Historical Figures

30. Ghazni took terrible revenge on the Rajputs of Ajmer!

When Shahabuddin Ghori, the son of late King Prithviraj Chauhan, returned to Delhi after putting Govindraj on the throne of Ajmer, a big Chauhan chief stopped the path of Muhammad Ghori near Hansi. Hassan Nizami, the author of Tajul Masir, has not written the name of this Chauhan chief nor has given any other details regarding him. According to Hasan Nizami, this Chauhan chief was killed by Qutubuddin Aibak. In some texts, this Chauhan chief has been described as Rainsi, the elder son of Prithviraj, who was killed in this war.

We know that none of the sons of Prithviraj was named Renasi. Therefore, the Chauhan warrior who stopped the path of Muhammad Ghori near Hansi, must have been someone else but not the son of Prithviraj. Probably the name of this warrior was Renasi who was promoted by the Bhatons as the son of Prithviraj.

Hasan Nizami and Farishta have written that when Shahabuddin Ghori went to Ghazni after appointing Qutbuddin Aibak as the governor of the conquered areas in India, then Prithviraj Chauhan's younger brother Hiraj killed Govindraj from Ajmer and himself became the king of Ajmer because Govindraj had defeated the Muslims. accepted the submission. Actually Prithviraj's brother's name was not Hiraj, it was Hariraj.

At the time of this event, Qutubuddin was involved in Aibak, Banaras, Kannauj and Koel. Because of this Qutubuddin Aibak could not provide any help to Govindraj. So Govindraj left Ajmer fort and went to Ranthambore.

When Govindraj moved from Ajmer to Ranthambore, his uncle Hariraj besieged Ranthambore. On this Govindraj again sought help from Qutubuddin Aibak. When Qutubuddin's army came to the aid of Govindraj, Hariraj took the siege of Ranthambore and went to Ajmer.

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In AD 1194, Hariraj sent his commander Chattraj to attack Delhi. Qutbuddin Aibak defeated Chatarraj. Chatraraj again returned to Ajmer. Qutbuddin Aibak followed Chattraj and he also came to Ajmer with an army and he surrounded Taragarh. Hariraj went ahead and attacked Qutubuddin but was defeated.

According to the Hammir epic, knowing their defeat as certain, Hariraj and his commander Jaitra Singh, along with their group of women, entered the fire alive. Thus in AD 1195 Ajmer again became the possession of the Muslims. After the death of Hariraj, Qutubuddin Aibak handed over Ajmer to Govindraj and placed it under a Muslim governor. Even after the decline of the Chauhan Empire, the mint established by the Chauhan rulers continued to function in Ajmer, from where coins in the name of the Sultans of Delhi were minted.

In AD 1196, Qutubuddin Aibak became the Sultan of Delhi. Qutbuddin Aibak appointed Sayyid Hussain Khang Sawar Miran Sahib as the Inspector of Ajmer. Thus the Chauhans of Ajmer moved to the background at the end of the twelfth century. The Shakambhari kingdom vanished and the pride of Ajmer, their capital competing with the heavenly world, was dissolved.

On the night of 12 April 1202, a group of Rathores and Chauhans living around Taragarh attacked Ajmer fort. His plan was to establish the rule of Rajputs again by killing Syed Hussain Meeran, a Muslim officer based in the fort. A fierce battle took place between the two sides in the dark of night. In this battle all the Muslim soldiers stationed inside the fort were killed. The Rajputs also killed the Inspector Syed Hussain Khanag Sawar Meeran. Thus Ajmer fort once again came under the control of Hindus.

When the Muslim soldiers who had fled from the fort reached Delhi with this news, Qutbuddin Aibak was blown away. He did not have enough power to attack the fort and take it again. He called for an army from Ghazni to take retaliation for this attack. The huge army from Ghazni again snatched the fort of Bithli from the Rajputs and massacred it in Ajmer. This retaliation of Ghazni's army was very terrible.

The army from Ghazni, after killing all the Rajput soldiers based in Taragarh, captured the Rajput families living near the fort, did their Sunnah and made them Muslims. After converting to Islam, these Rajput families started living near Taragarh. Later they came to be called Deshwali Muslims. They were looked down upon by the Muslims from Ghazni and Ghor. The Muslims of Ghazni did not give equal status to the Muslims of the country. They were not even recruited in the army. Therefore the Muslims of the country started living a neglected life and their economic condition started deteriorating day by day. Thus the seed of poverty was planted in Ajmer.

Watch the sequel - Within a few years the vast Chauhan Empire came under the Turks!

-Doctor. Mohanlal Gupta