Did Muhammad bin Tughluq army Capture Dhang Garh of Dhangu in 1330?

History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq Capturing Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar)

             History of Bloodsheds in East Garhwal (1337-1424) –art III

           History of Garhwal including Haridwar (1223- 1804 AD) –part -44

                                            

 History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar) -289

                       By: Bhishma Kukreti (A History Research Student)

                    Projection for KhurasSn Expedition by Muhammad bin-Tughluq

  Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin-Tughluq projected a huge army for KhurasSn Expedition and arranged 400000 armed forces. Muhammad bin Tughluq abandoned the KhurasSn Expedition. In 1330, out of 400000, 100000 cavalry soldiers were used for attacking a hill tribe Kingdom Karachal (Kumaon-Garhwal?).

            Historian Dr. Mahdi Husain describes (from various Muslim historian writings) that the army captured a hill foot hill Jidiya Nagar (Chandi Ghat or Haridwar) and nearby territories. The army burnt the villages, destroyed crops, destroyed worshipping places and made millions of Hindus (Kafir) as slaves. Hindus ran away leaving their properties and animals towards hills.  

            Sultan army started expediting towards hills through lean and thin road (bank of River). The road was such that only one horse could walk and there was steep hill too. Reaching on top of hill, the army captured Warangal or Garhwal.

  The army erected camps in hill region. Army commander sent message to Sultan. Sultan Muhammad bin- Tughluq   ordered his army to stay there. If there were 100000 horses- riding soldiers that means the Sultan army might have destroyed huge territory.

                    Heavy Rain

   After some time of winning hill top fort, the rainy season started and an epidemic of horses started that horses started dying in numbers. The army commanders requested Sultan for the army coming down in plains. Sultan accepted the request of army commanders to come down in plains.

                       Bloodsheds of Muslim Soldiers

               When Hindus of Hills saw that Muslim soldiers are returning to plains and Muslim soldiers had to return through narrow road (gurbat). Taking the benefits of situation, Hindus slipped heavy stone rocks on the Muslim soldiers. Muslim soldiers were killed. Hindus captured the camps, looted properties of Muslim army. Most of the soldiers were killed while return from hills to plains (Haridwar?).

  According to Battuta, only three army commanders could reach Delhi alive. According to Barni only ten soldiers reached to Delhi. As per Isami, only five thousands soldiers returned to Delhi. Muhammad bin Tughluq did not forgive the cowered soldiers and killed them in mass.

             The territory can’t be Tibet –Garhwal border

   A couple of historians identify the above territory at the Tibet –Garhwal border. However, the geographical conditions and plants described by Battuta and other writers do not tally with the border as trees did not grow in Tibet-Garhwal border and still today trees do not grow there.

            Devalgarh as Warangal

  A few historians suggest that Warangal name should be suggested as Devalgarh. Devalgarh is in far north of Haridwar (Jindiya or Chandi Ghat or Chandi Nagar). Even today, an army of 100000 horses would take at least one year to reach Devalgarh from Haridwar.   While, the time period from start of expedition and killings of Muslim soldiers is only for six –seven months. That means Muslim soldiers did not reach far away from Haridwar or Jidiya Nagar.

                 Dhang Garh and Bnadarbhel of Talla Dhangu, Pauri Garhwal

                  There were two probable roads to reach towards north of Garhwal. One road was from Haridwar to Bhabhar via Udaipur and Ajmer Garh to Langurgarh and then Satpuli to Devalgarh. However, the steep hills and steep valleys were/are not there from Haridwar-Bhabhar-Satpuli- Devalgarh described by Battuta, Isami or others.

 Another road to reach from Haridwar (Jidiya city) to Badrinath (near Devalgarh) was /is Haridwar- Bandarbhel, Dhang Garh, Vyaschatti –Dev Prayag to Badrinath or Devalgarh etc.

  The territory described by Muslim scholars tally with the road from Lakshman Jhula- Shivpuri-Foolchatti-Bandarbhel (Jhaid) to Dhang Garh in Talla Dhangu at the bank of Ganges River. There is seven ten miles steep hill road at Ganges bank from Mohan Chatti to Dhang Garh. The folklore also suggests that Pakdwa (Muslim soldiers) captured Dhang Garh Garhi. The analysis suggests that the army of Muhammad bin –Tughluq captured Dhangu region, Udaipur regions. The local and migrated Hindus killed Muslim soldiers from Dhang Garh to Lakshman Jhula by slipping heavy rocks on Muslim soldiers.

                           Buddhist Temple

           Muslim writers wrote that there was a Buddhist temple at the Chinese and Karachal border where Chinese pilgrims used to come. Muslim soldiers destroyed that worshipping place. Chinese king requested Muhammad bin Tughluq to allow him for Chinese king renovating the temple. Muhammad bin Tughlaq accepted the request in turns of laving Jajiya tax on pilgrims. The said temple should be Buddhist temple of Chakravat or Ahogang near   ChandiGhat , Haridwar. Purushottam Singh the Kumaon King built that temple.

                                      Treaty

                Though, the soldiers ran away from Hills but the Sultanate camps were there in hills and people could not perform agricultural activities with ease in Bhabhar Tarai. Garhwal-Kumaon king or Kings had treaty with Muhammad bin Tughluq and then agricultural activities started smoothly in Bhabhar Tarai.  

  The attack might be very destructive and people, Kings might have lost human beings and properties.

              However, we don’t have names of King or rulers of Hills of Garhwal-Kumaon.

** Main references for this chapter – Elliot and Dowson

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti Mumbai, India, bckukreti@gmail.com13/3//2014

                                      References

1-Dr. Shiv Prasad Dabral, 1971, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-4, Veer Gatha Press, Dogadda, Pauri Garhwal, India 

2-Harikrishna Raturi, Garhwal ka Itihas

3-Dr. Patiram, Garhwal Ancient and Modern

4-Rahul Sankrityayan, Garhwal

5- Oakley and Gairola, Himalayan Folklore

6- Bhakt Darshan, Garhwal ki Divangit Vibhutiyan

7-Foster, Early Travels in India William Finch

8-Upadhyaya, Shri Shankaracharya

9-Shering, Western Tibet and British

10-H.G. Walton, Gazetteer of British Garhwal

11-B.P.Kamboj, Early Wall Paintings of Garhwal

12-H.g Walton, Gazetteer of Dehradun

13- Vimal Chandra, Prachin Bharat ka Itihas

14-Meera Seth, Wall Paintings of Western Himalayas 

15-Furar, Monumental Antiquities

16-Haudiwala, Studies in Indo-Muslim History

17- Rahul Khari 2007, Jats and Gujjar Origin, History and Culture

18- Upendra Singh, 2006, Delhi: Ancient History, Barghahan Books

19- B.S. Dahiya, 1980, Jats the Ancient Rulers (A Clan Study) , Sterling Publications

20- Maithani, Bharat –Gotrapravardeepika

21 Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon Valley Down the Ages

22-Dashrath Sharma, Early Chauhan Dynasties

23- Shailndra Nath Sen, Ancient History and Civilization

24-H.M Elliot, 1867, The History of India as told by its Own Historians

25- Jaswant Lal Mehta, 1979, Advance Study in Medieval India

(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal from 1223-1804 to be continued in next chapter          

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -290  

Notes on Early Medieval History of Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Pauri Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Chamoli Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Rudraprayag Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Tehri Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Uttarkashi Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Dehradun, Garhwal; Early Medieval History of Haridwar ; Early Medieval History of Manglaur, Haridwar;  Early Medieval History of Rurkee Haridwar ; Early Medieval History of Bahadarpur Haridwar ; History of Haridwar district to be continued… 

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History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Chandi Ghat, Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Lakshman Jhula, Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Shiv Puri Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing FoolChatti , Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Mohan Chatti Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Bandarbhel, Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Jhaid area, Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar); History of Muhammad -bin-Tughluq army Capturing Dhang Garh Karachal /Qarachll (Garhwal –Kumaon-Haridwar);