History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c11.s2: Causes of the Defeat of the Mughals
History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c11.s2
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Causes of the Defeat of the Mughals
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Before closing this chapter it would be intersting to study why the Mughals, who once terrorised both the east and the west, and who even in the time of ‘Alāūddīn waged mighty wars in Central Asia, were always successfully defeated by the armies of Hindustan. The defeats and retreats of the Mughals in India were due to many reasons. Firstly, the idea of world conquest, which had been the driving force of the Mughal empire, was given up on account of the wars among the various descendants of Changīz Khan. The Mughals who invaded India were sent by the Khans of Transoxiana. They had rebelled against the Great Khans of China and were mostly busy with their internal troubles in Central Asia. Dava Khan, the arch-enemy of Hindustan fought some forty battles in Central Asia itself, and consequently could not give all his attention and energy to the conquest of Hindustan. As Professor Habib rightly point out, the discord among the Mughals and their own internecine warfare saved the kingdom of Delhi which could not have withstood a united attack of the Mughals.⁸⁸
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⁸⁸ *Khazain*, Habib Trs. p. 25.
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Secondly, the numbers that invaded India seem to be exaggerated. Women, children and old men—all accompanied the invaders, and although as such the number of the invaders was inflated, their military efficiency was marred. On many occassions ‘Alāuddīn took prisoner a large number of women and children and sold them in the market of Delhi or put them to the sword. Thirdly, the qualities of the early Mughals which had given them magnificent successes in the early days of their history were now extinct. The agility, the mobility and the qualities of patience and endurance no longer marked the Mughals who invaded India, and it is strange indeed that on the occassion of the two sieges of Delhi in 1300 and 1303, ‘Alāuddīn exhausted the patience of the Mughals and they retired without giving tough fights such as were needed for the conquest of an empire.
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Fourthly, Dava Khan, who ruled for thirty two years, could send organised expeditions to India in spite of his engagement in Central Asia. His death in 1306 brought about disorder in Transoxiana. Within a period of two or three years three Khans—Kuyuk, Kubak and Taliku, ascended the throne. Even after that the affairs were not set right and Kubak had to abdicate. He was reinstated in 1321. In these circumstances Mughal invasions to India could not be organised and sent at regular intervals. On the contrary Ghazi Tughlaq used to harass the Mughals themselves.
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And lastly, the main cause of the Mughal defeat lies in the fact that they had come to fight with a king who himself was a war-lord. The patience, integrity and the military genius of ‘Alāuddīn as well as his courage and perseverence are clearly manifested in his talk with Malik 'Alā-ul-mulk who tried to dissuade him from fighting Qutlugh Khvājā. Alā-ūddīn thought it his bounden duty to fight the foreign foe. He effected various reforms, he raised a huge army and through studied determination always repulsed the Mughal inroads until they stopped altogether.