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Teliagarhi situated at the Shahibganj thana of the
Santal Parganas in Bihar of India, is a famous 'pass' which formerly commanded the military approaches of Bengal proper. In Abul Fazl's time (late 16th century AD) Teliagarhi formed the northwestern limit of Bengal. Bengal could be linked with the rest of the subcontinent only through three hazardous passages: Teliagarhi route, Tirhut route and Jharkhand route. The route of Teliagarhi is a narrow passage by the southern bank of the Ganges, with the steep river bank in the north and the rajmahal hills in the south. Starting from Patna, this route passes via Bhaglpur and Colong along the southern bank of the Ganges with steep hills extending southwards for about eighty miles up to the northern boundary of Birbhum of West Bengal. Between the vast expanse of the Ganges on the north and the steep hills of Rajmahal and the rugged regions of the
Santal Parganas and Birbhum to the south, the route narrows down at Teliagarhi. From the earliest times, Teliagarhi was known as the 'gate-way' to Bengal and a fort was constructed there completely blocking the route. At the western mouth of this strategic pass, a small Bengal army could easily stay a large enemy force. The military leaders of Muslim Bengal fully utilised the strategic position of the Teliagarhi pass as a first line of defence against an invader from northern India.
The Bengal navy patrolling the river near that route
restricted the entry of the enemy by the Ganges. The invading forces were
put to a severe test of patience and harassment at Teliagarhi. Thus tired
and harassed, the invaders often abandoned their intention of subjugating
Bengal and returned from Teliagarhi. At times, the vigilant Bengali forces
suddenly fell upon their much wearied and unsuspecting opponents and dispersed
them. Bengali army under Ghiyasuddin Iwaz Khalji (1212-1227 AD) checked
the advance of Delhi Sultan Shamsuddin iltutmish
(1210-1236 AD) at Teliagarhi for a considerable time. Aware of the strategic
position of the pass, Sultan ghiyasuddin
balban (1266-1287 AD) took a different route and entered Bengal
by the circuitous Tirhut route. Sultan firuz
shah tughlaq (1351-1388 AD) also avoided this route and came
to Bengal via Tirhut. In 1538, a contingent of the Afghans under Jalal
Khan, son of Sher Khan (later sher
shah, 1540-1545 AD) stayed the vast Mughal force of Emperor
humayun
(1530-1540 AD; 1556 AD) at the Teliagarhi pass. daud
khan karrani (1572-1576 AD) also held up the Mughal force under
Khan Jahan, the general of Emperor akbar
(1556-1605 AD), at this strategic pass for more than six months
in 1575-76 AD. Thus, from strategic point of view, Teliagarhi took an
important place in the medieval history of Bengal. [Md Akhtaruzzaman]
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