Babar's attack on Bajaur

Babar's attack on Bajaur

In 1518, Babar had invested and conquered the fortress of Bajaur, and gone on to conquer Bhera on the river Jhelum,a little beyond the salt ranges. After the RiverIndus, these formed the traditional defensive frontier of India. Babar claimed these areas as his own, because they had been part of Taimur's empire. Hence, "picturing as our own the countries once occupied by the Turks", he ordered that "there was to be no overrunning or plundering (of the countryside)". It may be noted that this applied to areas which did not offer resistance, because earlier, at Bajaur, where the Afghan tribesmen had resisted, he had ordered a general massacare, with their women and children being made captive.

Babar justifies this massacre by saying, "the Bajauris were rebels and at enmity with the people of Islam, and as, by heathenish and hostile customs prevailing in their midst, the very name of Islam was rooted out..."

As the Bajauris were rebels and inimical to the people of Islam, the men were subjected to a general massacre and their wives and children were made captive. At a guess, more than 3,000 men met their death. We entered the fort and inspected it. On the walls, in houses, streets and alleys, the dead lay, in what numbers! Those walking around had to jump over the corpses.

The Gazetteers and Reports contain nearly all the modern information available about Bajour. The autobiography of Baber (by Leyden and Erskine) gives interesting details about the country in the 16th century.


From the pages of History