Kalapahada (in Odia language) or Kala Pahar was a Brahmin[1] born Muslim General of the Bengal Sultanate under the reigning Karrani Dynasty.[2]

Military Campaigns

Sultan Sulaiman sent his army into Odisha to expand his Sultanate under the command of his son "Bayazid and general Kalapahar alias Raju". They defeated and killed the king Mukund-Dev. The general Kalapahar led a contingent deep into the kingdom to subjugate it.[3]

He also successfully fought the Cooch Behar army after the Koch king had attacked the Sultanate; Sukladhwaja was imprisoned and the capital seized.[3] However, fearing an attack from the Mughal armies, Sultan Sulaiman ordered Kalapahad to withdraw and restored status-quo.[3] In 1575, the Sultan's son Bayazid was treacherously murdered. Kalapahar rallied around Daud Karrani who ascended to the throne of the Bengal Sultanate but were defeated at Battle of Rajmahal in July 1576.[4]

Legacy

The term Kalapahad (or Black Mountain in English) has come to mean iconoclast among the Hindu population in Bengal, East and Northeast India.[5] It has also been used derogatorily against Bengali Muslims and other Muslims of the eastern part of the subcontinent. In March 2021, the Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah referred to AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal as Kalapahad and as an infiltrator.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kalita, Bharat Chandra (1988). Military Activities in Medieval Assam. Daya Publishing House. p. 48. ISBN 978-81-7035-047-7. In retaliation the Bengal governor Sulaiman Kararani engaged his General Kalapahar, a Hindu Brahmin converted to Islam, to teach a lesson to the Koch king.
  2. ↑ Panda, Shishir Kumar (1999). Political and Cultural History of Orissa. New Age International. ISBN 978-81-224-1197-3.
  3. 1 2 3 Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Sulaiman Karrani". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. ↑ Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Daud Khan Karrani". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  5. ↑ Accessible Dictionary, “কালাপাহাড়” Bengali-English, Government of Bangladesh
  6. ↑ "Rahul Baba is on Assam visit as a tourist: Amit Shah in Chirang". Deccan Herald. 31 March 2021.
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