Wars are always destructive, many children lost their parents, and women become widows, but they have their importance too. They are responsible for the changes (political and cultural) in the world.
Battles are won with military power, the skill of commander and terrain, armor, and weapons. There were so many battles fought in the history of India, but I am going to list the top 6 wars that change the course of Indian history.
1) The Battle of Hydaspes
The battle of Hydaspes was fought between Alexander the Great and the king Porus of Punjab in 326 BCE on the bank of river Jhelum. It was a part of Alexander's dream of conquering the world who wanted to explore the eastern side of Asia. However, Alexander won the war, but it was the most costly battle ever fought by Alexander. The war is historically significant because it opened up India to Greek political and cultural influences, which can also be seen in the present Indian culture.
The battle of Kalinga
This battle is the most important in the history of India. It was fought between the Mauryan emperor Ashoka and the king of Kalinga, which was an independent feudal state. It was fought in the Kalinga in 261 BCE. This war is one of the deadliest wars in the history of India, costing nearly 250000 lives. This war changes the character of Ashoka as he devoted the rest of his life to ahimsa ( non-violence) and dharma Vijay (victory through dharma) and adopt Buddhism. He ended the military expansion and began an era of 40 years of relative peace, harmony, and prosperity.
The second battle of Train
The second battle of Tarain was fought between Prithviraj Chauhan, king of Delhi, and Sultan of Ghor, Muhammad Ghori, at the Train in 1192. However, Ghori was defeated in the first battle of Tarain (1191) by Chauhan, but he escaped to Afghanistan. He then again came to India with a bigger army and defeated the Prithviraj Chauhan as he didn't get support from other Rajput kings.
This war led to the establishment of Islam rule in India because, unlike other Islam invaders who used to loot India and return to their homelands, Ghori put an end to this and established a big empire. Before going back to Ghor, he made Qutub-ud-din Aibak his governed here, who later became sultan.
The first battle of Panipat
The first battle of Panipat was fought between Invader Babur from Fergana and Delhi sultan Ibrahim Lodhi in 1526, in which Babur won. Babur was invited to India by Daulat khan Lodhi, governor of Lahore.
Babur later defeated Rana Sanga in the battle of Khandwa and established the Mughal empire in India, which is itself an era.
The Battle of Plassey
The battle of Plassey was fought between Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah, and British forces under Robert Clive in the year 1757. Siraj-ud-daulah had enough bigger army than the British. Still, due to lack of organization, artillery, weapons, and betrayal by his own governer Mir Jafar, he was defeated in the war.
This war made the British dream of ruling India more accessible, and they realized it by defeating their other competitors, Jats, Maratha, and Tipu sultan.
Battle of Buxar
The battle of Buxar was fought between the British forces under Hector Munro and the combined forces of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-daulah, and the Nawab of Awadh Sujah-up-Beulah in the year 1764. It was fought at the Buxar, Bihar, on the bank of river Ganga. The British forces won the war, and the treaty of Allahabad was signed, which introduced the diarchy system.
This war is significant as it led to the establishment of British rule in Bengal and later in India. This war exposed the weakness of the Indian rulers.
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