Early Difficulties of Humayun

The throne inherited by Humayun was not a bed of roses. Babur had practically got no time to consolidate his position an authority. Before he could put the whole country on a stable basis, he was removed from the scene.  Babur had given such a monarchy to his son as an inheritance which could be continued only in the warfare, at the time of peace the monarchy was weak structureless and without backbone. Although there were so many difficulties before Humayun but, some of them were follows: 

              Internal Difficulties

1.    Conspiracy by Khalifa and other people:

Babur died on 26 December, 1530 A.D. On the same day his Prime-Minister, Nizamuddin Ali Muhammad tried to flout the succession of Humayun to the throne and raised Mehdi khawaja to the throne. This plot however ended on the very third day perhaps because of the differences between Khawaja and Khalifa. But Humayun neither gave hard punishments to the rebels nor removed them from the high offices. Babur had councilled Humayun to deal kindly with his subordinates.  Humayun was a man of kind heart and soft nature. Actually his kind nature dragged him into difficulties. 

2.    Disorderly administration:

Humayun ascended a throne which was then unstable and unsecured. Babur had bequeathed an empty treasury and an ill-organised kingdom to him.  Babur could rule over India only of 4-5 years and this time too he had to spend mostly in wars. He died before he could effect the consolidation of his Empire. Humayun inherited an Empire which was beset with many difficulties. Babur paid no attention towards administration. The Empire was although vast yet lacked cohesion and internal unity and was comprised of small or big fives of Amirs of the kingdom. Babur did not involved any policy with regard to land system or judicial system. Neither did he do any work as regarding the welfare of the common people. The Jagirdars, created by Babur, were creating many problems for Humayun. Definitely, for this problem of Humayun, only Babur was responsible. 

3.    Economic Problems:

No doubt Babur left almost an empty treasury for Humayun. But Humayun enhanced his own economic problems due to his own foolishness. Whatever little money, he got he had spent in military activities or had distributed amongst his Amirs, soldiers, and relatives, in order to please them. Because of the lack of money, Humayun could not carryon military preparations to face his enemies nor could he consolidate his Empire by works of Welfare of his subjects.

4.    His Brothers:

Humayun made a mistake in showing kindness to his brothers. In accordance with the wishes of his father, he gave Sambhal to Askari and Alwar to Hindal. As regards Kamran, he gave him the provinces of Kabul and Kandhar. In spite of this, Kamran was not satisfied. He gave out that he was going to see his brother to congratulate on his succession to the throne. While doing so, he took along with him a big army and with its help he was able to bring the whole of the Punjab under his control Humayun did not think it prudent to put up a fight with Kamran and consequently agreed to give the province of the Punjab to him. He also gave him the district of Hissar Firoza. The possession of Hissar Firoza gave Kamran control over the high road between Delhi and the Punjab. The cession of the Punjab, Kabul and Kandhar to Kamran was a suicidal step. 

5.    Unreliable army:

The Army which Humayun inherited from his father could not be relied upon. This army was not enthused with National Feeling and enthusiasm. His army consisted  of Mughals, Uzbegs, Afghans, Indian Muslims, Turks, The Hindus and The Persian. The Commanders of Armies were jealous of one another. Their internal disunity and rivalry made the striking—power of the Mughal Army non-dependable. In fact majority of these soldiers were selfish and were ready to cheat the Emperor, if it suited their purpose.

6.    Personal Weaknesses of Humayun

One of the difficulties of Humayun was his own nature and character. He had certain weaknesses. Though he was a brave soldier, but a weak administrator. He was addicted to wine and opium. He was very pleasure loving. By nature he was so kind that even at the right moment he could not punish his enemies and opponents severely. Lane-poole writes, “He lacked character and resolution. He was incapable of sustained efforts after a moment of triumph and would busy in self in his Harem and dream away the precious hour in the opium eaters paradise while his enemies were thundering at his gate.”

 

               External Difficulties

1.    Afghan rivals:

The acutest difficulties of Humayun were, however, those presented by the Afghans. Of course, Babur had defeated the Afghans in the Battle of  Panipat and Ghagra, yet their power was not crushed. The result was that on the accession  of Humayun, they became as bold in their activities as ever. They were nursing the hope of expelling the Mughals from India. On the East his position was mananced by the Afghan Chiefs of Bengal and Bihar. Mahmud Lodi was trying to get back the throne of Delhi for the Afghans. Alam Khan who had once invited Babur to conquer India was now charishing hopes of making himself the ruler. More dangerous than all the other Afghans Chiefs was, Shershah Suri.

2.    Bahadur Shah of Gujarat:

Humayun had to meet a great rival in Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, who had united the provinces of Malwa and Gujarat and was thinking in terms of conquering the whole of Rajputana. As in the case of Sher Khan, Bahadur Shah also aimed at the overlordship of India using the relatives of the late Lodhi Sultan of Delhi as stalking horses.

It is true that Humyun was faced with many difficulties but there is no doubt that he could have overcome them if he had possessed tact and stronger will power. Unfortunately, he did not possess such a character. According to Lane-Poole, “He was incapable of sustained effort and after a moment of triumph would bury himself in his Harem and dream away the precious hours in the opium-eaters’ paradise whilst his enemies were thundering at the gate. Naturally kind, he forgave when he should have punished; light-hearted and sociable, he revelled at the table when he ought to have been in the saddle. His character attracts but never dominates. In private life, he might have been a delightful companion and a staunch friend; his virtues were Christian, and his whole life was that of a gentleman. But as a king he was a failure.  His name means fortune and never was an unlucky sovereign more miscalled.”