India remembers hero of Haldighati Maharana Pratap's on 478th birth anniversary

Maharana Pratap, the heroic Rajput ruler was born on Tritiya, Jyeshtha, Shukla Paksha (May 9) in 1540. He was born to Udai Singh II and Jaiwanta Bai and after the death of Udai Singh in 1572, he was chosen as the king of Mewar.

In 1568, Mewar had lost its fertile eastern belt to the Mughals. The Mughal emperor Akbar wanted to build his stable route to Gujarat through Mewar and had sent a number of envoys to Mewar asking Rana to become a Mughal liegeman like many other Rajput rulers, but Maharana Pratap refused it.

The audacious refusal sparked a war which is popularly known as the Battle of Haldighati. The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 between Maharana Pratap and Akbar's forces.

The site of the epic battle was a narrow mountain pass at Haldighati near Gogunda in Rajasthan and after winning the battle, Mughal forces captured Gogunda and nearby areas.

In the leadership of Raja Maan Singh I of Amber, however, the Mughal forces won the battle but they failed to capture Maharana Pratap. After losing the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap and his family took refuge in the forest. The battle is remembered as a very fierce battle in which almost the whole of Mewar fell in Mughal hands.

During the struggle in the jungle, Maharana Pratap had nothing to eat and they had to eat rotis made of grass. According to legend, Maharana Pratap daughter’s ghas ki roti was stolen by a cat and he felt terrible that he decided to surrender to Akbar.

The resilient warrior, Maharana Pratap remained steadfast in his aim to recover his kingdom and within a few years, he recovered Gogunda, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Udaipur and other lost territories including and the areas around Chittor.

Though Pratap regained his territory but he lost his favourite horse Chetak during the battle. The heroism and loyalty of Chetak are best illustrated by the incident that happened in the Haldighati battle when after being wounded, he carried Pratap safely away from the battle but then died of his wounds.

The greatness of Maharana Pratap and his horse Chetak celebrated in history will be remembered forever.