BATTLE OF HALDIGHATI

Background Plot :
Maharana Sangram Singh (12 April 1484 - 17 March 1527) commonly known as Rana Sanga,
was the Rajput ruler of Mewar, which was located within the geographic boundaries of
present-day India's modern state of Rajasthan. He ruled between 1509 and 1527.
After first ascending to the throne of his home kingdom, Mewar, then consolidating power
there, Rana Sanga moved his army against the internally troubled neighbouring kingdom of
Malwa. After conquering Malwa, Rana turned his attention towards north eastern
Rajasthan, which was then under the control Khilji's ally, Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi. Rana
invaded this province after a rebellion in Delhi had diverted Sultan Lodi's attention. Under
Rana, the Rajputs scored several victories, capturing some key strategic assets in the
process, including the fort of Ranthambore. In retaliation, Lodi invaded Sanga's home
province of Mewar after having put down the rebellion in Delhi. Sanga counterattacked,
invading enemy territory. Rajputs fought ethnic Afghans under Lodi at Khatoli (Gwalior) in
1517-18. Although Sanga lost his left arm and was crippled in one leg, he also won and
captured land. Lodi fought Sanga repeatedly, only to be defeated each time, losing much
of his land in present-day Rajasthan, while the boundaries of Sanga's military influence
came to extend within striking distance of Agra.
War with Babur
After his initial gains Rana Sanga became recognized within north India as a principal
player in the power struggle to rule the northern territories of princely India. His
objectives grew in scope he planned to conquer the much sought after prize of the
Muslim rulers of the time, Delhi, and bring the whole of India under his control.
He had crushed Gujarat and conquered Malwa and was now close to Agra. It was at this
juncture that he heard that Babur had defeated and slain Ibrahim Lodi and was now
master of the Delhi Sultanate.
Rana Sanga believed that Babur had plans to leave India, indeed from all the information
he was getting it seemed that Babur was getting ready to consolidate his newly gained
northern holdings, Rana Sanga decided, in a miscalculation of Barbur's strength and
determination, to wage a war against the Mughal invader.
As a first move, he coerced Afghan fugitive princes like Mehmud Lodi and Hasan Khan
Mewati to join him. Then he ordered Babur to leave India. Initially he hoped to attain this
by sending his vassal Sardar Silhadi of Raisen as his emissary. Silhadi who went to Baburs
camp was won over by Babur. Babur accepted that to rule North India he may have to
engage in battle with Rana Sanga and hence had no desire for retreat. Babur and Silhadi
hatched a plot. Silhadi, who held a large contingent of 30,000 men would join Baburs
camp at critical moment of battle and thus defeat Rana Sanga. Silhadi who went back to
Chittor, told Rana that war is a must.
The Rajput forces of Rana Sanga, supplemented by the contingents of Hasan Khan Mewati
and the Afghan, Mehmud Lodi and Raja Medini Rai of Alwar, met Baburs army at Khanwa
near Fatehpur Sikri in 1527. The battle, which lasted for not more than 10 hours, was
bitterly contested and became an exceedingly brutal affair. At a critical moment of
battle, the defection of Silhadi and his contingent caused a split in the Rajput forces.

Rana Sanga while trying to rebuild his front was wounded and fell unconscious from his
horse. The Rajput army thought their leader was dead and fled in disorder, thus allowing
the Mughals to win the day.
Rana Sanga was whisked away to safety by the Rathore contingent from Marwar and once
he became conscious he learnt of the defeat. But Rana Sanga, unwilling to admit defeat,
set out once more to rebuild his military and renew war with Babur. He vowed not to set
foot in Chittor till Babur was defeated by him. In 1528, he once more set out to fight
Babur at Chanderi to help Medini Rai who was attacked by Babur. But he fell sick at Kalpi
and died in his camp. It is widely believed that he was poisoned by some of his nobles who
quite rightly thought his renewal of war with Babur was suicidal.

Maharana Pratap
In 1568 during the reign of Maharana Udai Singh, Maharana Pratap's father, Chittor was
conquered by the Mughal Emperor Akbar after the third Jauhar at Chittor. However,
Maharaja Udai Singh and the royal family of Mewar had left before the fort was captured
and moved to the foothills of the Aravalli Range where Maharaja Udai Singh had already
founded the city of Udaipur in 1559. The Bhatiyani Queen wanted her son Jagmal to
succeed Rana Udai Singh. But the senior nobles wanted Pratap, the eldest son, to be their
king as was customary. During the coronation ceremony, with Rawatji and other senior
noble's help, Pratap Singh was made the king of Mewar.
Battle of Haldighati
On June 21, 1576 (or June 18 in other calculations), the armies of Pratap and Akbar (led
by Syed Hashim) met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda.
Pratap's army had a contingent of Afghan warriors led by his commander, Hakim Khan Sur.
A small army of the Bhils, whom the Rana had befriended, also joined the battle against
the Mughals. On the other hand, the Mughal forces led by Syed Hashim boasted of
numerical superiority, which vastly outnumbered the Rajputs.
At first, the Rajputs by their sheer bravery of orchestrating a full frontal attack took the
Mughals by surprise. However, the numerical superiority of the Mughals and the efficiency
of their artillery soon began to tell. Seeing that the battle was favoring the opponents and
with the huge amount of death of soldiers on the Rajput side, Pratap's generals prevailed
upon him to flee the field so as to be able to fight another day. Myths indicate that to
facilitate Pratap's escape, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan, donned
Pratap's distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield. He was soon killed.
Meanwhile, Pratap was able to successfully evade captivity and escape to the hills.
Pratap was riding his trusted horse, Chetak, which despite being seriously wounded
and utterly exhausted, carried his master till about 2 miles away from the battle,
eventually succumbing to its injuries while jumping a nallah (stream). It is said, that
Pratap's younger brother Shakti Singh, who until then was fighting on behalf of the Mughal
army, followed Pratap until this point, and upon a change of heart, gave him his own
horse to escape away. The other lesser-known heroes of Haldighati were the Bhil Adivasis
of the Aravallis, whose valour, knowledge of terrain and intensive arrow showers made the
battle far from one-sided. In recognition of their extraordinary contribution to Rajputana

and to protecting these lands, a Bhil stands alongside a Rajput on either side of the Royal
Coat of Arms of Mewar.
The battle of Haldighati has commanded a lasting presence in Rajasthani folklore, and the
persona of Pratap Singh, is celebrated in a folk song O Neele Ghode raa Aswaar (O Rider
of the Blue Horse)
With the large booty at his disposal, Pratap organized another attack and Battle of
Dewar followed in which army of Mewar was victorious and Pratap was able to claim
back much of the lost territories of Mewar and freed much of Rajasthan from the
Mughal rule. The Bhil tribals of the Aravalli hills provided Pratap with their support during
times of war and their expertise in living off the forests during times of peace.
Final days
Maharana Pratap died of injuries sustained in a hunting accident at Chavand, which served
as his capital, on 29 January 1597, aged fifty-seven. A chhatri, commemorating Pratap's
funeral, exists at Chavand and is an important tourist attraction. It is recorded in
historical annals that as he lay dying, Pratap made his son and successor, Amar Singh,
swear to maintain eternal conflict against the Mughals.

Chetak:
Cetak, or Chetak, was the horse of Maharana Pratap, whom Pratap rode during the Battle
of Haldighati, June 21, 1576. Chetak died in this battle and since then has been
immortalized in the ballads of Rajasthan. The warhorse was of Kathiawari breed. Folklore
has it that Chetak's coat had a blue tinge. That is why Rana Pratap is sometime referred as
the Rider of the Blue Horse in ballads.
The battle and Chetak
Maharana Pratap's forces were decisively outnumbered. While mounted on Chetak,who
lost a leg in the battle of Hadlighati, Pratap made an attempt on the life of Raja
Mansingh, the Commander of the imperial Mughal Army. When Pratap saw that the battle's
tide was turning against him, he charged towards Man Singh, who was directing the battle
seated on an elephant. Pratap made a frontal charge at the imperial army, hacked his way
through the massed ranks of enemy combatants and reached in front of Akbar's elephant.
Once there, Chetak reared high in the air and planted his hooves on the forehead of
Akbar's elephant. Pratap threw his lance at Man Singh, who ducked in time. The blow fell
on the mahout (elephant driver) instead, who was killed instantly. In the general melee
that followed, Chetak received a fatal wound on one of his legs. This was the turning point
of the battle. Mewar's bold gamble to siege the battle in its favor had failed. As Emperor
Akbar was whisked away to safety, Pratap found himself surrounded by enemy soldiers.
Maharana Pratap was loath to leave a battle in between, but was prevailed upon by his
faithful followers. By some accounts, one of the Jhala Sardars literally snatched the Royal
Insignia from Maharana's person and wore them himself, thus making him a target for the
Mughal Army.
As the Mughal army fell upon the Jhala sardar mistaking him for Maharana, Maharana left
the battlefield with some of his loyal followers. Chetak was exhausted and seriously

wounded, but labored on carrying his master, about 2 miles from the site of the battle he
came across a small stream. It was here, while trying to leap across the stream that
Chetak collapsed.
Maharana erected a small monument for his horse at the place where Chetak fell. The
cenotaph still exists at Haldighati in Rajsamand District.
Mid Story Plot
After this war, Akbar tried several times to take over Mewar, failing each time. Maharana
Pratap himself was keeping up his quest for taking Chittor back. However, the relentless
attacks of the Mughal army had left his army weaker, and he barely had enough money to
keep it going. It is said that at this time, one of his ministers, Bhama Shah, came and
offered him all this wealth - a sum enabling Maharana Pratap to support an army of
25,000 for 12 years. It is said that before this generous gift from Bhama Shah, Maharana
Pratap, anguished at the state of his subjects, was beginning to lose his spirit in fighting
Akbar.
In one incident that caused him extreme pain, his children's meal - bread made from
grass - was stolen by a dog. It is said that this cut into Maharana Pratap's heart deeply.
He began to have doubts about his resolute refusal to submit to the Mughals.
Perhaps in one of these moments of self doubt - something each and every human being
goes through - Maharana Pratap wrote to Akbar demanding "a mitigation of his hardship".
Overjoyed at this indication of his valiant foe's submission, Akbar commanded public
rejoicing, and showed the letter to a literate Rajput at his Court, Prince Prithiraj. Prithiraj
was also a gallant warrior and a longtime admirer of the brave Maharana Pratap Singh. He
was astonished and grieved by Maharana Pratap's decision, and told Akbar the note was
the forgery of some foe to defame the Mewar king. "I know him well," he explained, "and
he would never submit to your terms." He requested and obtained Akbar's permission to
send a letter to Pratap, ostensibly to ascertain the fact of his submission, but really with a
view to prevent it. He composed the couplets that have become famous in the annals of
patriotism:
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 Hamir (Hamir Singh) 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.
Pratap replied to him:
"By my God Eklinga, Pratap would call the emperor Turk alone (the word 'Turk' carries a
pejorative flavour in many Indian languages) 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."
Thus ended the incipient rapprochement between Pratap and Akbar.
For the last ten years of his life, Maharana Pratap ruled in relative peace and eventually
freed most of Mewar, including Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh, but not Chittor. Bhagwat Singh
Mewar: "Maharana Pratap Singh (was) called the light and life of the Hindu community.
There were times when he and his family and children ate bread made of grass."