History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c37.7

v2.c37.7

The next step was the decisive battle of Rajmahal on the 12th July 1576 when Khān-i-Jahān and Rāja Toḍar Mall defeated the Afghans, captured Dāūd and sent his head to Akbar. The Afghans were now divided in opinion and without a crowned head of their own race to guide them. They fought under many leaders and some of them rebelled repeatedly even after taking service under the Mughals. The aversion of the Mughal officers to the province of Bengal helped the Afghans, but Mughal officers had to continue to serve in spite of repeated representations to Court for transfer elsewhere. What Abul Fazl terms "the rebellion of Bengal officers" was really another Afghan war during the reign of Akbar. This rebellion took place in 1580 and the account given in the Akbarnāmā shows that Bengal was being occupied by the Mughals from a number of strong outposts, but there was practically no government. So we hear that "The ringleaders of the Bengal rebellion were Bābā Khān Jabbarī and Wazīr Jāmīl, but S'aid Toqbāi M. Ḥājī Lang, Arab' Bakhshī, Ṣāleḥ, Mīrākī Khān, Murtaẓā Qūlī Turkmān and Farrakh Irghālīq nourished the flame. Qiyā Khān in Orissa, Murād Khān in Fatḥābād and Shāh Bardī in Sonārgāon, spoke about conquering but had not the grace of doing good service."² The language of the Court historiographer of Akbar rendered into plain English means that when the Afghan officers rose in rebellion against the Mughals, Qiyā Khān and other Mughal officers did not make any serious attempt to quell it, but remained practically besieged in their strongholds. Muẓaffar Khān, the Ṣubāḥdār of Bengal, after the death of Khān-i-Jahān, removed Khāldin Khān from the fief of Jaleswar and assigned it to Mīr Jamāluddīn Ḥussain Ānju, which gave great offence. The Ṭabaqāt-i-Akbarī says that Khāldin was scourged while the Iqbālnāma-i-Jahāngīrī says that Khāldin was insulted and ill-treated by Mīrzā Nijāt, a son-in-law of Muẓaffar.¹ Subsequently, after the death of Muẓaffar Khān, Khān-i-'Aẓam Kokaltāsh Khān was sent to Bengal.² The siege of Patna and connected events have only a distant connection with the history of Orissa. During this rebellion Qiyā Khān was poisoned and Qaṭlū Khān Lohānī marched against Mīrzā Nijāt Khān at Sātgāon, who had to fly to the Portuguese, Tavares, who was formerly in Mughal service. Qaṭlū advanced into the heart of western Bengal and defeated the force under Hamzabān, sent by Bābāi Qāqshal to the relief of Nijāt Khān, at Mangalkot in the northern part of the Burdwan district.³ When Khān-i-'Aẓam joined the army near Patna many of the rebels left Bihar. In the 28th year of the reign of Akbar (1583) Khān i-'Aẓam advanced towards Bengal. At this time Qaṭlū Khān Lohānī was prominent in Orissa and had also occupied a portion of Bengal. Ma'sūm Khān Kābulī entered into a league with Qaṭlū to defend Afghan dominions against the fresh advance of the Mughals.⁴ Another important man on the Afghan side connected with this campaign was Kālāpāhāḍ, alias Kālidās Gajadānī—according to Mr. H. E. Stapleton—who was the reputed conquerer of Orissa. Ma'sum Khān appointed him to command the flotilla in the battle of Garhi.¹ The Afghans submitted to Khān-i-'Aẓam and joined the Mughals against Ma'sum Khān. Then Shāhbāz Khan was sent to Bengal, as Khān-i-'Aẓam openly declined to stay any longer in that country. The Mughal army now proceeded against Qaṭlū.² Qaṭlū Khān was defeated and Ma'sūm Khān and his confederates fled. Qaṭlū now sent envoys to treat and Orissa was promised to him if he submitted and accepted service.