Twilight of the Sultanate c9.s2.40

c9.s2.40

Taking advantage of the trouble in the Punjab, Vīrama Singh of Katehār rose in revolt in A.D. 1418 (821 H). Tājul Mulk’s punitive expeditions in the Doab-Katehār region in 1414 and 1416 had exasperated Vīrama into defying the authority of the Sultanate. Khizr Khan ordered Tājul Mulk to proceed against Vīrama, but the latter was prepared for the worst. He laid waste his own country after the time-honoured scorched-earth policy, and escaped into the forest surrounding Aonla in the Kamaon hills.⁵⁴ Unable to deal with the object of his pursuit, the Vazīr “contented himself with the ignoble but customary satisfaction of plundering the people”.⁵⁵ To carry his mission further Tājul Mulk proceeded to Etawah. He crossed the Ganga at the ford of Bijlānā⁵⁶ and then besieged Etawah. Finding his countryside put to indiscriminate plunder,⁵⁷ Rai Sumēr made peace by giving tribute and rendering homage. But Tājul Mulk’s devastating progress had exasperated the people of the region so that within six months Khizr Khan himself had to march out to bring to book the disaffected western Uttar Pradesh. But the more the raids the greater the resistance. Perhaps a policy of conciliation would have brought about better results. Not only did the rulers of Gwalior, Katehār and Etawah never submit to Khizr Khan, but his policy of continuous repression turned even friends into foes. The instance of Mahābat Khan, ruler of Badaon, amply bears out this thesis.