Rajasthan and Mughals

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Rajasthan and Mughals

Soon after his defeat in 1527 at the Battle of Khanwa, Rana Sanga died in 1528. Bahadur Shah of Gujarat became a powerful Sultan. He captured Raiseen in 1532 and defeated Mewar in 1533. He helped Tatar Khan to capture Bayana, which was under Mughal occupation. Humayun sent Hindal and Askari to fight Tatar Khan. At the battle of Mandrail in 1534, Tatar Khan was defeated and killed. Puranmal, the Raja of Amber, helped the Mughals in this battle. He was killed in this battle. Now it became necessary for Humayun to crush the rising power of Bahadur Shah. While Bahadur Shah was besieging the fort of Chittorgarh, Humayun started against him. Hearing the news, the Rani Karnavati, widow of Rana Sanga, sent rakhi (passion flowers) to Humayun. Humayun is considered to have accepted the rakhi, but stopped at Sarang Pur in January 1535. Mewar was weakened due to constant struggles. After a long wait, the Rajputs had the last fight on 8 March 1535, and Rani Karnavati, together with other women, committed Jauhar (mass suicide) the same day. Humayun now pursued Bahadur Shah. Later Bahadur Shah and Sher Shah Suri created many problems for Humayun, and he lost the empire. He regained the empire in July 1555, and died in January 1556. Akbar, the son of Humayun, tried to persuade Mewar to accept Mughal sovereignty, like other Rajputs, but Rana Udai Singh refused. Ultimately Akbar besieged the fort of Chittor in 1567. This time, Rana Udai Singh left the fort with his family. Jaimal Rathore of Merta and Fatah Singh of Kelwa were left to take care of the fort. On 23 February 1568, Akbar hit Jaimal Rathore, who was looking after the repair work, with his gun. That same night, the Rajput women committed jauhar (ritual suicide) and the Rajput men, led by the wounded Jaimal and Fateh Singh, fought their last battle. Akbar entered the fort, and at least 30,000 people were killed. Later Akbar placed a statue of these two Rajput warriors on the gates of Agra Fort.

Akbar won the fort of Chittorgarh, but Rana Udai Singh was ruling Mewar from other places. On 3 March 1572 Udai Singh died, and his son, Maharana Pratap, sat on the throne at Gogunda. He vowed that he would liberate Mewar from the Mughals; until then he would not sleep on a bed, would not live in a palace, and would not have food on a plate (thali). Akbar tried to arrange a treaty with Rana Pratap, but did not succeed. Finally, he sent an army under Raja Man Singh in 1576. Rana Pratap was defeated at the Battle of Haldighati in June 1576. Rana Pratap escaped from the battle and started guerrilla warfare with the Mughals. Ultimately he was successful in liberating most of the Mewar, except the fort of Chittorgarh. The Bargujars were the main allies of the Ranas of Mewar. Rana Pratap died on 19 January 1597, and Rana Amar Singh succeeded him. Akbar sent Salim to attack Mewar in October 1603, but he stopped at Fatehpur Sikri and sought permission from the emperor to go to Allahabad, and went there. In 1605 Salim sat on the throne and took the name of Jahangir.

Jahangir sent an army under his son Parvez to attack Mewar in 1605. An indecisive battle was fought at Debari. The Mughal emperor sent Mahabat Khan in 1608. He was recalled in 1609, and Abdulla Khan was sent. Then Raja Basu was sent, and Mirza Ajij Koka was sent. No conclusive victory could be achieved. The disunity among various clans of Rajwada allowed Mewar to be conquered. Ultimately Jahangir himself arrived at Ajmer in 1613, and appointed Shazada Khurram to fight against Mewar. Khurram devastated the areas of Mewar and cut the supplies to the Rana. With the advice of his nobles and the crown prince, Karna, the Rana sent a peace delegation to Prince Khurram, Jahangir’s son. Khurram sought approval of the treaty from his father at Ajmer. Jahangir issued an order authorising Khurram to agree to the treaty. The treaty was agreed between Rana Amar Singh and Prince Khurram in 1615.

The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707), who was far less tolerant of Hinduism than his predecessors, placed a Muslim on the throne of Marwar when the childless Maharaja Jaswant Singh died. This enraged the Rathores, and when Ajit Singh, Jaswant Singh’s son, was born after his death, the Marwar nobles asked Aurangzeb to place Ajit on the throne. Aurangzeb refused, and tried to have Ajit assassinated. Durgadas Rathore and the dhaa maa (wet nurse) of Ajit, Goora Dhaa (the Sainik Kshatriya Gehlot Rajputs of Mandore), and others smuggled Ajit out of Delhi to Jaipur, thus starting the thirty-year Rajput rebellion against Aurangzeb. This rebellion united the Rajput clans, and a triple-pronged alliance was formed by the states of Marwar, Mewar, and Jaipur. One of the conditions of this alliance was that the rulers of Jodhpur and Jaipur should regain the privilege of marriage with the ruling Sesodia dynasty of Mewar, on the understanding that the offspring of Sisodia princesses should succeed to the throne over any other offspring. This stipulation would lend itself to many future conflicts.[2] Bundelas of Bundelkhand also waged the rebellion against the Mughals.

 

 

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