courage, he turned the range of his
attention in his direction. In the end, he (Sheo Singh) found that it was not
possible for him to oppose him ((Ibrahim) in open battle. He escaped into some
other direction till he reached Lehra, which was the strongest fort there and
he took shelter there. After some tine, the fort was conquered and he was taken
prisoner. The whole territory of Tirhut was again transferred to his father as
a loyal servant of the Sultan. As all the roads, which were being blocked, were
open again, the Sultan set out in the direction of Bengal in order to suppress
Raja Kans.”
“Sheo Singh along with Raja
Kans or Ganesh tried to form a Hindu brigade in Bengal, orchestrate a Hindu
uprising to avenge the Hindu persecution. Singh, despite being defeated in the
war against Ibrahim, demonstrated great valiance and it seemed once that the
Hindu king would emerge victorious. Relations between Sheo Singh and Sultan
Ibrahim Sharqi had been sour as Sheo Singh, no matter being a subordinate king,
introduced coins in his own name.” (Source: Annual Report of the Archeological
Survey of India; 1913-14, pp. 248-49)
