Image: Prof. Dr. Taskeen Ahmad Khan - 03

Description: An Imaginary Pencil Sketch showing the Battle of Karrapa and Malandrai (1586). The Mandanr Yusufzais and Yusufzais tribesmen opposition was greater than before. On reaching the Karappa Crest just South of Daggar the Mughal Troops imagined they had reached their goal, the Samah, only to meet with bitter disappointment. In front of them was yet another narrow dale, leading right by difficult ways up to Malandrai Pass. Everything fell into confusion, the van and main body pushed on in disorder; only in rearguard, under Zain Khan, was there any semblance of ordered array. The tribesmen lined both crests parallel with the track to the summit, and poured in volleys of arrows and stones on the harassed crowd. As night came on, the ranks became panic-stricken, and, the way reconnoitered, were entangled in the mazes of the hills. In their anxiety to get forward many fell into pits or over precipices, and the the route was blocked, elephants, horses and men mixed together in inextricable confusion and disarray. In the melee which followed Raja Birbul and 8,000 (Eight thousand) men of Emperor Akbar's Army lost their lives, including the gallant Bhitanni, Hasan Khan. The poet, Abul Fateh, cowering beneath a bush, was picked up by Zain Khan, who pushed slowly on with the only force that held together. After heavy fighting he and Abul Fateh reached a point near the crest of the Malandrai and bivouacked for the night. The tribesmen, glutted with slaughter and spoil, drew off, and, three days, later Zain Khan with a sorry remnant reached Attock Fort to report what had befallen. For two days Akbar would not admit Zain Khan and Abul Fateh to his presence; he charged them with failure to bring in the body of Birbul to be burnt. (Noteː This Pencil Sketch drawn in July 1973 by Mr. Taskeen Ahmad Khan received the First Award by the University of Peshawar in the same year).
Title: Prof. Dr. Taskeen Ahmad Khan - 03
Credit: Own work
Author: Prof. Dr. Taskeen Ahmad Khan
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes