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Isa Khan the ruler of Bhati (Bhati) and the chief of the Bhuiyans,(Bhuiyans). Isa Khan (Isa Khan) was the local hero who fought against the Mughals. He was probably born in 1529 AD. His father Sulaiman Khan, a descendant of an Afghan chieftain of the region of the Sulayman ranges in Afghanistan, had settled in Bengal in the reign of nusrat shah and carved out an independent principality in the Bhati region comprising the northeastern portion of greater Dhaka district and the southeastern portion of greater Mymensingh district. Sulaiman, who rebelled against Islam Shah Sur at least twice, was killed in 1548. Isa was then about 19 years old. After his father's death Isa was brought up by his paternal uncle Qutubuddin. He spent his childhood and youth in Bhati. It was because of the good grace of Taj Khan, the Karrani Afghan ruler, that Isa obtained an estate in sonargaon and Maheswardi
Pargana in 1564 at the age of about 35 as a vassal of the Karrani rulers of Bengal. By winning the favour of the Karrani rulers he gradually increased his strength and status and by 1571 became so powerful that Abul Fazl designated him as the ruler of Bhati. In 1573 he helped daud khan karrani in his expedition to Chittagong against Udaya Manikya, the king of Tripura. He also helped his mentor in driving out the Mughal flotilla from the vicinity of Sonargaon in 1575. Isa Khan's services to Daud Khan earned him the title of Masnad-i-Ala. Isa Khan played a leading role in the local resistance that followed the defeat of the Kararani Afghans at the hands of the Mughals in the battle of
rajmahal (1576). An astute and farsighted politician, Isa Khan realised that he could not face akbar single-handed with his relatively limited resources. So he established rapport with the neighbouring landlords and the Afghan chieftains and forged an anti-Mughal politico-military alliance with them. He also made friendship with Amar Manikya and Raghu Dev, the neighbouring kings of Tripura and Kamrup respectively. Above all, Isa ensured proper use of his war-boats, the backbone of his military power. In 1578 the Mughal
subahdar Khan Jahan invaded the Bhati region, ie, East Bengal and encamped at Bhawal (Bhawal). Ibrahim Naral and Karimdad Musazai, the two Afghan chieftains broke their alliance with Isa and offered allegiance to the Mughals. Isa Khan stood defiant and a large Mughal naval force was sent against him under Shah Bardi and Muhammad Quli. A fierce engagement took place at Kastul, now in
Kishoreganj district. Despite Isa's initial retreat, the Mughal army took to flight after being severely defeated by Isa's allies, Majlis Dilawar and Majlis Pratap. Consequently Khan Jahan, utterly ruined, was compelled to leave Bhati. Thus Isa Khan proved a formidable obstacle against Mughal expansion in Eastern Bengal. The next Viceroy shahbaz khan led an expedition against Isa Khan in 1584. Taking advantage of Isa's preoccupations in the Kuch Bihar expedition the Mughal army ravaged
katrabo, the home and capital of Isa, as well as
khizrpur, Sonargaon and
egarasindhur. At this time Isa returned from Kuch Bihar and, with his ally masum khan kabuli, put up a vehement resistance against the Mughals both on land and water. The Mughals were defeated in the battle of Egarasindhur and Bhawal, and were forced to turn back to Tanda, the local headquarters of the Mughals. But this victory did not relieve Isa of anxiety as, rejuvenated with reinforcements sent by Akbar, Shahbaz Khan again marched towards Bhati in 1586. At this juncture, Isa sent presents and a proposal of peace to the Mughal viceroy and pretending to be loyal to the emperor he succeeded in forestalling a Mughal invasion of Bhati. Since then Isa remained undisturbed in his own territory for almost a decade. In September 1597, mansingh sent two large forces by land and water against Isa Khan. The Mughal army under the command of durjan singh, son of Mansingh, initially achieved some success and even attacked
Katrabo. But finally on 5 September of the same year a naval engagement took place 12 miles off
vikramapura. This resulted in the death of Durjan and the ruination of the Mughal army. Isa Khan died in September 1599 at the age of about 70. Thus Isa brilliantly resisted Mughal aggression and succeeded in maintaining his independence against the Mughal onslaughts for a quarter of a century. Akbar failed to establish his authority over the Bhati region during the lifetime of Isa Khan. On the contrary, Isa established his authority over a vast territory by gradually increasing his strength. He successfully transformed his estate in Sonargaon and Maheswardi
Pargana into an independent domain which comprised a considerable portion of Dhaka district, almost the whole of Mymensingh district and also a small portion of Tripura district.
Katrabo and Sonargaon were his capitals. Apart from these two, Khizrpur in Narayanganj and jangalbari and Egarasindhur in
Kishoreganj district were his strong outposts. ralph fitch, who visited Sonargaon in 1586,calls him 'the chief king of all these countries', 'the chief of all the other kings' (Bhuiyans) and 'a great friend to the Christians'. Isa Khan's success in the struggle for the preservation of the independence of Bengal against Mughal imperialism and aggression in the last quarter of the 16th century turned him into a pre-eminent personality of Bengal. It would not be an exaggeration to designate him as one of the national heroes in recognition of the heroism which he demonstrated to preserve the regional sovereignty of Bengal in a transitional phase of her history. Isa Khan's remarkable career profoundly stirred the minds of the Bengali people. This has been reflected in different ballads, dramas, novels and patriotic songs composed since his time. [AA Sheikh Md Asrarul Hoque Chisti]
Bibliography
NK Bhattasali, 'Bengal Chiefs' Struggle for Independence in the Reign
of Akbar and Jahangir', Bengal Past and Present, 38, 1929; MA Rahim,
The History of the Afghans in India, Karachi, 1961; JN Sarkar, ed,
The History of Bengal, II, Third Impression, 1976; Abdul Karim,
History of Bengal (Mughal Period), I, Rajshahi, 1992. |
