Shitab Khan

Shitab Khan (late 15th century-early 16th century), also spelled Chitapu Khan, was born Sitapathi Raju in the Telangana, South India.[1] He was from a Hindu family of cow-herders of the Boya community, then considered "low caste". He joined as a foot soldier in the army of Humayun Shah the Bahmani Sultan, and rose up the ranks to acquire senior captaincy, his own jagir (a land fief) and the title 'Shitab Khan'. He always used the title in his inscriptions but never actually converted to Islam.[2]

The kingdom

The entire telugu speaking areas which now form the state of Andhra Pradesh (an area greater than the size of France) were united and saw an efflorescence of all the arts, culture and military might under the rule of the Kakatiya Emperors. They finally fell in 1323 to the invading forces of the Delhi Sultan, Mohammad bin Tughlaq, whose Deccan (southern) governor Alauddin Bahman Shah eventually rebelled in 1347 setting up the independent Bahmani kingdom ruling from Gulbarga. His dominions extended up to Golconda in the east. Meanwhile, further south, the mighty Vijayanagar empire had arisen from the Kampili-Hampi region, taking over much of what is now the Rayalaseema region of Andhra. In the far east, the rulers of Orissa occupied telugu lands up to the banks of the Godavari and by the mid-15th century the powerful Gajapatis had replaced the Ganga dynasty. At the central core of the erstwhile Kakatiya empire the chieftaincies of Rachakonda in north Telangana and Devarakonda in south Telangana took shape, ruled by Padmanayaka (Velama)dynasties. From the Addanki-Kondaveedu region in modern Guntur district, a kingdom was formed by a Reddy dynasty. The three telugu kingdoms of Rachakonda, Devarakonda and Kondaveedu, therefore, were boxed in by the three major powers and led a precarious existence for about a century with frequent internecine quarrels, alliances and counter-alliances with one or the other of the major powers. All three ceased to exist by the mid-15th century, Rachakonda and Devarakonda absorbed into the Bahmani and Kondaveedu into the Gajapati kingdoms. Rachakonda was unique that in spite of its small size and frequent tensions, telugu literature received major patronage and flourished. Most famous was Sarvajna Singha Bhoopala III of the Recherla clan, the last king of Rachakonda, who patronized both Bammera Pothana and Srinatha - legendary telugu poets. By Shitab Khan's time the Bahmanis had recently acquired this important buffer state on their eastern frontiers.

From 1480 to 1485, Shitab Khan was the governor of Rachakonda (near Narayanpur in modern Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh). He seems to have taken advantage of the internal turmoils of the Bahmanis and declared his independence in 1503, ruling from the Rachakonda, Warangal and Khammam forts from 1503 to 1512.[3] He appears to have been very popular and inscriptional evidence suggests that he undertook many public works including repairing irrigation tanks and reinstating ruined temples. His stated purpose was to re-instate the great glory of the bygone Kakatiya times. A 16x38x12 m building in fine Indo-Saracenic style still stands in the old Warangal Fort, called Kush Mahal or Shitab Khan Palace. He had the Pakhala tank repaired which still serves many farmlands in the area and is now a picturesque tourist spot.[4] He was also a patron of literature and Telugu poetry continued to flourish in his time. His prime minister, Enumulapalli Peddanna mantri, was the patron of Charigonda Dharmanna who wrote the Chitra Bharatam, a classic of Telugu poetry. Rich descriptions of his rule are in this work.

In the turbulent regional politics of the time, Quli Qutb Shah ruler of Golconda Fort (in modern Hyderabad) was asserting his dominance and Shitab Khan had to face invasions from Golconda which was just shaking off the suzerainty of the Bahmanis.[5] Warangal succumbed to the Golconda ruler and Shitab Khan had to flee, about 1512. He joined the service of Prataparudra Gajapati, King of Kalinga (Orissa). When the legendary Vijayanagar Emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya went on his Kalinga campaign, 1516–1517, his triumphal progress was effectively hindered by the archers of Shitab Khan at the mountain pass near Simhadri (modern Visakhapatnam district). But Shitab lost the battle and, very likely, his life there.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Adiraju Virabhadra Rao, Shitab Khan anu Seetapathiraju, Lakshmanaraya Parishodhana Mandali press
  2. ↑ Arudra, Samagra Andhra Sahityam (A Comprehensive Review of Andhra Literature), vol II, page 86, Telugu Academy Press, 2003
  3. ↑ Cynthia Talbot, Inscribing the other, inscribing the self: Hindu - Muslim identities in Pre-Colonial India, Comparative Studies in Society & History, vol 37, no 4, Oct 1995, pages 692-772, Cambridge University Press
  4. ↑ Stone inscription dated 1504 by Shitab Khan found at the south Torana, Warangal Fort, IAP-Warangal Sno. III, Andhra Pradesh Archaeological Series no. 31
  5. ↑ Hirananda Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal, Hyderabad Arhaelogical Series no.9
  6. ↑ Phillip B. Wagoner, Rayavachakamu translated as Tidings of the King, pages 145-146, University of Hawaii Press, 1993

External links

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