Political condition of India on the eye of Babur's invasion

In the history of India, whenever there was a decline in central power and the establishment of independent states occurred, foreign invaders took advantage of the divided circumstances to establish new states. The establishment of Turkish-Afghan rule was a product of such divided circumstances. During the Mughal invasion, the situation in India was almost the same as during the Afghan rule. The Turkish-Afghan empire had become weak by the end of Muhammad Tughlaq's reign. Taking advantage of rebellion and weakness in governance, many independent states were established. The invasion of Timur disrupted the glory of the Delhi Sultanate. Political unity in India ended during the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties. The entire country was divided into small states, and there was ongoing conflict among their rulers due to internal strife, competition, mutual warfare, anarchy, and disorder. They were incapable of confronting external enemies due to their internal disunity. There was no central power in the country that could stop foreign invaders. Describing the divided situation of India, Babur wrote in the 'Tuzuk-e-Babri' that India was ruled by five Muslim and two non-Muslim emperors. The Muslim states were Delhi, Gujarat, Bahmani, Malwa, and Bengal, while the Hindu states were Mewar and Vijayanagar. In the absence of a powerful central authority, all these states were adversaries to each other, lacking political unity or nationalism. The contemporary political situation in India was described by Dr. Ishwari Prasad as follows: "In the beginning of the 16th century, India was a group of states that could easily fall prey to any invader who had the power and desire to conquer it." Historian Lenpool also wrote, "The victors' race had become a crowd of discontents fighting each other for the throne." According to Rashbrook Williams, "There was no history of India in the 15th century because India was divided into various states." It is clear that the political unity of our country had completely ended. Such a situation always invites foreign invaders because this had been happening before as well. This foreign power belonged to the Mughals. Taking advantage of the situation, the Mughals established an empire that lasted for centuries in India. The founder of this empire was Babur.

The description of the deplorable condition of Indian states before Babur's invasion is as follows:

Delhi - The condition of the Delhi Sultanate was extremely pitiful. At the time of Babur's invasion, the Lodi dynasty ruled Delhi. The ruler of this dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi, was incompetent, talentless, tyrannical, and cruel. His cruel behavior displeased his nobles and officers, and there were conspiracies against him. Ibrahim Lodi wanted to suppress the nobles' rebellion harshly, but he failed in his attempts. Dissatisfaction against Ibrahim increased, and he became entangled in internal problems, unable to confront foreign invaders.

Punjab - Punjab was a part of the Delhi Sultanate. At that time, Daulat Khan was ruling there. He wanted to become an independent ruler. He invited Babur to invade India to protect his independence. Alam Khan, Ibrahim Lodi's uncle, lived in Punjab. He wanted to rule over Agra, so he opposed Ibrahim Lodi. Thus, Punjab, near Delhi, became a rival state that was ready to assist Ibrahim's enemies.

Sindh - Sindh was located on the western border of India. In the 16th century, this province became the center of lawlessness. Shah Beg took control of Sindh by taking advantage of the disorder. Shah Beg's son, Shah Husain, also became the ruler of Sindh in addition to being a Sultan.

Kashmir - Kashmir was a state located in the northwest of Punjab. Shah Mirza established an independent state here in 1339 AD. Among the rulers of this place, Jainul Abdeen was the best. But after Abdeen's death, Kashmir became a victim of unrest and disorder.

Gujarat - In 1401 AD, Zafar Khan established an independent state in Gujarat. Later, he assumed the title of Mujaffar Shah. Many capable rulers emerged from his descendants, among whom Mahmud Begada was prominent. He conquered Champaner, Badoda, Junagadh, and Kutch, making Gujarat a prosperous state. After Mahmud Begada's death, his son became the ruler of Gujarat.

Khandesh - Malik Farooqi established an independent state in Khandesh in 1388 AD. After the death of Sultan Daoud, ruler of Khandesh in 1508 AD, a struggle began for succession. Khandesh and Gujarat were enemies of each other. In the struggle for succession, the ruler of Gujarat, Mahmud Begara, supported Adil Shah III, who became the new ruler of Khandesh. After the death of Adil Shah III, his son Mahmud became the ruler of Khandesh.

Malwa - Malwa was the northern state of Khandesh. During Babur's invasion, Mahmud Shah II was the ruler of Malwa. He was an incompetent ruler and had become a puppet in the hands of a Rajput chief named Medini Rai. The Medini dynasty had appointed Hindus to high positions in the Malwa state. The Muslim chiefs of Malwa started opposing Medini Rai. Mahmud II was made a prisoner. Later, Malwa also fell into unrest, and ultimately, in 1531 AD, Gujarat's ruler Bahadur Shah took control of Malwa.

Jaunpur - The Sharqi Sultans established an independent state in Jaunpur. Jaunpur was a rival state of the Delhi Sultanate. Its ruler, Nasir Khan Ibrahim Lodi, was an enemy of Delhi and was waiting for favorable conditions to capture Delhi.

Bihar - Dariya Khan Lohani established an independent state in Bihar. Dariya Khan's son, Wahar Khan Lohani, completely broke away from the Delhi Sultanate and became independent.

Bengal - Bengal had become completely independent during the time of Firoz Tughlaq. The ruler of Bengal, Alauddin Hussain Shah, had expanded the boundaries of the Bengal state up to Assam. During Babur's invasion, the ruler of Bengal was Nusrat Shah. He was a capable ruler and a patron of art and culture. He had established control over Tirhut. During his time, Bengali literature had developed sufficiently.

Rajputana - The Rajput chiefs of Rajputana were prominent among those who established independent states on the remnants of the Delhi Sultanate. There were many small and large states in Rajputana, among which the state of Mewar was the most powerful. The ruler of Mewar, Rana Sanga, wanted to organize the scattered Hindu powers and establish a powerful state. He was a warrior, and his entire life was spent on the battlefield. He had compelled the rulers of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Gwalior, Ajmer, Sikri, Raisin, Kalpi, Bundi, Rampur, and Abu to accept his suzerainty. He did not have good relations with Ibrahim Lodi. He had invited Babur to invade India against Ibrahim Lodi. Rana Sanga hoped that like other invaders, Babur would also retreat, and then he would get the opportunity to rule over Delhi. But Rana Sanga's dream remained unfulfilled, and in the end, he had to face defeat in battle with Babur.

Odisha - A Hindu state had been established in Odisha. The rulers of Odisha were not interested in Indian politics. As a result, many states had been established in North-West and North-East India which had rejected the dominance of Muslim rulers.

South India

Bahmani - At that time, just like in Northern India, there was a struggle among the states of South India. The Bahmani Empire was established in 1347 AD. It was the main state of South India. After 1481 AD, the condition of the Bahmani Empire began to deteriorate. The continuous attacks by the Hindu rulers of Vijayanagar had weakened the power of the Bahmani Empire, and it was divided into five states. There was mutual hostility among these states. The differences among Muslims had stopped the expansion of their influence in South India, and taking advantage of their fragmentation, Vijayanagar had succeeded in expanding its power.

Vijayanagar - Vijayanagar was a Hindu state. In 1336 AD, two brothers named Harihara and Bukka established the Vijayanagar Empire. During Babur's invasion, under the rule of Krishnadevaraya, the Vijayanagar Empire had a multi-faceted development. He had established control over Udayagiri and the Sultan of Bijapur, Ismail Adil Shah, had also captured Raichur Doab. Krishnadevaraya had defeated the ruler of Orissa, Prataparudra, and had established control over the region up to Vijayapatnam. However, after Krishnadevaraya, Vijayanagar also faced decline, and constant struggle with the Bahmani Empire had made it weak.

From the above description, it is clear that in the sixteenth century, India was merely a group of many states. These states were prey to internal conflicts and struggles. Due to the lack of political unity and the decline of central power, the political situation of our country was chaotic. The mutual disputes between Hindu and Muslim states had increased to such an extent that they were not ready to think in the national interest. The divided situation was inviting the invaders. Babur took advantage of the situation and invaded India, defeating all the disintegrating forces and laying the foundation of Mughal rule in India. The Mughal Empire established by Babur turned the hopes of Hindus and Afghans into despair. Akbar established the foundation of the Mughal Empire permanently, and over the centuries, Mughal dominance gradually spread over most of the regions of India.