Attempted Murder Of A Civilisation
The British by the end of eighteenth century realised that they cannot by use of force subjugate a vastly superior Indian civilisation. They also realised that Islamic invaders have failed in breaking the spirit of resistance by torture, killing and enslavement. The British civil servants with the help of historians and academicians devised a brilliant strategy. To divide the Indians on basis Aryan-Dravidian, the castes, to disgrace our ancestors by branding them as defeated, divided, coward and treacherous lot. This was achieved by false suggestions repeatedly on basis of researches made by the British historians and some over jealous Indian social reformers followed unknowingly. These lies were repeated so often that we believed them to be gospel truth; without ever questioning the evidence on which it was based.
If someone betrays we call him Jaichand! What King of Kannoj did to earn this epitaph. It is claimed that he called Mohammad Gouri to fight against the Prithwiraj Chauhan of Delhi. The reason that the Prithiwiraj eloped with his daughter Sanjyukta. This story is based on Chand Bardai’s epic poem Prathwiraj Rasso. Many historians believed Rasso to be entirely a work of fiction. Colonel Tod in book on Rajasthan suggests that Rana Sangram Singh was given poison after the battle with Babar, by his nobles. There is no evidence for the same. Tod narrates that the Maharana was hit by an arrow in the face and has to be evacuated from the field by his loyal nobles. In order to prevent forces from demoralization Ujjawal Singh Jhala took Maharana’s place on his elephant and fighting gallantly made the supreme sacrifice to save the Maharana. As arrows used in the battle were dipped in the poison Maharana death may really be due to the arrow hit.
It is a common understanding that the Babur defeated Maharana Sanga in 1527 and established Mughal empire. This is far from truth, neither Maharana was killed or captured in the battle nor his kingdom annexed. Maharana’s son Ratnasingh, Vikramaditya and Udaising ascended the thrown one after another. Babar’ grandson Akbar attacked in 1568 when he was able to win the Chittore fort after huge losses to both the forces. Rajputs after committing Jouhar opened the gates of the fort and devastated vastly superior Mughal Army. Akbar was so furious that he ordered killing of all remaining persons in the fort. Maharana Udaisingh regained his territory within a few years. In the year 1972 Maharana Pratap ascended the thrown. Again Mughal forces attacked in the year 1576 and battle of Haldighati took place. Battle ended with great losses to both side but no side claimed victory. Mughal forces occupied large territories. Maharana retreated to the mountains, and continued guerrilla warfare and was able to regain his entire kingdom during his life time. The might of entire Mughal empire could not dislodge their descendants for two centuries. They cannot break the spirit of the proud race. Hara Rao Surjan of small kingdom of Bundi, a vassal of the Maharana, descendent of brave Prithwiraj Chauhan, entered into treaty with Akbar in the year 1568, following were the terms of the treaty:-
1. That the Haras of Bundi will continue to be faithful to the Maharana and will not participate in any war against him.
2. They will not give daughters in marriage to the Mughal Badshah or his family.
3. The females of the Hara house will not attend the festival of “Navroja”.
4. The Haras will not take off their armors either in Mughal Darbar.
5. The Bundi Drums will be sounded till the gate of Lal Kila.
6. The Bundi horses will not be branded with Mughal insignia.
The terms show that although Hindu Princes accepted the suzerainty of Mughal but never surrendered their pride. How a tiny kingdom of Mewar was able to sustain a resistance, wherein lies its strength. It lies in the Dharma followed by its rulers. The people of Mewar stood rock solid behind its kings in adversity. Maharanas took good care of his subjects. There was no instruments of torture found in any of the forts in India as is common throughout Europe. The Hindus even in the employ of the Mughals took pride in defiance of the Mewar and wish that no harm comes to it. Even in difficult times Maharanas of Mewar never abdicated the Dharma. Maharana Udaisingh gave asylum to Bajbahadur of Malva and Raja Ramsingh Tomar of Gwalior when defeated and pursued by Mughals. Even Shahjahan as Prince Khurram after his rebellion and defeat took refuge in Udaipur. Shahjahan exchanged turbans with Maharana Kurnasingh, a gesture of close relationship and remained grateful to the Mewar house throughout his regime. Aurangzeb’s son Akbar also took refuge in Mewar. In an action Kunwar Amarsingh captured the women and children of Abdul Rahim Khankhana, the poet. When Maharana Pratap came to know he returned them unharmed to Ajmer. Rahim vowed never again to participate in any action against Mewar.
Another noteworthy thing is that whereas Mughal siblings killed one another and even rising in rebellion against their own fathers, Mewar princes never fought against one another. Maharana Pratap has 24 brothers and 16 sons all fought along with their elder brothers. The devotion to the family was above everything. Shakti Singh, younger brother of Maharana Pratap, was expelled by his father Maharana Udaisingh in his young age and was in the employ of Mughals but he saved the life of Pratap in Haldighati.
The glorious history of Parmars, Rashtrakoot,Cholas, Chalukyas, Vijaynagar, Ohams of Assam is absent from the textbook, but more importantly we have also deleted them from our popular memory. We understand that British took over India from Mughals, failing to understand that Mughals were reduced to just a token ruler inside Lal Quila only. The Marathas were ruling the entire country and it was from them British took over by cunning and deceit.
We forgot Raja Marthanda Verma (1729–1758) who has during the Travancore-Dutch War defeated the Dutch East India Company’s forces led by Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy on 10 August 1741. It was the first time in Indian history that an Asian country defeated a European naval force. The Dutch never recovered from the defeat and no longer posed a large colonial threat to India.
The intellectuals like Bankim Chandra, Aurobindo understood the damage this kind of narrative is making to the Indian psyche and countered it. Bankim Chandra wrote Anand Math on Sanyasi Rebellion, another story on exploits of Maharana Raj Singh in which Aurangzeb was defeated and a Rajput princess was saved from his clutches. Aurobindo wrote a long poem on Baji Prabhu Deshpande who save Shivaji’s life by allowing him to escape from Panhala Fort stopping a pursuing army of 10000 Mughals by mere 300 soldiers fighting till the last man at the pass of Ghodkind. More and more people are joining in retelling the true history of India.
