The Táríkh-i Badáúní is one of the commonest histories to be met with in India. One of the best copies is in the Asiatic Society's Library. Other good copies are to be found in Banda, Lucknow, Kole, and Patna. [The whole of the work has been published in three volumes in the Bibliotheca Indica, and many passages have been translated by Mr. Blochmann as notes to his edition of the Áin-i Akbarí.]
[Text, vol. i. p. 227.] In A.H. 729 Tarmah Shírín*
the
Mughal, brother of Katlagh Khwája Mughal, King of Khurásán,
who had on a previous occasion invaded Hindústán, advanced
with a large army to the province of Dehlí. He captured several
forts, and committed ravages and massacres from Lahore, Sá-
At this juncture, it occurred to the Sultán to raise the taxes of the inhabitants of the Doáb ten or twenty per cent., as they had shown themselves refractory. He instituted also a cattle-tax, and a house-tax, and several other imposts of an oppressive nature, which entirely ruined and desolated the country, and brought its wretched inhabitants to destruction.
[Text, vol. i. p. 327.] Ráí Bikramájít, who succeeded his father Ráí Mán Singh in the possession of Gwálior, found himself unable to withstand the royal troops, and was obliged to surrender the lofty edifice of Bádalgarh,* one of the forts dependent on Gwálior, and built by Mán Singh. On this occasion, a brazen figure which was worshipped by the Hindús fell into the hands of the Musulmáns, which they sent to Ágra. Sultán Ibráhím forwarded it to Dehlí, and placed it before one of the gates of the city. Ten years before the compilation of this history, in the year 992, it was brought to Fathpúr, where the compiler of this work saw it. Gongs, and bells, and all kinds of implements were subsequently manufactured from the metal of which it was composed. In those days Sultán Ibráhím, entertaining suspicions against his old nobles, fettered and imprisoned most of them, and transported others to various distant places.
[Text, vol. i. p. 384.] Salím Sháh,* in the beginning of his reign, issued orders that as the saráís of Sher Sháh were two miles distant from one another, one of similar form should be built between them for the convenience of the public; that a mosque and a reservoir should be attached to them, and that vessels of water and of victuals, cooked and uncooked, should be always kept in readiness for the entertainment of Hindú, as well as Muhammadan, travellers. In one of his orders he directed that all the madad-m'ásh and aima tenures in Hindústán which Sher Sháh had granted, and all the saráís which he had built and the gardens he had laid out, should not be alienated, and that no change should be made in their limits. He took away from the nobles all the dancing girls maintained in their courts, according to the common practice of India. He also took from them all their elephants, and let none of them retain more than a sorry female, adapted only for carrying baggage.
It was enacted that red tents should be in the exclusive use of the sovereign. He resumed, and placed under the immediate management of the State, the lands enjoyed by the troops, and established pecuniary payments in lieu, according to the rates fixed by Sher Sháh. Circular orders were issued through the proper channels to every district, touching on matters religious, political and fiscal, in all their most minute bearings, and containing rules and regulations, which concerned not only the army, but cultivators, merchants, and persons of other professions, and which were to serve as guides to the officials of the State, whether they were in accordance with the Muhammadan law or not;—a measure which obviated the necessity of referring any of these matters to Kázís or Muftís.
In order that these circular instructions might be fully comprehended, the nobles in command of five, ten or twenty thousand horse, were ordered to assemble every Friday in a large tent, within which was placed, on an elevated chair, a pair of Salím Sháh's slippers, and a quiver full of arrows. They then bowed down before the chair, one by one, according to their respective ranks; first of all the officer in command of the troops, and then the munsif, or amín, and so on; after which, with due respect and obeisance, they took their respective seats, when a secretary coming forward read to them the whole of the circular instructions above referred to, which filled about eighty sheets of paper. Every difficult point then at issue within the province was decided according to their purport. If any of the nobles committed an act in contravention of these orders, it was reported to the King, who forthwith passed orders directing proper punishment to be inflicted on the offender, as well as on his family. These rules were in force till the end of the reign of Salím Sháh, and the compiler of this history witnessed the scene above described, when he was of tender age, that is, in the year 955 A. H., when he accompanied his maternal grandfather (may God extend his grace to him!) to the camp of Faríd Táran, commander of 5000 horse, which was then pitched in the district of Bajwárá, a dependency of Bayána.
In the year 954 or 955 A.H. (God knows which year is correct) Khwája Wais Sarwání, who was appointed to command the expedition against 'Azam Humáyún, fought with the Níázís on the confines of Dhankot, and was defeated.* 'Azam Humáyún, flushed with this success, pursued the Khwája as far as Sirhind. Salím Sháh despatched a large force against the rebels, and a battle ensued at the same place, in which the Níázís were defeated. Some of their women who were made captives were sent prisoners to Gwálior, and Salím Sháh violated their chastity. He distributed among the vagabonds of his camp the tents, standards, and other spoil of the Níázís which had fallen into his hands, bestowing upon them the titles which were common among the Níázís; such as Saiyid Khán, 'Azam Humáyún, Sháhbáz, etc. He granted them kettle-drums, which were beaten at their respective gates at the stated times. These low persons used to beat their drums aloud, and claim the dignity of the dogs of the celestial sphere. These people, in conformity with the practice of making rounds, which is occasionally observed among the prostitutes of India, went every Friday night to do homage to Salím Sháh, instead of saying their prayers. On their arrival at the palace, the heralds exclaimed, “Oh king, be gracious enough to cast Your Majesty's eyes upon such and such Níází Kháns, who have come to offer up prayers for your health and welfare.” This proceeding exceedingly disgusted the Afgháns, who were of the same tribe as the King. The Níází titles, and the standards and drums, which were granted to them by Salím Sháh, are said by some historians to have been bestowed on them after the first battle. God knows whether this is correct or not. 'Azam Humáyún, who was defeated in the last battle, was never able again to take the field.
The ranks of the Níázís began to be thinned day by day, and they soon dispersed. In the first instance they took refuge with the Ghakars, in the neighbourhood of Rohtás, and then settled themselves in the hills in the vicinity of Kashmír. Salím Sháh, with the view of suppressing for the future the disturbances excited by these insurgents, moved with an overwhelming force, and took up a strong position in the hills to the north of the Panjáb, where, for the purpose of establishing posts, he built five fortresses, called Mánkot, Rashídkot, etc. As he had no friendly disposition towards the Afgháns, he forced them, for a period of two years, to bring stones and lime for the building of those fortresses, without paying them a single fulús, or jítal. Those who were exempted from this labour were employed against the Ghakars, who resisted strenuously, and with whom they had skirmishes every day. At night the Ghakars prowled about like thieves, and carried away whomsoever they could lay hands on, without distinction of sex and rank, put them in the most rigorous confinement, and then sold them into slavery.