Babur’s Invasion of India was not a Jihad!

Babur’s Invasion of India was not a Jihad!

Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, was an extraordinary individual. He is currently portrayed in India as a ”Jihadi” who invaded India to subjugate Hinduism and assert Islamic domination. The myths around the now destroyed Babri masjid, where a Ram temple is being constructed, is key to this demonization of Babur, Mughals and all Indian Muslims. None of that is true. This Khanversation with the distinguished scholar of Babur, Dr. Stephen Dale,   debunks these myths and recognizes Babur for who he was. Babur was the last scion of the Timurid empire and he was essentially pushed from Central Asia to Hindustan by multiple defeats to Uzbeks. Hindustan was his last chance to revive a Timurid principality. Except on one occasion (the Khanwa battle) nearly all of Babur’s wars were against Muslims. In 35 years of warmongering he  killed thousands of Muslims with customary brutality.

But he was not just a warlord. He had a penchant for gardens and built many beautiful ones in India and Afghanistan.   He was also a poet who wrote several collections of poetry in Turko-persian dialect (Chagtai) and he wrote one of the grandest of autobiographers ever written by a sovereign, the Baburnama. There is much that Hindus and Muslims and others can learn from the life of Babur and his reflections in Baburnama.

Watch and share this Khanversation about Emperor Zaheeruddin Babur.