Turkish rule had given way to Afghan rule in North India during the middle of the 15th century. Afghans, who had served previously as commanders and warlords in the armies of the prior Turkish Sultans rose in ascendency in the existing political structure and consolidated important positions that was to influence the politics of the decades to follow. After enjoying considerable political domination in the Sultanate, they faced a backlash when the young Timurid prince Ziauddin Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat, and brought an end to the once mighty Delhi Sultanate. Some Afghans, who had previously served under the Lodis joined Babur as commanders in the Mughal army, others joined the Rajput ruler Rana Sangha. However, most others fled to their strongholds in Bengal and Bihar. In fact, Bengal was one of the strongholds of Islamic rule- one of its first Islamic rulers being Bakhtiyar Khilji, the founder of the Bengal Sultanate. Under early Mughal rule, Bengal was a region politically and militarily dominated by Afghans, that resulted in constant skirmishes with the Mughals.
Humayun, the second Mughal emperor was particularly troubled by the Afghan problem, not only in Bengal but also in the north western frontiers of his empire. Most notable of them came from Sher Shah. The Sur dynasty, whose foundation he had laid, ruled for a period of fifteen years between the two segments of Humayun’s rule. He had an impressive career in his father’s jagir and later as deputy governor of Bihar that ensured his rapid rise and eventually brought him into direct confrontation with Humayun. Having consolidated his realm from his capital at Sasaram through a series of battles, the victory at Chausa being the one that made him the de facto ruler of Bihar and Bengal. Through a formal coronation and a string of other conquests like those of Malwa and Marwar, he assumed the rulership of India, still basing his capital at Sasaram instead of the imperial city of Delhi. It is in this geo-political context that the Baro Bhuiyas of Bengal should be understood.
The word baro means twelve and bhuiya means landlord. Although called the twelve bhuiyas, they were not actually twelve in number, but just a mere exaggeration to denote their large number. The word bhuiya has its roots in bhumi meaning land, denoting the agrarian basis of these landlords. The Baro Bhuiyans implied a confederacy of some bhuiyas, who cooperated in defending their territories in violent terms, and maintained their own respective sovereignties in times of peace. The bhuiyas came from different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In 16th century Bengal, the Baro Bhuiyas were led by Isa Khan of Sonargaon.
The role of economy and environment in shaping the political and strategic advantages of this confederacy is also significant. Prior to the Mughals, land revenues were collected by intermediaries like zamindars and other revenue agents. Some of them are believed to be predecessors of the later Baro Bhuiyas. The riverine landscape of Bengal, especially the area enclosed by the Ganges in the east and Ichamati in the west, present day Mymensingh and Baniachang in greater Sylhet, which Abul Fazl refers to as Bhati, made the region inaccessible to a certain degree and thus helped in the political isolation, which further facilitated in these regional political initiatives. The long monsoons, flooded banks and harsh climatic conditions served as natural lines of defence, which were useful in deterring external attackers. Additionally, the riverine landscape turned the people of Bengal into experts in shipbuilding and naval warfare, which was rarely present in the other frontiers of the North Indian empires, who preferred territorial battles over naval ones. This defensive geography and the adaptability of its people to the environmental circumstances facilitated the governors of Bengal from time to time to rebel against the imperial governments without much fear of immediate consequences.
The processes at play in the ascendency of the Baro Bhuiyas were further catalysed by Afghan rule in the region. Sher Shah had divided the province of Bengal into smaller divisions, which were governed by tribal Afghan chiefs. The Akbarnama of Abul Fazl mentions Majlis Dilawar and Majlis Pratap as landholders, who had flourished under Afghan rule and were part of the Baro Bhuiya confederacy. Contemporary sources are very vague as to who exactly were members of Baro Bhuiya confederacy, but certain common characteristics help us differentiate them from other landholders. For example, only those bhuiyas who were constantly engaged in conflict with the armies of Akbar and Jahangir can be considered as part of the Baro Bhuiyas. As already mentioned, they formed a political and military confederacy under the leadership of Isa Khan, and later his son Musa Khan, and maintained an attitude of hostility towards the Mughals in order to preserve their autonomy and sovereignty.
From 1575 CE onwards, efforts were undertaken to bring the Bhati under Mughal imperial control. In the preceding years, Akbar had already subdued large parts of Rajputana and the Gujarat Sultanate and consolidated them under Mughal realm. In 1578, the Mughal subedar Khan-i Jahan launched the first wave of attacks on Bhati. However, the Mughals suffered heavy defeats in the hands of Isa Khan led confederacy, although some of the Bhuiyas submitted to Mughal rule without resistance. Then in 1584, Shahbaz Khan, another Mughal subedar launched a second campaign against Bhati. Again, in the following years a string of campaigns was launched by Shahbaz Khan, all directed against the leader of the Baro Bhuiya confederacy, Isa Khan. The Mughals were unsuccessful in their mission yet again.
Finally, in 1594, Akbar’s trusted Rajput general Raja Man Singh of Kachhwaha was appointed as the subedar of Bengal, and an army was sent against Isa Khan under his leadership. Man, Singh undertook several campaigns in the Bhati over the next decade. Isa Khan had died in 1599, and the leadership of the Baro Bhuiyas had gone to his son Musa Khan. In 1603, another significant member of this confederacy, Kedar Rai was injured and captured in the fierce battle near Bikrampur (in present-day Bangladesh). The entire confederacy could be subdued only in 1605, after which Man Singh left for Agra, effectively concluding his role as the subedar of Bengal.
The Baro Bhuiyas were not ready to accept Mughal authority, unlike many of the Rajput kings like those of Amer, Marwar, Jaisalmer and Bikaner. They preserved the region’s independence through a confederacy of independent Zamindars who controlled their own regions autonomously. They established an alliance and accepted the leadership of Isa Khan, and afterwards his son Musa Khan to deter their region from accepting Mughal overlordship. They fought Akbar and Jahangir’s great might and logistical supremacy for nearly thirty years until being forced to yield to Mughal military superiority. Nonetheless, they embodied the spirit of independence that was to characterize the people of Bengal for centuries to come.
Sharanyo Basu
Sharanyo Basu is an undergraduate student of History at Presidency University, Kolkata. He is a history enthusiast with interests in social and cultural history, literature and films, and histories of interactions, conflicts and accomodations.