Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat in the year:

Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last Sultan of Delhi, in the First Battle of Panipat on 21 April 1526.

About the battle:

• Panipat is in present-day Haryana, about 90 km north of Delhi.
• Babur's army was much smaller (about 12,000 men, according to his own account), while Ibrahim Lodi's army was much larger, with about 1,000 elephants.
• Babur used new military tactics and weapons, which gave him victory despite his smaller army.
• Ibrahim Lodi was killed on the battlefield, along with thousands of his soldiers.

Why Babur came to India:

• He had lost his ancestral kingdom of Ferghana in Central Asia, and was unable to hold Samarkand.
• He had made Kabul his base, and wanted to expand into the rich lands of India.
• Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of Punjab, and Alam Khan, Ibrahim's uncle, invited him to invade, hoping to use him against Ibrahim.
• Babur had made several raids into India before the final campaign of 1525-26.

Results:

• The battle ended the Delhi Sultanate and laid the foundation of the Mughal empire in India.
• Babur occupied Delhi and Agra, and captured a huge treasure.
• He distributed much of the treasure among his soldiers, nobles and relatives, and even sent gifts to Kabul and to holy places.
• However, his position in India was not yet secure; he still had to face the Rajputs and the Afghans.

NCERT on Babur:

NCERT notes that Babur, the first Mughal emperor, was driven out of Central Asia, and in 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra.

The three battles of Panipat:

• First (1526): Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi.
• Second (1556): Akbar's forces, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu.
• Third (1761): the Marathas were defeated by an Afghan invader.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1525 was the year Babur set out on his final campaign.
• ✗1527 and 1556 were the years of other battles.