The legend of Sher Shah Suri

 Babur, the founder of Mughal empire convened a meeting of officials of his Kingdom to celebrate a hard fought victory in the battle against the Rajput confederation led by Rana Sanga, which followed his easy victory over Ibrahim Lodhi in the historic first Battle of Panipat. A massive feast was served to the emperor and delegates from various provinces of his Kingdom.

Sitting on top of the elevated throne something caught Babur's eyes. From the high pedestal he could see a young man struggling to eat a big chunk of meat placed in front of him. The man took out his knife, cut the meat into smaller chunks and started eating those pieces using his knife. In those days it was something unusual, considered a daring act in front of the Mughal Emperor, where a certain court etiquette needed to be followed in front of royalty. Babur noticed it and told his close courtiers - "Keep an eye on this man. I have a feeling he will go very far in life".

The Mughal Badshah who didn't live very long after this incident was quite prophetic. Couple of decades later this young man Sher Shah Suri would defeat Babur's son Humayun in two successive battles - Battle of Chausa in 1939 and Battle of Kanauj in 1940. He chased and drove away Humayun who took refuse in Persia. Sher Shah now become the undisputed Emperor of India. He ruled for 5 years from 1940-45 as a successful ruler,  military campaigner and an able administrator.

Sher Shah Suri was not born into royalty. He was the son of a minor Afghan Jagirdar in modern day Bihar. It is said that when Sher Shah's mother was pregnant with him, she had an unusual dream of a crescent 🌙 moon entering her swollen belly which is considered lucky in the Islamic world. She woke up in a state of bliss, recounting this dream to her husband who kept her awake rest of the night, not to let this auspicious dream pass by, overriden by another one.

Born Farid Khan, he become Sher Shah Suri in his youth when he single handedly killed a tiger. Following his father's footstep, Sher Shah spent his early career managing estates for others inside the very Mughal court he would one day erase. The emperor he defeated, Humayun, was the son of Babur, the founder of one of the most formidable dynasties in South Asian history. None of that protected him against the swift tactics of Suri.

Sher Shah rose through the Lodi and then Sur tribal networks in the Bihar region of northern Hindustan during the 1520s and 1530s. By 1538 he had already seized Bengal and was openly challenging Humayun's authority. Humayun marched south to crush him. The two forces met first at Chausa in 1539 CE, where Sher Shah routed the Mughal army and declared himself Sultan of Hindustan on the battlefield.

Humayun regrouped and returned with a larger force. But Sher Shah who was said to possess the ferocity of a tiger and shrewdness of a jackel was waiting for him. A master strategist, at the Battle of Kanauj on May 17, 1540 CE, Sher Shah attacked before the Mughals could organize their crossing of the river Ganga. Humayun's army collapsed. The Scion of Mughal himself barely escaped, reportedly crossing the river on an inflated animal skin by a local boatman. He fled westward into Sindh, then Persia, living as a fugitive while Sher Shah governed in Delhi. Later after Sher Shah's death when Humayun regained Delhi throne he allowed the boatman to sit on his throne for one day as a matter of gratitude.

Another instance of his strategic shrewdness  is documented when Sher Shah was facing a formidable Rajput rival. He figured out that his opponent was better positioned with a larger army, so he immediately made a requisition for reinforcement. In the meantime fearing an attack from the Rajputs not to be outnumbered by them, Sher Shah spread leaflets outside the opponent's camps spreading a fake message that some Rajput Chieftains had switched sides to Suri's camp. It created confusion in the enemy ranks, buying enough time for Sher Shah get his replenishment to defeat the Rajput King.

Within five years of taking power, Sher Shah Suri had completed a road system known as Grand Trunk Road stretching approximately 2500 kilometers from Chittagong in the east to Kabul in the northwest, lined with rest houses, wells, and shade trees every two kilometers. He also minted coins and created a fair taxation and revenue system later cloned by the Mughals. In the year 1545 an accidental gunpowder explosion during the siege of Kalinjar fort killed him. His descendants were incompetent and couldn't sustain his legacy. Had he not died in that freak accident, India might have have seen a different history. But no man ever in India had ever rose so fast from the scratch to became the Emperor and ruled for so little time of 5 years to carve his niche, leaving an indelible mark inked into its history.