History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c20.s2.18

c20.s2.18

In the very year of his accession, therefore, Mubārak Shāh sent a large force under Malik Tughlaq to join the forces of ‘Ainulmulk Multānī near Chittor, and attack Gujarat.²⁹ The royal forces arrived in Gujarat, but the rebel leaders were not daunted by the arrival of the imperialists, and marshalled their forces outside the city (of Neharvala).³⁰ Ainulmulk was not only an experienced general, he was a great diplomat too. He wrote secret letters to junior officers of the rebel army asking them to kill their two generals Haider and Vazīrak, and submit to the sultan. There was no sense, wrote ‘Ainulmulk, in the fighting of the two forces professing the same religion.³¹ At the end it was emphatically pointed out that ultimately the rebel leaders must be killed, but if the Gujarat forces deserted them many an innocent life would be saved from destruction. The ruse worked well, and as the belligerant forces encountered each other, many Gujarati officers deserted to the side of the imperialists. Haider and Vazīrak fought valiantly but the desertions of the treacherous officers very much impaired their strength. Not being able to bear the brunt of the onslaughts of the royal army, they fled from the field of battle. They were relentlessly pursued but they succeeded in effecting their escape³² and seeking shelter with some Hindu chiefs and Zamindars in far off provinces.³³