Sher Khan’s Entry into Jharkhand and Initial Conflicts (1536-1539)/ The Arrival of Akbar and Mughal Influence on Chhotanagpur (1556-1605)

Note on Sher Shah Suri (with reference to Jharkhand and regional history)

• During the early medieval period, several small Hindu and semi-Hindu kingdoms ruled the Chotanagpur region, including the Raksel of Palamu, Nagvanshis of Kokrah (Khukhra), and Singh dynasty of Singhbhum.
• Sher Shah Suri, originally known as Sher Khan, first entered Jharkhand in 1536 on his way to Bengal via Rajmahal and Gaur (Gaur being the then capital of Bengal).
• After defeating Bengal’s ruler Mahmud Shah, Sher Shah was granted all lands west of Rajmahal, which included parts of Jharkhand.
• On his return from Bengal, he crossed the Ganga near Rajmahal with looted wealth and traveled through Jharkhand to reach Rohtas, evading Mughal pursuit.
• Before the Battle of Chausa (1539), Sher Shah sent his commander Khawas Khan against a regional king Maharath Chero of Jharkhand.
• The campaign against Maharath Chero is recorded in Ahmed Yadgar’s “Tarikh-e-Sher Shahi” and referenced in “Tarikh-e-Daudi”, “Tarikh-e-Khandan-e-Taimuriya”, B. Veerottam’s The Nagvanshi and the Cheros, and B.B. Ambasht’s The Decisive Battles of Sher Shah.
• Sher Shah’s army surrounded Maharath Chero, forcing him to surrender.
• Among the spoils of war, a notable item presented to Sher Shah was a white elephant named Shyam Sundar.
• Even after his defeat in 1538, Maharath Chero planned another attack on Sher Shah in June 1539, indicating ongoing resistance.
• Sher Shah’s entry and campaigns in the region marked one of the earliest direct Muslim military interactions with the tribal and semi-independent kingdoms of Jharkhand.

Akbar’s Campaigns and Involvement in Jharkhand

• Akbar ascended the Mughal throne in 1556, marking a new era in the history of Chotanagpur and surrounding Jharkhand regions.
• Akbar’s interest in Jharkhand was not primarily due to diamonds found in the Shankh River, but rather because rebellious Afghan factions were using the region as a base against Mughal authority.
• Key Afghan rebels like Gazi and Haji brothers, Junaid, and Bayazid used Jharkhand’s terrain for guerrilla resistance against Mughal control.
• In 1575, Afghan rebel Junaid tried to enter Bihar via Singhbhum and Ramgarh (Hazaribagh area) but was defeated in the Battle of Rampur by the Mughals.
  • Scholar John Beames identified Rampur as a location in Hazaribagh district.
• On 3 March 1575, after the Battle of Tukrai, Afghan leader Daud Khan surrendered Bengal and Bihar to the Mughals.
• However, the Nagvanshi rulers of Kokrah (Khukhra/Chotanagpur) continued to defy Mughal authority, refusing to show allegiance or pay tribute.
• In 1585, Shahbaz Khan Turbani, a Mughal general, was sent by Akbar to subdue the region; he defeated the Nagvanshi king and brought Chotanagpur under Mughal control.
• The Nagvanshi ruler Madhukaran Shah (1608–1644) accepted the status of malguzar (taxpayer or feudal vassal) under Mughal rule.
  • This also affected Ramgarh, as it was a vassal state under Kokrah.
• Earlier, in 1569, Madhukaran Shah (or Madhu Singh) had joined the Mughal campaign against the Afghan ruler of Odisha, Kutlu Khan.
  • He contributed militarily by joining Yusuf Chak’s army and demonstrated loyalty to the Mughals.
• The Singhbhum region also came under Mughal influence during Akbar’s reign.
  • Prominent Singh rulers during this period included Lakshmi Narayan Singh, Narpat Singh I, Kameshwar Singh, and Ranjit Singh.
  • In 1591–92, Raja Man Singh of the Mughals passed through Singhbhum en route to Bengal.
• Eventually, Ranjit Singh, successor of Kameshwar Singh, accepted Mughal suzerainty and even joined Man Singh’s royal guard.
• Hazaribagh and Dhanbad (then part of Manbhum) also came under Mughal control during this time.
• Ain-i-Akbari (Abul Fazl’s court chronicle) records that parts of Hazaribagh like “Chhai-Champa” pargana were part of Bihar Subah under Mughal administration.
• In 1590–91, Raja Man Singh dispatched a Mughal army unit from Rohtasgarh through Manbhum to Midnapore, consolidating Mughal presence in the east.