THE INVASION OF DELHI by NADIR SHAH

Nadir Shah, the ruler of Persia (1736–47) invaded north India, attacking Delhi in March 1739.

What followed was unprecedented destruction and mayhem. Highlights the need for Hindu unity so that history doesn't repeat itself.

(Thread)

Of all the glooms that Delhi has suffered over the centuries at the hands of invaders, the one that stands out is the plunder by Nadir Shah in 1739.(1)

Nadir Shah had consolidated his position in Persia. He had also conquered Kandahar to reinforce the security of his eastern provinces. The conquest of Kandahar had left him cash strapped for further attacks against the Turks.(2)

He wanted territory along with money and the decaying M0ghul empire seemed like an ideal candidate.(3)

Shah’s pretext for invading India was the M0ghul ruler M0hd Shah’s "rangeela" continued asylum to the Afghan rebels who had been troubling the eastern provinces of Nadir Shah’s kingdom.(4)

When Shah decided to invade his path from Kandahar onwards can be described as: Kandahar to Ghazni to Kabul to Jalalabad to Jamrud to Peshawar to Attock to Wazirabad to Lahore to Sirhind to Ambala to Azimabad to Karnal and then to Delhi.(5)

This was accompanied by many mass@cres, looting and sacking of towns and of the regions in between.(6)

From Kandahar, Nadir Shah conquered Ghazni and then Kabul. All this happened even as he kept professing to the M0ghuls that he had no territorial ambitions. The M0ghuls did wake up somewhat after the fall of Kabul.(7)

They realized that Shah had not kept his word. It was decided that they'll wait for Nadir Shah at Karnal.(8)

Nasir Khan, governor of Peshawar and Kabul, had appealed to the M0ghuls for reinforcements. This was seen at the M0ghul court as a ploy to “extort gold.” No help was given.(9)

Khan was defeated and taken prisoner by Shah who had bypassed the Khyber Pass and advanced straight to Jamrud via Bazar Valley. Peshawar was now occupied, and the region between Peshawar and the Indus was thoroughly sacked.(10)

As Shah neared Lahore, Zakariyah Khan, the M0ghul governor, decided that discretion was better part of valour. He surrendered to Shah by “offering a gift of 20 lakhs of rupees and several elephants.”(11)

This was followed by Shah’s arrival at Sirhind on February 16, 1739. The army had reached the plains, and battle loomed. Shah advanced to Shahabad, a little more than 50 kilometers from Karnal.(12)

The Battle of Karnal was fought on 24th February, 1739. The M0ghul army was routed.(13)

Peace was negotiated by offering an “indemnity” of 50 lakhs of rupees to Shah. Shah agreed not to advance towards Delhi.(14)

Greed and treachery in his psyche led to a change of ambition. He asked Shah to “furnish twenty crores of rupees”. When he pleaded his inability, Shah decided to march into Delhi.(15)

Two monarchs were to be received there, “one a captive and other a victor.” M0hd Shah was “permitted” to enter the city a day earlier to “enable him to accord a suitable welcome to his honourable visitor.”(16)

On the 20th of March, 1739, Nadir Shah entered Delhi to a royal welcome.(17)

He occupied Shahjahans imperial suite in Red Fort. Coins were struck, and prayers said, in his name in all the Delhi m0sques. The next day, Shah held a durbar in the capital.(18)

Towards the end of the day, rumors started to spread in the city that Nadir Shah had met with an untimely death or had been seized or imprisoned by the orders of the emperor.(19)

Due to these rumors, the Persian troops went into a state of confusion. In the ensuing disarray, some of Shah’s troops fell prey to the mobs (civilian unrest) which had begun to attack these troops leading to some casualties.(20)

Nadir, furious at this, retaliated by ordering his soldiers to carry out the notorious qatl-e-aam (qatl-murder, aam-publicly in open) in Delhi.(21)

Areas of Delhi which were densely populated were soon covered with bodies. Hindus and Sikhs, resorted to eliminating their women, children and themselves rather than submit to Persians.(22)

Nadir Shah’s soldiers destroyed all they could lay their hands on, anything of value was stolen, and bazaars and shops set on fire as the city was ransacked.(23)

Several hundred women, approximately 20k people perished in this mass@cre. The streets of Delhi lay littered with bodies for several days.(24)

Timber from the wrecked houses provided fuel for funeral pyres, on which the bodies of Hindus were cremated. Thousands of bodies were collected and thrown into the Yamuna.(25)

It is estimated that during the course of six hours in one day, 22 March 1739, something like 20k to 30k Indian men, women and children were eliminated by the Persian troops.(26)

Exact casualty figures are uncertain, as after the mass@cre, the bodies of the victims were simply buried in mass burial pits or cremated in grand funeral pyres without any record being made of the numbers cremated or buried.(27)

The carnage over, looting was next on the agenda. A door-to-door survey was conducted, and according to one estimate, Nadir Shah obtained from the city of Delhi, its emperor, nobles, and people about 70 lakh rupees.(28)

Also captured were the Peacock throne and the Koh-i-noor diamond. Soldiers were dispatched to Awadh for more treasures.(29)

The accumulated wealth of 348 years changed hands in a moment. A great grand-daughter of Aurangzeb was married to Nadir Shah’s son, Nasrullah. To celebrate the occasion, Nadir ordered illuminations, display of fireworks and lavish entertainments.(30)

The city was sacked for several days. Apart from the Koh-i-Noor the Darya-e-Noor diamond was also confiscated. They are now part of the British and Iranian crown jewels respectively.(31)

Shah held a durbar on May 12 (1739) to which he invited M0hd Shah and placed a crown on his head, thus vindicating “the long-standing claim of the Persian rulers, of their superiority over the M0ghul sovereigns.”(32)

Nadir Shah marched out of Delhi on 16th May, 1739(33)

The plunder seized from Delhi was so rich that Nadir stopped taxation in Persia for a period of 3 years following his return! (34)