Author: Eeshal
It is said in the Quran multiple times that only Muslims are the real friend to Muslims, rest are just illusions. We have seen this word of Allah coming true on so many occasions over the history.
In this blog, we are leading you back to the eighteenth century when the battle of panipat was fought in between the Muslims and Marathas. Muslims made it to victory, thus saving the throne of the sub-continent (for a limited time though).
Marathas were expanding under the leadership of Peshwa Baji Rao. They had invaded a significant portion of the subcontinent including Delhi and Lahore, driving out the son of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Since, at that time Mughals were at the lowest ebb of their power and were already diminishing, they sought the help of the Afghan ruler, Ahmad Shah Abdali to save the land from a non-Muslim invasion.
Ahmad Shah Abdali, on the plea of his offshore Muslim brothers expeditiously came to India to help. The third battle of Panipat began between an expansive Marathas force and a logistically sophisticated army of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Both the parties tried to seek the help of other groups in the subcontinent. Because of the previously strained relations of the Marathas with Muslims, Sikhs, Rajputs, and other groups, they couldn’t get much support. However, on the other hand, Jatts, Rajputs, and Muslim groups stood on the Afghan force’s side.
On January 6, 1971, the Marathas forces under the lead of Veshwas Rao — the son of Peshawa Baji Rao marched an offensive against Ahmad Shah Abdali. Since, it was an offensive that the Afghan forces weren’t ready to cater, initially they had a hard time controlling the situation. However, within a few hours of fighting, they overpowered 45,000 Marathas’ artillery with their advanced war equipment and training.
The Marathas lost thousands of soldiers and 40,000 were made prisoners — that included non-combatant women and children. The death of Vishwas Rao marked the defeat of Marathas at the final battle of Panipat.
Total number of casualties on both sides was magnanimous. The battle was considered to be the deadliest blood shed of the 18th century. However, this also asserted the power of Muslim fraternity in the subcontinent.
So to conclude, it is rightly said that when Muslims come together with faith, there is no force that could ever defeat them.
