Maharana Pratap

Maharana Pratap was the eldest son of Maharana Udai Singh and a grandson of Maharana Sanga. He was born on May 9, 1540
at KumbhalGarh and ascended the throne of Mewar as its 54th ruler on February 28th, 1572.
Kumbhal Garh Fort: Birthplace of Maharana Pratap

Humayun's son Akbar was born in the palace of a Hindu Rajput king, at Amarkot, who had given Humayun shelter when he was
being pursued by Sher Shah.

Akbar realized that he could never subdue Rajputs and become sole ruler of India. He decided to pursue diplomacy and was able
to convince the Kacchwaha Rajput rulers of Amber (modern day Jaipur) about a matrimonial alliance. James Tod writes in
Annals and Antiquities: By what arts or influence Akbar overcame the scruples of the Kacchwaha Rajpoot we know not, unless
by appealing to his avarice or ambition; but the name of Bharmal is execrated as the first who sullied Rajpoot purity by
matrimonial alliance with the Islamite.

It is chronicled that Jaipur King, Rjah Bahr Mall, was not interested in warring with Akbar, who was just a petty ruler of
Delhi. To save his kingdom Bahar Mal of Amber agreed to a matrimonial alliance with Akbar and gave his daughter Hira
Kanwar (Maan Kunwar after marriage) to the mughal ruler and she became the mother of Prince Salim, who later became the
Mughal emperor Jahangir. She was converted to Islam because Islamic law does not permit marriage outside the religion
without conversion and she was given a new name Mariam-uz-Zamani. Her name as recorded in Mughal chronicles was
Mariam-uz-Zamani and not Hira Kanwar because the mughal population and clergy of that era could not digest that a future
mughal king was born to a Hindu mother. Her name was deliberately removed from the Mughal chronicles. Since Hira Kanwar
was made a muslim, the mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was constructed in Lahore, Pakistan, in her honour. If she had
remained a Hindu, as a lot of apologists claim, instead a temple would have been constructed in her honor and not a mosque.
Furthermore had it really been a marriage of Hira Kanwar with Akbar, the ceremony would have taken place in the palace of
Jaipur and whole of Jaipur would have been invited. But no such event took place because the ordinary Kachhwaha rajputs
living in Jaipur would have strongly condemned such an alliance and hence Hira Kanwar was secretly sent to Akbar's Harem.
Please see this link from the persian sources Wife of Akbar. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri further records the status accorded to Jahangir's
mother in the mughal harem: "that God will receive her in His mercy; for Jahngr's mother, though a born Hind, could not
well be sent to hell."

Jahangir's mother has been incorrectly called Jodha Bai. Jodha Bai was the wife of Jahngr and not a wife of Akbar. She was
the daughter of Motah Rjah Udai Singh of Jodhpr. She was married in 1588 to Shahzada Salim (later Padshah Jahangir,
Emperor of Delhi). She died 1603. See here Wife of Jahangir

Soon other Rajput kingdoms in Rajasthan also gave their daughters to Akbar. This was the darkest period in the history of
Rajputs. Only two kings remained against this. The Sisodiyas of Mewar and Hadas of Ranthambore. Hada are Chauhans.
Finally Kunwar Man Singh of Amber and Akbar went and met Surjan Hada to convince him that he should become friends with
Akbar. Surjan some how agreed but one of his conditions of friendship was that no daughter of Hadas would ever be asked to
marry Mughals and Akbar agreed.

Surjan was very saddened by this friendship with Akbar and the fact that he could not help Maharana Pratap against Akbar. He
felt so ashamed that he moved his residence to Banaras and made sure that Hindus in the holy city had no problems at the hands
of Muslims.

Marriage of a rajput princess to a mughal was considered very derogatory by rajputs. Many incidents took place in 16th century
which illustrate this point. On the death of the Mariam-uz-Zamani nee Hira Kanwar, Akbar commanded a court-mourning, and
that all might testify a participaion in their master's aflliction, an ordinance issued that all the rajpoot chiefs, as well as the
Mooslem leaders, should shave the moustache and the beard. To secure compliance, the royal barbers had the execution of the
mandate. But when they came to the quarters of Bhoj Hara (son of Surjan Hada), in order to remove these tokens of manhood,
they were repulsed with buffets and contumely. The enemies of Rao Bhoj aggravated the crime of this resistance, and insinuated
to the royal ear i.e Akbar's that the outrage upon the barbers was accompanied with expressions insulting to the memory of the
departed princess, who, it will be remembered, was a Rajpootani of Amber. Akber forgetting Bhoj Hara's gallant services,
commanded that Rao Bhoj should be pinioned and forcibly deprived of his Mooch. He might as well have commanded the
operation on a tiger. The Haras flew to their arms, the camp was thrown into tumult, and would soon have presented a wide
scene of bloodshed, had not the emperor, reasonably repenting of his folly, repaired to the Boondi quarters in person. He
expressed his admiration (he might have said his fear) of Hara valour, alighted from his elephant to expostulate with the Rao
Bhoj whom he was able to placate. Akbar understood that if Surjan Hada was alienated at that point and if Surjan combined
with Maharana Pratap that would be the end of Akbar's rule.

Another such incident happened when immediate successors of Man Singh of Amber proved to be ineffectual rulers. At the
instigation of Jodha Bai, the wife of Jehangir, Jai Singh, great grandson of Man Singh, was raised to the throne of Amber, to the
no small jealousy, says the chronicle, of the favourite queen, Noor Jehan. It relates that the succession was settled by Jahangir
and Jodha Bai in a conference at the balcony of the seraglio, where the Emperor saluted the youth below as Raja of Amber, and
commanded him to make his salaam to Jodha Bai, as the source of this honour. But Jai Singh refused and replied:
I will do this to any lady of your majesty's family, but not to Jodha Bai

So this clearly shows even Kacchwaha kings did not like the fact that rajput daughters were given to Mughal Kings.

Udai Palace at Udaipur (city founded by Maharana Udai Singh).

So there remained just the house of Mewar the sole bearer of Rajput pride in the face of immense opposition from Mughals as
well as other rajputs who had sold there souls essentially to Mughals by giving there daughters. Maharana Pratap, the Sesodia
ruler of Mewar, passed a law that none of his followers will intermarry with Rajputs who have given their daughters to Muslims.
This rule was followed by his loyal band of Rajputs, which included Rathores, Chauhans, Sesodias, Parihaars, Tomars,
Kacchwaha and Jhalas.

Maharana Pratap never accepted Akbar as ruler of India, and fought Akbar all his life. Akbar first tried diplomacy to win over
Maharana Pratap but nothing worked. Pratap maintained that he had no intention to fight with Akbar but he could not bow
down to Akbar and accept him as the ruler. Some scholars argue that there was some possibility that Maharana could have
become friends with Akbar but in the siege of Chittor when Akbar killed 30,000 civilian, unarmed residents of Chittor, because
they refused to convert to Islam, left a lasting impression on Maharana's mind and he decided he cannot bow to such an unjust
and cruel human being as Akbar was. (People should note that when Hindu Kings fought with each other unarmed civilians were
never killed in the loosing king's territory).

Finally Akbar attacked Maharana Pratap at Haldighati on 18th June, 1576 A.D. Akbar's general was Man Singh Kacchwaha of
Amber, leading an army of 40 thousand men. Maharana had about 8 thousand men and some Bhil warriors. One of Maharana's
generals was Hakim Khan Sur, who was from the line of Sher Shah Suri, a pathan. Pathans are the only faction of Muslims that
Rajputs do not mind befriending because a Pathan would rather give his life then his word. During the first attack Maharana
Pratap's army routed the Mughals and Mughals ran for there life. Maharana Pratap decided to kill Man Singh. He cut his way
to the elephant of Man Singh. His horse Chetak put its front feet on the trunk of the elephant that Man Singh was riding and
Maharana threw his lance. Man Singh ducked, and the elephant driver was killed. Finally the numerical superiority of the
Mughal army was too much and the battle ended in a stalemate.

When Mughal army entered the nearby town of Gogunda they were so mortified that Maharana would attack them again that
no one would venture out of the camp for months. They ran out of food and conditions were just miserable in the Mughal camp.
They killed there own horses and ate them to survive. Finally help arrived many months later. Akbar was very unhappy with his
generals and his army and he refused to see his generals for months.
Akbar kept sending expedition after expedition against Maharana Pratap but never succeeded. He lost lot of money and men in
trying to defeat Maharana Pratap. For 30 years Pratap remained ahead of Akbar and in last ten years of his life was able to free
most of his kingdom. The only fort Pratap could not recover was Chittor and that saddened him a lot. His son, Amar Singh, won
that fort after Pratap's death.

Looking down from the Chittorgarh fort.

It is said that somebody told Akbar that Pratap wanted to accept Akbar as the king. Akbar was very happy to hear this. One of
Akbar's general was Prithviraj Rathore who was a very good poet. He told Akbar this is a lie (incidentally Prithviraj's mother
and Pratap's mother were real sisters. Pratap and Prithviraj played together as kids in there maternal grandfather, Akshay Raj
Songara's home who was a Chauhan rajput). Prithviraj wrote this letter to Pratap:
The hopes of the Hindu rest on the Hindu yet the Rana forsakes them. But for Pratap, all would be placed on the same level by
Akbar; for our chiefs have lost their valour and our females their honour. Akbar is the broker in the market of our race; he has
purchased all but the son of Udai (Singh II of Mewar); he is beyond his price. What true Rajput would part with honour for nine
days (nauroza); yet how many have bartered it away? Will Chittor come to this market ...? Though Patta (an affectionate name
for Pratap Singh) has squandered away wealth (on warfare), yet he has preserved this treasure. Despair has driven man to this
market, to witness their dishonour: from such infamy the descendant of Hammir alone has been preserved. The world asks, from
where does the concealed aid of Pratap emanate? None but the soul of manliness and his sword .. The broker in the market of
men (Akbar) will one day be surpassed; he cannot live forever. Then will our race come to Pratap, for the seed of the Rajput to
sow in our desolate lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may again become resplendent. It is as much
impossible for me to believe that Pratap has called Akbar his emperor as to see the sun rising in the west. Tell me where do I
stand? Shall I use my sword on my neck or shall I continue my proud bearing?

Pratap replied to him:
By my god Eklinga, Pratap would call the emperor Turk alone and the sun would rise in the east. You may continue your proud
bearing as long as Pratap's sword dangles on the Mughal head. Pratap would be guilty of Sanga's blood, if he was to tolerate
Akbar. You would have the better of it, no doubt Prithviraj, in this wordy quarrel.

Prithviraj was overjoyed on getting this letter.

Maharana Pratap's son, Amar Singh, fought 17 wars with the Mughals but he finally accepted them as rulers. At this time a
large chunk of Maharana Pratap's band of loyal Rajputs became disillusioned by the surrender and left Rajasthan. This group
included Rathores, Deora Chauhans, Parihaars, Tomaras, Kacchwaha and Jhalas. They are called "Rors" and settled mostly in
Haryana, with some in Uttar Pradesh. Until today they do not intermarry with other Rajputs but "gotra permitting" with other
Rors only.

Maharana Pratap literally proved these words of Lord Ram:



Battle of Haldighati

Maharana Pratap of Udaipur
June 18, 1576. Before sunrise, the Mughal army was on the move. As dawn broke, the Bhil lookouts saw the huge force crossing
the river and assembling near Khamnor. Pratap Singh moved his men into the neck of Haldighati Pass. They halted, prepared to
wait for the opportune moment to strike. The legendary warrior was impressive in his helmet, and chain-armour over a white
tunic (still preserved in Udaipur's City Palace Museum). He sat proudly upon Chetak, his handsome white stallion that had been
his closest ally in many battles. The horse was clad in colourful mail that ended with a mask resembling a grotesque elephant,
designed to terrify an opponent's steed and to protect the horse from the enemy's war elephants, on the assumption that
elephants will not harm younger elephants. Pratap clasped his huge sword in one hand; his other gripped the ancient banner of
the House of Mewar, the crimson field with the golden face of the Sun God in the centre. The sun climbed higher. Faces ran with
perspiration. The muffled thunder of the Mughal army came ever nearer. The ground began to tremble. Soon, a cloud of dust
was rising above distant treetops, filtering the morning sun. The Maharana led his group to confront the larger phalanx of troops
under Qazi Khan. His war elephants brought up the rear. There was immediate panic. As the rows of youths hailed arrows into
the Mewar ranks, the surprised skirmishers baulked, then stumbled back across the uneven, rock-strewn terrain. Vicious thorn
bushes tore into their skin and clothing. They collided headlong with the warrior youths. Chaos reigned. Horses screamed in fear.
Swords slashed. Muskets cracked. Bows twanged; arrows ripped into bodies. Brave men uttered war cries; others their death
howls.

A band of Mughal Rajputs turned and fled, straight into a line of troops moving in from the right. The dead and wounded of
both sides began to clutter the pass. The ground was already running scarlet. Pratap's group galloped out of the defile and
immediately clashed with Qazi Khan and the Sheikhzadas of Sikri. The onslaught was vicious; the enemy broke and fled and did
not stop until they were at least 16 km beyond the river, where they were confronted by the rear guard. They re-formed for a
new assault. Already Pratap and Chetak had sustained several wounds. Undaunted, the Maharana, holding high the crimson
banner, led his men deeper into the enemy's ranks. A wall of the Emperor's war-elephants, brought forward to stop the advance
of the Mewar elephants, halted his relentless victory charge. A stray musket ball killed the mahout of a Mughal elephant. Out of
control, it ran amok, trampling all in its path. The opposing elephants impacted, huge tusks ripping into flanks, broadswords in
trunks slicing open any unprotected flesh. Fighting off all comers, Pratap and his men pressed on into the heart of the enemy,
trying to encounter Man Singh and the heavy artillery. The death of the first would throw the Mughal forces into disarray, and
the loss of the artillery would at least neutralise the massive advantage the Mughals had over Mewar.

Haldighati

Above the din of battle, he heard a familiar war cry, and spun round in his saddle. Man Singh was standing in his elephant's
howdah, trying to encourage his men to stem the rout by the Mewar warriors. Pratap spurred his steed to a determined gallop
towards Man Singh. Lances, swords or arrows could not stop his fury. He cut his way through to the Mughal general. Chetak
skidded to a halt, throwing up dust, but collided with the elephant's plate armour. He reared up against the huge beast, his
forelegs glancing off its tusks. Man Singh was partly obscured by his mahout, but Pratap heaved his lance at the howdah. The
weapon passed through the driver's body, killing him instantly, and smashed against the howdah's metal plates. Man Singh had
disappeared. Thinking he had killed Man Singh, Pratap let out a triumphal cry of revenge. The uncontrolled elephant swung
around in panic. The broadsword attached to its trunk slashed through the tendons of one of Chetak's hind legs.
Chetak Rearing Up on Man Singh's elephant

Unaware of this, Pratap wheeled Chetak to rejoin his men. The horse now had the use of only three of his legs but, enveloped by
the furore, he persisted valiantly. Man Singh had simply ducked behind the howdah's railing for protection. Moments later, he
scrambled down on to the elephant's neck in a desperate effort to control its panicked rush through Mughal lines. Imperial
cavalry, who had rushed to guard their commander, now surrounded Pratap. A Mughal officer, Bahlol Khan, charged the
Maharana. Steel rang against steel. Pratap mustered his energy for one almighty blow. His heavy sword sliced through the
Mughal's headpiece and, like a hot knife through soft butter, hewed straight down through the Mughal's body, even
disembowelling his horse. Other Mughals were now on top of Pratap. Chetak was limping and stumbling. Pratap fought his way
back to the main body of the Mewar force, which was steadily forcing the Mughals into retreat. Suddenly, a great commotion of
kettledrums came from the rear of the Imperial ranks. Across the sea of bloodied, mud-caked bodies, the Rajputs saw the
Mughal reserves making their entry. And, to Pratap's dismay, Man Singh followed closely at the head of battle-weary soldiers
and horsemen.

Pratap's first impulse was to make another attempt to destroy the Rajput traitor, possibly meeting death in a blaze of glory. One
of his officers, Jhala Man of Sadri, snatched the royal standard of Mewar from Pratap's hand, determined to fight a rear guard
action until Pratap's army had reached the protection of the defile. "Ride swiftly to safety!" he yelled. Reluctantly but wisely,
Pratap shouted an order to his remaining chiefs to take their men to the village of Koliyari, where arrangements had been made
for treating the wounded.
Chetak breathing his last in Pratap's arms

Waving the Sun-God banner, Jhala rallied his men to meet the enemy's counter-attack, as the remainder of the Mewar army
disappeared into the cover of the hills. Bringing up the rear, Pratap stopped upon an outcrop of rock. He turned to look back at
the swirling dust haze that all but hid the horrendous spectacle of the battleground. Through it came the tumult of shots, the
clashing swords, the cries of victory and death. For a few moments, he was able to follow the progress of his crimson banner.
Then it, too, fell. An attendant came back and took Pratap's bridle. "We tarry too long, Highness." They continued on. Chetak
was now limping badly. Pratap, too, was now faint from loss of blood; he had sustained seven severe wounds from musket, sword
and lance.

Chetak Smarak

Pratap was pursued by two Mughal horsemen but was saved by his brother, Shakti Singh. However, having carried his master to
safety, Chetak died. Pratap joined the remainder of his men, recovered from his wounds, then continued his guerilla resistance.
Despite temporary victory for the Mughals, the battle of Haldighati is significant for the tenacity displayed by the Rajputs, allied
with the Bhils, and the art of defensive mountain warfare which Maharana Pratap Singh perfected and which his successors
were proud, and wise, to use.