Maharana Pratap, born on the 9th of May in 1540, was one of the greatest kings of Mewar in Rajasthan. His freedom struggle, the historical Battle of Haldighat and his remaining undefeated against the Mughal Emperor Akbar is what reminds us all of his heroics.

Pratap Singh’s father, Maharana Udai Singh, when surrounded by Akbar’s forces had compelled his family to move to Gogunda from their capital Chittor, which was soon captured. Pratap wanted to stay back and fight against the enemy forces but he was not allowed to do so.

In 1572, the Maharana passed away.  The king had grown affectionate with his youngest wife, Rani Bhatiyani, who made him change in his will that her son Jagmal should ascend the throne. After objections from the ministers, Pratap Singh, the eldest son of Udai Singh, was made the 54th Maharana in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

The pain of his father’s death and beckoning of his old home, made Maharana Pratap want to free Chittor from the Mughal capture. Akbar, who only had Chittor under his control from the Mewar region, sent six diplomatic missions to make Maharana Pratap sign a peace treaty to fulfil his wish to be the Jahapanah of Hindustan but was turned down each time. Rana Pratap would only submit if allowed to keep the sovereignty of Mewar intact. Owing to their differences, Akbar sought battle to be inevitable.

The Mewar army blocked the Haldighati Pass which was the only way to Udaipur from the north, as a tip from Shakti Singh who himself was a Rajput but felt remorse for betraying them. The young Maharana Pratap decided to take up the battle to the Aravali Mountains to stay at an advantage from the Mughals at that terrain which his army was more familiar with. His men had a great respect for him and left immediately to obey him. He also took a lot of penance as a reminder of to his subjects about why they were doing this. He ate from leaf plates, slept on the floor, did not shave and even lived in huts made of mud.

In the famous Battle of Haldighati on June 18 in 1576, the Rajputs were at an extreme numerical disadvantage in front of the huge Mughal army led by Man Singh I. Pratap, on his horse, rode to kill Man Singh I himself, who was on an elephant, and both he and his horse were severely injured. His brave horse (still remembered by in poems by Rabindranath Tagore and Shyamnarayan Pandey), Chetak, tried to save his master’s life by jumping over a long canal but died. Rana Pratap was devastated by this loss. Shakti Singh offered him his own horse to flee to safety.

The battles continued. Rana Pratap’s army remained undefeated, though growing weaker. After seeing his daughter’s food snatched away from her and her helpless cries in times of distress and growing poverty, he started to lose hope and decided to call a truce. A long letter from Pruthviraj, a poet from Akbar’s court who admired the Maharana, dissuaded him from giving up. Finally, with Bham Shah’s generous donation which would keep an army of 25,000 going for 12 years and subsequent other donations, Rana Pratap expanded his army and freed all the Mewar regions, except Chittor.

In 1597, Maharana Pratap was injured in a hunting accident. As his last wish, he gave the responsibility of freeing Chittor to his son Amar Singh. He died fighting for his nation, his people and his honour, and he was the light and life of the Hindu community.