The consecration ritual of Bhagwan Ram Lalla in his rightful abode took place on January 22nd at Ayodhya Ram Mandir. On this occasion, Hindus all across the country and around the world celebrated Diwali to mark the “return of the King” after nearly five centuries. OpIndia in its series of ground reports brought up the stories of several unsung heroes of the Ram Janmbhoomi Liberation Movement who sacrificed their lives in the firing ordered by the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime in 1990.
In the course of our on-the-ground report, we learned about four crucial wars. The battles occurred at a period when the merciless army of Islamic invader Babar was demolishing the temple and Kshatriya warriors were sacrificing their lives while fighting invaders. Of these warriors, the then-Bhiti King Mahtab Singh was the first to sacrifice his life. We went to Raja Mahtab Singh’s palace in pursuit of information regarding the present-day situation there.
The OpIndia team reached Raja Mahtab Singh’s palace. The palace is presently located near the tehsil office in the Bhiti police station area of Ambedkarnagar district. The palace has become exceedingly dilapidated. The plaster has come off, and the ceiling has collapsed in several places. However, the saffron flag is still fluttering over the palace. The walls still bear engraved images of Lord Ganesh and Mahadev.
By looking at the palace, it appears that the exterior as well as the interior have not been dusted or repainted for many years. The doors had also been damaged. Some domestic animals were found tied in an area of the palace. Some locals, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also informed us that the majority of the palace has been sold.
There is an Inter College named after Raja Ajay Pratap Singh near the palace. It is run by Raja Mahtab Singh’s descendants. Locals wandering through the site mentioned that Raja Saheb’s court used to be located where Inter College now stands. He used to resolve the people’s issues in a very impartial fashion. The majority of Raja Mahtab Singh’s family members live in Lucknow and Kashi. Only a few distant relatives were present to look after the palace, one of whom was Vinay Pratap Singh.
“Our ancestors fought Babur, but people have forgotten us”
Vinay Pratap Singh, who was present in the palace, told us that his ancestors fought the first battle against Babar to safeguard their birthplace, but that they have since been forgotten. He told us that a book about Raja Mahtab Singh’s sacrifice had earlier been published, however, it was somehow removed from the market for unknown reasons.
Vinay Pratap Singh claims that this book was previously sold in all of Ayodhya’s book centres. Overjoyed with the consecration of Ram Lalla in the Ram Mandir, wants people to remember Raja Mahtab Singh on this historic occasion. Along with this, he hopes that the government of India protect this palace.
An army of 80,000 had fought twice as many Mughals
Speaking to OpIndia, Pranab Pratap Singh, another descendant of Raja Mahtab told us that during 1527-28, on Babar’s orders, his commander Mir Baqi and a Mughal army of lakhs invaded the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. At that time, Bhiti King Raja Mahtab Singh had embarked on a pilgrimage to Badrinath.
When Raja Saheb, who had grown old, learned of the attack on Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, he cancelled his journey and marched to Ayodhya. He issued a message to his state and started assembling as many people as possible. On this side, an army of approximately 80,000 Hindus set out for Ayodhya to defend Ram Janmabhoomi.
The battle to defend Ram Janmbhoomi lasted 17 days, during which Hindu warriors and Raja Mahtab Singh gave the supreme sacrifice
Pranab Pratap Singh informed us that Mir Baqi had infiltrated the entire city of Ayodhya and arrived close to Ram Janmabhoomi. All the soldiers had surrounded the birthplace. Mir Baqi and his army were unable to enter the temple for around 17 days. Meanwhile, Hindu soldiers were attaining martyrdom while fighting Baqi’s troops. Ultimately, after the 17th day, Raja Mahtab Singh, the last warrior, gave his life while defending the birthplace of Bhagwan Ram from Mir Baqi’s army.
Pranab Pratap Singh said that veteran Kehri Singh, an ally of Raja Mahtab Singh, was also killed in this battle. Only after Raja Mahtab Singh’s sacrifice was the Mughal army able to approach the temple premises.
Several singers at the time composed folk songs about Raja Mahtab Singh’s heroism. Some of these folk songs are still performed by the elders of the Bhiti area. One of the main reasons for Raja Saheb’s defeat was a lack of sophisticated armaments.
According to Pranab Pratap Singh, Raja Saheb’s warriors had spears and swords, whilst the Mughals used cannons. Mir Baqi is supposed to have slaughtered Raja Mahtab Singh and his 80,000 troops, made mortar out of their blood and used it to build the first wall of Babri. These walls were built with Lakhauri bricks to absorb as much blood as it could.
Two Mughal fakirs who were given at Ayodhya Ram Mandir informed Babur about Ram Janmabhoomi
Balram Mishra, a historian in Ambedkar Nagar, turned the pages of history during a conversation with OpIndia. Balram Mishra told us that Shyamanand, the then-priest of the Ram temple, provided shelter for two Mughal fakirs Kazal Abbas Musa and Jalal Shah. These fakirs pretended to be influenced by Hinduism and began living in temple premises.
The duo not only obtained information on the temple’s wealth but also uncovered all of the security secrets. They also learned that Hindus in North India had immense faith in Bhagwan Ram. The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple served as the centre of that faith. Later, these two fakirs provided all of the information to Babur, and the fanatical Babur deployed his troops to pillage the vast wealth and demolish the Ram Mandir on the scale of Somnath.
We also spoke with people who were present around Raja Mahtab Singh’s palace. There is a settlement of people belonging to “Scheduled Caste” near the palace. They told us that Raja Saheb had personally settled them there and that they had never faced discrimination based on caste or other factors inside the palace. Ramayagya Tiwari, a veteran of Bhiti Bazaar, stated that it is unfortunate for the area that even an image of such a historical figure does not exist.
