A step that was seen as aimed at implementing India, the Taliban had announced the establishment of a new military unit called the ‘Panipat Operational Unit’. The new unit will be deployed in the province of Nangarhar Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan. Local media has published photos of masked Taliban fighters in military uniforms, holding US-made rifles, and issued a parade in the capital of Nangarhar Jalalabad.
Panipat in Haryana is a place where three battles are fought between foreign invaders and Indian rulers. In Afghanistan, this battle, especially the third struggling between Ahmad Shah Abdali and Maratha on January 14, 1761, often appeared for discussion. Abdali is widely regarded as the founder of Afghanistan at this time. Afghanist appreciated his victory over Maratha forces as possible his greatest achievement against opportunities.
With some estimates, the Battle of Abdali wins against Maratha claims 60,000 lives in a day. Abdali, said, took thousands of war prisoners; They were brought together to serve as slaves. Many of them settle what Balochistan is now in Pakistan.
The author of Uday S. Kulkarni, the respected authority at the Maratha Empire, called the Taliban step as not synchronous with reality. “It was rude and immature. Invasion troops won three battles in Panipat. Name anything after Panipat was a harking empty rhetoric into the medieval.”
Kulkarni added that using the name Panipat was a pattern with a imical regime to India. “Pakistan named the missile after those who invade India, including Abdali. It’s just a game of mind that satisfies strength with ancient thought. Respecting Abdali as Afghan father is very different from using his most difficult victory to mock the country that provides humanitarian assistance,” said Kulkarni, which Have written six books about the history of the 18th century.
Kulkarni said that calling a military unit as Panipat would not affect the morale of Indian security forces. “Indian security forces are modern battle units who believe in ‘Sarv Dharma and Bhav’ (equality of all religions). If at all, it will give them further encouragement to fight the enemies of the Indians.”
Panipat’s first battle was fought in April 1526 when Mughal’s military, led by Babur, invaded India. Babur wins against the Lodi ruler. The second battle was fought between King Hemu and Akbar, Babur descendants, on November 5, 1556. It resulted in Hemu’s defeat. Marathas lost the third battle of Panipat but Abdali, who had a great interest in Punjab, did not dare to return to India.
Vishwas Patil’s novelist, whose novel Panipat is among Bestsellers Marathi, said that Marathas not taken in Abdali, the Indian border will shrink to the Yamuna River, not Sutlej at the location in Pakistan.
Every year, thousands of people gather in Panipat on January 14 to pay tribute to the courageous maratha army. Hindi film, Panipat, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, was released in 2019. At that time, the Afghan government had sent a letter to the Indian government who claimed that the film had injured Afghan sentiment because it described Abdali negatively.
