Hindu and Indian History — Foreign Invasions and The Hindu Resistance
Bhārat (India) faced countless attacks and invasions between 1000 CE and 1800 CE. This was for various reasons including imperialism, and the pursuit of religious, political and economic gains.
During the summer of 2020, I had the opportunity to deliver a talk on Hindu and Bhāratiya (Indian) history covering around 2,000 years from 300 BCE to 1700 CE.
During my research, I came across some fascinating findings from the rise and fall of empires to science and mathematical discoveries and the resistance to foreign invasions.
This series of Hindu and Bhāratiya History summarises these findings so we can all learn about the great and proud history of the Hindu and Bhāratiya (Indian) civilisation.
Part one of this series covered the Rise and Fall of Empires and part two covered the Contribution to Science, Mathematics and Philosophy. Part three will focus on Foreign Invasions and The Hindu Resistance.
1001–1025: Maḥmūd Ghaznavī’s loot and destruction of Hindu temples
The first major attack took place around the year 1000 by Yamīn al-Dawla Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd b. Sebüktegīn from Ghaznī, more commonly known as Maḥmūd Ghaznavī. Maḥmūd Ghaznavī attacked and looted Bhārat, targeting the rich cities and Hindu temples (mandirs) for their vast wealth. He then used the wealth to expand his empire and develop the capital of his empire, Ghazni in modern-day Afghanistan. Ghaznavī attacked and looted Bhārat 17 times between 1001 and 1025.
One of the major cities attacked and looted was the holy city of Mathurā, the birthplace of Shri Krishna, in the year 1018. The city of Mathurā was mostly destroyed with the holy temple of Shri Krishna severely damaged.
The other holy city Ghaznavī attacked and looted was Somnāth in 1025 where his army massacred approximately 25,000 Hindus and attempted to destroy Somnāth temple and its Shivlinga. In this attack, Ghaznavī’s army looted the gold and precious gems of Somnāth temple. It is said that camels were loaded with wealth from Somnāth and transported for 20 consecutive days to Ghazni, Afghanistan.
Somnāth was attacked and plundered many times by various Muslim rulers such as Alaudin Khilji, Muzafar Shāh and Ahmed Shāh. Somnāth temple was destroyed and rebuilt up to 11 times between the various Muslim and Hindu rulers throughout the years and was finally rebuilt in its full glory by Sardār Vallabhbhai Patel in the year 1948.
1166–1192: Prithvirāj Chauhān and the battles of Taraori (Tarain)
Prithvirāj Chauhān was born in 1166 and was a Rajput warrior king. He expanded his empire covering the north and northwest of the Indian subcontinent (modern-day Rajasthān, Punjāb, Haryāna, Delhi etc.), with the capital at Ajmer in Rajasthān.
Prithvirāj Chauhān is known for his battles against the Islamic Ghurid empire ruled by Shihab ad-Din, also known as Muhammad Ghori from Afghanistan.
Muhammad Ghori was expanding his empire eastwards and shifted his base to Punjāb. This move brought him in conflict with Prithvirāj Chauhān. The first battle between Muhammad Ghori and Prithvirāj Chauhān took place in the year 1191 and is known as The First Battle of Tarain. Prithvirāj Chauhān’s forces defeated Muhammad Ghori and he was forced to retreat. Prithvirāj Chauhān decided not to chase Muhammad Ghori and allowed him to escape.
Muhammad Ghori decided to try again to avenge his defeat. He regrouped and rebuilt his army to defeat Prithvirāj Chauhān. In 1192, Muhammad Ghori attacked again and this time defeated Prithvirāj Chauhān capturing and eventually killing him. This battle is known as The Second Battle of Tarain. This defeat paved the way for the ascendance of Islamic rule and the tyranny and genocides that followed.
1197 CE to 1206 CE: The destruction of Nālanda University by Muhammad Khilji
Nālanda University in modern-day Bihār was one of the first international universities in the world. During its peak, it had more than 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers hailing from all over the world. Its library had over 900,000 books and was the largest library of its time.
Then around the year 1200, Nālanda University was destroyed by the Turkish ruler Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji in his quest to spread Islam in the Indian subcontinent during the early 13th century.
It is believed that the library alone burned for 3 months destroying the majority of the 900,000 books and manuscripts which were hand-written. What knowledge was in these books and manuscripts will never be known.
Not only was the university destroyed, but tens of thousands of Hindus and Buddhists were massacred by Muhammad Khilji and his army.
Ayodhyā Rāma Janmabhoomi
The holy city of Ayodhyā in Uttar Pradesh is the birthplace of Shri Rāma. The history of this city and the Rāma Janmabhoomi mandir (temple) goes back thousands of years.
It is believed that the first temple honouring Shri Rāma was built by Shri Rāma’s son Kush thousands of years ago. The ancient temple was restored and renovated by emperor Vikramaditya after defeating the invading Shakas sometime between the first century BCE and 120 CE.
Fast forward to the year 1528 CE, the Mughal (Islamic) empire era ruled by Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, also known as Babur. Babur was from Uzbekistan and was a descendant of Timur and Genghiz Khan.
Wishing to spread Islam and expand his newly established Mughal empire into Bhārat (India), Babur sent an army led by Mir Baqi to invade Ayodhyā. A Hindu King (possibly Mahtab Singh of Bhiti) received the news of an imminent attack on Ayodhyā and moved his 174,000 soldiers towards Ayodhyā to face the 450,000-strong Mughal army. A fierce battle took place which is believed to have lasted many days, but the vast Mughal army defeated the smaller quantity of the Hindu forces, killing thousands of Hindus who stood in their way. After invading Ayodhyā, Mir Baqi destroyed the Rāma Janmabhoomi mandir (temple) and built an illegal stricture in its place dedicated to emperor Babur. The illegal structure was later falsely identified as a Masjid (mosque), which it never was.
It is worth noting that the structure was never used for worship. It was a structure built to honour the foreign invader Babur and further humiliate the Hindus.
In the late 1500s, Hindus started to worship around the Rāma Janmabhoomi site as a way of resistance against the Mughal invaders. However, in the 1600s during the rule of the tyrant and fanatic Aurangzeb, Hindu worship at the site was banned. Hindus refused to accept the ban and continued to worship there.
Aurangzeb sent 50,000 soldiers with Sayad Hasan Ali Khan to take control of Ayodhyā and Rāma Janmabhoomi. Standing in the way was a smaller Hindu force of 10,000 men, including sadhus (monks), led by Vaishnavdās, a disciple of Samarth Rāmdās. The battle went on for 7 days, however, the Hindus were eventually defeated.
Hindus regrouped and joined forces with Guru Govind Singh ji. Together they defeated the Muslim army and freed Ayodhyā and Rāma Janmabhoomi.
It is said that 76 small and large battles have been fought for Ayodhyā Rāma Janmabhoomi in which control of the site swung regularly between Hindus and Muslims.
The illegal structure that was built by foreign invaders, after destroying the sacred temple at the birthplace of Shri Rāma to insult India and the Hindu people, was destroyed on the 6th of December 1992.
Finally, in November 2019, Ayodhyā Rāma Janmabhoomi was rightfully and lawfully handed back to the Hindus by the judgement of the Supreme Court of India. Construction of the temple has already begun and there will soon be a grand temple once again honouring Shri Rāma.
1540–1597: Mahārānā Pratāp and the Battle of Haldighāti
Rānā Pratāp Singh was born on 9th May 1540 in the province of Mewār, Rajasthān. Rānā Pratāp was a fierce and brave Rājput warrior king. He earned the name Mahārānā Pratāp (‘mahā’ meaning great) due to his heroics in the fight against Islamic rule.
During Mahārānā Pratāp’s time, it was Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar who ruled the Mughal (Muslim) empire. Akbar had his eyes on Mewār and offered Mahārānā Pratāp the peaceful option to surrender, which he rejected. Akbar decided to attack and capture Mewār by force. A battle ensued between Akbar and Mahārānā Pratāp. This battle took place in June 1576 and is known as the Battle of Haldighāti.
This battle was fought between 80,000 troops of Akbar’s army and 20,000 of Mahārānā Pratāp’s army; extraordinarily, Mahārānā Pratāp defeated Akbar’s army and successfully protected Mewār from capture. Mahārānā Pratāp’s warhorse Chetak was fatally wounded in the battle whilst saving Mahārānā Pratāp from danger. Chetak is held in the same esteem as Mahārānā Pratāp due to its bravery and courage.
Throughout his life, Mahārānā Pratāp was never fully defeated by Akbar. Akbar never gained a foothold in the Mewār region due to Mahārānā Parātāp’s brave resistance.
1627 CE: Chhatrapati Shivāji Mahārāj
Shivāji was born on 19th February 1630 in Pune, Mahārāshtra during the Muslim rule. His mother Jijābai focused on instilling sanskārs (qualities/values) and Hindu pride within Shivāji from his childhood. She narrated stories from the Rāmāyana and Māhābhārata and taught Shivāji about the glorious history of Bhārat and the Hindu civilisation.
From an early age, Shivāji had decided he would not accept the religious persecution and oppression of the Muslim rule and would defeat the Mughal empire and provide freedom to Bhārat and Hindus.
The Mughal emperor at the time was the tyrannical and fanatic Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb was responsible for killing millions of Hindus during his reign and destroyed many Hindu temples, most notably the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathurā, the birthplace of Shri Krishna, around the year 1670.
Shivāji was a master of administration, organisation and strategy. He gradually built his army and employed the guerilla warfare strategy to defeat the Muslim kings and win back forts. Seeing the success and rising power of Shivāji, Aurangzeb decided that Shivāji needed to be killed. He sent his general Afzal Khan to kill Shivāji, but instead, Shivāji killed Afzal Khan and consequently won the battle.
Slowly, through guerilla warfare, Shivāji won back many forts and land from the Muslim kings and established his reign. Finally, in 1674, Shivāji defeated the last of the Muslim rulers within the Marāthā region and liberated the people from Muslim rule and tyranny.
On the 6th June 1674, Shivāji established the Marāthā Hindu empire and was crowned emperor. This day marks Hindu Sāmrājya Divas (Hindu self-rule day) where Hindus gained full sovereignty from Muslim rule.
Shivāji was given the title Chhatrapati (paramount sovereign) and is therefore known as Chhatrapati Shivāji Mahārāj.
Tragic but also a proud history of resistance
It is estimated that 40,000 to 60,000 Hindu and Buddhist temples were destroyed during the Muslim rule. Educational institutes, libraries and manuscripts were destroyed, cities and temples ransacked and looted and millions were killed or converted and many women were raped.
Whilst many other cultures were destroyed around the world, even after a thousand years of invasions, the Hindu and Bhāratiya civilisation not only survived but thrived and prospered, and to this day continues to spread. Throughout history, we as a civilisation have never been ultimately defeated and have had a huge number of great personalities who have ensured the protection and victory of the Hindu and Bhāratiya civilisation.
Conclusion
This concludes the three-part series on Hindu and Bhāratiya History. Our journey started with part one covering The Rise and Fall of Empires, and then on to part two covering the Contribution to Science, Mathematics and Philosophy and ending the series with this post on Foreign Invasions and The Hindu Resistance.
One thing is certain: we as Hindus and Bhāratiyas can be very proud of our history, our past and continued contribution to the world, and our resistance and fight against countless attacks by those who have tried their hardest to destroy the Bhāratiya Hindu civilization and culture.
One vision I can see clear as life before me that the ancient Mother (Bhārat Mātā) has awakened once more, sitting on her throne-rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim her to the entire world with the voice of peace and benediction.
~ Swami Vivekananda
