Dr Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan
Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, popularly known as “Babur”, meaning lion, was the founder of Mughal Empire in India. He was born in Farghana, in Uzbekistan, on February 14, 1483. The Mughal Empire was founded by him lasted for more than 400 years. He was real son of the soil i.e. Uzbekistan, the home of bravery and human determination.
Babur in the history of Uzbekistan is on a par with such political figures and military leaders as Jaloliddin Manguberdi, Amir Timur, Ulugbek and Alisher Navoi. He was a loyal son of Uzbekistan and he fought for its welfare and socio-economic prosperity.
According to Prof. Rushbrook Williams “Babur possessed nine fundamental qualities supercilious judgment, moral ambition, the art of victory, the art of government, the art of conferring prosperity upon his people, the talent of ruling mildly the people of God, ability to win the heart of his soldiers and love of justice.”
He was a born leader and a military general. His whole life was full of struggle, determination, sacrifice and adventures. He created one of the most powerful empires in the history of the East. In his case, adversity was a blessing in disguise. He was possessed of such an indomitable will that no amount of difficulties could shake his faith in himself.
According to Sir E. Denison Ross, Babur was one of those men who are so active in mind and body that they are never idle and always find time for everything. As a soldier, Babur was fearless in battles. As a general, he was a great tactician with a keen eye to detect any mistake on the part of his opponents.
Stephen Dale, a historian of the Moghul period, notes that, “Babur was a personified personality having the qualities of spontaneous bravery, social informality, and a refined appreciation of natural beauty.
Babur was courageous, outspoken, straightforward and faithful. He was pre-eminently a man of faith. “Nothing happens” he used to say, “but by the will of God. The victories of Panipat and Kanwaha made him the “Master of Hindustan” and the founder of Mughal Empire in the Sub-continent.
He was the man with rare combinations. He was man of wars and words. He was man of battles and books. He was master of lethal weaponry and literature. He was ideal but rare combination of roughness and romance. He was man of dignity and deadly tactics.
Though a die-hard warrior, Babur was far from a barbarous, ignorant soldier. He was a cultured and pious man who wrote fine poetry and schooled himself in the culture, natural history and geography of Central Asia and India.
He believed in unity of command for ruling over the hearts of his soldiers. He was maestro of warfare techniques and strategies (defence-offense) which he applied many times against his enemies to go beyond all impossibilities. He was one of the first military commanders in Asia to appreciate the value of artillery. He had great skills of communication, dialogue and diplomacy which he exercised while negotiating with opponents, trouble makers, conspirators, Afghans and Indian.
He was man of great character. Through his good governance he defused many dogmas and bigotries from the society and established harmony. According to the Economist, he institutionalized trade liberalization in Kabul. Afterwards, it became a center for religious and cultural tolerance. He unlocked growth by encouraging trade, enforcing a simple and clear taxation system, embracing pluralism, and raising an army reflective of the diverse groups he ruled.
Many prominent European historians are of the opinions that for the first time in the Kabul ancient history, he introduced different custom tariffs and duties regimes for domestic and foreign trade activities which ultimately consolidated his treasury/revenue. Even appropriate income tax system was introduced. Wealth tax was also levied which provided balance between the expenditures-revenues and subsequently created equality in the society at large.
Vast culture diversity, corporate governance and respect for ethnicity were the hallmark of his regime in Kabul where 11 or 12 different languages were spoken. He was more religiously tolerant when compared to many of its contemporary states in Europe. He had equal respect for the Sunni Sufi Naqbashandi orders and the Shi’a Sufi Qizbilash troops in his army. The lion had a similar approach to ethnic groups as well. Babur’s army was also diverse, containing Pashtuns, Arabs, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and other Central Asian ethnic groups.
According to BBC he was a true liberator. Under his rule Hinduism was tolerated and new Hindu temples were built with his permission. Trade with the rest of the Islamic world, especially Persia and through Persia to Europe, was encouraged. Slavery was diminished and peace was restored. Moreover, he was not a barbarian bent on loot and plunder. Instead he had great ideas about civilisation, architecture and administration. He was full of delight and humanity.
He was man of book. His literary gifts have been translated in many languages, and are part of school texts in no less than 25 countries in Central, Western, and Southeast Asia. Babur Namah is considered among the most fascinating oriental and romantic literary works of all times. His rubais delight and inspire many people even today.
Babur Namah is not only a description of the personal life of the author, but also a valuable source for studying the history, culture and life of the peoples, flora and fauna of various areas visited by him. The opening lines “In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate. In the month of Ramadan of the year 899 and in the 12th year of my age, I became ruler in the land of Fergana.” It is a detailed and insightful autobiography which presents vivid picture of his life and times, the peoples he ruled, and the lands they inhabited.
Alongside accounts of military conflicts and strategies, there are well-observed descriptions of landscapes and cities, local economies and customs, plants and animals. Subjects discussed by the him and illustrated in this manuscript include different cultures, traditions, nature, the elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo; the peacock, parrot, and stork; the water-hog, and crocodile; trees and shrubs such as the plantain, tamarind, and oleander; and the author supervising work on his own gardens in Kabul. Babur also provides what is probably the first reliable record of the famous diamond known as Koh-i-Noor, the ‘Mountain of Light’.
It is all about true spirits belonging to humanity, nature, love, peace, comfort, beauty and above all truth. It speaks about the inner journey. It highlights the different traits of human personality attributing towards greater success and larger than life glory.
It is about flowers, trees and greenery which show his love and caring towards eco-system. It is about education and knowledge. It shows the importance of self-reliance, determination and above all self-belief in order to sailing from the seas of uncertainties and reaching to shores of sustainability. It is a critical analysis of weakness and uncertainty. It reflects true spirits of shyness and intimacy between the husband and wife. It is about joy, charm and easiness in life. Music, poetry, and dance are also discussed. It is about partnership and trustfulness.
Babur Namah is about wine and tulips which shows his delightfulness towards life. It is about different colors. It speaks parties and naturalist expedition. It tells about the secret of ups and downs in the life. It is the true depiction of migratory bird that is always in search of save-heaven. It is about national narrative. It is the true reflection of social intercourse, genuine manners, handicrafts, symmetry, methods and quality.
Keeping in view the universality of wisdom, observation, logic and variety of topics, it has been recently declared by many translators as good as the Confessions of St. Augustine and Rousseau, and the memoirs of Gibbon and Newton. It also describes about politics, civility, and military struggle. It is indeed very rich and versatile. It has already been translated in Persian, Dutch, English and Urdu. Undoubtedly, Babur was the real son of the land, Uzbekistan with rare combinations.
The Writer is Director: Geopolitics/ Economics Member Board of Experts: CGSS, Pakistan Regional Expert: Azerbijan & CIS.
