A Great Ruler

You were an Afghan, Farid Khan by name, A name less known to the world today. You ran away from home, Because your own step-mother plotted against you. Now you were runaway-Khan! You chose to be a knight-errant, Soon became a military commander in Bihar, Was renamed Sher Khan, a title awarded By the Governor of Bihar, Whom you saved from the jaws of a tiger! So you became the Deputy Governor. But wherever you went, Your ruler feared your strength and potential And, of course, you were in trouble! For instance, during your stint In Babur’s army, you easily caught The Moghul Ruler’ attention, Who promptly exhorted one of his ministers: “Keep an eye on this young man. He is clever. And I see royal marks on his forehead!” You were shrewd enough To sense the great king’s fear and suspicion. You quit his army soon! During your stint, however, You were sharp enough to notice The weakness in the Moghul system— The Ruler’s over-dependence on his ministers. “I will not,” you told yourself, “Make the mistake when I become a ruler!” When Humayun, Babur’s son, ascended the throne, After his father’s death, you saw The chance of a lifetime: You inflicted a crushing defeat On him in the battle of Chausa in 1539. Became Sher Shah, the Emperor! From Farid Khan to Sher Shah— An amazing trajectory, Comparable to Napoleon’s. You are acknowledged, even today, as a brilliant strategist, A gifted administrator and a capable General. Your whole life is indeed an object lesson In strategy, diplomacy, and administration. India Post, in the 1970s, honoured you By issuing a postal stamp! You were, by and large, a role model for the later Moghul— King Akbar the Great. And at the same time a standing warning to him: Don’t collide head-on with the Rajputs, The fine warrior race of Rajasthan. Akbar befriended them And had the best of both worlds! But Emperor Aurangazeb, Though he came much later, Was too obtuse to follow this lesson. Well, you chose to take on the Rajputs And, not surprisingly, got into trouble. Your earlier victory, Over the Rajput King Maldeo of Marwar, You achieved by causing dissension between the King And his able Generals, by forging letters, Which were (as you rightly expected) intercepted. Maldeo left the battle field, disgusted. You won! This strategy is known as Mitrabheda (as spelt out in Panchatantra). And you knew it by instinct. All is fair in love and war! Anyway, yours was after all a pyrrhic victory, Considering your losses, Which you yourself highly regretted. Much earlier in your career, however, You practised a different strategy, known as Mitra-labha, Securing, that is, friends and allies: You formed an alliance with Ujjaini Rajputs in Bihar And so were able to defeat the mighty Sultan of Bengal. But later in your life you ignored This strategy—at your peril. The crows (in Panchatantra) were able To defeat the clever owls Because of the sane counsel (they had from Chiranjeevin, the wise crow). That’s what the whole book Of Kakolukiyam (of Panchtantra) is about. But you shunned counsellors, Presumably because of the lesson That you had learnt earlier from the Moghuls. So you lost your own life— Labdhapranasam You resorted to Aparikhitakaraka, ill-considered action, Which Panchantra urges us to avoid: In the year 1545, in the battle of Kalinjar, For a small cause , You besieged the historic Rajput Fort. All your tactics failed! Then, you took a drastic step: You decided to blow up The strong Fort with gunpowder You yourself were blown up! Alas, the subcontinent lost—a Great Ruler! ***