A National symposium on the topic “Maharaj Prithu: The Warrior King who annihilated Bakhtiyar Khalji” was held at the Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture to commemorate and celebrate the decisive victory of King Prithu over the barbarian army of Bakhtiyar Khalji at Rajaduar, North Guwahati.
A dignified gathering of academicians, researchers and historians of Assam came together at the event.
Floral tributes were offered to King Prithu; speaking at the occasion, Assam’s Kshetra Prachar Pramukh of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Dr Sunil Mohanti, highlighted King Prithu’s war strategy in defeating Khalji’s army.
This symposium was held in collaboration with the Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture (ABILAC), the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti and the Folklore Society of Assam.
Prof (Dr) Dilip Kumar Kalita, director of ABILAC, welcomed the participants and audience of the symposium. The National General Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojna, Sri Hemanta Dhing Mazumdar, gave the inaugural address. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Raktim Patar, HoD, Dept. of History, Garhgaon College.
American historian Will Durant once stated that the Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. In 1205 AD, an Islamic invader Bakhtiyar Khalji came to this part of Bharatvarsha, then known as Kamrupa, with his army of ruthless religious fanatics. But King Prithu, the then ruler of Kamrupa, decimated the entire army of Khalji and saved North East India and South East Asia from rape, plunder and subjugation by Islamic forces. Yet, the heroism of King Prithu is still underrated and only rarely known.
Maharaja Prithu’s might was such that no one dared to bring down the Indic flag from the forts of Kamrupa even years after his death.
Who was Maharaja Prithu?
Born to the Chandravanshi ruler Vallabha Dev of Kamrupa, Prithu ascended to the throne of Kamrupa in 1185 CE after the death of his father.
Upon being thrust on to the throne, he was shouldered a task to rule a vast empire in the east, at a time when foreign invaders sought to loot and plunder India’s wealth.
Prithu secured India’s first major victory against Islamic invaders, when he stopped Bakhtiyar Khalji from plundering Kamrupa. After this great feat, he also defended his people and his kingdom against Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Khalji.
Bakhtiyar Khalji was a Turko-Afghan general who set his eyes on Bharatvarsha. He first stepped foot in India in the camp of Qutub al-din Aibak, wanting to be in his army. Upon being refused a rank in Aibak’s army, he headed towards Awadh in 1193 CE and met the Governor Malik Hizbaruddin. With his help, Khalji settled around two villages in Mirzapur from where he conducted regular raids to eastern territories of Bengal, Cooch Behar and Kalinga.
He destroyed and burnt Hindu and Buddhist universities at Odantapuri and Vikramashila, massacring several hundred monks and scholars. Khalji went to Nalanda University around 1197 CE and ransacked the university in 1200 CE.
Thousands of Hindu saints were slaughtered and burnt alive, and the massive library of the university containing thousands and lakhs of ancient manuscripts and books kept burning for three months.
The Battle of Kamrupa Prithu was the Maharaja of Kamrupa kingdom (Assam) in 1203-1204 AD when Bakhtiyar Khalji attacked and conquered most of the Bengal and moved to invade Kamrupa and Tibet in 1206.
With 12,000 Turkish cavalry, Khalji advanced to attack Assam and Tibet from Devkot, West Bengal.
At that time, Khalji converted a local tribal chief to Islam and gave a new name Ali. Ali helped the fanatic ruler until they reached a giant stone bridge over river Barandi in the outskirts of Kamrupa. Awaring of all these threats, King Prithu decided to use Scorched Earth Policy against the invading forces.
Scorched Earth Policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy all the possible resources that might be useful for enemy. Any assets that could be useful for the enemy may be destroyed which involves food resources, agricultural lands, water resources etc. To Starve and dehydrate the enemy soldiers is the main aim of this policy.
On other other hand, Khaliji did not stopped. He was marching towards Kamrupa which was densely populated area around a strong fort. He, then instructed his troops to raid the village. When came to know about this, King Prithu with his army along with tribal community of Bodo, Koch Rajbongshi, and Keot lauched a lethal charge towards Khalji’s army.
With the help of combined forces of tribal community, King Prithu’s army not only stopped Khalji’s armies, but wreaked havoc on them. After the Scorched Earth Policy was implemented, the supply line was disconnected. Khalji’s troops were exhausted and thirsty. The very next day, king Prithu’s bigger armies scared Khalji so much that his wounded men decided to retreat.
However, Prithu relentlessly attacked Khalji’s retreating army, and killed most of them. Those who were able to reach the bridge on the river to protect themselves found it to be destroyed. Finding no option, fleeing soldiers jumped to river. Some of them drowned, but somehow Khalji survived with few men to reach Bengal.
After the humiliating defeat, Khalji suffered depression. The defeat affected him so much that he never led any battle or campaign. He suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Maharaja Prithu, took shelter in a Hindu temple and finally died under mysterious circumstances in present day Bakhtiyarpur.
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