| Battle of the Malandari Pass (1586) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofMughal–Afghan Wars | |||||||
 Battle of Malandari Monument inBuner | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Afghan people |  Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Kalu Khan Yousafzai Mirwais Khan | Birbal † Zain Khan Koka | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 20,000[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 8,000 (Badayuni's claim)[3] with 500 officers killed.[4] | ||||||
TheBattle of the Malandari Pass was fought on 16 February 1586 in what is now theBuner District in Pakistan'sKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The army of theMughal Empire, led byRaja Birbal, was ambushed by PashtunYusufzai tribesmen, led byMalikKalu Khan Yousafzai. It was one of the greatest defeats of Mughal history and under the reign ofAkbar the Great.[a][6][7]
Birbal is believed to have died in the battle alongside around 8,000 Mughal soldiers.[2][8]
The Mughals had annihilated the whole Yousafzai tribe after Mullah Meru's defeat and death in 1581 AD, and Kalu Khan Yusufzai decided to take over the task of restoring the Yousafzai's organisation and unity. In the jirga that Yousafzai organised after consulting his friends and supporters, Ayub son of Rusi, Babu son of Saifu Aba Khel Mandanr, Mirwais son of Mullah Meru, and other individuals associated with Yousafzai took part. Yousafzai's country was visited by this jirga as it preached about togetherness and issued ominous warnings about the consequences of divide.
Ain-i-Akbari claims that Kalu Khan travelled toAgra when the Mughal Emperor Akbar went to theKabul region to chastise Mirza Muhammad. Kalu Khan was treated well, but he eventually left Agra.Khwaja Shamsuddin Khwafi detained Kalu Khan close toAttock and then took him to court. Kalu Khan ran away once more, went back home, and eventually became the leader of the seditious elements. Abu Fazal does not specifically state how Akbar took Kalu Khan to Agra or why or under what circumstances.[9]
The Yousafzai had selected Ghazi Khan Malezai to serve as their leader while Kalu Khan was away. But soon after, Ghazi Khan was killed inBajaur in a battle with the Mughals. Kalu Khan, who had just returned from Agra, also joined the fight. He was once again chosen by Yousafzais to lead the tribe in Damghar, Swat.[8]
According to historiansJadunath Sarkar and Raghubir Sinh, there were quarrels between the leaders of the Mughal troops, with Birbal, Abul Fath and Zain Khan disagreeing on the course of action, and "On 16th February, (1586), during a disorderly march, the Afghans attacked in a Swat defile. Panic seized the disunited Imperial army and 8000 men lost their lives, including Rajah Birbal and many other high officers, while all their camp and equipage were plundered. The fugitives straggling in the hills were cut off."[10]
Between theKarakar Pass and the Malandari Pass, the Yusufzai Afghans under the command of Kalu Khan routed the combined forces of Zain Khan and Raja Birbal. Birbal lost his life in this battle.[11] According to Mughal historianKhafi Khan, 40,000–50,000 Mughal men perished in this battle.[8][need quotation to verify] However,Badayuni claims that around 8000 Mughal men perished as a result of the entire episode.[12]
Akbar learned about the disaster two days later and an army under RajahTodar Mal set off on 19 February to exact retribution against the Yusufzais, killing a large number of them and selling many survivors toTuran andPersia, as "the countries of Swat, Bajaur and Buner were cleansed of evildoers."[10]
In this confusion, Birbal and Hasan Khan Bhittani, along with eight thousand men of the Mughal army lost their lives.