Battle of Haldighati

Table of Contents

DOHA MAHARANA PRATAP

Maharana Pratap was a renowned Rajput warrior and a king of Mewar, Rajasthan, in north-western India. One of the greatest Rajput warriors, he is recognised for resisting the attempts of the Mughal ruler Akbar to conquer his territory.
Unlike the other neighbouring Rajput rulers, Maharana Pratap repeatedly refused to submit to the mighty Mughals and continued fighting courageously till his last breath.
Maharana Pratap was born on May 9, 1540, in Kumbhalgarh Fort to Jaiwanta Bai and Udai Singh II. His father, Udai Singh II, was the king of Mewar and his capital was Chittor.
In 1572, after the demise of Udai Singh, Rani Dheer Bai insisted that Uday Singh’s eldest son, Jagmal, should be crowned as the king, but the senior courtiers felt that Pratap was a better choice to handle the prevailing situation. This is how Pratap succeeded his father to the throne.

- “Battle of Haldighati” biggest battle in Rajputana and one of the most horrible battle in Indian history was played on 18th June, 1576. Though it was inconclusive because neither Mewad lose nor Mughals won.
- 1556, after defeating Sher Shah Suri’s kingdom, Akbar planned of stabilising the empire. He realised the importance of alliances with the Rajputs and among the many tactics marrying Rajput princess from Amer was the one.

After his accession to the throne, Akbar had steadily settled his relationship with most of the Rajput states, with the exception of Mewar.According to the mansabdari system, officials were given specific posts and Rajputs were given important military positions.

Akbar came up with the „Siege of Chittorgarh‟ in October 1567. During the carnage, 8,000 Rajputs in Chittogarh Fort were surrounded and besieged by 5,000 men which was later expanded to 80,000, which concluded in the expected victory of the Mughals. To avoid capture by Mughals, Rajput women created a Jauhar.
When Rana Pratap succeeded his father on the throne of Mewar, Akbar dispatched a series of diplomatic embassies to him, entreating the Rajput king to become his vassal.
A final emissary, Todar Mal, was sent to Mewar without any favourable outcome. With diplomacy having failed, war was inevitable

- Maharana Pratap, who had been secure in the rock-fortress of Kumbhalgarh, set up his base in the town of Gogunda near Udaipur.

Around 14 miles (23 km) north of Gogunda lay the village of Khamnor, separated from Gogunda by a spur of the Aravalli Rangecalled “Haldighati“.
Rana’s forces numbered 20,000, which were pitted against the 80,000-strong army of Man Singh. Satish Chandra estimates that Man Singh’s army consisted of 5,000-10,000 men, a figure which included both the Mughals and the Rajputs.
Both sides possessed war elephants, but the Rajputs bore no firearms. The Mughals fielded no wheeled artillery or heavy ordnance, but did employ a number of muskets

On June 18, 1576, the Rajput army stood face-to-face with the Mughal army (under the command of Asaf Khan I and Man Singh) at Haldighati.
According to historians, it was one of the fiercest battles ever fought, with the Mughal forces outnumbering the Rajput army. The army of Mewar was under the command of Ram Shah Tanwar and his sons namely, Chandrasenji Rathore, Rawat Krishnadasji Chundawaat and Maan Singhji Jhala.
The battle lasted for four hours and resulted in huge loss of lives on the Mewar side (approximately 1600 soldiers), while the Mughals lost only 150 soldiers and 350 wounded. Maharana Pratap was badly wounded but escaped to the nearby hills.

Though Mughals were able to claim several parts of Mewar, including Gogunda and the nearby areas except some regions of Aravellis, but they were unable to oust Maharana Pratap who continued to harass the Mughals through guerrilla tactics.
The moment Akbar’s focus shifted to other places, Pratap along with his army who came out of the hiding and successfully regained the control of western regions of his province.

The great warrior left for the heavenly abode on 29th January, 1597, at the age of 56, as a result of injuries sustained during his incessant struggle against the Mughal Empire.
The saga ended nearly 18 years after Maharana’s death. Over the years, due to several battles Mewar was damaged financially as well as in manpower.
In 1615, Amar Singh I, eldest son and successor of Maharana Pratap, to avoid further loss entered into a treaty with Shah Jahan (on behalf of Jahangir).

According to the treaty the Ruler of Mewar need not be bound to be present at the Mughal court, instead a son or brother would serve the Mughals.
Hence, Prince Bhim served Shah Jahan. Also, there won’t be any matrimonial relations between the Ranas of Mewar and Mughals. And the most important, the Chittorgarh fort would never be repaired as they feared of it being used in any future rebellion.
Later, Jahangir as a goodwill gesture gifted Chittorgarh fort and the territories around Chittor to Amar Singh I. DOHA