The battle of Haldighati has been a decisive battle in Rajput history and Indian history. The Haldighati battle, which explained the true meaning of self-respect and independence, was fought between the army of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar and the army of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Haldighati Pass, located about 45 kilometers from Udaipur, is a witness to history and is also a major tourist spot today.
हल्दीघाटी का इतिहास, म्यूजियम | Haldighati Hindi History
History – Haldighati
The famous pass of Haldighati is between Khamnaur and Balicha villages situated amidst the Aravali hills. The yellow soil of Haldighati looks exactly like turmeric in color and that is why this valley is called Haldighati. The famous battle of Haldighati was fought between the army of Maharana Pratap and Akbar.
After several unsuccessful attacks on Mewar, on June 18, 1576, Akbar sent his army of 20,000 soldiers under the leadership of Raja Man Singh of Jaipur to confront Maharana Pratap. Apart from the Rajput fighters in Maharana Pratap’s army, there were representatives of the Bhil tribals of the forest and their friendly states.
Maharana’s army was much less in number than Akbar’s big army. It is said that Rana’s army had a total strength of only 3500. Rana’s army pushed back the Mughals and brought them to Rakta Talai. There was a fierce battle of 6 hours in Rakta Talai which was similar to Mahabharata. After 6 hours of war, many soldiers from both sides were killed.
After this war, Maharana Pratap continued living in the forests and fighting against the Mughals through guerilla system. He remained in the forests and continued strengthening his army. In the lifelong war of Maharana Pratap, he had won back almost his entire kingdom. Maharana Pratap breathed his last in Chavand in 1597.
Why Haldighati is famous – Haldighati
In the pages of history, the names of Haldighati and Maharana Pratap are always taken together. Haldighati not only has historical importance, currently Haldighati is a famous tourist place. Haldighati is also very famous for rose cultivation and the products made from it. Here in the form of small scale industries, you will see people making rose water, rose syrup, gulkand and many other things made from roses.
If you come to Haldighati by taxi, then the taxi driver can also introduce you to the local people here and you can also get more information about it. Apart from rose products, here you can buy products like betel sherbet, jamun sherbet, mogra attar, rose attar.
Haldighati Pass
The narrow space between two mountains is called a pass. Haldighati Pass is a small path built between the Aravalli hills whose soil is yellow like turmeric. Staying in this pass and its surrounding forests, the army of Mewar had faced the Mughals many times.
Maharana Pratap Cave – Haldighati
Maharana Pratap’s cave is on the way from Haldighati Pass to Chetak’s Samadhi. This cave was used to prepare war strategies before the war and even after that to keep weapons safe. This cave appears to be a small cave when seen from outside but when you go inside you can see that this cave is quite big. Inside it there is also a kitchen, a goddess temple and a place to tie horses. A stream of water always flows behind the cave.
A secret tunnel emerges from inside the cave which leads to Chittorgarh on one side and Eklingji temple on the other. Currently this tunnel is closed due to security reasons. It is also called Ran Mukteshwar.
Badshahi Bag – Haldighati
Badshahi Bagh is actually the ground where the Mughal army came and camped. Now a garden has been made here.
This is a big drain which leads to the other side of the Haldighati pass. Chetak, running on his three legs, jumped across a large drain which was about 22 feet wide and fell on the other side. After that Chetak died at the same place. Currently there is a board installed here which tells that this is a historical place.
Chetak Samadhi – Haldighati
The mausoleum of Maharana Pratap’s favorite horse Chetak is at some distance from the cave of Maharana Pratap. After the death of Chetak, he was brought to this place. There is an umbrella built on the Samadhi of Chetak and there is an inscription along with it.
Chetak’s Samadhi is built along with an old Shiva temple. This temple is about 800 years old. This old Shiva temple has been a witness to the invasion of Mughals. The broken statue of Nandi sitting outside the Shiva temple also reiterates the same thing.
Haldighati Museum – Haldighati
Haldighati Museum is a private museum which is the embodiment of the passion of its founder Mohan Lal Shrimali. This museum gives complete information about the life of Maharana Pratap and the battle of Haldighati. The statues made in the museum show different incidents of the battle of Haldighati.
In the battle of Haldighati, Maharana had worn an elephant mask on his horse Chetak so that the enemy elephants would not consider him a baby elephant and attack him during the war. Rajput armies had less elephants and often used war horses in this manner.
In the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap’s horse Chetak reached Akbar’s commander Man Singh sitting on an elephant and then Maharana attacked him. At this moment of the war, Chetak’s leg was cut by the sword tied to the elephant’s trunk. After this, one of Maharana’s generals sent Maharana out of the war and took his place himself.
A short film of the life and war of Maharana Pratap is shown here. After watching this film, tourists view the rest of the museum while watching a light and sound show. Here the story of Maharana Udai Singh and Panna Dhay, the life of Maharana Pratap after the Haldighati battle and its events are shown through light and sound show.
The ticket for this museum is Rs 100 per person. The ticket for children above 3 years of age is Rs 50.
Rakt Talai – Haldighati
The battle of Haldighati is also called the battle of Khamnaur. This pass is connected to Khamnour village. During the attack of Mughals, Maharana Pratap’s army hid in the forests and drove them back till Khamnour. Here the Mughal army and Pratap’s army faced each other. It is said that this terrible battle lasted for about 6 hours in which many soldiers of both sides were killed. It is said about this war that there were a large number of Rajput soldiers in the Mughal army. He was killed by the commanders of his own army during the battle.
The rain that came after the war mixed with the blood of the fighters and created a pond of red colored water. This is called Rakta Talai.
How to reach – Haldighati
To reach Haldighati, you can go from Udaipur by bus, taxi or even your car.
War of Haldighati – Haldighati
It is said about the Haldighati war that it was not a Hindu-Muslim communal war but it was a war of self-respect. The Haldighati battle later became the inspiration for India’s freedom struggle. The Haldighati battle fought on 18 June 1576 cannot be called a communal war because the Mughal army was led by a Hindu Raja Man Singh and the commander of Maharana Pratap’s army, Hakim Khan, was a Muslim.
In this war, there were soldiers of both Hindu and Muslim sects in the armies on both sides, who fought against the soldiers of their sects of the other army for their respective kings.
The historical battle of Haldighati is also known as an inspirational battle because the small army of Maharana clashed with the huge army of Mughal Emperor Akbar for the freedom of his kingdom. There are different opinions among historians regarding what was the decision of the war. According to some, Maharana Pratap’s army was victorious in this war and according to some, the Mughal army was victorious in it.
It is written in history that Akbar never met Maharana Pratap face to face in his life. His different generals kept coming to attack Maharana but were never successful in capturing him. After the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap kept fighting small and big wars all his life but never accepted Mughal slavery.
Why Haldighati War – Haldighati
After the death of Rana Udai Singh, Maharana Pratap was crowned on the throne of Mewar. In those days, Akbar was busy establishing his supremacy over the Rajput states. Akbar had made friends with Amer and wanted to make Mewar his field.
After the coronation of Maharana Pratap, Akbar sent this message to Mewar which was rejected by Maharana. Akbar wanted a way to reach Gujarat through Mewar and hence he wanted to take control over Mewar. After Maharana rejected Akbar’s proposal, Akbar started attacking to take control of Mewar.
Victory – Haldighati
Till some time ago, most historians believed that Akbar’s army won the war but this is not proven. According to recent research, Maharana Pratap had distributed the surrounding lands among the villagers after the war. The proof of this are those copper plates which have the seal of Ekling Ji. That is why it is proved that in the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap and his small army had defeated Akbar’s huge army.
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