It took roughly 300 minutes and changed India, but the anniversary barely makes a ripple beyond worn-out memorials and a few residents keeping bits of its past alive
On a drowsy afternoon in Babarpur village in Panipat, around 90 km north of Delhi, dogs sprawl across the road and vegetable fields stretch into the distance. Outside a cycle repair shop humming with flies, Mahesh Raj and his friend Ashok Kumar, an auto driver, sit passing time. Ask them how the village got its name, and the answer comes easily.
“Many years ago, before we were born, this man called Babur came, stayed the night and changed it. Bas, tabhi se Babarpur ho gaya,” says Raj, the shop owner. There is no talk of armies or the First Battle of Panipat, fought nearby in 1526, where Timurid prince Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate. For Raj, Babur is simply a traveller who stopped to rest.