The debate over who won the battle of Haldighati continues 445 years later
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BATTLE OF HALDIGHATI-THE STORY OF AN INVINCIBLE KING "History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies"
--Alexis de tocqueville--
Even today, 445 years after the battle of Haldighati , debates are still going on among historians. There is also outrage among the people that false history is being taught. What is the reason for this?
The controversy erupted in 2020 when Rajasthan's 10th class social science textbook made it a rule that
'Maharana Pratap lacked patience, control and planning required in military commander .'
Historians do not seem to agree on who won the war. But Indian textbook teaches that Akbar's army was victorious. According to Wikipedia, Akbar's army won the battle of Haldighati And while giving evidence of it, it gives references of 2 historians
(1)The first book is the "MUGHAL EMPIRE AT WAR" written by Andrew de la Garza in the year 2016. In it he has written 4 lines on page no 56 without any argument or proof that Maharana Pratap was defeated in the battle of Haldighati .
The Mughal empire at war, page no 56
(2)The second book that Wikipedia refers to as Mughal victory is the dictionary of battles and seiges by Tony Jaques. It is more important to find evidence that Tony Jaques is a historian as he states in his book that Haldighati is in Punjab.
reference -Wikipedia
Based on these two sources, Wikipedia confirms Akbar's victory.
Now, what exactly is the reason behind this debate? Why ASI(archeological survey of india) rewriting the history of Battle of Haldighati ? Who exactly won the battle of Haldighati is still a big question. Evidence from historians around the world and what al-Badayuni, an eye witness to the war, wrote about the war in his book is available everywhere. Many generations have been learning history before our eyes and And yet we have not reached the conclusion yet.
Then on what basis is it decided which side won the battle?
Every war in history has its purpose, and its main objective is to achieve that purpose And when that is achieved, we say that we have won that Battle
.So who wins the battle is determined by its aftermath. So what exactly was the purpose of this great battle of Haldighati in History? What was Akbar's intention? Why did Rana Pratap want to fight?
The reason for the fight : Mughal king Akbar, through his diplomats, was entreating the Rajput king Rana Pratap to become his vassal* Akbar wanted the woody and hilly terrain of Mewar under his control of secure lines of communication with Gujarat. Rana Pratap was not ready to bow before Akbar so he knew that the battle was certain.
vassal:a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he has vowed homage and fealty
Day of the Battle of Haldighati : 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 (23km) north of gogunda lay the village of Khamnor , separated from Gogunda by a spur of the Aravalli range called 'Haldighati'.
June 18 1576 - the rajput army stood face to face with the mughal army (under the command of asaf khan and man singh) at haldighati . Although the Mughals claim in Akbarnama( written by abul-fazl ibn mubarak , commissioned by akbar himself) that they won the battle of Haldighati, it is important to see the results of the battle.after 4 hours of battle maharana pratap fled away from the battle field into the aravalli's high mountains.thats why mughal claim their victory over Pratap. But their war was aimed at subduing Pratap in front of Akbar, but it was not completed.
On the very day of the battle, Pratap's Bhil army harassed the soldiers all night and looted everything. though Mughals claim several parts of Mewar, including Gogunda and nearby areas except some regions of Aravallis. but after this, Bhil army of rana kika were stationed on the hill points of the inner Girva, who stopped the logistics of the royal army stationed in Gogunda. the victorious Mughals in a way started living here like prisoners. by killing their horses and camels, they started eating or the sour mangoes grown there became the basis of their life. the Mughals were compelled. the soldiers started running in secret and thus their victory turned into defeat.
when Mansingh and Badayuni reached Ajmer , Akbar dismissed Mansingh from the court for 6 months .Akbar was upset with Mansingh for starving the army But according to Badauni , Akbar's army was captured in Gogunda because Pratap and his Bhil army would capture them whenever they marched out of Gogunda for food.
Badauni writes in the book that Allah has triumphed, but there is no mention of what exactly he achieved from that victory.
{ And when the air was like a furnace, and no power of movement was left in the soldiers, the idea became pre- valent that the Rana, by stealth and stratagem, must have kept himself concealed behind the mountains. This was the reason why they inade no pursuit, but retired to their tents and occupied themselves in the relief of the wounded.}ref.Muntakhab-at-Tawarikh vol 2.page 239
Referance -Muntakhab-at-Tawarikh vol 2 written by only eye witnessed Al Badayuni ( By Akbar's side)page no 236 to 250 .
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| page no 239 |
Recently Rajasthan historian Dr. Chandrasekhar Sharma has researched the life of Maharana Pratap and proved that he was victorious in the battle of Haldighati.
Evidence related to the copperplates depicting Pratap's victory by Sharma in his research has been submitted to Janardhanaraya Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University. - Sharma says that according to him, for the next one year after the war, Maharana Pratap had issued leases of lands of villages around Haldighati in the form of copper leaf. These were signed by Dewan Pratap of Ekalinganath. At that time only the king had the right to issue land leases.
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| copper plate lease signed by dewan Pratap of Eklinganath |
Although history tells us that the Mughals won the battle of Haldighati, they could not capture the land,there were no surrender nor any capture.
In Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha's book 'History of Udaipur State', he says that this war has had no effect on both the groups. Their goal is not yet achieved so no one can win. The battle of Haldighati was the beginning of the struggle between Akbar and Rana Pratap
He called the battle of Haldighati an inconclusive* battle
*Not leading to definite decision or result.
It is up to the reader to decide what is true and what is false in what is written, what to believe and what not to believe. But it is important to decide because someone great has spoken (need to speak great otherwise you will not pay attention) that,
" To remain ignorant
of history is to remain
forever a child "
- CICERO (Someone great)
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| BATTLE GROUND OF HALDIGHATI |
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| rana Kika vs Mansingh |
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