Kala Pahaṛ or Kalapahada (in

Odia language Odia (;"Odia"
''Lexico''. , ISO 15919, ISO: , ; formerly rendere ...

) was a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

General of the

Bengal Sultanate The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a Post-classical history, late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges- ...

under the reigning

Karrani Dynasty The Karrani dynasty (, ) was founded in 1564 by Taj Khan Karrani, an ethnic Afghan from the Karlani tribe, hailing from Bangash district. It was the last dynasty to rule the Sultanate of Bengal, before the region became a Subah of the Mugha ...

. According to traditional narratives pieced together since late 18th century, Kalapahaṛ was a

Bengali Brahmin Bengali Brahmins are the community of Hindu Brahmins, who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Bengali Brahmins, along wi ...

from either Bhurisrestha or Barendra who was military commander of the Sultanate & fell in love with the Sultan

Sulaiman Khan Karrani Sulaiman Khan Karrani (, ; reigned: 1565–1572) was an Afghan Sultan of Bengal. He ascended to the throne after the death of his brother Taj Khan Karrani. According to the '' Riyaz-us-Salatin'', he shifted the seat of government from Gaur t ...

's daughter, which led him to

convert to Islam Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the ''Shahada, shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there i ...

in order to win her hand (or being excommunicated by the Brahmin pandits, who denied him prayaschitta) and solidified his position within the ruling Muslim elite of Bengal; this conversion is often associated with his change in name from Kalachand Ray/Rajibalochana Bhaduri to "Mohammad Farmuli.".

Military Campaigns

Sultan Sulaiman sent his army to conquer Odisha to expand his Sultanate under the command of his son " Bayazid and general Kalapahaṛ alias Raju". They defeated and killed the king Mukundadeva. The general Kalapahaṛ led a contingent deep into the kingdom to plunder it. He also successfully fought the Kamatapur army after its king Naranarayana had attacked the Sultanate; Naranarayana's brother, the military general Sukladhwaja was imprisoned and the capital

Gosanimari Gosanimari (also known as ''Khalisa Gosanimari'') is both a village and an archaeological site in Dinhata I CD block, in the Dinhata subdivision of the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, north-eastern India. The name of this site was taken f ...

seized. However, fearing an attack from the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

armies (as Naranarayana had nominally accepted

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

as his overlord), Sultan Sulaiman ordered Kalapahaṛ to withdraw and restored status-quo. 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 The Battle of Rajmahal () took place between the Mughal Empire and the Karrani Dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bengal in the 16th century. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Mughals. During the battle, the last Sultan of Benga ...

in July 1576. Kalapahar was killed in this battle & later buried at

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

Legacy

The term ''Kalapahaṛ'' (or ''Black Mountain'' in English) has come to mean ''iconoclast'' among the Hindu population in

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

due to his personal involvement in the desecration & sacking of the multiple Hindu temples during his military campaigns, most notably the

Jagannath Temple The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti (reg ...

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

, the Sun temple of Konark, the

Jalpesh Temple Jalpesh Temple () is an important Hindu temple dedicated to the Bhramari Saktipitha's Bhairava as Jalpesh. The worshiped in this temple is Bhairava as Jalpesh, a form of Shiva – one of Hinduism's trinity of supreme divinity. The temple is locat ...

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is ...

, temples of

Hajo Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhism, Buddhists, Hinduism, Hindus and Islam, Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, ...

, & allegedly the

Kamakhya temple The Kamakhya Temple at Nilachal hills in Guwahati, Assam is one of the oldest and most revered centres of Tantra, Tantric practices, dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya. The temple is the center of the ''Kulachara Tantra Marga'' and the site o ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

on religious grounds. Legend has it that he also tried to sack the temple of Bargabhima in

Tamluk Tamluk (), is a town and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world and the headquarter ...

& that of Sambaleshwari in

but failed due to divine intervention. It has also been used derogatorily against

Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest et ...

and other Muslim communities of the eastern part of the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of A ...

like the Odiya Muslims,

Miya people The Miya people, alternatively identified as ''Na-Asamiya'' by themselves, denote the progeny of Bengali Muslim migrants originating from the contemporary Rangpur District, Rajshahi, and Cumilla Divisions. These individuals established residenc ...

, Assamese Muslims & Meitei Muslims by local Hindus. Kalapahar is considered to be singlehandedly responsible for the infamy of the

Karrani dynasty The Karrani dynasty (, ) was founded in 1564 by Taj Khan Karrani, an ethnic Afghan from the Karlani tribe, hailing from Bangash district. It was the last dynasty to rule the Sultanate of Bengal, before the region became a Subah of the Mugha ...

among

Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valle ...

compared to its preceding

Hussain Shahi dynasty The Hussain Shahi dynasty was a family which ruled the late medieval Sunni Muslim Sultanate of Bengal from 1494 to 1538. History The dynasty's founder, Alauddin Husain Shah was possibly of Sayyid Arab, or even Afghan origin. He is considered ...

. In March 2021, the Indian

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Amit Shah Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 32nd Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Minister of Home Affairs since May 2019 and the 1st Ministry of Co-operation, Minister of Co-operat ...

referred to AIUDF leader

Badruddin Ajmal Badruddin Ajmal (born 12 February 1950) is an Indian businessman, politician, philanthropist and Islamic theologian from the state of Assam. He is the state-president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind for Assam. He was the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha ...

as ''Kalapahaṛ'' and as an infiltrator. Kalapahad also figures in the

Hindu nationalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of political thought, based on the native social and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" is a simplistic translation of . It is better descri ...

conspiracy theory of love jihad in order to dissuade

interfaith marriage Interfaith marriage, sometimes called interreligious marriage or mixed marriage, is marriage between spouses professing and being legally part of different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in so ...

between Hindu men & Muslim women.

References

External links

Kalaphad - The history of Hinduism

Historical story of Odisha /Orissa
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901185454/http://eodisha.org/ , date=2013-09-01 History of Odisha 1572 deaths Year of birth unknown Sunni Muslims Bengali Muslims 16th-century Bengalis 16th-century Muslims Bengal Sultanate officers Generals of the medieval Islamic world Converts to Islam from Hinduism

Military Campaigns

Legacy

See also

References

External links