Foreign Policy of Sher Shah

Foreign Policy of Sher Shah

Tomb of Sher Shah

Sher Shah was quite old, almost sixty-eight, when he became the emperor, so he could not enjoy the fruits of his hard labour for a long time. He often used to lament that god had made him king “In the evening of his life.” He could rule only for five years. But he was still quite powerful. He paid personal attention to the organization of the army and training of his soldiers. He not only commanded his army efficiently but also fought bravely if the occasion demanded.  He made some significant victories during his reign and introduced efficient administration for his empire.

Conquest of Gakkhars

Sher Shah stayed for some time at Khushab and after attaining victory over Baluch nobles like Ismail Khan, Fath Khan and Ghazi Khan as well as the provinces of river Chinab and Indus, he marched on Gakkar which was situated to the north of rivers Jhelum and Sindh.  It was certain to attain victory on this province due to its strategic value. Sher Shah crushed the Gakkhar province with all his might but he failed to subdue the spirit of the Gakkhars. He got constructed a fort on the frontier so that the advance of the Gakkhars might be checked in time. The fort was named Rahtasgarh and generals like Khawas Khan and Haibat Khan Niyazi were posted their along with a strong army of 50,000 soldiers. In fact, Sher Shah wanted to check the entry of Mughals in India from all quarters and specially from Bolan and Khybar Pass. Besides this, the loyalty of the Gakkhars towards the Mughals proved harmful for the Afghans, hence Sher Shah devastated them; however, they did not submit before Sher Shah. He also could not remove Mirza Haidar from Kashmir.

Revolt in Bengal (A.D. 1541)

As Sher Shah remained absent from Bengal for about a year, it inspired Khizr Khan, the Governor of Bengal, to declare his independence. He married a daughter of Ghiyasuddin Mahmood Shah, the erstwhile Sultan of the province, and raised the standard of revolt. He assumed the dignity of king and defined his authority. Sher Shah, therefore, himself set out for Bengal in order to teach a lesson to the rebel governor. Khizr Khan was defeated and imprisoned but Sher Shah was not satisfied with the administration of Bengal. In order to check the possibilities of future revolts, he abolished the governorship of Bengal and divided into 47 sarkars or districts. The military officers appointed in each srkar were called Shiqdars. All these officers of various divisions were equal in status and wholly independent of one another in administration of their respective areas. They were all directly appointed by Sher Shah and were responsible to him alone. An officer called Amir-i-Bengal ruled over all the Shisqdars.

Conquest of Malwa (A.D. 1542)

In April, A.D. 1542, Sher Shah established his control over the fort of Gwalior and proceeded to Mandu in order to wreak vengeance on the ruler of Mandu for his slackness in assisting Qutb Khan. Besides this Dr. Qanungo refers to two more political motives which forced Sher Shah to march again Mandu.

1.  To come into direct touch with the kingdoms of Gujarat and Mewar, through which the Mughals might break into Malwa.

2.  To forestall the design of Maldeo in Malwa and crush maldeo’s prospective allies before they could cause serious trouble.

Conquest of Raisin (A.D. 1543)

Puran Mal ruled over the forts of Raisin and Chanderi and he had accepted the sovereignty of Sher Shah in A.D 1542 but in A.D. 1543 he was falsely accused of ill-treatment with his Muslim subjects and forced their womenfolk to join the profession of dancing and singing. But Dr. Quanungo does not agree with the view of Abbas Sarwani and others Muslim historians who mentioned that the invasion of Raisin was provoked by the oppression of Muslims by Puran Mal. He clearly writes, “it was not undertaken out of a religious motive to punish Puran Mal for enslaving the families of the Muslims of Chanderi as the bigoted Muslims historians fondly believed ……… No incentive of fanaticism was necessary, as the political objects was a sufficient stimulant to move Sher Shah against Raisin …… One single fort unsubdued might overturn an empire, as Sher Shah could realize by contemplating the fate of Hindustan.”

Annexation of Sindh and Multan

When the forces of Afghans were conquering Raisin in A.D. 1543, Sindh and Multan were being conquered by Sher Shah’s general, Haibat Khan Niyazi. The turbulent Baluchis were ever a source of danger to Multan. The conquest of these parts was of utmost importance to Sher Shah. More than anything else it closed the route to Kandhar via Siwi, against Humayun, by strengthening Sakkar and Bhakkar to which he gave the name of Shergarh. Sher Shah was much pleased with these victories of Haibat Khan and he richly rewarded him for his gallantry.

SHARE

Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.

• 
• 
• 
• 
•