Accession
Pratap was a son of Maharana Udai Singh II, who was the father of twenty-five sons. The male-line descendents of Udai Singh II bear the patronymic "Ranawat". In 1568, during the reign of Udai Singh II, Mewar was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. The third Jauhar of Chittor transpired, with the ladies of the fort finding "safety from personal dishonour in the devouring element (fire)," while the remaining menfolk sallied forth to certain death in the battlefield.
Prior to this calamity, Udai Singh and his family had fled to the safety of the nearby hills. He later moved base to another location in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. This new base gradually became the city of Udaipur, named after him. Udai Singh wanted Jagmal, his favourite son, to succeed him. However, with the help of senior nobles, Pratap took over the responsibility of leadership in 1572. It was the beginning of a career of struggle and hardship.
Conflict
Chittorgarh (Chittor fort), Pratap's ancestral home, was under Mughal occupation. Living a life on the run, the dream of reconquering Chittor (and thus reclaiming the glory of Mewar) was greatly cherished by Pratap, and his future efforts were bent towards this goal.
Nearly all of Pratap's fellow Rajput chiefs had meanwhile entered into the vassalage of the Mughals. Even Pratap's own brothers, Shakti Singh and Sagar Singh, were serving Akbar. Indeed, many Rajput chiefs, such as Raja Man Singh of Amber (later known as Jaipur) were serving as army commanders in Akbar's armies and members of his council. Akbar sent a total of six diplomatic missions to Pratap, seeking to negotiate the same sort of peaceful alliance that he had concluded with the other Rajput chiefs. Pratap roundly rebuffed every such attempt.
For the new capital-Udaipur, Maharana Udai Singh constructed a water reservoir–Udai Sagar in 1565. It was on its dam that in June 1573 Kunwar(Prince) Man Singh of Amber, as the emissary of Mughal Emperor Akbar, arrogantly demanded that Maharana Pratap should give up protocol and be present at the feast in his honor. Pratap and Man Singh were of the same age, both were born on May 9,1540, but one was king while the other a prince. Pratap, following the protocol, sent his son Kunwar Amar Singh to dine with Kunwar Man Singh Akbar's special envoy.This incident precipitated the Mughal-Mewar conflict. (Man Singh was a Kunwar, his father Raja Bhagwan Das led another unsuccessful peace mission to Rana Pratap in October 1573 at which Rana Pratap was personally present). Raja Bhagwan Das and Kunwar Man Singh won Kashmir for Mughals in 1586, that is Man Singh was NOT the Raja of Amer, later Jaipur,till 1586. Man Singh was confied the title of Mirza Raja in 1590.
Battle of Haldighati
On June 21, 1576 (June 18 by other calculations), the two armies met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda in present-day Rajasthan. While accounts vary as to the exact strength of the two armies, all sources concur that the Mughal forces greatly outnumbered Pratap's men. The battle of Haldighati, a historic event in the annals of Rajputana, lasted only four hours. In this short period, Pratap's men essayed many brave exploits on the field. Folklore has it that Pratap personally attacked Man Singh: his horse Chetak placed its front feet on the trunk of Man Singh's elephant and Pratap threw his lance; Man Singh ducked, and the elephant driver was killed.
However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery finally began to tell. Seeing that the battle was lost, Pratap's generals prevailed upon him to flee the field so as to be able to fight another day. 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, riding his trusty steed Chetak, Pratap made good his escape to the hills.
But Chetak was critically wounded on his left thigh by a Mardana (Elephant Trunk Sword) while Pratap had attempted to nail down Man Singh. Chetak was bleeding heavily and he collapsed after jumping over a small brook few kilometers away from the battle field. While Pratap’s General donned Pratap’s clothing and armour, it went unnoticed thanks to the chaos of the war but for two Turk knights from the Mughal army. They could not communicate it with others in their group, due to linguistic barrier (the appropriate language would have been Persian, Marwari or Arabi). They immediately followed Pratap without wasting time. The moment they started chasing him Pratap’s younger brother Shaktisingh who was fighting from the Mughal side (he had some disputes with Pratap at the time of Pratap’s coronation; hence he had defected and gone over to Akbar’s court) realized that his own brother was under threat. Prataps' general's sacrifice had already been discovered by him. He could not help but react against a threat to his own brother. He followed the Turks, engaged them in single combat and killed them. In the meanwhile,Chetak collapsed and Pratap saw his brother Shaktisingh killing the two Mughal riders. Saddned by the loss of his beloved general and horse, he embraced his brother and broke into tears. Shaktisingh also cried and asked for his brother's pardon, for having fought as his enemy. Pratap pardoned him (later on he was given a huge estate near Chittor). Shaktisingh them offered him his own horse and requested him to get to a safe place. This incident is famous in Rajasthani folklore, a song “O Neele Ghode re Aswar” (O Rider of the Blue Horse) mentions it.
A mausoleum to Chetak is at the site of the steed's death.
The impact of the battle on the Mughal army was also significant. In terms of numbers the Mughal army suffered heavier losses. This was also because of the intensive arrow showers by the Bhil tribes of the surrounding mountains who had aided with Pratap. To honour their contribution, a Bhil warrior was placed next to Pratap in the Royal Coat of Arms of Mewar.
The battle of Haldighat is considered to be the first Major breakthrough of Rajputs aginst the Mughals since the Second Battle of Khanwa in 1527, which was fought between Rana Sanga great grand uncle of Maharana Pratap, and the Mughal Babur. It is regarded with a degree of significance by many Rajput families.
Aftermath
Pratap retreated into the hilly wilderness of the Aravallis and continued his struggle. His one attempt at open confrontation having thus failed, Pratap resumed the tactics of guerilla warfare. Using the hills as his base, Pratap harassed the large and therefore awkward Mughal forces in their encampments. He ensured that the Mughal occupying force in Mewar never knew peace: Akbar despatched three more expeditions to ferret Pratap out of his mountainous hideouts, but they all failed. During this era, Pratap received much financial assistance from Bhamashah, a well-wisher. 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. Thus the years passed. As James Tod writes: "There is not a pass in the alpine Aravalli that is not sanctified by some deed of the great freedom fighter, Maharana Pratap Singh; some brilliant victory or, more often, some glorious defeat." On one occasion, the Bhils saved the Rajput women and children in the nick of time by conveying them into the depths of the mines at Zawar. Later, Pratap relocated to Chavand in the mountainous southeastern area of Mewar. Still harassed by the Mughals, the exiles survived in those ravines for many years by subsisted on wild berries and by hunting and fishing.
Last days
Rana Pratap died of injuries sustained in a hunting accident. He died at Chavand, on January 29, 1597, aged fifty-six. It is said that as he lay dying, Pratap made his son and successor, Amar Singh, swear to maintain eternal conflict against the mughals. Thus, his strained circumstances did not overpower Pratap even in his declining years; he remained intrepid to the end.
Maharana Pratap is a great hero in the eyes of many Indians, and is much respected and loved by his people. During a dark chapter of Rajput history, Pratap alone stood firmly for his honour and dignity; he never compromised his honour for safety. He died a proud and free man.
Character
Before the Battle of Haldighati started, Man Singh Kacchwaha was out hunting with a few hundred retainers. Pratap's Bhil spies reported this to him at his camp a few kilometers away. Some of Pratap's nobles suggested that they seize the opportunity to attack and kill Man Singh. Pratap refused, demonstrating his sense of rectitude.
In another incident, the womenfolk of Abdur Rahim Khankhana, a mughal officer, fell into the hands of Pratap's son Amar Singh. At this point of time, Khankhana was actually on the march against Pratap, and was camping at Sherpur in order to make preparations for an assault against Pratap. Nonwithstanding all this, Pratap commanded his son Amar Singh (eldest of 17 sons and 5 daughters) to arrange for the safe conveyance of the mughal ladies to their camp. Khankhana was so affected by this incident that he refused to campaign against such a chivalrous monarch. He petitioned Akbar to be relieved of his post .
