The Story Of Hemu: A Grocer who became the King of India

 Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, or Hemu, was born in 1501 in the Alwar province of Rajputana(now Rajasthan) in a family of Dhusar Brahmins. Soon after his birth, his family shifted to the small town of Rewari(in present-day Haryana) in search of better prospects. Being a grocer's son, he was brought up to be a shopkeeper; but, of course, Hemu wasn't any ordinary tradesman--from a relatively young age, Hemu displayed remarkable intelligence and a fiery sense of ambition. During this time, following the death of the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri (the founder of the Suri dynasty in India), his son Islam Shah Suri took over the empire. However, Islam Shah's brother Adil Khan resisted his rise to power and rebelled against the empire. In the battle that followed, Adil Khan's army was routed by Islam Shah and he had to flee for his life. Giving notice to this political development, Hemu realized that the Imperial Army chasing the rebels would soon pass through Rewari, and would surely look to refill their supplies. Seizing the opportunity, Hemu began to stock his merchandise, hoping to sell it to the Sultan's(emperor's) army. After a few months, the royal customers finally arrived. The officers in the army were surprised to see that a relatively small grocer had enough grain to supply the entire army. Impressed by Hemu's foresight and intellect, they invited him to Agra to serve the emperor. 

Hem Chandra Vikramditya

Upon arriving at the court, Hemu impressed the emperor with his quick thinking and sense of enterprise and was soon made the superintendent of the bazaars. Hemu proved himself as a useful man by swiftly arranging grain for the army headed for a campaign against the rebels in Punjab. The rebels, although, fled towards the North upon hearing the news about the advancing army; citing this, Hemu advised the emperor to build a strong fortress in Punjab to prevent any future invasions. The Sultan and his men, therefore, stayed back in Punjab to oversee the construction of the fort. During this time, the party received a message from Mirza Kamran, brother of Humayun(a sworn enemy of the Suris and the head of the famous Mughal Dynasty), seeking asylum in India to escape from his brother's wrath. At first, the Sultan furiously denied the request, but Hemu sprang up and suggested that they could use the opportunity to their advantage--giving shelter to his unfavorable brother would surely upset Humayun's plans. Impressed by his shrewdness, the Sultan made Hemu the head of his secret service.  

Over the following years, the Sultan fell seriously ill. When he finally died in November 1554, some of his loyal nobles placed his son on the throne, who was a mere child of age 12 at the time. Soon after, the young prince was murdered by his own uncle, Adil Shah who then rose to power. Under Adil Shah's reign, Hemu was made the Chief Minister of the court.   

During this time, Hemu not only proved to be a brilliant statesman but also a very fine military mind. He crushed many rebellions against the new emperor and is said to have won as many as 22 battles against the emperor's enemies. Some of Hemu's prominent opponents were Junaid Khan, the governor of Ajmer, and Taj Khan, a former courtier. 

Adil Shah Suri

Another eminent rebel, Ibrahim Khan, who was the emperor's own brother-in-law, forcefully occupied Dehli and Agra and proclaimed himself as the Sultan. The emperor who was in the eastern part of the country at that time rushed to crush Ibrahim and his followers, but Ibrahim swayed Adil Shah's generals towards him using trickery and misinformation. Seeing no other option, Adil Shah retreated back to the east. After a few years, Ibrahim Khan was overthrown by his cousin Sikandar Shah, who was in turn overthrown by the Mughal Humayun. However, by a stroke of luck, news reached Adil Shah that emperor Humayun had died by falling down a staircase. Akbar, the successor of Humayun was just a small boy at the time; seizing the opportunity, Adil Shah sent Hemu on a grand campaign to regain Agra and Dehli. Hemu easily captured Agra, owing to minimal resistance from the Mughals, his army then marched onto Dehli. The Mughal governor of Dehli Tardi Beg was well prepared for the onslaught and gave a fierce resistance. But Hemu persisted and led his men to victory. As he entered the fort of Dehli among the uplifting cheer of the public, an ingenious thought entered his mind: the Afghans were busy fighting among themselves and Mughals don't have a decisive leader, it's time India be ruled by a new king and dynasty. Hemu then ascended to the throne, taking the name Vikramaditya (a glorious king in ancient India). 

Hemu being crowned as the emperor (October 1556)

Within a matter of days, however, Hemu had to defend his new-found kingdom against the Mughal veteran Bairam Khan who was leading a sizeable army to crush Hemu and recapture Dehli.

On the 5th of November, 1556, Hemu and his army and met the Mughals at the historic battlefield on Panipat (the following battle would be known as the 2nd battle of Panipat). Initially, Hemu's army gained a steady advantage owing to their high-spirits and determination. But then, arguably the worst stroke of bad luck in his life struck Hemu. A stray arrow came whizzing through and pierced Hemu's eye. Hemu fell, his army panicked and consequently retreated. 

This was the end of one of the most brilliant strategists and statesmen in medieval India, and his illustrious story of rising from the position of a humble grocer to the most powerful person in the land. 

2nd battle of Panipat

The defeat of Hemu (a Mughal Portrait). Prince Akbar, clad in a maroon dress, sits on the elephant while his aid pokes Hemu's corpse with a spear.