Even after the Haldighati battle, Maharana Pratap remained a challenge for Akbar.
Maharana Pratap did not stop after the battle of Haldighati in 1576. Despite all the efforts of Akbar, he remained out of his reach. Faced with shortages in the Aravalli hills and changing locations from one location to another, Pratap was busy organizing and expanding the army afresh. They were preparing for a decisive battle. Bhamashah and his brother Tarachand had provided him with enough money to meet the expenses of his army for the next 12 years. Then Pratap turned the tables in the Diver campaign.
The battle of Haldighati is much discussed in history. But the incident which has more far-reaching impact than that is his Diver campaign. Many historians have considered it the marathon of Mewar and Pratap’s decisive attack against the Mughals. This victory of Pratap had given a message to Akbar that Maharana was not going to bow down under any circumstances. They are always ready to compete.
After Haldighati, Maharana again started organizing the army.
History: The famous battle of Haldighati took place on 18 June 1576. After a fierce struggle, the Mughals captured Gogunda and surrounding areas. But despite having a large army and power, the Mughals failed to capture Maharana Pratap. Of course Pratap stepped back. But his control over all the areas of Mewar remained intact.
Historian Dr. G.N. According to Sharma, Pratap’s power had not ended even after the Haldighati war, rather he was organizing the struggle in a new form from the valleys of Aravalli. Pratap still remained a challenge for Akbar. He was not able to be assured from Mewar side. To compete, the Mughal administration established many police stations in Mewar. The purpose of these police stations was to control Pratap’s activities and to give the message of Mughal subordination to the local people. On the other hand, these police stations with the presence of Mughals were Pratap’s target.
Mughal emperor Akbar. Photo: Getty Images
victory after defeat
In 1577, Pratap started conquering Mughal Thanas. After capturing Udaipur, Akbar changed the name of the place to Muhammadabad. Pratap captured it again. Old name Udaipur restored. Got Mughal coins melted down. He also took back Gogunda. Now Pratap’s eyes were on Mohi, the important base of Bhati Rajputs. In September 1577, the joint army of Mewar and Bhatis started destroying the fields of the area.
Here, along with three thousand horsemen, the Mughal infantry was also present under the leadership of Mujahid Beg. Hundreds of Mughal soldiers along with Mujahid were killed in the fierce battle. Mohi was captured by Pratap. Abul Fazal confirmed this in “Akbarnama” and wrote, “The army of Mewar and Bhatis attacked Mohi and started destroying the crops. Mujahid Beg, the police station officer of Mohi, got the news. He ran towards the fields along with the soldiers without taking the necessary weapons. Mujahid Beg showed bravery like Rustam and was martyred.” In the next few days, Pratap also conquered Dungarpur, Banswara and Bangar.
Bhils were with us as always
Pratap was continuously busy strengthening and expanding his army. According to Omendra Ratnu’s book “Maharana – Crusade of Thousand Years”, Pratap organized a huge army with the money hidden in the mines of Myra and the money received from Bhamashah, Tarachand. Solankis and Chauhan chieftains settled in Sirohi, Idar, Dungarpur and Banswara and surrounding areas and the forces of Shaktawats led by Shakti Singh also joined Pratap.
It is estimated that at this time Pratap had a military force of thirty thousand including five thousand horsemen. Pratap’s son Kunwar Amar Singh was also providing leadership and strength to the army. It was a favorable time for Pratap from strategic point of view. Around 1580–81, the Mughal Empire was struggling with rebellions in Bengal, Bihar and the North-West Frontier. Akbar’s priorities had changed. Taking advantage of this situation, Maharana Pratap along with his trusted chiefs Bhamashah, Hakim Khan Sur, Chundawat chiefs and Bhil allies made the strategy of Diwar campaign. The Bhil community, with whom Pratap had deep relations since childhood, became his guide and ally in this campaign.
Maharana Pratap was called “Rana Kika” by the Bhil community.
Capture of Mewar’s lifeline Diwar
Diwar (in present-day Rajsamand district) was an important pass located in the valleys of the Aravalli ranges. This was the route connecting Mewar with Marwar and Gujarat. Control over Diwar meant control over the lifeline of Mewar. To become strong again, it was Pratap’s essential need to eliminate the Mughal power from this area. Some historians date Pratap’s Diwar campaign as 1582. Omendra Ratnu has given the date of the attack as Vijayadashami of 1583, when Pratap’s army attacked the Mughals from three sides. All the Mughal soldiers including Mughal commander Serima Khan, Uzbek Bahlol Khan were killed in this. There were no prisoners of war in this war. Pratap’s army had wreaked havoc on the enemy army that day. By noon the saffron flag had been hoisted at Diwar police station.
By that night, Pratap had control over all the thirty-two Mughal police stations that surrounded Mewar. Pratap also took back Kumbhalgarh. In this war, Pratap had taken revenge of Haldighati. According to Colonel James Todd, the Battle of Diwar can be called the Marathon of Mewar. Todd indicated that just as the Greeks decisively stopped the foreign invaders at Marathon, Pratap broke the backbone of the Mughal police stations at Diwar. Dr. Gopinath Sharma writes that after this campaign, most of the mountainous parts of Mewar again came under the control of Rana. Although Chittorgarh, Ajmer and some plain areas remained with the Mughals, but the vast area of Aravali came under the control of Pratap.
Far-reaching effects of the Diver victory
Pratap’s success in the Diwar war was not only the success of the army. It also had psychological and political effects. This strengthened the confidence and self-esteem of Pratap’s army as well as the people of his kingdom.
The disappointment of the defeat at Haldighati ended. This gave a serious blow to Mughal prestige. Gave the message that the struggle against foreign power continues despite limited resources.
According to historian Satish Chandra, Pratap did not allow the Mughal administration to rest on the strength of guerrilla warfare and local support. The bravery of Maharana Pratap’s elder son Kunwar Amar Singh in the Diwar war has a special place. He further became the successor of Maharana.
There is an incident in the stories of Rajasthan that after seeing the bravery of his son Amar, Pratap had said, “You have saved the honor of Mewar.” Most of the modern historians believe that after the Diwar war, the Mughals left the aggressive policy in Mewar. According to Dr. R.P. Tripathi, the Diwar war made it clear that it is difficult to subjugate Mewar completely. With the victory of Diwar, Maharana Pratap proved that independence cannot be achieved only by a war. No, but Haldighati could be saved by continuous struggle, public support and strategic understanding, then the victory of Diwar was the message of its success.
Also read:Why couldn’t the Mughals capture Maharana Pratap? Even the enemy was surprised by the strategy
