Suhaldev

Suhaldev is a semi-legendary Indian king from Shravasti, who is said to have defeated and killed the Ghaznavid general Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud in the early 11th century. He is mentioned in Mirat-i-Masudi, a 17th-century Persian-language historical romance. Since the 20th century, various Hindu nationalist groups have characterized him as a Hindu king who defeated a Muslim invader.

The legend
The legend of Salar Masud and Suhaldev is found in the Persian language Mirat-i-Masudi. It is a historical romance, and a biography of Salar Masud, with a "gossipy feel". It was written by Abd-ur-Rahman Chishti during the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). The legend has been subsequently embellished by members of various castes and political groups (see politicization section below).

According to the legend, Suhaldev was the eldest son of King Mordhwaj of Shravasti. In different versions of the legends, he is known by different names, including Sakardev, Suhirdadhwaj, Suhridil, Suhridal-dhaj, Rai Suhrid Dev, Susaj, Suhardal, Sohildar, Shahardev, Sahardev, Suhar Deo, Suhaaldev, Suhildev, Suheldev and Suheldeo.

Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud, a nephew of Mahmud of Ghazni, invaded India at the age of 16. He crossed the Indus river, and conquered Multan, Delhi, Meerut and finally Satrikh. At Satrikh, he established his headquarters, and dispatched armies to defeat the local kings. Sayyad Saif-ud-din and Mian Rajjab were dispatched to Bahraich. The local Raja of Bahraich and other neighbouring Hindu kings formed a confederation, but an army led by Masud's father Gazi Saiyyed Salar Sahu defeated them. Nevertheless, they continued to threaten the invaders, and therefore, in 1033 CE, Masud himself arrived in Bahraich to check their advance. Masud inflicted defeat after defeat on his enemies, until the arrival of Suhaldev. Suhaldev's army defeated Masud's forces, and Masud was killed in a battle in 1034 CE.

Masud was buried in Bahraich, and in 1035 CE, a dargah was built to commemorate him. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) claims that the site was once an ashram (hermitage) of the Hindu saint Balark Rishi, and was converted to a dargah by Feroze Tughlaq.

In later Hindutva-influenced versions, Suhaldev is characterized as a cow protector, patron of saints and benefactor of Hindus. In one of these versions, Salar Masud plans to place a herd of cows in front of his army, so that Suhaldev could not attack him (since cows are sacred to Hindus). Suahldev comes to know about this plan, and cuts the cows loose on the night before the battle.

Historicity
Alexander Cunningham, based on the traditional accounts of Tharu Rajas of Gonda, came up with the following genaology of Suhaldev's family:


 * 1) Mayura-dhwaja or Mora-dhaj, c. 900 CE
 * 2) Hansa-dhwaja or Hans-dhaj, c. 925 CE
 * 3) Makara-dhwaja or Makar-dhaj, c. 950 CE
 * 4) Sudhanya-dhwaja or Sudhanwa-dhaj, c. 975 CE
 * 5) Suhaldev or Suhridal-dhaj, c. 1000 CE

Politicization
Various caste groups have attempted to appropriate Suhaldev as one of their own. According to Mirat-e-Masudi, Suhaldev belonged to the "Bhar Tharu" community. Subsequent writers have identified his caste variously as "Bhar Rajput", Rajbhar, Tharu, Bais Rajput, "Pandav Vanshi Tomar", Jain Rajput, Bharshiv, Tharu Kalhan, Nagavanshi Kshatriya and Visen Kshatriya.

In 1940, Guru Sahay Dikshit Dwijdeen, a local schoolteacher of Bahraich, composed a long poem Sri Suhal Bavani. Influenced by the Hindu reformist organization Arya Samaj, he projected Suhaldev as a Jain king and a saviour of the Hindu culture. The poem became very popular, and was regularly recited at local get-togethers. After the religion-based partition of India in 1947, the first printed version of the poem appeared in 1950. Arya Samaj, Ram Rajya Parishad and Hindu Mahasabha Sangathan promoted Suhaldev as a Hindu hero. In April 1950, these organizations planned a fair at the dargah of Salar Masud, to commemorate the king. Khwaja Khalil Ahmad Shah, a member of the dargah committee, appealed the district administration to ban the proposed fair, in order to avoid communal tensions. Accordingly, prohibitory orders were issued under Section 144 (unlawful assembly). A group of local Hindus organized a march against the order, and were arrested for rioting. To protest their arrest, Hindus shut down the local markets for a week and offered to be arrested in batches. The Indian National Congress leaders joined the protest, and around 2000 people went to jail before the administration relented and lifted the prohibitory orders.

Subsequently, the local Congress representative organized a rally and inaugurated the fair at Chittora. Suhaldev Smarak Samiti ("Suhaldev Monument Committee") was formed to construct a temple of Suhaldev. A princely state ruler of Prayagpur donated 500 bighas of land (including the Chittora Lake) to the Samiti. A temple of Suhaldev, with several paintings and sculptures, was constructed on this land.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the local politicians started characterizing Suhaldev as a Pasi king to influence the Pasis, a Dalit community and an important votebank around Bahraich. Gradually, the Pasis (claimed to be an offshoot of Bhars) started glorifying Suhaldev as a member of their own caste. Bahujan Samaj Party originally used the Suhaldev myth to attract Dalit voters. Later, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also started using it to attract Dalits to their fold. Starting in the 1980s, the BJP-VHP-RSS organized fairs and nautankis to celebrate the Suhaldev myth, characterizing him as a Hindu Dalit who fought against a Muslim invader. Maharaja Suhaldev Sewa Samiti, an organization formed by Hindu nationalist activists in Bahraich in 2001, has been organizing various programmes to commemorate Suhaldev as a defender of the Hindu faith.

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, formed in 2002, is named after the king.

In 2017, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke at Hindu Vijay Utsav ("Hindu Victory Festival") organized by VHP to mark Suhaldev's victory over Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud. He expressed his agreement over the VHP's demand to rebuild a Surya Temple at Balaar in Bahraich (which is currently the site of Ghazi Miya's mazaar), and to construct a memorial in the name of Suhaldev.