Q: Was Balban the best war planner? Discuss in bullets

it is refutable indeed to diminish Balban's contribution to the Sultanate of Delhi. without his preliminary work, the achievements of the Khalji Era, particularly those of Ala-ud-Din Khalji, would not have been possible. But it would be historically wrong if we pin point Balban as the best strategist in the Sultanate era.

Balbans reactionary attitude did more harm than good to the sultanate.

1- Balban was not prepared to accept the New Muslims, or Converts to Islam, as officers in his administrative machinery. whether that be the army or the civil works, Balban believed in the superiority/purity of blood and he held Turkish blood to be far superior to those of the Hindus/Hindu converts. it's effect was that his administrative machinery lacked the skilled labor that it dearly required. it also resulted directly/indirectly in the advent of the Khalji revolution.

2- Perhaps the greatest failure of Balban was in the military field. he wanted loyalty with Royalty which was found limited in number and often hostile. in comparison one can note down the policy of Ala-ud-Din, who valued merit over blood. The effect of this strict policy was that Balban lacked a large officer cadre which in turn led to the fact that he could afford a little number of soldiers. all he had at his disposal was pinned against the Mongols. Even his army could not hold the Mongols outside the frontiers. Example can be quoted when he took more than 6 or so years to crush the rebellion of Tughril Khan in Bengal.

So, regardless of the fact that Balban was a good administrator, and has a good administrative and logistical acumen but he failed miserably as a strategist and that too as a military strategist.

We shall always remember that a defensive strategy without an offensive one is a disastrous omen for the state. we witness the effects of this particular state of mind with the Rajputs in the Ghori era. Remember, the Rajput's would not attack a Muslim Army till they reached right in front of the city gates which was when they would wake up and defend the city till the last man. Balban seems to follow suit. he waited for the Mongols to attack, he waited a long time for Tughril to submit and it was a folly to try to subdue him by sending a token force under different generals. ultimately Balban himself had to march off to Bengal to ward off the danger. but i guess that is the first and last time when we hear of Balban going out of Delhi!!!. he had his reasons for sure but a strategist needs to plan well ahead in time and try to take out his opponent in as less number of moves as possible. Balban seems to care little for that. his focus and attention were absorbed by the western front. The front constantly ravaged by the Mongols. Till Prince Muhammad, this was a particularly stable sector of the delhi Sultanate but things seem to go wrong when he was killed in a battle. So Balban needed to attack the Mongols to drive them off for good. He did not take the initiative therefore he does not deserve a place amongst the greatest strategists of the Delhi Sultanate Era.