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The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c8.s5: Contest with Dahir; the fall of Sindh

The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c8.s5

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Contest with Dahir; the fall of Sindh

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Having placed Debal under an Arab governor with a garrison of 4,000 troops, Muhammad proceeded towards Nirun, then an important town about 75 miles north-east of Debal and situated near Jarak, just south of the modern Hyderabad, and after seven days' march reached and captured the place early in 712 A.D. without any resistance as the Buddhists there, being in treacherous collusion with the enemy, gave him active assistance. Dahir once again failed to move and left the inhabitants to their fate. Flushed with success, the Arabs now marched rapidly to Sehwan, which, too, fell after a week's siege, its governor, Bajhra, a cousin of Dahir, having left the place owing to the pusillanimity of the principal men of the town, who, being traders and priests, did not like to fight. Then came the turn of Sisam on the Kumbh, which was lost by the Jats after two days' unequal fighting. From Sisam Muhammad returned towards Nirun in order to cross the Mihran, the main stream of the Indus, and to meet Dahir who was entrenched at Brahmanabad. He was detained for months on the western bank of the river owing to want of boats and to the breakout of scurvy which reduced the number of his horses. After he had received a reinforcement of 2,000 horses and medicine for the ailing animals from Hajjaj, he crossed over to the other side, along with his whole force without meeting much resistance.

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Dahir, who seems to have pinned his faith on a pitched battle, was now roused to a sense of the danger he had landed himself in by his policy of drift, and collected, according to the Arab accounts, 50,000 troops, raised mostly on the spur of the moment, and moved from Brahmanabad to Rawar to meet the invader. After several days' skirmishes between the scouts of both the sides, a well contested engagement took place on 20th June, 712 A.D. Dahir himself, mounted on an elephant, led the attack, as if to redeem his character. He rehabilitated his reputation as a soldier, though not as a general, by a valiant fight. But his elephant, being struck by a naphtha arrow that set fire to the *hauda*, fled into the river, causing a great deal of confusion in the ranks of his army. The animal was, however, induced to return from the mid-stream. Dahir hit the enemy hard and carried out great slaughter among the Arab troops. But, as ill-luck would have it, he himself was struck by an arrow and fell from the elephant. He recovered himself in an instant and mounted a horse. Meanwhile the enemy hurled a mortal blow at him and his army fled in panic.¹⁰

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¹⁰ *Chach Nama* in *Elliot and Dowson*, Vol. I, p. 170.

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The concluding part of the tragic drama might afford some consolation to the Indian patriot. The women of Sindh, headed by Dahir's widow, Rani Bai, made an attempt to expiate for the sins of their men-folk. The Rani put up a heroic defence within the fort of Rawar and her garrison, 15,000 strong, rained stones and missiles on the besieging Arabs, causing them considerable headache. When it became impossible to hold out any longer, she performed the traditional *jauhar* along with her women followers, after the Rajput fashion, in order not to fall into the hands of the 'unclean' foreigners.¹¹ Brahmanabad (north of Hyderabad), too, like Rawar, redeemed its fair name. Here had gathered the remnants of Dahir's troops who fought with a grim determination, losing 8,000 (according to another account 20,000) of their number as killed, though not without killing an equal number, if not more, of the enemy. Jai Singh, Dahir's son, finding further resistance useless, retired to Chitrur and Muhammad occupied the town with its treasure and other valuables, including Rani Ladi, another widow of Dahir, and his maiden daughters, Surya Devi and Parmal Devi. The invader's next objective was Aror (also called Alor), the then capital of Sindh, held by another son of Dahir who stoutly defended the town and abandoned it only when further resistance proved to be of no avail. The subjugation of Sindh was now complete.

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¹¹ *Ibid*, p. 172.

Cites (1)