The History of India: November 2013 The History of India: November 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Images from Indian History: Rana Pratap attacking Mughal commander Man Singh in the Battle of Haldighati


On June 21 1576, a smaller Rajput army lead by Rana Pratap fought the Mughal army at Haldighati for the independence of Mewar.

Three interesting things can be seen in the statue. Rana's horse Chetak has an artificial trunk attached to his face. The Rajput army had disguised their cavalry with artificial trunks so that the Mughal elephants would confuse them with their own elephants and would not attack them.

As Rana Pratap charges with his bhala (javelin), Man Singh ducks behind his mahawat (driver). The driver was killed by the javelin while Man Singh survived.

Man Singh's elephant has a sword attached to its trunk. As Pratap's horse moved away after the attack, the elephant cut off one of its hind legs. As the Mughals surrounded Pratap, the brave horse Chetak, carried off his master away from the battlefield on three working legs. On reaching safe grounds Chetak died.

(Haldighati, around 40 Km from Udaipur in Rajasthan)