हेमू की कहानी | Story of Hemu | Hemchandra Vikramaditya

Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya (Hemu) was the last Hindu emperor of India. He was a member of an ordinary family, did extraordinary and brilliant deeds in the history of India. Through his ideas and visions, he made tremendous efforts to make his country, India a powerful one. He was a man who tried utmost to change the destiny of India’s future.
Hemchandra was born in 1501 AD in Alwar, Rajasthan. He was born in a Brahmin family. He was also known as 'Hemu'. His father's name was Rai Pooranmal, who was a priest at that time. In later times, Rai Puranmal came to Rewari, Haryana and started doing salt business due to the trouble of the priests by the Mughals. From a young age, Hemu started helping Sher Shah Suri's father in the business of providing food grains and potassium nitrate to the Lashkar. In 1540 AD, Sher Shah Suri defeated Emperor Humayun and forced him to return to Kabul. At the same time, Hemu had laid the foundation of the work of making various types of weapons from metal in Rewari, which continues even today in the form of making brass, copper, steel utensils etc. in Rewari.

After Sher Shah Suri died in 1545, Islam Shah Suri took his throne. Islam Shah recognized Hemu's administrative ability and appointed him as his personal advisor for trade and finance related matters. Hemchandra also proved his worth and became the object of faith of Islam Shah Sur. Islam Shah started taking advice from Hemu on every issue. Pleased with Hemu's work, he made Hemu "Daroga-e-Chowki" and gave him a high position. Later, after the death of Islam Shah, his twelve-year-old little adult son Firoz Shah was killed by his uncle's son Adilshah Suri and captured the throne. Adilshah appointed Hemu as his vizier. Adilshah was a despicable and drunken man. He didn't care about the government at all. At that time the burden of the entire Afghan rule had fallen in the hands of Hemu. Hemu was also opposed from within the army, but he defeated all his opponents and pacified them. By that time, the Afghan soldiers of Hemu's army, most of whom had been born in India, had begun to consider themselves to be residents of India and they considered the Mughal rulers as foreigners. For this reason Hemu became very popular both among Hindus and Afghans.

Humayun, who was earlier defeated and driven out by Sher Shah Suri in 1540, attacked again, defeated Sher Shah Suri's brother in battle and captured Delhi. At this time the Afghan chieftains were fighting among themselves, and Hemu was busy rectifying the disorder in Bengal. But at that time Humayun died after seven months. And then Hemu turned towards Delhi and on the way conquered many princely states of Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. When Iskander Khan Uzbeg, the Mughal general in Agra, came to know that Hemu was coming towards him, he left the field without fighting and fled. October 7, 1556. Hemu conquered Delhi by defeating Tardi Beg Khan (Mughal). It was here that Hemu was coronated and was awarded the title of Vikramaditya. For the first time after nearly three centuries of Muslim rule, a Hindu became the king of Delhi. Even though Hemu was born in a Brahmin society and was brought up in a completely religious way, he considered all religions equal. That is why the Afghan officers of his army gave him full respect and also because he had proved to be a skilled general.

Before the Battle of Panipat, many of Akbar's generals had forbade him to fight Hemu, but Bairam Khan, who was also Akbar's patron, prompted Akbar to fight Hemu for control of Delhi. But when Hemu fought with the Mughals, Akbar stopped him under the leadership of Bairam Khan from the west. On November 5, 1556, a battle took place between Hemu and the Mughal army in the field of Panipat. The Mughal army was nothing in front of Hemu's huge army in the famous ground of Panipat. Hemu himself was conducting military operations on a huge elephant named 'Hawai'. There was panic in the Mughal army. Bairam Khan left Akbar at a safe place and he himself proceeded with the army. In the battlefield, Hemu raised his 1500 elephants in the central part. This caused disturbances in the Mughal army and it seemed that Hemu's army would trample the Mughals. At one time it seemed that Hemu's victory was certain, but at the same time Bairam Khan's diplomacy went and turned the tide of the war. Bairam Khan ordered some of his selected soldiers to target Hemu's eye. The soldiers did the same and Hemu was hit in one eye with an arrow and he fell down from the elephant. Army panicked. Hemu's mahout (elephant wielder) was driving away his elephant 'Hawai', but the Mughal soldiers caught him. No praise can be too great for Hemu’s bold endeavour to re-establish indigenous rule at Delhi after more than 350 years of foreign domination.