Muntakhab al-tawarikh 61.5
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 61.5
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61.5.1
The Ghakkars in appearance like the tribe of 'Ad, daily fought with the Afghans, and by night entered their camp like thieves, and used to carry off whomsoever they might find, woman or man, freed man or slave, and keep them in bonds with the utmost rigour, and sell them. The Afghans dragged them in the dirt, and gave them the nickname of Ruswai (disgraced), but no one had the power to represent this state of things to Islem Shah till at last one day Shah Muhammad Farmali, who was one of the most noted Amirs for wit and good humour in Hindustan, and was also a specially favoured and forward boon companion said, "My Lord the King! Last night I saw in a dream three bags descend from heaven, in one of which was dust, in another gold, and in the third paper. The dust fell upon the head of a soldier, the gold went to the house of the Hindu daftari, and the paper remained in the royal treasury." Islem Shah was pleased with this speech, and promised that after his return to Gwaliar he would make his accountants draw up an account of the soldiers' pay, and pay them in gold. As it happened that order was never carried out, for in those same days death seized him by the collar. Verse. Attend to my wants to-day for that draught is of no avail Which is given to Sohrab after his death.
61.5.2
In the end, the affairs of the Niyazis came to this, that when their strength was broken, and they came into Kashmir, the Kashmiris, who are born traitors and deceivers, first of all invited the Niyazis from Rajuri after inflaming them with spurious ambition for kingdom, and in the end their guides leading them astray brought the tribes of Kashmir to oppose them, and at a hint from Islem Shah held the head of the pass against them. The women even of the Niyazis in defence of their honour girded on quivers, (among them were the mother and wife of A‘zam Humayun), and fighting with the Kashmiris were attacked by a hail of stones which literally covered them, and not a soul escaped. It is said that in the reign of Shir Shah a body of the Afghans of the tribe of Sanbal invited the Niyazis to Dhankot under treaty, and put two thousand of them to death in obedience to the orders of Shir Shah, putting their wives and children to the sword. Five years later the same thing happened to them, and in this house of retribution they received the reward of their deeds, hand for hand. And in these narrow passes they put all three brothers to the sword, sending their heads as an offering to Salim Shah. They also sent for him a girl from there. A part of this story has been elegantly told in the Tarikh-i-Kashmir, the composition of which is ancient though its arrangement is modern;
61.5.3
and at the time when Islem Shah, had sent troops against the Ghakkars and the Janoha party who were strongly entrenched on the banks of the river Behut, he himself was occupied in building the fortress of Mangarh; and Kamran Mirza, after fighting many battles with Muhammad Humayun Padshah, fled from Kabul and took refuge with Salim Shah, in the hopes that he would give him reinforcements which would enable him to capture Kabul, in the (vain) expectation that the water which had flowed away would return to its source. When Islem Shah heard this tidings, he selected from his army the notorious Hamunil Baqqal, who in those clays, in virtue of this friendly foretokening these, had been promoted from being overseer of the market to a position of confidence, and sent him with another body to the neighbourhood of Rohtas to meet Mirza, and although Islam Shah in his own mind thought this a reason for increased confidence in Mirza, being led to this by the want of confidence he had in the Afghans as a tribe, and the entire trust he reposed in Isa Khan. But Mirza himself made light of this, and recognising that there were dregs in the very first draught of the cup was unwilling to come in person. Verse
61.5.4
Now indeed for Mirza near to his own tent, and bestowed upon him a horse and a robe of honour, and a slave girl and a eunuch so that they might spy into his affairs. He used also to summon the Mirza from time to time, and hold converse with him regarding poetry, but their intercourse was always disagreeable, and the Mirza was worried by these incessant ceremonial visits and show of politeness, till he grew sick of his life, and was watching a favourable opportunity to make his escape. Moreover the Afghans used to make jibes at him in the Hindi tongue, and when he appeared in darbar used to say More mi ayad (Here comes the peacock). The Mirza enquired from one of the attendants, in the presence of Islem Shah, “What do they mean by More?” He answered, “It is the name they give to a man of great dignity.” The Mirza replied, “At that rate Salim Shah is a first rate More and Shir Shah was a still finer.” Salim Shah consequently gave orders that no one was ever to use that word again, nor to indulge in pleasantries at the Mirza’s expense. At last one day Islem Shah called upon the Mirza for a verse of poetry, when the Mirza recited this matla‘ off hand: Gardish-i-gardun-i-gardun gardananra gard kard Bar sar-i-sahib-tamizan naqisan ra mard kard. The revolutions of the circling heaven have brought low the mighty, And have made worthless men to lord it over men of intelligence.
61.5.5
Islem Shah fully caught the meaning of this verse, and gave secret orders to his attendants to keep the Mirza under open arrest. The Mirza, however, by the help of the zamindars, made an arrangement with one of the hill Rajas, and persuaded him, by holding out inducements of various kinds, to station postalong the banks of the river Chinab. One night he emerged from his tent with a woman’s chadar drawn over his head. The guards imagined that it was one of the women of his haram and offered no interference.
61.5.6
The Mirza crossed the river with his horse and saddle and succeeded in reaching the Raja. From there he proceeded alone, clothed in and taking with him, was escorted by some of the Raja’s subjects till he arrived in the vicinity of the village of Ghari Khati on the bank of the river Behat, and rested there one night. Inasmuch as that village is near Sultanpur the residence of Sultan Adam Ghakkar, at a distance of three krohs from the fortress of Rohtas, some one went to Sultan Adam and informed him that a Mughal woman was encamped at such and such a place, attended only by one jilaudar, and that her intention was to proceed on the following morning. Sultan Adam sent messengers to make enquiries, and then proceeded in person, and had an interview with the Mirza, who by persistent entreaty prevailed upon him to give a promise that he would send him in safety to a place of refuge. Sultan Adam accordingly wrote a letter to Muhammad Humayun Padshah, who had recently arrived in that neighbourhood, begging him to spare the Mirza’s life. The Padshah wrote an order in accordance with this request of his, and sent it to him, but eventually, two years later, he again seized the Mirza, and after blinding him with a lancet proposal, and folk began to entertain increased suspicion against him, and both small and great talked openly about him. Shāh Muhammad summoned these two holy men into his own private dwelling for safe custody, and took great pains to entertain them.
61.5.7
One night, not long afterwards, an armed band entered his house by the upper story and martyred both father and son who were engaged in their night’s devotions. They then left the house, and in the morning the governor of the city came and enquired of Shāh Muhammad how this had occurred. He absolutely denied any knowledge of the circumstances, and stated that he had no idea who the murderers were; then he prepared a report of the affair under the Great Seal, and sent it together with a despatch to Islīm Shāh at his camp. Islīm Shāh thereupon sent to Dihlī Makhdūmu-l-Mulk Mullā ‘Abdu-llāh of Sultānpūr, who was Shaikhu-l-Islām and Sadru-s-sudūr, to investigate this matter, and also despatched circular letters summoning the Chief ‘Ulamā of the time, for example Miyān Hātim Sanbalī, Miyān Jamāl Khān Muftī, and others. This conflict lasted two months after this time, and after great argument and enquiry it was with tolerable certainty conjectured that the murderers were agents of Shāh Muhammad. This result was reported to Islīm Shāh, but before any reply could be received Shāh Muhammad, who had sunk from so high dignity to the depths of disgrace, could not endure the anxiety, underwent venesection and took sour milk in addition, and endured voluntarily humiliating penance. Report also says even more than this, but every one knew perfectly well that all these austerities and self-inflictions, were the outcome of hypocrisy and deceit, and not inspired by religious motives.