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Hindu baiting which had been the cruel sport of fanatic individual marauders since the seventh century in the name of Islam, later hardened into a breathtaking relay in which dynasty after Muslim dynasty carried forward Islam's blood-dripping sword and burn Hindus and their land.
Balban was the last prominent ruler of the Slave dynasty. After him the succession was thrown into a turmoil. His grandson Kaikobad, a dissolute youth, had succeeded to the throne. Rendered paralytic by a fast and lecherous life, Kaikobad's infant son was raised to the throne by the distraught courtiers.
An infant being on the throne, the actual power in the court was held by a Turkish junta. This was not liked by the Khiljis. A strong Khilji was Jalaluddin. Among the Turks were Aitamur Kachhan and Aitamur Surkha. They targeted Jalaluddin for elimination. But Jalaluddin was too clever. Jalaluddin consolidated his position at Baharpur. Aitamur Kachhan, accompanied by a military contingent, proceeded to Baharpur. The idea was to invite Jalaluddin to a meeting in the Shamsi Palace and there murder him.
Forestalling Aitamur Kachhan's plans, Jalaluddin lay in ambush; he pounced upon Aitamur and his contingent, killed Aitamur and most of his men. Jalaluddin had many sons. They pressed forward to Delhi, took the infant prince in custody and later murdered him. Aitamur Surkha had pursued the Khilji forces after the death of Aitamur Kachhan, but fell off his horse, shot by a Khilji arrow. Many Turkish noblemen were slain in the encounter.
Ziauddin Barni observes in his Tarikh-i-Firozshahi: "Great excitement followed in the city; the people, high and low, small and great, poured out of the twelve gates of the city and took the road for Baharpur to the rescue of the young prince. They were all troubled by the ambitions of the Khiljis and were strongly opposed to Jalaluddin's seizing power. But the Kotwal, on account of his sons (taken as hostages) allayed the popular excitement and brought back the citizens. The crowd dispersed at the Badaun gate." (Pp. 134-135, Vol.III, Elliot & Dowson)
Treacherous Muslim loyalties, always known to shift to the winning side, made some Turks walk into Jalaluddin's yard. Not wanting to have the blood of the reigning paralytic sultan on his own hands, Jalaluddin sighted a chieftain whose father had been put to death at Kaikobad's orders. The latter was asked to proceed to Kilughari with instructions to dispatch Kaikobad to Allah's home. "This man entered Kilughari and found the sultan lying at his last gasp in the room of mirrors. He dispatched him (sultan Kaikobad) with a few kicks and threw his body into the Jumna." (P. 135, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson)
Author : Shri Purushottam Nagesh Oak
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