Zahir-Al-Din Muhammad (Babur) – Baburnama, literary “Book of Babur” or alternatively
known as Tuzk-e-Babri is the name given to the memoirs of Zahir-ud-Din Muhammed
Babur(1483-1530).He was the founder of the Moghul Empire and great grandson of Timur. It
is an autobiographical work.It was originally written in the Chagatai language, known to
Babur as “Turk”(meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids. Babur’s
prose is highly Persianised in its sentences structure, morphology, and language. It also
contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian. During the Emperor’s reign, the work
was completely translated to Persian by a Moghul courtier, Abdul Rahim, in (1589-90)
Baburnama can be divided into three Parts. The first part begins with his accession to the
throne of Fargana and ends with his driving out from his flight to his last invasion of India.
The third part gives an account of his transactions in India. lt may be noted that there are
three important gaps in the memories of the forty seven and ten years of his life, give an
account of only 18 years.
ln his Memoirs Babur gives detailed account of the land, climate, vegetation, trade, industry
as well as social and political condition of the people. Talking of lndia he says. "it is a
remarkable fine country. lt is quite a different world, compared with other countries. its hills
and rivers, its forests and plains, its animals and plants, inhabitants and their languages, its
winds and rains all are of a different nature.' He makes a reference to the economic prosperity
and wealth of the country when he talks of the' abundance of gold and silver'. We gather from
his account that the food-grains, clothes and other merchandise were not only cheap but also
available in abundance. Talking of the political conditions, Babur tell us that the country was
divided into small kingdoms. While the greater part of Hindustan was in the possession of the
Emperor of Delhi, five Muslim Kings and two Hindu kings ruled the hilly areas.
Babur's observation was very keen and his style was pleasant and forthright. He describes
even the minutest things with such meticulous care that readers of his diary feel that the
things are happenings before their very eyes.
Prof. Lanepoole says'. "If ever there were a case, when the testimony of a single historical
document, unsupported by other evidence should be accepted as sufficient proof, it is the case
with Babur's Memoires No reader of this prince of autobiographies can doubt his honesty or
his competence as a witness and chronicler."Prof. Elliot also considers Babur's Memories as
one of the best and most faithful pieces of autobiography.
Despite the highly useful character of his memories, we must remember that "the historical
truth presented by Babur in his Memories is mixed up in an almost inextricable manner with
his own opinions, sentiments, judgments and his philosophy of life. His predilections colour
all his observations, and while reading his Memoirs, we seem to live with him, to think with
him, move with the hectic speed that was peculiarly his and yet stop to relay on the
surroundings. Babur combined chronology with a deep knowledge of geography. This
formed a definite corollary to historical events and helped him in forming the estimate of the
resources, the climate, and the habits of the people of a particular place". ln view of the rich
content s of the Memoirs is one of those priceless records which are for all time.
known as Tuzk-e-Babri is the name given to the memoirs of Zahir-ud-Din Muhammed
Babur(1483-1530).He was the founder of the Moghul Empire and great grandson of Timur. It
is an autobiographical work.It was originally written in the Chagatai language, known to
Babur as “Turk”(meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids. Babur’s
prose is highly Persianised in its sentences structure, morphology, and language. It also
contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian. During the Emperor’s reign, the work
was completely translated to Persian by a Moghul courtier, Abdul Rahim, in (1589-90)
Baburnama can be divided into three Parts. The first part begins with his accession to the
throne of Fargana and ends with his driving out from his flight to his last invasion of India.
The third part gives an account of his transactions in India. lt may be noted that there are
three important gaps in the memories of the forty seven and ten years of his life, give an
account of only 18 years.
ln his Memoirs Babur gives detailed account of the land, climate, vegetation, trade, industry
as well as social and political condition of the people. Talking of lndia he says. "it is a
remarkable fine country. lt is quite a different world, compared with other countries. its hills
and rivers, its forests and plains, its animals and plants, inhabitants and their languages, its
winds and rains all are of a different nature.' He makes a reference to the economic prosperity
and wealth of the country when he talks of the' abundance of gold and silver'. We gather from
his account that the food-grains, clothes and other merchandise were not only cheap but also
available in abundance. Talking of the political conditions, Babur tell us that the country was
divided into small kingdoms. While the greater part of Hindustan was in the possession of the
Emperor of Delhi, five Muslim Kings and two Hindu kings ruled the hilly areas.
Babur's observation was very keen and his style was pleasant and forthright. He describes
even the minutest things with such meticulous care that readers of his diary feel that the
things are happenings before their very eyes.
Prof. Lanepoole says'. "If ever there were a case, when the testimony of a single historical
document, unsupported by other evidence should be accepted as sufficient proof, it is the case
with Babur's Memoires No reader of this prince of autobiographies can doubt his honesty or
his competence as a witness and chronicler."Prof. Elliot also considers Babur's Memories as
one of the best and most faithful pieces of autobiography.
Despite the highly useful character of his memories, we must remember that "the historical
truth presented by Babur in his Memories is mixed up in an almost inextricable manner with
his own opinions, sentiments, judgments and his philosophy of life. His predilections colour
all his observations, and while reading his Memoirs, we seem to live with him, to think with
him, move with the hectic speed that was peculiarly his and yet stop to relay on the
surroundings. Babur combined chronology with a deep knowledge of geography. This
formed a definite corollary to historical events and helped him in forming the estimate of the
resources, the climate, and the habits of the people of a particular place". ln view of the rich
content s of the Memoirs is one of those priceless records which are for all time.
