Panipat : Three Battles of Panipat
First Battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526) :
The First Battle of Panipat was fought between sultan Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi and Mughal invader, Zaheeruddin Babur on April21, A.D.1526. Ibrahim fought with a big army of one lakh soldiers whereas Babur possessed only 12 thousand soldiers but had cannons in a fair number. The supremacy in the art of fighting, the organization of force and the deadly use of cannons won for Babur a decisive battle over Ibrahim Lodi. Lodi was killed and Delhi and Agra passed on to the hands of Babur who laid the foundation of Mughal rule in India.
Second Battle of Panipat (A.D. 1556) :
The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on November 5, 1556 between the able Hindu commander and the king Hemu and Akbar who succeeded Humayun to the throne of Delhi. Hemu led a far bigger army than Akbar’s army and in addition it also had 1500 elephants. Initially Hemu succeeded but an arrow hit his eye accidentally which reversed the fate of battle. Hemu fell unconscious and his army fled away. Hemu was caught and produced before the adolecent Akbar, who beheaded him and became the master of Delhi and Agra. This battle gave the final verdict in favour of the Mughals, and the Afghans were virtually expelled for the next 200 years.
Third Battle of Panipat(A.D. 1761) :
The Third Battle of Paniapt was fought on January 14, 1761 between the Afghan invader Ahmed Shah Abdali and the Marathas,the protectors and friends of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II . In this battle, the Maratha commander Sadashiv Rao Bhau was defeated by the Afghan commander Abdali by his military tactics. The Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-Uddaula and the Rohilla leader Sardar Najib Khan were on the side of Abdali, who in this fierce battle defeated the Maratha army in a decisive manner. Sadashiv Rao Bhau, the young son of Peshwa and a number if Maratha commanders fell on the battle-field. This gave a tremendous blow to the Maratha power. Only six months later,the disheartened Peshwa, balaji Rao, died. The battle proved to be disastrous as not only the Marathas had to bear tremendous losses, but the event marked the beginning of the downfall of the Mughals. On the other hand, there was confrontation among the Muslim rulers. All these paved the way for the rise of British power in India Corporation