HaldiGhati and Beyond : Maharana's Lionhearted Legacy

“Those who did not submit (to Akbar’s Mughal regime), such as the senior Rajput house of Mewar, were ruthlessly extirpated”. Being subjected to such derogatory narrative besides appalling to the valiance of the warrior, propounds distorted annals of India’s past. When the bulk of the subcontinent had bowed to Mughal onslaught, one state had unquestionably rejected to bargain its sovereignty despite countless proposals and aggressions to the contrary. Under the mighty Maharana Pratap, the Udaipur state or the Mewar kingdom boldly held out against Akbar’s expansionism. Although, the Rana of Mewar is today remembered for his valour and heroic opposition to the Mughals whom he encountered at Haldighati, the bloody battle faces polarized legacy among the masses- contemplated by many to be the downfall of the Maharana but still appraised by a good deal as a blow in the face of imperialism.

This column tries to address three main contentions: first being the alleged escape of Maharana Pratap and the second that whether he became a fugitive thereafter and third, the aftermath of the Battle of Haldighati.

As regards the first question, whether Pratap’s escape was an act of cowardice, the political ethos of the region and the war statistics have to be examined. In 1576, when Akbar was strengthening political alliances with local rulers, who swiftly traded their allegiance for fiefs by the former, Pratap, staying true to his race, converse to them, preferred independence and morals over wealth.  Even without facts, the question is mistaken. “Bravery” or “fearlessness” do not connote getting killed in the battlefield. Historically armies have often retreated when conditions were unfavourable. The battle itself was unbalanced as Mughals outnumbered the Mewari forces by  five to one. Maharana Pratap was brave enough to face Akbar’s forces against which he, to the astonishment of the latter, put up fierce resistance, but was not absurd to have remained there and allowed himself to be captured by the enemy without achieving his objective – on the advice of his commanders, he reluctantly withdrew. Only those who concede defeat and surrender their standards are considered cowards, instances being Man Singh, Jai Chand and others who sided with the enemy for personal gains. The Allied forces were evacuated from Dunkirk before the capture of the region by Nazi hordes, French emperor Napoleon retreated from Russia but they are seldom designated as “cowards” or “fugitives”. Rana’s unrelenting struggle against imperialism which compelled him to survive in jungles under hardship and pursue his fight for his motherland has not been adequately highlighted and remains buried under the romanticization of invaders. People tend to compromise with their principles in difficult situations, but even though, Pratap was facing hard times, he maintained his ethics. His name transcending others in that era, he was the epitome of grace, honour and independence, the Rana who was revered by his friends and foes alike, how can he be a coward?

The second assertion seems hypocrite. Denominating him as a “fugitive” for having resorted to guerrilla methods would be highly prejudiced approach in that he served as an inspiration for later kings like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who would, using similar tactics, go on to establish the foundation of one of the largest empires of Indian subcontinent – the mighty Maratha empire. Moreover, this contention exposes the duplicity of the leftist historians as they delineate Pratap as a fugitive and coward for employing guerrilla warfare, nonetheless glorify extremists like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro as “freedom fighters” for implementing the same. Historically innumerable blood-soaked guerrilla movements (most left) have come about but have been designated as “revolutions” and “freedom struggles” to a greater degree than being defined as “coward attacks”. Socialist leader Josip Bronz Tito is the prominent instance. During the Second World War, the Yugoslav Partisans which resisted the Axis forces were initially no more than a guerrilla force. The Mukti Bahini of East Pakistan was no different. Anyways, the reader should be mindful that the honourable Mewari is not being levelled with the leftist extremists but the truth of selective appreciation and discriminatory approach has been laid bare.

Now the third question, what happened after the battle of Haldighati? Was it the end? Most discourses dealing with the Mewar question promptly conclude with the “escape” of Maharana Pratap from the battlefield and eventual Mughal victory, however, sometimes, sparing some courtesy, inconclusiveness is attributed to the battle taking into consideration the fact that there was neither capitulation nor apprehension. Subsequent to the indecisive conclusion of the battle, Mewaris took shelter in the Aravali hills, where Rana vowed to reclaim his kingdom and engaged in guerrilla warfare against Mughal forces, attacking their supplies and cavalries, in consequence of which, the frustrated Mughal Badshah dispatched numerous campaigns to contain Pratap, however, in vain. Bhamashah’s financial aid to Maharana, assisted him to replenish his military force, which attacked Dewair in 1582 prompting the unrecognized First Battle of Dewair in which the Mughals were obliterated, consequently 36000 surrendered and that also involved the renowned incident of Pratap splitting Bahlol Khan into two. This battle was well recognized earlier by British historian Colonel Tod who expressed, “Haldighati is the Thermopylae of Mewar; the field of Dewair is her Marathon”, yet, its celebration eventually vanished. Soon afterwards, Pratap fulfilled his vow of retrieving his lands and repelled another Mughal invasion in 1584. All these futile pursuits caused Akbar to shift his attention to North West of the continent and the Maharana, eternally sovereign ruled with peace and the Mewar kingdom flourished anew.  Decade later, injuries during a hunting accident led to his demise. Discarded from mainstream history, such extensive epoch, so much so that the Battle of Haldighati is assessed as the culmination of the emancipation struggle undertook by the Rajput ruler even though contrary to conventional acceptance, the Mughal Badshah himself personally made two inefficacious attempts to subdue the valiant warrior. Until Pratap’s reign, Mewar remained immune from Mughal ascendency, though his successor Amar Singh 1, weakened by consistent torrent of Mughal strikes, ultimately accepted the concord with Jahangir in 1615.

A few years ago, a news concerning wrongful portrayal of the Mewari king in Rajasthan history textbooks surfaced. It is deplorable that certain details of history were omitted or misrepresented inducing misinformation and ignorance in public knowledge. Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are a few names that have been rediscovered over the previous years but many other courageous warriors await appreciation for their sacrifices. These admirable historical personalities have to be given fair representation in the textbooks for the next generation to gain a decent perception of their ancestors.  Regardless of this, it was not until five years ago that the lionhearted figure Maharana Pratap Singh Sisodiya of Mewar acquired his much-deserved recognition in the national history curriculum.