Debal, the Inconquerable

The year of 711 AD was a significant one for Sindh. An Arab army, led by a young boy of barely 17, yet backed by a powerful empire, stood at the gates of Debal. Determined to conquer the city, it launched one mighty attack after the other, failing to shake the foundations of their target. Protected by its ferocious fighters, Debal stood as tall as ever, while the army grew increasingly frustrated.

A Secret, a Traitor

Just when the Arabs were beginning to grow disillusioned with the idea of invading Sindh, a traitor decided to give up the secret behind the strength of the fort. With the power to change the course of Indian history forever, he told Muhammad Bin Qasim, the leader of the Arab army, about the myth that kept the Sindhi soldiers’ spirits alive and their feet firm on the battleground.

A Man, a Myth

The fort stood around a temple with a waving flag atop it; a flag that the locals believed had been magically installed by the mighty gods who had protected Sindh against invaders for centuries. The conquest of this flag meant the conquest of the city, so Muhammad Bin Qasim assigned this task to Al Bahri, a skilled artilleryman of the Arab army, who carefully analyzed the position of the flag, cut down the barrel of his catapult, and fired a boulder at the base of the flag, crushing the temple and taking the flag down with it. This psychological defeat crushed the local hearts, leading to their surrender and the subsequent fall of Debal.

The victory of Debal was the first of many, as Qasim took city after city. His brilliant war tactics, combined with fine diplomacy, usually resulted in conquest; however, there was one last son of the soil yet to be faced.

A Changing Political Climate

Here, it is important to note that the local attitude towards the Arabs was rapidly changing due to an increasing opposition to the rule of Raja Dahir, the powerful ruler of Sindh. On one hand, his incestuous practices had offended multiple religious groups, while on the other, his discriminating attitude towards the jatt clans was producing strong hatred towards him.

Following the conquest of Nerun, a strong fortified city, the time that both the Arabs and the Sindhis feared was approaching fast. Where Bin Qasim was on a ravage to avenge his uncle’s death and prove himself as the ultimate conqueror, Raja Dahir also owed a duty of protection to his motherland. Theirs would be a battle of a lifetime.

A Promise to the Motherland

Soon, Bin Qasim reached the heart and capital of Sindh, where Raja Dahir was ready to do or die. At this point, Raja Dahir is famously quoted to say:

“I am going to meet the Arabs in open battle and fight them as best as I can. If I crush them, my kingdom will then be put on a firm footing. But if I am killed honorably, the event will be recorded in the books of Arabia and India and will be talked about by great men. It will be heard by other kings in the world, and it will be said that Raja Dahir of Sindh sacrificed his precious life for the sake of his country in fighting with the enemy.”

Aror, located on the riverbank, was a fortified city and the symbolic power of Sindh. Bin Qasim’s military strategy, too, was no less of an opponent either. Following a forced battle after the siege laid by the Arab army, the raja came to the battleground riding a mighty elephant. His glorious presence struck fear in the hearts of the enemy, and they started to lose heart. This led to Muhammad Bin Qasim drinking a few droplets of water, looking at the sky, raising a slogan, and striking an arrow straight at Dahir’s elephant. The injured elephant ran into the river, Raja joined the battlefield on foot, and was eventually slain by an Arab soldier. Sindh had fallen to invaders.

History records that Raja Dahir’s wife, along with other women of the fort, locked herself in the fort and set herself on fire, following the regional tradition of giving up their lives before giving up their honor. This highlights the sad reality of war; no matter the religion of the conqueror, women fall victim to the soldiers’ whims, who view sexual abuse as another kind of victory.

The Victor of the History

Centuries have passed since then, yet the question still haunts the region. Who was the real victor of this war? Raja Dahir, who, despite leading a controversial personal life, sacrificed his life in the defense of his motherland, or Bin Qasim, whose manifest victory was motivated by a greed for money and revenge, supported by a governor as cruel as Hajjaj Bin Yusuf. The answer is for the reader to figure out, but Sindh never could reclaim its former glory.