After making elaborate preparations, Babur set out for the conquest of India. First of all, he had to deal with Daulat Khan Lodi who had turned out Ala-ud-Din from Lahore. After defeating him, Babur advanced to Delhi via Sirhind. Ibrahim Lodi came out of Delhi to give battle to Babur. The opposing armies met on the historic plains of Panipat. Babur had certain advantages. His artillery worked wonders.

In spite of the superior numerical strength of Ibrahim Lodi’s Armies, he was defeated and killed in the battlefield. The result was that the Kingdom of Delhi and Agra fell into the hands of Babur. According to Dr. Ishwari Prasad, “The battle of Panipat placed the Empire of Delhi in Babur’s hands. The power of the Lodi Dynasty was shattered to pieces and the sovereignty of Hindustan passed to the Chagtai Turks.'”

“Just as Clive’s victory at Plassey has a great significance in the establishment of the British Rule in India, similarly Babur’s victory in the First Battle of Panipat has a great significance in the establishment of Mughal kingdom in India. These battles were followed by some greater brilliant victories like those of Kanwah in the case of Babur and Buxar in the case of Clive. Just as the Mughal Empire was established after Kanwah, similarly British rule was established after the battle of Buxar.” ,

Dr. R.P. Tripathi observes: “The battle of Panipat brought Babur to the end of the second stage of his Indian conquest. It sealed the fate of the Lodi Dynasty as effectively as his Ancestor Timur had done of the Tlighluqs, and told seriously on the morale and already weak organization of the Afghans.

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The soldiers and the peasantry alike ran away in fear of the conqueror; gates were shut of every fortified town, and people busied themselves in organizing defences everywhere. The supposed solidarity of the Afghans was broken, and the leaders of its various tribes were rent asunder and demoralized … Finally, the victory of Panipat laid the foundation of the Great Mughal Empire which in graudeur, power and culture was the greatest in the Muslim World and could even claim equality with the Roman Empire.

After the Battle of Panipat, Babur sent his forces at once to occupy Delhi and Agra. On 27th April, 1526 the Khutba was read in the Principal Mosque of Delhi in the name of Zahir- ud-Din Mohammad Babur, the First of the Great Mughals. Sir Wolsely Haig points out that “It is an irony that Babur and his descendants are known as Mughals.” Actually they were Barlas Turks. In his early days, Timur had to fight bitterly against the Mughals before he could overcome them.

They eventually succeeded in expelling Babur from the home of his fathers. However, the term ‘Mughal’ had become a generic term for warlike adventurers from Persia or Central Asia. Although Timur and his descendants hated the name ‘Mughal’, it was their fate known as the Mughals. It seems to late to correct the error now. The Arabic form of the name is Mughul or Mughool but in India, it has assumed the form Mughal. The Portuguese used the form ‘Mogor’.

Babur had to meet with certain difficulties. The Rajputsputs were not friendly to him. There were many Afghan Chiefs who considered their claims to be superior to that of Babur. Moreover, his own followers began to desert him on account of the hot climate of the country. It was the iron will of Babur that saved the situati

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. ??He made it clear to his followers that he was determined to stay on in India and those who wanted to go back to Kabul might do so happily. The result was that with the exception of a few persons, the rest of his followers decided to sink or swim with their own lead