Time and time again, brave warriors have emerged from the ruins of India to repel foreign invaders and bring peace and harmony back to their motherland. Numerous heroic men and women have given their lives over the years in the service of their country, and the bulk of them are remembered in our memory. Their tales have served as the main motivation for numerous people and served as the focal point of folklore throughout the world. Their brave deeds have been often recounted, and their heroic tales have become ingrained in our memories. not today though. We will pay tribute to a hero today who is still largely unappreciated. The hero, whose very name, instilled crippling fear into the hearts of Turkish invaders. A man of utter grit and determination. For today, we unfold the pages of his forgotten story.
Few of us are aware that the Sultan of Ghaznavi, Mahmud’s relentless invasions severely damaged India's reputation as being unbeatable. Everyone is aware of Sultan Mahmud's desecration of Gujarat's revered Somnath Temple. Muhammad Ghori had an easy path through his annexations. The 150-year period between Mahmud's and Ghori's invasions, during which no one ventured to enter India, eludes historians.
Today, we will discuss the heroic Battle of Bahraich, in which the noble warriors of India defeated the vicious nephew of Sultan Mahmud by overcoming all barriers of caste, faith, area, and religion. This victory helped to restore India's lost glory.
The story starts in 1011 when the Muslims of Ajmer asked Sultan Mahmud for assistance against the local Hindu kings. The Sultan granted their requests, increasing his power in Ajmer. Salar Saiyyad Sahu eventually overthrew the kings of Ajmer and placed Sultan Mahmud in charge. Satisfied with his accomplishment, the Sultan wed Salar Sahu to his sister, and in 1014, Sahu gave birth to Saiyyad Salar Masud.
The Sultan wanted to destroy the Somnath Temple at Masud's advice, and he was just as brutal and ruthless as his uncle. At the tender age of 16, Masud had already conquered Delhi, Multan, Meerut, Kannauj, and Varanasi on his quest to conquer the Indian Peninsula. He faced some resistance in Bahraich, which was eventually dispelled with the arrival of his father, Salar Sahu. With the ambition of bringing whole of India under Islamic rule, Salar Masud was just an extension of the brute barbarian that Sultan Mahmud had been. However, fate had something else in store for him.
As soon as he arrived in Bahraich, Suheldev declared war on Masud. Suheldev had been able to unify a large number of fighters. The 1034 War then broke out. Unfortunately, there isn't much literature on the battle. Suheldev, however, is said to have ruthlessly vanquished Saiyyad Salar Masud and then abandoned him to perish on the battlefield, according to the historical epic Mirat-e-Masudi by Sufi saint Abdur Rehman Chishti.
And with this, we conclude the story of Raja Suheldev. His defeat of Saiyyad Salar Masud was so brutal that no invader dared to set his eyes on India for the next 150 years. Maybe he didn’t find a mention in the ancient history which we’ve been taught since our childhood. But that doesn’t matter. His is a story of utmost bravery. And yes, we didn’t give him the legacy he deserved. But, sometimes, heroes don’t look for recognition. They look for salvation. And what greater salvation than protecting and defending one’s motherland. For sometimes it doesn’t matter what the future reminisces about you. What matter is who you choose to be. And that is what defines you. That is what defines heroes.
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