Social Environment
India was socially and politically unstable in the early sixteenth century. This was especially so in the north, where Mughals and Afghans were vying for power, whereas the south was controlled by the comparatively stable Hindu Vijayanagar Empire, ruled at that time by Krishnadevaraya. The Mughals were then, still considered a foreign force: Babur's barbaric invasion of North India in 1526 resulted in the destruction, looting and demolition of most important Hindu temples in North India, such as the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, the Krishna Temple at Mathura and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Benares. Mosques were constructed on the ruins of those sites — for example, the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, the Jama Masjid at Mathura and the Gyanvapi Mosque at Benares — and this led to widespread disaffection among Hindus.
Growing up in such an atmosphere, in a devout family of Hindu priests, Hemu yearned to defeat the Mughals. His first opportunity to do so and to rule North India from Delhi came after victory over Akbar's forces in the Battle for Delhi in October 1556.
Read more about this topic: Hemu
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