Question

The second battle of Panipat was fought between:
A)Akbar and Hemu
B)Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi
C)Humayun and Sher Shah
D)Akbar and Maharana Pratap

Answer 1

Hint: 1)November 5, 1556 marked the Second Battle of Panipat.
2)The battle was between an emperor belonging to the northern part of India and an emperor belonging to the Mughal dynasty.
3)The Second Battle of Panipat ended the rule of Afghanistan in India.

Complete answer:
The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on 5 November 1556 between the Hindu emperor of northern India, Hemu and the forces of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Hemu had conquered both the states of Delhi & Agra a few weeks earlier by defeating the Mughals who were led by Tardi Beg Khan at the Delhi Battle and proclaiming himself Raja Vikramaditya at the Purana Quila in Delhi. Akbar and his guardian Bairam Khan, who had learned of the loss of Agra & Delhi, marched to Panipat to reclaim the lost territories.The two armies clashed at Panipat not far from the site of the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.
Hemu and his forces had a numerical superiority. However, in the middle of the battle, Hemu was wounded by an arrow and fell unconscious. Seeing their leader go down, his army panicked and dispersed. Hemu who was in an unconscious state almost near to being dead was captured and subsequently decapitated by Bairam Khan. The battle ended with a decisive Mughal victory.

Following are the given alternatives:

1)The Second Battle of Panipat was fought between Hemu, the Hindu King who ruled North India from Delhi, and the Akbar Army. The battle took place on the 5th of November 1556. It was a decisive victory for the generals of Akbar, Khan Zaman I and Bairam Khan. Thus, Option A is correct.

2)The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526, was fought between the Babur invasion forces and the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi. It took place in northern India, marking the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was one of the early battles which involved gunpowder firearms as well as field artillery in the Indian subcontinent which apparently was launched by Mughals in this battle. Thus, Option B is incorrect.

3)The Battle of Chausa was fought between Humayun who was a Mughal emperor, and the Afghan Sher Shah Suri. The battle occurred in Chausa on 26th June 1539. Humayun fled the battlefield to save his life. Thus, Option C is also incorrect.

4)The Battle of Haldighati occurred on 18 June 1576. The battle was between the cavalry and the archers who supported the Rana of Mewar, Maharana Pratap, and the forces of Akbar who was led by Man Singh I of Amber. The Mughals were the victors and caused significant casualties among the Mewaris, but they failed to capture the escaped Pratap. Thus, Option D is also incorrect.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A)

Note: 1)The elephant carrying the unconscious and almost dead Hemu was captured after several hours of battle and taken to the Mughal camp.
2)Hemu's memorial was erected on the spot in Panipat, where he was beheaded. It is now known as the Samadhi Sthal of Hemu.