Hemu (Hemchandra Vikramaditya) - the last Hindu ruler of Delhi

The boy looked concerned. Standing in the sweltering heat of Panipat, he was watching a battle unfold. Next to him stood Bairam Khan, wondering if this was the end of the Mughal dynasty. On the other end of the battlefield, from atop a war elephant, Hemu was leading his army in a decimation of Akbar’s army. Then suddenly, tragedy struck. A chance arrow managed to find its way through the smallest of gaps and struck Hemu in the eye. The tide turned, the Mughals emerged victorious. Akbar would go on to be the most well-known of the Mughals. 

Hemu’s only mention would be in terms of this battle! But who indeed was Hemu? Or to use his full title when he fought at Panipat — Hemchandra Vikramaditya? 

Hemu’s origins were extremely humble. He was born about 1501 to a poor grocer in Alwar. At the time, the Lodi dynasty was ruling Delhi. He was spotted for his keen eye and hard work and soon became involved in Delhi’s politics. With the demise of Sher Shah Suri, who had forced Humayun to flee, Hemu became the most important minister for the new Sultan Adil Shah. He promoted Hemu to the rank of Vazir. 

But Hemu’s primary claim to fame is his unbroken string of victories in over 20 battles, beginning with the defeat of Adil Shah’s enemies in Bengal, and reaching its climax at Agra and Delhi. 

While Adil Shah had sent Hemu to battle Sikandar Shah in Bengal, news came that Humayun had returned from his Persian exile and once again assumed control of Delhi and Agra, the two most important cities in northern India. With Sultan Adil Shah engaged at a place called Chunar, the responsibility of getting rid of the Mughals came down to Hemu.  

Hemu waited for an opportunity to strike, and lady luck soon smiled as the Padishah Humayun died in a fatal fall from a staircase. 

But there was still a lot left to be done. Powerful Mughal faujdars occupied strong forts all around Delhi and Agra.

Some distance away at Kalanaur in today’s Haryana, a young boy named Akbar had been crowned emperor. The Mughals had continued their grip on Delhi via an able general named Tardi Beg. 

Leading an army consisting of Afghans and Rajputs, Hemchandra took control of Etawah and Kalpi. This was followed with success at the old and well-defended fortress at Agra. Iskander Khan Uzbek offered stiff resistance, but was soon overcome. Thus the whole region leading to Delhi swiftly passed into Hemu’s hands. 

Now Hemu turned his sights towards the fort at Tughlaqabad. No Hindu general had come within striking distance in the past three hundred and fifty years. 

Tardi Beg frantically requested help to defend Delhi. Bairam Khan sent another powerful Mughal general named Pir Mohammed Khan, and soon the Mughals and Hemu, with his army of Afghans and Rajputs faced off against each other at Tughlaqabad. 

According to eminent historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Tardi Beg made some handsome gains early on — slaughtering three thousand Pathans in Hemu’s army. Thinking they had already won, Tardi Beg’s soldiers dispersed to loot the defeated Afghan contingents. 

But the brilliant strategist Hemchandra had other plans — he had kept three hundred war elephants ready in reserve. The initial retreat was merely a ploy. Hemu unleashed a bewildering offence against the armies led by Tardi Beg and Pir Mohammed Khan,  leading to their crushing defeat. 

Hemu was now master of Delhi and Agra! The grocer’s son had become a Samrat! Uncountable loot was obtained from the defeated Mughals. Hemu ascended the throne at Delhi and crowned himself Hemchandra Vikramaditya. The title Vikramaditya had been used by many an Indian conqueror since time immemorial. For the first time since the days of Prithviraj Chauhan, an Indian ruler had sat on the exalted throne. Hemchandra struck coins in his name. The Afghan soldiers, he pacified by generously giving the spoils of war. Various rituals were performed, and Hemchandra was coronated with great pomp. It was a series of conquests that would be seldom repeated in India. Hemchandra Vikramaditya had remained undefeated for over twenty-two battles in a row, Agra and Delhi had been the crowning achievement. Most importantly, he did not claim a coronation in Adil Shah’s name!

But the job was not done, Humayun’s heir still lived. A month after being coronated as the emperor, Hemu and Akbar clashed at Panipat. A chance arrow, a fall from an elephant’s howdah … and generations were left to wonder — what if? 

Written by Aneesh Gokhale, author of Brahmaputra — The story of Lachit Barphukan

Source: DNA