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Relations with Akbar and the Rajputs
Akbar understood very soon that if he wanted to give a stable and strong base to his empire, then the Rajputs would have to be friends rather than enemies. Akbar adopted a policy of reconciliation with the Rajputs. Following this conciliation policy, Akbar married the eldest daughter of Raja Bihari Mal of Jaipur in 1562. In 1570 he married the princesses of Bikaner and Jaisalmer. In 1584 he married his son Salim (Jahangir) to the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das.
Mewar and Akbar
Most of the Rajputs cooperated with Akbar’s policy of reconciliation with the Rajputs and accepted his submission through friendship and matrimonial relations with Akbar. But Mewar disregarded Akbar’s power and his policy. As a result, Akbar decided to attack Chittor and attacked in 1567.
Why did Akbar attack against Mewar?
Many people have expressed their views on what to do behind Akbar’s policy of war against Mewar.
1- Abul Fazl says that Akbar’s aim was to crush the arrogance and arrogance of the Rana, which was due to him possessing large forts and mountains.
2- Nizamuddin and Badayuni are of the opinion that the reason for the attack was that in 1562 the Rana had welcomed the ruler of Malwa, Baz Bahadur and Akbar wanted to punish him for this reason.
3-V. A. Smith is of the opinion that economic and political reasons prompted Akbar to go to war.
4- Sir Wooljle Hague believes that all Rajput kings had accepted the suzerainty of Akbar and only Mewar was different and did not accept the subjugation. Therefore, Akbar did not accept that any state should remain independent in Rajasthan.
5- Dr. Sharma is of the opinion that “the former side is not proved by the serious facts of history. Before the invasion of Chittor in October 1567, only one noble Rajput had an alliance with him and that was the Kachwaha family of Amber.” (1562) Before laying siege to the main Rajasthan, Akbar had only one important fort, Merta (1562), Jodhpur, Bikaner. The large states of Jaisalmer showed no sign of establishing friendly relations with Akbar. So the truth is. It is believed that Akbar would easily defeat other Rajput rulers by conquering Chittor. And Akbar’s thinking was right. Akbar understood the political and mental condition of Rajputs well. With the fall of Chittor within 2 or three years Ranthambore (1569) The rulers of Jodhpur (1570), Bikaner (1570), and Jaisalmer (1570) accepted Akbar’s suzerainty.
Apart from this, it became necessary for Akbar to attack Udai Singh Rana, as Abul Fazal says, because Shaktisinh Rana’s second son, who was then employed with Akbar, was annoyed by Akbar’s ridicule in September 1567 without taking leave from Dholpur. Came away and informed his father that Akbar was preparing to attack his country. Therefore, it was now necessary that Akbar should prove the fact that he was not joking.
Akbar’s invasion of Mewar
At that time, Mewar was ruled by Rana Udai Singh who was an incompetent and cowardly ruler. As soon as Akbar attacked, he escaped leaving the responsibility of the war on Jaimal. Akbar tried a lot but could not capture the fort. In the end, he tried to enter the fort through the tunnel route and detonated the tunnel. In this sequence, Jaimal became a victim of Akbar’s bullet. 8000 Rajputs were killed. In 1568, the Mughals took over Chittorgarh.
Akbar’s conquest of Ranthambore (1569)
After this Akbar captured Ranthambore. Ranthambore was ruled by Surjan Hada. In 1569 he accepted the suzerainty of Akbar and went to the service of the Mughals.
Akbar’s Kalinjar Conquest (1569)
Akbar sent Majnu Khan to take control of Kalinjar. The ruler of Kalinjar surrendered in 1569 without any struggle.
Possession of jodhpur
Chandrasen, the son of Jodhpur king Maldev, took refuge in Akbar in Nagaur, but soon this friendship was broken. He disobeyed Akbar and went to the hill fort of Siwana. After conquering Jodhpur, he gave it to the king of Bikaner, in return, the king of Bikaner married his daughter to Akbar.
Uday Singh’s death and Rana Pratap becoming the rulerUdai Singh died in 1572 and was succeeded by Maharana Pratap. As soon as he got the succession, Maharana Pratap vowed to snatch Chittor from the Mughals.
Maharana Pratap used to say that “If Udai Singh had not been born in the generation between Rana Sanga and me, then no Turk among the Rajputs would have been able to stay.”
Introduction of Maharana Pratap
Maharana Pratap was born on 9 May 1540, not much is known about his early life. While sitting on the throne, he had a fight with his younger brother Jagmal. Jagmal was the son of Udai Singh’s beloved wife. But in 1572, Maharana Pratap was successful in sitting on the throne. He had neither a kingdom nor a capital at that time. For four and a half years he wandered in the hilly areas of Mewar. During this, he would collect all the information about the area During this he kept collecting all the information about that area.
Maharana Pratap and Mansingh
The history of Rajputs also gives details of the quarrel between Man Singh and Maharana Pratap which was as follows – Once Mansingh wanted to meet Maharana Pratap on the banks of Udaysagar lake. A huge banquet was organized in honor of Raja Mansingh but Rana did not attend it. Annoyed at this, Mansingh said- “If Rana will not eat with me then who else will?”
Maharana Pratap asked in his absence how can he have food with his sisters and daughters who have married Muslims. To this Mansingh said, “To protect your honor, we lost our honor and handed over our sisters and daughters to the Turks. If you want to live in calamity, stay. You cannot live in this country now.”
King Mansingh said while leaving the pavilion (then Maharana Pratap was also in front) “If I do not break your pride, then my name is not Mansingh.” Just said to Maharana Pratap “I will be very happy to have encountered at all times.”
Battle of Haldi Ghati
By now we have learned that Maharana Pratap, who had refused to bow his head before Akbar, was now a major challenger to Akbar. Maharana Pratap and the Mughal armies faced each other for the first time in 1576 on the plains of Haldighati.
The Mughal army was led by Raja Mansingh and Asaf Khan. Maharana Pratap was defeated in this war. There were 30000 soldiers in Maharana Pratap’s army. The battle was very fierce and Maharana fought the battle very bravely but in the end, he had to flee from the battlefield after getting injured.
Who won the battle of Haldi Ghati?
Regarding the battle of Haldighati, it can be said that it was an inconclusive battle because neither Raja Mansingh could capture Maharana Pratap nor could he subjugate Mewar. Maharana Pratap fled and rested for the night at the place of Koliari in the west of Gokunda. After 18 June 1576, Maharana changed his policy.
Akbar got angry with Mansingh after this war because Mansingh did not follow Maharana nor plundered the state. Akbar expelled Mansingh, Asaf Khan, and Qazi Khan from the court for some time.
Although one of the shortest yet most important battles ever fought in Indian history. A suitable description of the epic battle of Haldighati is given below-
Man Singh commanded an army of more than 50,000 men in the battle. Maharana Pratap was devoid of all relevant resources, men, and allies for the war. This further strengthened Akbar’s belief that winning this battle would add another feather to his cap.
Who led the army of Maharana Pratap?
It is very interesting that while Akbar’s army was led by a Hindu Man Singh, Maharana Pratap’s army was led by a Muslim Hakim Khan Sur (Afghan). Maharana had collected many small Hindu and Muslim states.
Veer Maharana Pratap and his auxiliary army had saved the sixes of the Mughals. But he could not last long in front of the huge army of the Mughals.
Result of the Battle of Haldighati
About this war, we can say that –
In this war, the Rajputs and the Mughals fought with full might. Some Mughal soldiers even ran away from the battlefield out of fear.
The Mewar army had lost momentum and their soldiers started falling one by one. Maharana Pratap stood firm and fought with Man Singh with his horse Chetak.
However, he was mortally wounded during a fight by Man Singh and his men. Rana Pratap escaped from the Mughal army and was saved by his brother Sakta. Meanwhile, Man Singh murders Man Singh Jhala, mistaking him for Rana Pratap. He was shocked and shocked to learn that he had killed a trusted man of Rana Pratap. The next morning when he returned to attack the Mewar army, there was no one on the battlefield.
eath of Maharana Pratap
Even after being defeated at Haldighati, Maharana continued his efforts to free his motherland (Mewar) from the Mughals. Except for Chittor, Ajmer, and Mandalgarh, he got his entire kingdom of Mewar. Akbar himself was also a fan of Maharana.
Maharana Pratap died in 1597 AD. After the death of Maharana, Amar Singh continued the Mughal war. In 1599, the Mughal army attacked Mewar under the leadership of Raja Mansingh and Prince Salim. Amar Singh was defeated and his kingdom was badly looted.
Conclusion
Thus we can say that the contest between Akbar and Maharana Pratap ended on equal footing. Although Maharana Pratap and Akbar never had a direct encounter, Akbar admired Maharana’s valor. The Rajputs were fearless and brave, but due to mutual rivalry, they could never unite and face the enemy.