Dilwar Khan (), popularly known as Raja Dilal (), was the last independent ruler of Sandwip, an island in present-day Bangladesh. His reputation as a strong and charitable ruler has made him considered to be the Robin Hood of Southeast Bengal, robbing the rich and rewarding the poor. His legacy remains popular today, and is engraved in local folklore and strange legends in Sandwip. He has been considered the most influential Bengali Muslim ruler of the 17th century.
Early life
There are a number of legends regarding his early life. Some traditions mention that when Dilwar was a baby, he and his mother were shipwrecked and ended up in the beaches of Sandwip, an island famed for Portuguese piracy. These legends mention that a cobra protected him from sunlight during this incident, which suggested that he was destined for a great role.
Other sources like historians Syed Murtaza Ali and Muhammad Abdul Kader claim that his motherland was in Dhaka, which somewhat explains how he found employment in the Mughal naval services there. Also, famous historian Sir Jadunath Sarker referred him as "a run-away captain of the Mughal navy" who had established himself as a king
Rule
As piracy was prevalent in the island for many decades, many people ruled over it before the Kingdom of Mrauk U took over after defeating the Portuguese pirate Sebastian Gonzales Tibao. Dilwar was employed by the Mughal Army as a naval commander in Dhaka, during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir and governorship of Subahdar Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang. Dilwar secretly resigned from his Mughal duties to take over Sandwip where he began ruling independently with his family and own private army. According to Syed Murtaza Ali, Dilwar did this by playing the Mughal army against Arakan, allowing him to rule peacefully. It is unknown why Dilwar resigned from a seemingly stable job and chose a dangerous independent lifestyle. His reign lasted for roughly 50 years, and began between 1618 and 1622. Dilwar's son, Sharif Khan, was made a mansabdar of 500 soldiers by the Mughals.
Samuel Purchas, a European traveler to Sandwip, mentions that majority of citizens were Muslims but that the minority Hindu population was treated fairly by Dilwar too. Dilwar's judicial system was described to have been unique. One of his laws were that both parties should stand in the same spot after they quarrelled and could only leave the spot after Dilwar's arrival and judgement. It is said that Dilwar did not even hesitate to take action against his relatives if necessary. Dilwar also disregarded the caste system in Hinduism.
In the matter of defence of the Island from the enemies or military tactics, Dilal had a merit of no mean order.The only road to Sundeep lay through creek which separates the Island from the mainland It was shallow and very narrow and the tidal waves or bores which comes twice a day in mountain-like waves with thundering noise,pass through it and make it dangerous for navigation. No boat can stand in it for more than three or four hours a day, through fear of this bores. On the mouth of this channel he erected a fort from which a few gunners could obstruct the path of or annihilate thousand of enemies.His house in the interior of the Islad, was a fort,- surrounded with ditch and thick jungles behind.
In 1629, Thiri Thudhamma, the King of Arakan, realised that Dilwar was not willing to accept his subjugation and so sent troops on a flotilla to deal with him. Dilwar immediately ordered his soldiers to sit quietly in the creek at the entrance of the Sandwip island. Entering through the creek, the Maghs began to get off their boats with no fear, and making way towards Dilwar's residence. At that moment, Dilwar's troops came out to attack the Maghs and the fort soldiers also began firing at them. Many Maghs were killed or captured though some escaped with their broken boats. The area in which this battle took place thereafter came to be known as Magdhara which means Maghs captured in the Bengali language. Sandwip was a relatively peaceful island since then, and Dilwar fortified the entire island so that it could not be captured by enemies.
