Maharana Pratap : The First Freedom Fighter

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap succeeded Rana Udai Singh and became the king of Mewar. Maharana Pratap fought Akbar throughout his life and never accepted his sovereignty in India. Akbar used diplomacy to make Maharana Pratap his ally but could not succeed. Maharana Pratap did not want to bow down to Akbar or accept his rule over him.

Soon Akbar realized that Maharana Pratap will never submit and decided to use his army against Mewar. Maharana Pratap wanted to reconquer Chittorgarh from the Mughals. Finally, on 21^st of June, 1576, Maharana Pratap and his army met with the armies of Akabr at Haldighati. Haldighati is situated near Gogunda which is a town near Udaipur, Rajasthan. This is where the epic battle of Haldighati was fought.  Although Maharana Pratap’s men were significantly outnumbered by Akbar’s men, but they fought valiantly for their honor and motherland. It is said that in this battle Pratap attacked Man Singh by throwing a lance at him.

Man Singh somehow managed to duck and survived. The battle lasted for four hours and loss was inevitable for Pratap’s army. Pratap’s generals convinced him to flee in order to fight again in the future. One of his trusted men got into his distinctive garments and fought in the battle field as Pratap. Soon he was killed but till then Pratap managed to escape riding his trusted horse Chetak into the hills. Chetak was deeply wounded on his left thigh and collapsed few kilometers away from the battle field. Pratap was being chased by couple of Turk knights, but Shakti Singh seeing his brother’s life in danger followed the Turks and killed them. Both the brothers embraced each other and broke into tears.

Maharana Pratap continued his struggle against Mughals from the wilderness of the Aravallis. He finally died after sustaining injuries in a hunting accident on 29^th January, 1597.

Haldighati in Indian History -

Maharana Pratap was the king of Mewar and considered Mughals as invaders. He never recognized Akbar as the ruler of India and vowed to fight till death against Mughal suppression. Akbar had tried everything to convince Maharana Pratap to form a treaty with him, but all his efforts were futile. Akbar was desperate and at last decided to send his army against Maharana Pratap under the command of Man Singh, who was the brother-in-law of Akbar.

This was the turning point in the history of Haldighati. On 18^th of June, 1576 Raja Man Singh and the Mughal army confronted Rana Pratap and his men in Haldighati. Maharana Pratap and his army were outnumbered by the huge Mughal army, but the brave Rajput sons of Mewar were determined to teach their enemies some lesson. Soon face to face with each other both armies engaged in a battle of true wits. Maharana Pratap and the Rajput warriors fought gallantly giving severe blows to their enemies, but were overwhelmed by the number of their enemies. Soon it was clear that the Mughal army cannot be defeated and Pratap was heavily injured. The generals convinced Maharana Pratap to get away from the battle field in order to stay alive and fight for another day. One of the Jhala officers donned the attire of Maharana Pratap and charged towards the enemies to create a deflection and facilitate enough time for Pratap to get away from the scene.

Maharana Pratap fainted due to excessive blood loss and was carried away by his faithful horse Chetak to a safer place before collapsing to his injuries. The history of Haldighati is a true example of patriotism displayed by brave sons of Mewar.

Haldighati the thermopile of mewar:

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap was declared King of Mewar in 1572. Mughals had captured Dungarpur, Chittorgarh and Ranthambor. He was determined to continue his war against Akbar, who was a Mughal Emperor. All the Rajput kingdoms were forced by Akbar to be bought under his rule, except Mewar. Maharana Pratap did not consider Akbar as the ruler of India and had denied all attempts of Akbar to make peace with him.

Akbar realized that Maharana Pratap will never bow to his wishes and decided to rage war against him. On 18^th of June 1576, the two rival armies clashed with each other in the famous Haldighati war. The Mughal army was commanded by Raja Man Singh of Amber. Maharana Pratap and his men were largely outnumbered by Akbar’s army, but with true will and valor the great Maharana Pratap and his Brave Rajput warriors fought gallantly with their enemies. Maharana Pratap personally attacked Man Singh, but he was somehow able to duck his attempt.

Totally outnumbered and overwhelmed by the number of their enemies, Maharana Pratap and his men were about to loose the battle. Pratap’s general intervened and convinced him to get away to safety so that he can stay alive to continue his struggle against Mughals. One of his loyal officers, a brave Jhala man took the Sun-God banner from Pratap and charged against the enemies. Pratap and his horse Chetak were badly injured. Pratap had till now fainted due to blood loss and Chetak somehow managed to take him to a safer place, but collapsed due to heavy injuries sustained during Haldighati war.

Although the Haldighati war lasted for only four hours but the valor, gallantry and love for motherland, which Maharana Pratap and his brave Rajput warriors have displayed have left an eternal impact in our minds.

Dewair Rajsamand:

In 1582 at Dewair, Maharana Pratap successfully defeated the Mughal forces. This incident turned out to be the turning point in Mewar- Mughal history. Till this incident Maharana Pratap was defensive in his approach and tactics, but after this victory Maharana Pratap took offensive measures against Mughal rule and within a very short period of time he was successful in reclaiming back most of the territory that was lost to the Mughal invaders.

There were several accounts of valor when Maharana Pratap and his son Kr. Amar Singh displayed gallantry against their enemies. In one of the incidents Maharana Pratap vertically slashed Bahlol Khan through his armor with a single powerful blow of his sword. In another incident Kr. Amar Singh, son of great Maharana Pratap killed Sultan Khan with his spear.

When most of the Maharajas had chosen to live a life of suppression under Mughal rule, Maharana Pratap was determined to live a life in independent discomfort and continue his struggle against the Mughals. Although Maharana Pratap may have lost the battle against Mughals in Haldighati, but in due course of time he managed to win the war against them. In 1852, on the very auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dashmi, Maharana Pratap was rewarded with a historic victory. This resulted into liquidation of about 36 Mughal military outposts in Mewar. This humiliating defeat demoralized Akbar and he finally stopped all his military campaigns against the glorious land of Mewar.

Maharana Pratap the greatest patriot of mewar rajasthan :

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap was born to Rani Jeevant Kanwar on 9^th of May, 1540. Maharana Udai Singh 2 was his father, who was the ruler of Mewar. Maharana Udai Singh had 25 children and Pratap was the eldest amongst them. He was given the tile of crown Prince and would be the 54^th ruler of Mewar. In 1567, Chittor was invaded by Mughal forces under Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh 2 had to flee with his family to Gogunda. At that time Rana Pratap was only 27 years old and he wanted to fight the Mughals but was convinced by the elders to leave Chittor along with his family.

On 28^th of February, 1572, Rana Pratap became the Maharana of Mewar. Akbar tried several diplomatic methods to convince Rana Pratap to sign a treaty with him, but failed every time. Akbar finally decided to send his army under the command of Raja Man Singh against Rana Pratap. In 1576, a fierce battle was fought between Rana Pratap’s army and the Mughals. Although the Bhil tribes of the surrounding areas helped Rana Pratap in the battle against Mughal army, they were hugely outnumbered by Akbar’s men. The Mughal army had numerical advantage over the army of Rana Pratap.

There were only 20,000 Rajput warriors against 80,000 men of Mughal army. Rana Pratap and his Rajput warriors fought valiantly, but could not defeat the Mughals due to their number. Rana Pratap was deeply injured and was saved by his faithful steed Chetak. Pratap was unconscious and was taken away from the battle zone by Chetak. This is how Rana Pratap managed to survive to fight another day. He continued his struggle against the Mughals all his life and finally died due to injuries in a hunting accident.