In the year 1607, Mirza Nathan, a young man barely out of his teens accompanied his father Ihtimam Khan to the eastern frontier of the empire, where he was to serve as Mir Bahr (commander of the imperial war fleet). Ihtimam’s armed riverboats were deployed to consolidate the imperial hold over recently conquered areas in Bengal, where restive Afghan zamindars still dreamt of restoring the Afghan Sultanate displaced by the Mughals during the previous century.
Shortly after their arrival, Mirza Nathan fell seriously ill. His condition deteriorated rapidly till the seventh night when he had a life-changing vision. In his dream, ‘the ruler of the spiritual and temporal domain’, Emperor Jahangir appeared, and thus addressed himself to him, ‘O Nathan! Is this the time for a tiger to lie down? Arise, I have granted you security from pain and trouble through my prayers to the Almighty and Omnipresent Lord. Be quick, rise, and embrace manliness. Be a sincere comrade to your great father. Be his support.’
In the morning the malady was gone. Nathan woke up a changed man. Now he knew his calling and purpose in life. With the permission and blessings of his father and the governor of Bengal, he sent a petition to the emperor, describing his mystical vision, and entreating him to enlist him as one of his disciples. In due time, an imperial messenger returned bearing a tiny portrait (Shabah) of Jahangir ‘adorned with a genealogical tree' of the Mughal dynasty. Had Nathan been stationed near the court, there would have been a formal investiture ceremony, in which the emperor would personally place his portrait in Nathan's turban. However, owing to Nathan's frontier posting this could not be done. Nathan was now permitted to flaunt this badge of honour on his turban. Jahangir was his Pir (spiritual guide) and he was his Murshid (disciple).
During the reign of Akbar, his advisor on spiritual matters, Abul Fazl had discovered through his studies and ‘contemplation' that the Noor (light) of the Almighty had first manifested in the human realm in a Mongol princess 75 generations ago, when she was impregnated by a divine light from a star. Since then, generation by generation, through the lines of the Changez Khan and Taimur Lang, this divine Noor had been manifesting ever more clearly, till it attained perfection in the person of emperor Akbar, who was the Qibla of the age, Insaan-i-Kamil (the perfect man), and the Shadow of the Almighty. He was the supreme guide in all temporal and spiritual matters, and his service was nothing less than salvation for a soul. Imperial service in fact was the highest form of good a manly person could aspire to.
And since, perfection cannot subtract from itself, Jahangir too had inherited the same Noor of the Almighty. Nathan was indeed fortunate to be his Murshid. In his later life, Nathan frequently referred to Jahangir as his Pir, Qibla, and moral compass. It would appear, that Nathan equated imperial service to a form of worship and ethical obligation.
After his father’s death, Nathan rose steadily within the ranks of the imperial bureaucracy. By 1621, we hear that he already held a Mansabdari of 500 cavalrymen. In recognition of his distinguished service in the suppression of the Afghan zamindars of Bengal, he had been conferred the title of Shitab Khan (speedy Khan) by the emperor.
While the Mughals were consolidating their hold over Bengal, Ahoms, themselves an aggressive expansionist state were trying to extend their control over the Brahmaputra valley. A clash of these two powers was inevitable, and Nathan would soon find himself in the thick of a decades-long frontier war.
In the year 1621, possibly, grown somewhat careless and arrogant, Nathan moved his supplies, women, and the entire household (Mahal) to the forward post at Ranighat. Though, protected by a solid wooden stockade fortress and surrounded by outlying watchtowers, the outpost was vulnerable to surprise attacks.
It did not take long for Ahoms to receive intelligence about the presence of the Mughal commander at the outpost. Acting under the personal orders of the Ahom king, they attacked quickly and in force.
After making contact, Ahoms hastily constructed an immense palisaded stockade at a distance of one cannon shot from the Mughal outpost, meanwhile, cutting off their supply lines in the rear and planting rumours that the Mughal relief party had been surrounded and annihilated in the forests. Nathan's problems were compounded by the fact that Shaikh Kamal, the man in charge of sending him supplies and reinforcements was locked in an ongoing legal jostle with him over the possession of a jagir. Distrustful of his intentions, Nathan drew out a part of his already depleted force and sent them away to restore supply and communication lines.
The next day Ahoms launched a full-scale attack, resulting in the capture of Nathan's outer defensive lines and the total encirclement of his exhausted troops. During the night Ahoms worked furiously to construct a mud and wooden wall and ditch around the imperial camp, thus cutting off their hopes of breaking through. The next day, as Ahoms regrouped to start the final assault, their commander sent a demand to Mirza Nathan, offering to spare the lives of the garrison if they surrendered. At this point, a group of 13 Usman Afghan imperial Mansabdars managed to fight their way into the camp. They had defied Shaikh Kamal's orders and come to their ‘old friend’ Mirza Nathan’s aid. Skirmishes continued all through the day, but Ahoms hesitated from launching a frontal attack yet; expecting the garrison to surrender soon.
Nathan was however prepared to die fighting. That night he dismissed his servants and camp followers instructing them to try and flee through Ahom lines under the cover of darkness. Next, he wrapped a kafan around his head and sent the following message to Ahoms, ‘As we have taken the salt of Jahangir, we consider martyrdom to be our blessing for both worlds. You will see what feats we perform before we die.’
Following this, he asked his household gold plates and utensils to be brought out and ordered the paymaster to meet the salary arrears of all soldiers. He then demanded of all Muslims that they take an oath on the Quran, and all Hindus swear in the name of lord Shaligram that they would remain together and accept martyrdom following each other's footsteps.
The group of Usmani Afghans who had arrived the day before were somewhat detached from these moving scenes. They now advised that instead of waiting inside the fort that had become a trap they should try to break through. While martyrdom was noble, it would serve neither the empire nor the emperor.
Persuaded by them, Nathan ordered his field artillery loaded on his elephants and organized his troops into an assault column. On one of the elephants were put Nathan's wives and his sister. He put them in charge of one Nik Muhammad Bek (whose family had been serving Nathan's family for four generations) with the orders to kill the women if Nathan fell in the battle. Surprisingly, then he ordered the remaining fifty-odd women in the fort to perform immolation by fire, in the Rajput riot of Jauhar. Several injured soldiers and servants too jumped in the fire to save themselves from the ignominy of capture and the torture and humiliation that would follow.
Nathan led his column from the fort. A sharp running battle ensued. As Afghan riders had predicted, at least some of Nathan's troops were able to cross the Brahmaputra to safety.
The following day, Nathan removed the turban gifted by Jahangir and wrapped a ragged black shroud in its place and made an oath to not remove it till his shame and defeat had been avenged. We do not find out whether he was able to redeem his honour to his satisfaction. He did inflict a major defeat on the Ahom army in the months to follow, but eventually, Ahoms would prevail over the Mughals in the riverine tracts of Brahmaputra valley.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Baharistan-i-Ghaybi- A History of the Mughal Wars in Assam Cooch Behar, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during the reigns of Jahangir and Shahjahan, Vol. 2, Read Books, 2007, United Kingdom
(This lost manuscript was discovered by Sir Jadunath Sarkar and translated by M I Borah)
The History of Bengal, vol. 2- Sir Jadunath Sarkar, BR Publishing Corporation, 2011, Delhi
The Mughal State, 1526-1750: Themes in Indian History: Oxford in India Readings, Oxford University Press, 2000, New Delhi
Subaltern Studies- vol.2- ed. (Ranajit Guha), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999
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