Battle of Haldighati

The Battle of Haldighati was a battle fought on 18 June ,1576 between Maharana Pratap and the Mughal emperor Akbar forces. Pratap Singh , popularly known as Maharana Pratap was a king of Mewar , a region in north western India in the present day state of Rajasthan. He was known for his participation in the battle of Haldighati and was also entitled as "Mewari Rana". The battle of Haldighati is considered as one of the most significant events in the history of Rajputs and this battle is also one of the shortest battles in Indian history which lasted for only 4 hours. Today , the Haldighati pass , in which the battle took place stands as tourist spot with great memoirs of  Raja Rana Pratap Singh and his  brave horse chetak. 

Reasons behind this battle : 

• Maharana Pratap belonging to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs , became the ruler of Mewar in Rajasthan in 1572. The Mughal Emperor Akbar  had desire to rule all over India , continued his conquests of several Rajput kingdoms such as Chittor , Rathambor and others. 
• All Rajputs kingdoms had surrender to  Akbar and his rule except Mewar. This was only the Rajput kingdom under the leadership of Rana Pratap which was not willing to compromise in its independence. 
• After waiting for almost 3 years for Mewar rulers submission Akbar sent his journal Raja Man Singh of Ambar to have talks on peace treaties and pursuade Rana Pratap Singh to submit but Rana Pratap  agreed to sign the treaties on his own terms and conditions and his condition was that he would not come under the leadership of any ruler especially the foreigners.

About this battle: 

Akbar deputed Raja Man Singh against Maharana Pratap who had set up the capital at Kumbhalgarh from Gogunda . Raja Man Singh set up his base at Mandalgarh then the battle commenced at 18 June 1576 , around 23 Kms. north of Gogunda. Rana Pratap was assisted by Hakim Khan Sur of Suri dynasty, Bhim Singh of Dodia , Ramdas Rathore Bidamana and his clansmen of Jhala.The forces of Rana Mewar were outnumbered against the imperial Mughal forces and the Mughal forces defeated Maharana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati. Rana Pratap escaped from the battlefield and took shelter at Koliyari ,a hilly town in the west of Gogunda.

Outcome of this battle:

The loss in battle of Haldighati was followed by capture of castles of Gogunda, Kumbhalgarh and Udaipur by Mughals. By 1579 focus of Mughals shifted to other parts of empire and seizing opportunities one by one, Maharana Pratap was able to recover much of the lost territory in the Western parts of Kingdom. Chittor continued to be in mughal control.