Hemu was the son of Ramiya of Rewari. He was born at Qutbpur in the Dhusar caste of the Vaishyas or Baniyas. He is said to have been at first a saltpetre-seller, later on a Baqqal or weighman in the market and thereafter a Sahana ur Superintendent of the market of Delhi under Isiam Shah. Hemu seems to have held the office of Chief of Intelligence and Daroga-i-Dak-Choki or Superintendent of Posts. The Dak-Choki brought him every day one seer of Suna-Mung or the best variety of pulses, and one maund of fresh rice from Bengal even if he happened to be on the bank of the Indus.
He was unique among those characters of medieval history who were to prove equally adept at weighing atta and in wielding the sword better than the Rajputs and Turks and possessing much more intelligence than the average administrators of the martial races. Islam Shah discovered soldierly qualities in him and raised him to a very high position. In conformity with his policy of always placing a Hindu in command alongside an Afghan officer to spy on one another, Islam Shah sent the contingent of Hemu along with others to watch the movements of Kamran Mirza who was coming to his court in the neighbourhood of Mankot.
About the position of Hemu in the court of Adil Shah, Abul Fazl says: “Hemu undertook all appointments and dismissals and the distribution of justice. In his foresight he got possession of the treasures of Sher Khan and Salim Khan and their elephant stud. For some days, he took the title of Rai and then he fastened on the title of Raja on himself and assumed the style of Raja Bikramjit. Thus did he apply great names to himself. From foresight he preserved the nominal sovereignty for Adil and waged great wars against his opponents. By his valour and daring, he was victorious and performed great deeds. He became famous for courage and capability.”
Abul Fazl says, "Outwardly he had neither rank (hasab) nor race (nasab), nor beauty of form (Surat), nor noble qualities (Sairat) … He (God) sent one worse than themselves to chastise the wicked of the age. In short, that evil-looking one of puny form… by means of astuteness (and)… masterpieces of feline trickery… made himself known to Salim Khan by evil-speaking and business capacity.
Islam Shah was succeeded by his 12 year old son Firoz Khan who was killed within three days by Adil Shah Suri. The new king Adil was an indolent pleasure-seeker and a drunkard who faced revolts all around. Adil Shah took Hemu as his Chief Advisor and entrusted all his work to him. appointing him the prime minister and chief of his army.
After the victory of the Mughal ruler Humayun over Adil Shah’s brother Sikander Suri, on 23 July 1555 the Mughals regained the Punjab, Delhi and Agra after a gap of 15 years. Hemu was in Bengal when Humayun died on 26 January 1556. He started a rapid march from Bengal through present day Bihar, Eastern UP and Madhya Pradesh. According to Abul Fazl, in the Akbarnama, after winning Delhi Hemu had planned to attack and win Kabul. He made several changes in his army, including the recruitment of many Hindus, but without the dismissal of any Afghan.
On 5 November 1556, the Mughal army met Hemu’s army at the historic battlefield of Panipat. Bairam Khan exhorted his army in a speech with religious overtones and ordered them into battle. Akbar and Bairam Khan stayed in the rear, eight miles from the battleground, with the instructions to leave India in case of defeat. The Mughal army was led by Ali Kuli Khan, Sikandar Khan and Abdulla Khan Uzbeg. Hemu led his army himself into battle, atop an elephant. His left was led by his sister’s son General Ramiya and the right by Afghan chief Shadi Khan Kakkar. He was on the cusp of victory, when he was wounded in the eye by an arrow, and collapsed unconscious. This led to confusion amongst the soldiers, with no supreme commander to coordinate decisions. According to Abul Fazl, 5000 soldiers of Hemu were slain.
Unconscious and at death’s door, Hemu was captured by Shah Qulin Khan and carried to the Mughal camp for execution. He was beheaded by Bairam Khan. Hemu’s head was sent to Kabul in Afghanistan, where it was hanged outside the Delhi Darwaza, to be shown to Afghans to prove that their Hindu general is dead, while his body was placed in a gibbet outside Purana Quila in Delhi to terrorise the native Indians.
It must be noted that till the end hemu stayed loyal to Adil shah. Some Indian historians speculate that he was taking delhi for himself to establish Hindu empire but there is no historical evidence that suggests that he chose that path, he never went against Adil shah. It was not possible because he was leading an Afghan army and Afghans could not have been supporters of his ambitions of a hindu empire.
‘Beheaded Skulls Minarett’ built by Akbar of Hem Chandra’s relatives and supporters after battle at Panipat.
