Some of the modern historians have taken the allegations of the prejudiced
medieval writers leveled against Hemu seriously without making the
critical examination of historical facts. None of the historians, Abu
Fazal, Nizamuddin and Badauni, suggests that Hemu set himself up as as
independent monarch. They merely state that he assumed the title of Raja
Bikramjit and other great names. The title Raja Bikramjit was already
given to him by Sultan Adil Shah in Chunar (Tarikh-i-Daudi, p-191). No
coin of Hemu has been found any where. Only Ahmad Yadgar states that
Hemu declared himself sovereign, struck coins and read khutba in his
name. But Ahmad Yadgar himself confesses that Hemu acknowledged Adil
Shah as his master even after the conquest of Delhi, October 6, 1556.
Hemu, therefore, could only assume the insignia of royalty in the
interval of a month between Octb. 6 1556 and the battle of Panipat
November 5, 1556. But it is extremely improbable that he would commit to
such a hazardous enterprise and alienate the Afghan soldiers at a time
when he had to concentrate his whole strength against the Mughals.
Surrounded by powerful Afghan nobles, he could not become independent
of Adil Shah. The Afghan nobles mentioned in the army of Hemu, Shadi
Khan Kakar, Husain Khan Faujdar, Rukn Khan Nuhani, Mian Mahmud Lodi,
Mian Khwaja Kakar, Ikhtiyar Khan and Mangali Khan were the highest
nobles of Adil Shah Sur. As regard the Hindu nobles, they still
constituted comparatively a small portion of the nobility. They were
Rajya, son of Hemu’s sister and commander of the left wing, Sangram
Singh, Teharpal (son of Hemu’s brother) and Bagwan Das. Abu Fazal says,
“from foresight he preserved the nominal sovereignty of for Adil and
waged brave wars against his opponents. Therefore, there is hardly a justification for asserting on the sole testimony of Ahmad Yadgar that
Hemu cut off the slender tie of allegiance to Adil Shah and seized the
throne for himself. [“The Successors of Sher Shah”
by Nirod Bhuson Roy, pp-91-92, 2-“Sher Shah and his dynasty” by
I.H.Siddiqui, p-211]
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| The defeat of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat, a c. 1590s painting by Kankar from the Akbarnama. Neither Hemu nor Akbar are depicted here suggesting that this might be part of a double-page composition. |