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Karnal

City in Haryana, India

  • 6 min read
  • 7 chapters

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History

At the end of the 6th century A.D., the area was under the rule of the Vardhanas of Thanesar. In the 7th century, the Indo-Gangetic plains experienced a period of religious eclecticism, as Buddhism declined while Hinduism resurged. Between 770 and 810 A.D., the region came under the influence of the Pala emperors of Bengal, who exercised authority over Kannauj at the time. Under the reign of Mihira Bhoja, Pratihara authority from Kannauj extended as far as Pehowa, encompassing the region of present-day Karnal.

The Tomaras, established themselves as rulers of the region in the middle of the 9th century. At the beginning of the 10th century, as the Pratihara power began to decline, the Tomaras assumed independence. One of the Tomara rulers, Anangpal Tomar, found the city of Delhi and made it his capital, with the area of Karnal and modern-day Haryana being under his realm. The Tomaras came into conflict with the Chauhans of Ajmer, but continued to rule the Haryana country until the middle of 12th century when they were overthrown by the Chaha mana Vighnaraja IV. The country between the Satluj and the Yamuna including Karnal experienced relative peace for a century and a half except the plundering invasions and eventual conquests of Mahmud of Ghazi. The region then came under Ghurid rule after the Second Battle of Tarain when Muhammad Ghori captured the area. It remained under the Delhi Sultanate until 1526.

In 1526 at the First Battle of Panipat, Mughal emperor Babur defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, and captured parts of North India, along with Delhi and Panipat. He then established the Mughal Empire in North India.

Karnal is listed in the Mughal Ain-i-Akbari as a pargana under Delhi sarkar, producing a revenue of 5,678,242 dams for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 800 infantry and 50 cavalry.

In A.D. 1739, Nader Shah of Persia invaded the Mughal empire and Karnal was the scene of the famed Battle of Karnal, in which Nader Shah decisively defeated the Mughal Emperor, Muhammad Shah. Muhammad Shah along with an enormous army occupied a strongly fortified camp at Karnal, but he yielded to the invader as his supplies were cut off from the open country by Shah and was starved into submission. The tactical defeat drastically weakened the Mughal Empire, while the Persian Empire prospered and subsequently hastened the establishment of the British Empire in India. The region then came under Afghan rule. On 24 February 1739, the Iranian ruler Nadir Shah attacked India. Rao Bal Kishan, with his army and with the forces of Delhi, fought Nadir Shah. His army included 5000 infantry and 2000 cavalry. In February 1739, Nader Shah captured Sirhind and moved towards the field of Karnal, a battle destined to be fateful to the Mughal rulers. Every year on 24 February, Rao Bal Kishan Shaurya Diwas celebrated in Rewari.

Sikhs appeared on the scene in the 18th century. The importance of Karnal grew in the time of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind State who after its capture in 1763 built the boundary wall and a fort and under whose rule the town increased considerably in size. On 14 January 1764, Sikh Chiefs defeated and killed Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Durrani Governor, and took possession of the whole of Sirhind province as far south as Panipat including Karnal.

During the Indian independence movement, a district political conference was organized at Karnal with Lala Lajpat Rai as its chairman.

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