The history of India is characterized by numerous battles. The subcontinent has been a wealthy one, and many native and foreign powers have tried to conquer and gain access to this wealth.
All the wars and battles have left their marks on the nation. But some prominent ones have shaped the country in different ways.
Wars Before Indian Independence
Battle of Tarain
The battle of Tarain took place in the year 1192. It was fought between Delhi’s famous king Prithviraj Chauhan and the Sultan of Ghor, Muhammed Ghori. For three long decades, the Sultan had been looting and invading parts of India. In 1191 he challenged the great Rajput King Chauhan in the first battle of Tarain and tasted defeat.
Humiliated by the defeat, Sultan returned to Afghanistan and in 1192 came back with a larger army to challenge Prithviraj again. This time Chauhan received a massive defeat due to lack of unity between the Rajput kings. He was the last Hindu king on Delhi’s throne.
This war was a major turning point. Unlike other Islamic invaders who would loot India and return, Sultan Ghori decided to stay and rule. He returned to Ghor after establishing his empire. Qutub-ul-Din Aibak was appointed as the regional governor, who is known for building the great Qutub Minar. This led to the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate.
Battle of Talikota
The battle of Talikota took place in the year 1565 after Babur defeated the Delhi Sultan to take over his empire. The sultanate attempted to expand its territory in the southern region of India but failed drastically. This led to the rise of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire and the Bahmani Sultanate, which was later divided into five Deccan Sultanates.
The powerful Empire of Vijayanagara preserved southern India’s political independence for over 200 years. The Deccan sultanates felt threatened by the power of Vijayanagara, and therefore, waged war against the great Hindu empire. Unfortunately, Vijayanagara lost the battle after the death of its main general during the course of the battle.
This weakened the southern part of India and soon it was integrated with the Mughal Empire.
Battle of Panipat
Panipat saw two of the most important battles which led to the establishment of the Mughal Empire in India. The first battle of Panipat was fought in the year 1526, between the invader Babur and the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi.
Babur was invited by Sikander Lodhi and King Rana Sanga to defeat the Sultan. But Babur decided to stay after being mesmerized by the richness of India. This led to the foundation of the Mughal Empire.
In the year 1527 Babur fought the war of Khanwa to defeat Rana Sanga. The Mughal rule was cemented after the second battle of Panipat in 1556. The war was fought between the great Akbar and Hemu, who was the last Hindu ruler in Delhi.
The Third Battle of Panipat
A notable battle in the history of India, the third battle of Panipat was fought between the Marathas and the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Marathas had twice the number of soldiers as compared to Abdali, yet lost the battle.
The Marathas fought the war under the leadership of Peshwa’s brother, Sadashiva Rao Bhau. The lack of support from the regional kings like Rajputs, Nawab of Awadh, Sikhs and Jats lead to the defeat of the Marathas.
This defeat paved a way for the British to enter India. By 1818 the Maratha empire was completely destroyed by the British Army in the Anglo-Maratha war.
Battle of Plassey
The war took place on 23 June 1757. The British fought against the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah. It was a major battle which established the British as a contender to take over the Mughal empire.
The tension started after the British fortified Fort William without the Nawab’s consent. The Nawab was disturbed by the continuous interference of British and therefore, destroyed the fort during the battle. Commander of the British Army, Robert Clive feared being outnumbered by the Nawab’s army. So, he called for help from the Madras Province.
40,000 soldiers under the Nawab meekly surrendered after Commander Clive bribed some of the major commanders of the Nawab’s army. The Nawab lost the battle to an army of only three thousand soldiers.
The success in this battle empowered the British and soon they defeated the Marathas, Tipu Sultan of Mysore and many others to become the only contender of the Mughal throne.
Battle of Buxar
Another war fought by the British army led by Hector Munro at Buxar, a place 130 km from Patna. Combined forces of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, the Nawab of Bengal and the Nawab of Awadh, stood strong against the British army in this Battle of Buxar.
The war took place on 22 October 1764, between 10000 men from the British side and 40,000 from the Indian side. However, Indian kings lost the war. The defeat is believed to be because of the rift between the Mughal emperor and the Nawab of Awadh.
The Allahabad treaty was signed and Shah Alam II became a pensioner of the British being confined in Allahabad. He was also forced to give up his Diwani rights of revenue collection to the British.
Buxar battle was a huge success for the British. They gained confidence after this battle and soon defeated all other major powers in India to establish the British Rule.
Impact Of The World Wars on India
World War I (1914-1918)
During World War I, India was under the rule of the British. The Indian army fought for the British Raj thousands of miles away from their homeland. Many believed that their efforts would create a sense of benevolence in the British towards the natives and they might grant some constitutional reforms.
Multiple defeats of the British in the wars raised the confidence in the people of India, which then led to the start of the Non-Cooperation movement to end the British Raj.
With Britain’s focus on the World War, there was a surge in the nationalism and rise of mass civil disobedience in India. There was an increase in literacy rates. But India was deprived of essential services as most doctors, nurses etc were sent to treat the British army men away from the country.
The economy was also impacted due to the War. Soon, there was an increase in the demand for Indian goods. Inflation as a result of War caused the prices to double, which proved beneficial to the Indian industry. The farm and steel prices increased, and the demand for cotton surpassed the demand of other British goods.
The British investment was re-directed to the United Kingdom, which was a loss on India’s part.
World War II (1939-1945)
During this period India was under the political struggle for freedom from the British Raj. Ideas of self-government, constitutional reforms and elections had developed in the Indian minds.
Even though India was not a direct party in the Second World War, it faced political, social as well as economic consequences, which formed modern South Asia. Around 2.5 million Indian men were trained and deployed in penny packets, and 90,000 sacrificed their lives during this war. Subhas Chandra Bose along with his Indian Army also played an important role in this world war.
The experience that the Jawans gained from the world war soon gave way to the foundation of a new set of confident Indians, who extended their support to the different counterparts of the Indian National Army (INA).
Indians were also given responsibilities by the British, which were kept away from them before the War period. Indian industry saw a massive growth due to inflation. The war had fatally weakened the British Empire and now their attempt was to bring out the best possible for their own country.
With time the freedom struggle gained success. Meanwhile, the British India was partitioned to form Pakistan. Two years after the end of the war, India and Pakistan gained their independence from the British Raj.
Wars after India’s Independence
Indo-Pakistani Wars
The infamous wars between India and Pakistan started in the October month of the year 1947, soon after the independence of both the countries from the British Raj.
The root cause of the wars was the Kashmir dispute. The dispute started because of the difference between religions of the Maharaja of the state and a major part of the population, and till date, it has not been resolved.
When British India was being divided into Pakistan and India, the Maharaja of Kashmir was given the authority to choose a side. Initially, he kept his views unclear with the intention of gaining complete independence from both the countries. On October 2, 1947, the king finally decided to join India which was predominantly Hindu. This was highly resented by the Muslims of Kashmir, who wished to join Pakistan. Hence, started the war.
First Indo-Pak War
The war was fought from October 1947 to December 1948. UN Security Council terminated the war with a ceasefire resolution, under which Kashmir was divided into areas controlled by Pakistan and India respectively.
Second Indo-Pak War
UN’s ceasefire resolution helped to end the military clashes between the two countries, but no measures were taken for the ceasefire to last long. The result was a second war which started on April 8, 1965 and ended on September 23 of the same year.
The war was terminated with the intervention of the Soviet. A summit meeting between India and Pakistan in Tashkent led to the Tashkent declaration. However, no measures to ensure permanent peace was mentioned in the declaration. It was simply a compromise to save the faces of both countries.
Third Indo-Pak War
This war led to the establishment of a new country called Bangladesh. Before the war, India was in between East and West Pakistan. West Pakistan declared the independence of East Pakistan, and the war concluded. Also known as the “Bangladesh Independence War”, this war lasted only for 15 days from December 3 to 16 of 1971. The shortest of all three wars, yet the most impactful, leading to the partition of Pakistan.
Sino-Indian War
Another major war which India fought against China to safeguard its North-Eastern state, Arunachal Pradesh. The war started on October 20, 1962, and ended by November 21, 1962.
The dispute over the territory started long ago when the “McMahon Line” was drawn. This border was drawn by Britain and Tibet after the Simla Convention, which lasted from 1913 to 1914. The convention was attended by Britain, Tibet and China. However, the then government of China claims to not have signed this treaty. The demarcation of this border led to the expansion of British India in the northeast area and 100 km into Tibet. Tawang, which is a holy site of the Tibetan Buddhists, became a part of British India.
Breakout of the war
The war was instigated by China right after the Soviet Union notified about the missile sites it would build in Cuba, in the second half of the year 1962. The Chinese President Mao Zeodang is said to have made the shrewdest use of the process leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
November 1961, India started to establish military posts beyond the McMahon line. China, therefore, waged a war and also held strong protests against India for sheltering Dalai Lama after the Tibet uprising.
The war terminated with the unilateral withdrawal of China on November 19.
This war has left a negative impression on India and has developed deep-rooted trust issues between the two countries, which prevail till date. The Chinese are said to have broken the trust that Prime Minister Nehru had on the Indo-China friendly relations, leaving a huge impact on every individual of the country.
Conclusion
There have been multiple wars both before and after the independence of India which have shaped the country’s social, political and economic scenario. The wars listed above are the ones which have been the turning points in Indian history.