How Invaders expolites the war eithics of Hindus

The Muslim invaders could not make any headway into India from their occupation of Sindh in 715, up to 980. It was only in the year 980, that the Muslims could invade India once again. But they had to use another gateway. Instead of attacking Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat from Sindh, they attacked the Shahiya kingdom in Upaganastan (Afghanistan – literally the land of allied tribes).

The first Turko-Persian Muslim chieftain to attack the Hindu domains was named Sabuktagin. He ruled from Ghazni and had forced his way up to the domains of Jayapala Shahiya (Hindu-shahis) the Hindu Raja of Kubha (later renamed as Kabul by the city’s Muslims occupiers).

The Muslims had studied Hindu warfare practices and misused the weakness of the Hindus to their hilt. Sabuktagin’s spies had told him that the Hindus start warfare at Sunrise and end it at sunset.

The crafty Muslim chieftain decided to use this practice of the Hindus against them. He challenged Jayapala Shahiya to open warfare and decided the place and date of the war. True to his word the Hindu king reached the appointed place one day before the day of the war. This was in the year 980. The Muslims too had assembled at the appointed place and the two adversaries exchanged ambassadors and decided that the hostilities would commence at sunrise the next day. After the Hindus retired for the night, the Muslim were busy preparing for a night assault. While the Hindu army was in deep slumber, except for a few scouts, the Muslim army attacked by taking cover of the dark and stormy night. The storm entirely camouflaged the advance of the Muslims as they stealthily crept towards the Hindu camp, after crossing the few hillocks that separated the two camps.

The Muslims had muffled the sounds of their advance by covering the hooves of their horses with felt and cloth. Dressed in dark clothes the Muslims almost reached the Hindu camps at 2 A.M. at night. When they were spotted, the Hindu scouts raised a hue and cry to awaken their sleeping troops. But it was too late. Before any significant number of the Hindus could arise to don their armor and be ready to fight the Muslims, a large number of them were done to death while they were half awake and struggling to prepare themselves for war.

The entire Hindu army was caught unawares, but they still put up a stiff fight against their beastly adversaries. The battle continued till past dawn, but the Hindu army had been overpowered, tricked as it had been to give the advantage of surprise to the Muslims. By late morning the remnants of the Hindu army retreated back to their capital Kubha (Kabul), with the Muslims in hot pursuit. The Muslims soon occupied Kabul and continued to push the Hindus eastwards.