First Battle of Panipat

Topic: The Mughal Empire: Babur to Aurangzeb · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"

Meaning

The First Battle of Panipat was fought in April 1526, most likely on 20 or 21 April. In it, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last Lodi Sultan of Delhi, even though Babur's army was smaller [4]. It ended the Delhi Sultanate and the Lodi dynasty, and it began the Mughal Empire in India [4]. It is also the standard example of how gunpowder weapons changed the way wars were fought in India.

Explanation

Background: why Babur came to India

• Babur (Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur) was a Turkic-Mongol ruler.
• His father's side went back to Timur. His mother's side went back to Chingiz (Genghis) Khan [2].

• He was born in Fergana, in present-day Uzbekistan [3].

• He lost his home base:

• He was thrown out of Samarkand in Central Asia.

• So he looked for new land to rule.

• The Delhi Sultanate was growing weak:

• Ibrahim Lodi ruled at Delhi.
• A weak Sultanate gave Babur his chance.

The battle: weapons and tactics

• The armies: Babur's army was smaller than Lodi's. He won through tactics and technology, not numbers [4].
• New weapons: He used gunpowder, field artillery (cannon that can be moved on the battlefield) and matchlock guns (early handguns fired by a burning cord). These were new to Indian warfare at the time.
• Babur's battle method:
• Wall of carts: He tied carts (arabas) together in a long line, making a wall [4].
• Guns behind the wall: He placed cannon and matchlock men behind the carts, so they could fire safely [4].

• Tulughma: This is a battle plan where the army splits into left, right and centre. Extra units on the sides swing round the enemy's flanks. Babur used it to surround the bigger Lodi army [4].

• What happened to Lodi's army:

• Lodi's soldiers and elephants got jammed together [4].
• They could not move or charge properly. The cannon fire also frightened the elephants.
• Ibrahim Lodi was killed in the battle.

Results

• The end of the old order:

• It put a final end to the Delhi Sultanate and the Lodi dynasty [4].

• The start of the new:

• It founded the Mughal Empire in India [4].

• The next step was Khanwa (1527):

• Panipat removed the Afghan Sultans. But Rana Sanga of Mewar, who had united the Rajput clans, was still a strong rival.
• Babur defeated him at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527 [5].

• Again, Babur won while outnumbered [2].

• His rule was short:

• Babur died in 1530, only four years after Panipat.
• He won the land but had little time to organise it.

Time, place and evidence

• When: April 1526. Most accounts give 20 or 21 April 1526, so the exact day is not certain [4].
• Where: Panipat, north of Delhi, in present-day Haryana.
• Key people:
• Babur, the Central Asian ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty.

• Ibrahim Lodi, the last Lodi Sultan of Delhi [4].

• How we know: the Baburnama

• The Baburnama ('Babur's Memoirs') is Babur's own autobiography, written in an honest, diary-like way [6].
• It is written in Chagatai Turkic, a Central Asian literary language that is now extinct (no longer spoken) [6].
• It was written over a long period, roughly 1493 to 1529 [6].
• It covers army reviews, the defeat of Rana Sanga at Khanwa (1527), and a natural history of India [6].

• An English translation, Babur-nama (English): Memoirs of Babur, is a rare book on the Government of India's Indian Culture Portal [7]. A copy of the Memoirs of Babur is also held by the Library of Congress [3].

• A word of caution: The Baburnama is the winner's own account. It tells us a great deal, but it gives Babur's side of the story.

Don't confuse with

• Second Battle of Panipat (1556): Akbar's army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu. It made Mughal rule secure again after a break. It did not found the empire.
• Third Battle of Panipat (1761): Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas. It has nothing to do with the start of Mughal rule.
• Battle of Khanwa (1527): Babur against Rana Sanga of Mewar and a Rajput confederacy (a group of kingdoms joined together) [5]. Panipat (1526) was fought against Ibrahim Lodi, an Afghan Sultan.
• Tulughma vs araba: Tulughma is the flanking plan, where side units swing round to surround the enemy. Araba means the carts tied together to shield the guns [4]. Babur used both together.

Prelims Hooks

• First Battle of Panipat: April 1526 (20 or 21 April). It was Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi, the last Lodi Sultan [4].
• Result: it ended the Delhi Sultanate and the Lodi dynasty, and founded the Mughal Empire [4].
• Babur's tactics: tulughma + a wall of tied carts (arabas) shielding cannon and matchlock men [4].
• Babur's army was smaller than Lodi's. "Babur won because of bigger numbers" is a trap [4].
• Order of battles: Panipat (1526) → Khanwa (1527, vs Rana Sanga) [5] → Babur's death (1530).
• The Baburnama was written in Chagatai Turkic, not Persian [6].

Mains Points

• Gunpowder changed Indian warfare.
• A smaller army beat a larger one using field artillery, matchlocks, the cart wall and tulughma [4].

• After this, owning guns and using them well became central to who held power in India. This is why the Mughals are called a "gunpowder empire".

• 1526 was a real turning point, not just a change of ruler.

• Panipat ended the Delhi Sultanate and began the Mughal Empire [4].
• Khanwa (1527) then broke the Rajput confederacy under Rana Sanga [5].

• Together, the two battles removed both the Afghan and the Rajput obstacles to Mughal rule.

• The victory became an empire, not just a raid.

• Babur called India a 'country of few charms'. But he also recorded its gold, silver and countless artisans.
• This wealth probably explains why he stayed after Panipat.
• Still, he died in 1530. Building the state was left to his successors. This shows that winning a battle is not the same as building a lasting government.

Related concepts

• Babur
• Tulughma
• Battle of Chanderi
• Battle of Ghaghra
• Baburnama
• Charbagh

Read more

• Babur and the foundation (1526–1530)