Battle of Haldighati

The Battle of Haldighati was fought in Haldighati, Rajasthan on 18 or 21 June 1576 for around four hours between Rana of Mewar, Maharana Pratap and Mughal Emperor Akbar's forces led by Man Singh I.

Army strength

Maharana Pratap

In Maharana Pratap's army the main commanders were Gwalior's Ram Singh Tanvar (with all his sons), Krishandas Churawat, Ramdas Rathore Jhala, Mansingh Rawat, Purohit Gopinath, Shankardas, Charan Jaisa, Purohit Jagannath and Keshav. His army also included Afghans led by Hakim Khan Sur and a small contingent of Bhil tribals headed by Rao Poonja fighting alongside him. He was also accompanied by Rao Chandra Sen of Marwar and his teacher Acharya Raghvendra. According to contemporary Mughal historians, Maharana's army had 3000 soldiers. According to Dr. Sharma, Maharana had 3,000 horseborne soldiers, 2,000 infantry soldiers, 100 elephants and 100 spearmen and some other soldiers. Besides these, there was an army of Bheel soldiers also, along with Afghans.

Man Singh I

According to contemporary Mughal historians, the Mughal army had 80,000 soldiers.

Army formation

Pratap

Pratap's army was divided into a Harawal (front portion) led by Hakim Khan Sur, Chadrawal (back portion) led by Rao Poonja (Bheel General), left adjacent led by Jhala Mansingh, and south (right) adjacent led by Ramshah Tanwar (Ruler of Gwalior). Pratap himself was in the centre of the formation along with his minister Bhamashah and brother Tarachandra. An infantry of Bheels were stationed in the surrounding mountains.

Formation

              Mihtar Khan
              Madhosingh
      |______|Chandrawal|_______|
King Lurkaran                   |
  Gazi Khan   Man Singh I   Ahmed Khan
              Mughal Army                                              
                   |                                
            Maharana's Army             
      |____________|____________|                 
      |         Harawal         |
      |      Hakim Khan Sur     |
      |   Churawat Krishnadas   |
      |        Bhimsingh        |
      |      Rawat Sangha       |
      |         Ramdas          |
Left Adjacent           Right Adjacent
Jhala Mansingh  Pratap       Ramshah
 Jhala Beeda   Bhamashah   Shalivahan
   Songara    Tarachandra    Bhagwan
      |                   Pratap Singh
      |_______|Chandrawal|______|
                 Punja
           Purohit Gopinath
               Jagannath
         Mahatta Ratanchandra
          Mahasani Jagannath
                 Jesa

Battle

In 1576, Akbar deputed Man Singh I and Asaf Khan I to lead a force against Maharana Pratap. The Rana advanced with a force numbering almost half the Mughal numbers and took a position near Haldighati which was at the entrance of a defile. In Pratap's army the main commanders were Gwalior's Ram Shah Tanwar and his three sons,Rawat Krishnadasji Chundawat, Maan Singhji Jhala and Chandrasenji Rathore of Marwar. His army also included Afghans lead by Hakim Khan Sur and a small contingent of Bhil tribals headed by Rao Poonjaji fighting alongside him. Anticipating the mughal attack, the Rana had also devastated the entire region up to Chittor to prevent the Mughal forces access to food and fodder. The Mughals were then guided by Pratap's brother Shakti Singh that what was the way they could face Pratap in open and with minimum casualties.

The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 for around 4 hours. It was primarily fought in the traditional manner between cavalry and elephants since the Mughals found it difficult to transport artillery over the rough terrain. In a traditional fight, the Rajputs were at an advantage; their impetuous attack led to a crumbling of the Mughal left and right wings and put pressure on the center until reserves, and a rumor of Akbar's arrival turned the tide, and resulted in a Rajput retreat. The heat, and fear of ambush in the hills, resulted in the Mughals deciding not to pursue the Rajputs into the hills. Thus this battle failed to break the existing stalemate. This fight can be viewed as an assertion of local independence arising from local and regional patriotism. Maharana Pratap and his forces were heavily outnumbered by the Mughals and to change the odds to his side, Pratap mounted on his horse Chetak, attacked Raja Man Singh. Raja Man Singh was injured but Chetak's leg got deeply wounded in the process of attack on Raja Man Singh's war elephant . The Mewari enthusiasm was not yet shattered and seeing this the whole Mughal army completely focused their attention on Maha Rana started attacking Maha Rana Pratap continuously to kill him and break the moral of Rajput army . Man Singh Jhala understood the situation and so he exchanged his armour with Pratap's armour to confuse the Mughals. Chetak ran very fast and seeing the Mughals following him, he crossed the famous pass of Haldighati with a big and a long leap for which he is also remembered. He succumbed to his injuries. Maharana Pratap is said to have been heartbroken at the demise of his stallion and his best friend Chetak who had saved his life and also the future of Mewar. Meanwhile, when Pratap was mourning Chetak's death, his brother Shakti Singh who had defected towards the Mughals, gave his horse to Pratap so that he could escape the Mughal soldiers who were chasing him. Man Singh Jhala who wore Pratap's royal chhavri was misunderstood as Rana Pratap by Mughal soldiers who killed him. They thought they had managed to kill Pratap. Man Singh was shocked to see that it was not Pratap but his chieftain Man Singh Jhala who was killed. In the next three days he overran other parts of Mewar. Subsequently, the whole of Mewar except some of the Aravallis fell in Mughal hands.

After the Battle of Haldighati

On the third day after the Battle of Haldighati, i.e. on 23 June 1576, Man Singh I conquered Gogunda which was later recaptured by Pratap in July 1576. Pratap then made Kumbhalgarh his temporary capital. After that, Akbar decided to personally lead the campaign against Pratap. In the process, Gogunda, Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh were occupied by the mughals, forcing the Rana deeper into the mountainous tracts of southern Mewar. Mughal pressure was exerted on the Afghan chief of Jalor, and the Rajput chiefs of Idar, Sirohi, Banswara, Dungarpur, and Bundi. These states, situated on the borders of Mewar with Gujarat and Malwa had traditionally acknowledged the supremacy of the dominant power in the region. Consequently, the rulers of these states submitted to the Mughals. A mughal expedition was also sent to Bundi where Duda, the elder son of Rao Surjan Hada, had collaborated with Rana Pratap to take control over Bundi and adjacent areas. Both Surjan Hada and Bhoj, the father and younger brother of Duda, took part in this conflict in support of the mughals. After a mughal victory, Duda escaped to the hills and Bundi was conferred upon Bhoj. At this point Rana Pratap found himself isolated and marginalized in Rajput affairs.