आज वामपंथी रानी पद्मिनी की ऐतिहासिकता पर सवाल उठा रहे हैं इस आधार पर कि किसी समकालीन मुस्लिम इतिहासकार ने उनका उल्लेख नही किया, हालांकि विरोधी पक्ष की रानियों का वर्णन होना बेहद दुर्लभ बात होती है। खिलजी के समकालीन दो मुस्लिम इतिहासकारों ने चित्तौड़ विजय का वर्णन किया है जिसमें बरनी ने सिर्फ एक वाक्य चित्तौड़ अभियान पर खर्च किया है। ऐसे में रानी पद्मिनी का उल्लेख ना होना समझ आता है। दूसरा लेखक रहा है खुसरो जिसने चित्तौड़ विजय का बेहद प्रतीकात्मक भाषा मे वर्णन किया है। इस वर्णन को पढ़ने के पश्चात जो भी व्यक्ति सुलेमान और बिलकिस की कहानी से परिचित है उसे इस बात को मानने में कोई दिक्कत नही होगी कि यहां खुसरो ने खिलजी की रानी पद्मिनी के प्रति आसक्ति का ही प्रतीकात्मक भाषा मे वर्णन किया है।
चित्तौड़ फतेह होने के बाद खुसरो खिलजी के साथ किले में प्रवेश करता है और उसे किसी चीज का पता लगाने के लिये भेजा जाता है लेकिन खुसरो के पास खिलजी के लिये बुरी खबर होती है जिसे खिलजी को बताने में वह डर रहा है। यह बुरी खबर और क्या हो सकती है? यमन के सीबा की रानी बिलकिस और रानी पद्मिनी की कहानी में इतना साम्य होना और यहां खुसरो द्वारा खिलजी को सुलेमान बताना, चित्तौड़ को सीबा, खुद को हुदहुद चिड़िया बताना किस चीज की और इशारा करता है?
हैरानी है कि वामपंथी सर्किल में सल्तनत कालीन इतिहास लेखन का सबसे बड़ा नाम जिन मोहम्मद हबीब को कहा जाता है उन्होंने खुद खुसरो की इस प्रतीकात्मक वर्णन का संबंध रानी पद्मिनी से माना है। लेकिन समय के साथ राजनीति भी बदलती है और राजनीति के साथ इतिहास लिखने वालों का नजरिया भी। आज मोहम्मद हबीब के पुत्र इरफान हबीब सब जानते हुए भी मीडिया में पद्मिनी तो छोड़िए रावल रत्न सिंह, चित्तौड़ के शाका और जौहर को भी काल्पनिक बता रहे हैं क्योंकि मीडिया में कोई इतिहासकार से किसी तथ्य की बात नही करता बल्कि फतवा लेता है। वामपंथीयो और AMU वालो का भारतीय इतिहास लेखन पर इस तरह का वर्चस्व है कि वो तथ्यों को नजरअंदाज कर फतवा जारी करनी की स्थिति में भी है। आज वामपंथी सबाल्टर्न इतिहास के नाम पर folklore से लेकर फिक्शन तक के आधार पर इतिहास लिख रहे हैं, मोहम्मद और ईसा मसीह के अस्तित्व के कही समकालीन प्रमाण नही मिलते लेकिन फिर भी उनका अस्तित्व माना जा सकता है लेकिन यहां खुसरो के वर्णन में झलकता इतना स्पष्ट प्रमाण नजर नही आता क्योंकि उन्हें आज राजनीति करनी है।
इस मुद्दे ने कुछ और किया ना हो लेकिन भारतीय इतिहास के पुनर्लेखन की महत्वता को उजागर कर दिया है क्योंकि वामपंथी इतिहासकार अब बेशर्मी पर उतर आए हैं। रानी पद्मिनी जैसे कितने मुद्दे हैं जो वामपंथी इतिहासकारों द्वारा गलत व्याख्या के भेंट चढ़े हुए हैं।
बहरहाल, इस विषय के बारे में डिटेल में लिखा कुशाग्र शिसोदिया जी का ये आर्टिकल पढिये।
“The army of Solomon dealt strokes, like those of David, on the fort that reminded them of Seba. On Monday, 11 Muharram, A.H. 703, the Solomon of the age, seated on his aerial throne, went into the fort, to which birds were unable to fly. The servant (Amir Khusro), who is the bird of this Solomon, was also with him They cried, 'Hudhud! Hudhud!' repeatedly. But I would not return; for I feared Sultan's wrath in case he inquired, 'How is it I see not Hudhud, or is one of the absentees?' and what would be my excuse for my absence if he asked, 'Bring to me a clear plea'? if the Emperor says in his anger, 'I will chastise him', how can the poor bird have strength enough to bear it?”
In the above words Amir Khusro, the imperial chronicler of tyrant Khilji, describes his predicament –
Having been tasked with the object of obtaining the surrender of Padmani after the fort of Chittor had been breached, and its heroes had perished at the hand of their inexorable foe, but in which enterprise he totally failed owing to the high moral courage of that matchess Rajput heroine, he now but shudders at the very thought of presenting himself before his sovereign, who is teeming with anticipation of happy tidings.
This is the clincher that had hitherto been wanted to establish the historicity of the legendary queen, with whose memory the tradition of Mewar is still ripe, and whose timely act of valour is still looked upon by Rajput women as an epitome of Rajput womanhood.
On the very face of it, the description appears to have been clearly influenced by the famous Quranic story where Hudhud , the bird, brings the news of Balquis, the queen of Seba(Yemen) to Solomon. The author, inorder to give expression to post-conquest events and his own impending predicament, has employed the essential symbology of the Quranic story. And aptly so.
The author is the bird Hudhud, the tyrant Khilji is the modern Solomon, but who is Bilquis here? Could be anyone’s guess! But this is not the obverse and reverse of it. It must be asked what made the author invoke this story from Quran? Such invocation is unwarranted unless there must be some common ground between the two situations. In the Quranic tale, the bird was dispatched to find a place where water could be obtained with profit, but instead it ends up bringing the news of a beautiful queen ruling a prosperous land.
That there exists a situational consanguinity between the two narrations is unmistakably true; such being the case no one could interpret these words of Khusro without admitting that they are clearly pregnant with the obvious but implicit allusion to queen Padmini.
Interpretations that seek to establish anything without taking account of this obvious relation between the narrations would be inherently fallacious.
From the foregoing discussion, it follows naturally with reasonable certainty that Amir Khusro, the Hudhud, was tasked with paying a visit to Chittor in the cloak of a ‘Wiseman’, but with a covert aim of gathering intelligence for his master who had set his eyes upon that most powerful of erstwhile Hindu kingdoms.
However, Khusro, the Hudhud, returned to his sovereign with more than what was expected of him. And after having acquainted himself with the account of Padmini’ celestial beauty, that Khusro might have heard at Chittor, the evil minded Khilji resolved to occupy that most excellent of kingdoms along with its celestial damsel with even greater lust.
In the aftermath of the conquest, when the heroes of Mewar had been overcome, Khusro, the Hudhud, was again hastily dispatched to that fort nestled among the high hills to secure that effulgent one for his lustful sovereign. In vain, he entered the confines of that doomed mansion, the lustre from its walls had gone, the aroma in the air that would charm its visitor had turned pestilentious; the soul of the mansion had vanished. The garden of the fair had turned into a cold graveyard of the dead; where auspicious incantations would ring through air, there prevailed now but a scary silence. The fair host had vanished from the scene. The chaste queen seeing none able to protect her honour, her consort with all his kinsmen having been slain in battle, summoned her other worldly father for protection.
Upon this continual summoning, Agni the Lord of all things fiery, that immortal one who is ever present within all beings, and who gives effect to the workings of immortals within the mortal beings, appeared in his fiery aspect before her to take her away with all her cognates to the protection of his supernal realm. And while they were rushed to that excellent realm even their earthly bodies were not left unattended. Nothing but a heap of ashes was all that remained behind.
On his arrival, Hudhud, finding no signs of Padmini or any of her fair consorts was overcome by fright. In disdain he thus exclaimed :“This could not be! What became of the fair stock! How could that divine goddess of beauty just vanish? This cannot be true! This must be a nightmare! How will I ever show my face to my master, now that I could not bring him the object of his desire?”
The construct developed above is totally in keeping with the campaign notes of Amir Khusro, and in all probability recounts the events appropriately as they did take place. The initial object of the tyrant was the kingdom of Mewar, the knowledge of the existence of Padmini coming through Khusro inflamed him further. After a long siege, Chittor finally fell after Rajput men had perished fighting to the last man. Queen Padmini along with other Rajput women ascended the funeral pyre and immolated herself. Khusro was sent to the fort first with a mandate to bring Padmini to the tyrant, but the courage of the queen failed this enterprise, which made the author frightful of the consequences that he might have to bear should he take the unpleasant tidings to his master. And through a veiled language, notes produced above, he did convey this fear. Eventually when the news was broken before the tyrant, in a fit of rage, he ordered everything living in the fort to be put to sword. The Muslim sources note that more than 30,000 people were slaughtered in cold blood by the forces of Khilji in the fort of Chittor.
The invasion of Chittor, the valour of Rajputs, the self immolation of Padmini and others are all real historical events. The campaign notes of Khusro produced above when properly interpreted, as has been here done, bear out the truth in no uncertain terms.
Thanks for reading!
By Kushagra Sisodia.
Ref- The translation of Khusrau's work is from : Medieval period , The collected works of Mohammad Habib Vol 2( New Delhi : People's publishing house) Page no 188-190
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