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Pashtuns are by nature cunning and treacherous, take the example S S Suri.
Rajputs in medieval age - battles and discussions
- Thread starter Bornubus
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Yes,probably the only Baniya in medieval warfare history who knew how to fight,besides aligning with Hemu mean aligning with Afghans - his real masters.
As for low cast,this is not true Bhils still held in high regards in Mewar due to their association with Sisodiyas,Baniya in general had little interest who is ruling them but Rajput always had a imp place in Indian polity either as allies or for.
Dayal Shah and Bhama Shah were jain baniyas who took up the sword, rallied the vaishyas to help Mewar Rajputs against Mughals. I don't know if it was dayal shah or bhama shah but one of them even said how the alliance was needed so that the jina dharma and vedic dharma can survive the mohammedean onslaught..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhamashah
Dayal Shah mentioned here :
https://manasataramgini.wordpress.c...-from-the-view-point-of-nastika-compositions/
Another was Diwan Todar Mal an Oswal Jain who donated his own family gold to purchase a small piece of land to cremate the young sons of the guru. He had built Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup on the site of the cremation at Fatehgarh Sahib. A large hall of the gurdwara honours the builder by being named after him: Diwan Todar Mal Jain Yadagiri Hall.
Good article on Jain-Sikh relations by Khushwant Singh :-
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091107/jsp/opinion/story_11704316.jsp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhamashah
Dayal Shah mentioned here :
https://manasataramgini.wordpress.c...-from-the-view-point-of-nastika-compositions/
Another was Diwan Todar Mal an Oswal Jain who donated his own family gold to purchase a small piece of land to cremate the young sons of the guru. He had built Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup on the site of the cremation at Fatehgarh Sahib. A large hall of the gurdwara honours the builder by being named after him: Diwan Todar Mal Jain Yadagiri Hall.
Good article on Jain-Sikh relations by Khushwant Singh :-
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091107/jsp/opinion/story_11704316.jsp
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Hammira Deva Chauhan’s last stand
After Allauddin Khilji murdered Jalal and took the throne of Delhi he decided to exterminate the Chauhans once and for all. During the attack on the Rajput stronghold of Jalor, a Mongol general Kehbru and his brothers from the Northern alliance of the Chagadai Ulus, who were arch-enemies of the Khaljis, had taken the side of the Hindus. In the fierce battle of Jalor, Kehbru and his brothers had slain Kaaloo Maliq the nephew of Sultan Alla-ud-din. After the fall of Jalor the Mongols fled to Ranthambhor and took shelter of Maharana Hammira Deva Chahamana. Enraged by this, and the recalcitrant nature of the great Rajput, Alla-ud-din decided to destroy him.
Alla sent his brother il-Ghazi Ulugh Khan from Bayana, and his general il-Ghazi Nusrat Khan from Qara each with regiments of 40,000 Turkish cavalrymen and over 10,000 Kullar infantrymen (Indian equivalents of the Ottoman Yenicheri; slaves and castratos converted to Islam). Seeing the vast Islamic army making its way, the Rana of the clan of Prithiviraja Chahamana, who had died fighting and earlier Moslem wave, decided to resort to defensive warfare from the fort of Ranthambhor. Nusrat and Ulugh converged at Jhain, a once flourishing Indian city and erased it off the face of the Earth with its Hindu inhabitants. Historian KS Lal has noticed some ruins in the National Park under the name Naigaon that seem to be all that remain behind of the city after the Turkic arson and rampage. Ulugh Khan sent a message to the Rana to humbly accept Islam and hand over the Mongol chiefs whom he had sheltered. The Rana refused and prepared to take on the Ghazis in battle. He had an elite Rajput cavalry of 12,000 and 40,000 infantrymen. He erected several large stone hurling cross-bows on the ramparts of Ranthambhor and devices that would spray fine red hot sand and burning oil. Nusrat and Ulugh marched forth fiercely and started advancing a wave of Arraadaas (trebuchets), gargachs (seige engines) and Manjiqs (mangonels) to bombard the fort. However, the Rajputs struck back fiercely demolishing the Moslem siege-crafts with their missiles and caused havoc amidst the Moslem armies. Nusrat Khan then sent a force of Kullar infantry to attempt an escalade on the fort, but they were butchered by the Rajput archers. Then, Nusrat with his cavalry tried a forced assault on the main gate of Ranthambhor that was known as Naulakhi. The Rajputs having sighted him early, aimed a rock from a giant cross-bow at his head and crushed him to death. His division was then mowed down under a shower of ballistas and arrows. Hammira Deva seeing that the Moslems where shaken by this attack, despite his smaller army, boldly sallied forth and attacked Ulugh Khan’s division with great fury. The Moslem army was smashed and Ulugh retreated to the ruins of Jhain. Ulugh immediately called his brother for aid, and Alla set out from Delhi to handle the campaign. Hammira Deva, however, set strong defenses to ambush the Moslems and block the march of Alla. Sadly, he soon thought he had repulsed the invader, and lowered his guard.
Alla was waiting for this moment and set out with a large force of 90,000 cavalrymen. In a brisk raid he devastated the country around Ranthambhor and destroyed all the farmlands, thereby preventing the fort from getting any food supplies. He then cutoff all supply routes for horses from Western Rajasthan and thus prevented the Rana from replenishing his cavalry. The nephews of the Rana, Kahnaiya and Bala Simha from Chittor cut through the cordon and brought some supplies and horses for their uncle. Intent on the ultimate Jihad, Alla-ud-din pressed hard on the fort by trying to fill the moat with logs. But the Rajputs repulsed them with showers of burning arrows, oil and red hot sand. Alla made it clear that he would either become a ghazi who slits the throats of the Kaffirs, or would become a shaheed in the process. Alla then tried to build a stone causeway to the fort but was repulsed by a hail of ballistas. Alla then got a Buddhist traitor Sarjan Sah, who for a price, pointed out the location of the granary. Alla with giant trebuchets hurled rotting corpses and refuse into the granary to pollute it. Soon the Rajputs were left without viable food and had no option but to make their last stand. The Rana’s queen Rangaa-Devi immolated herself with the other women. Wearing orange robes, the Rana, his younger brother Viram Deva, his teenaged nephews, his three commanders, Rai Ranadhira, Rai Gangadhara and Kshetra Singh Parmar and the four Mongol brothers with Kehbru at their head advanced to take on the Sultan. The Khullar Infantry was put to sword under the Rajput charge. Ulugh Khan rushed at the Rajput cavalry, but he was wounded by an arrow from Viram Deva. Viram rushed toward the Sultan himself, but the Turks rained blows on him with their maces, slaying him. The Rana’s commanders, each working great havoc in the Moslem ranks, fell dead. The Rana was ably guarded by the Mongol brothers and fought fiercely along with his nephews, who cut their way towards the division of Amir-i-Koh. The Amir shot down Kahniya, but Bala Simha avenged his brother by slaying the Amir with his spear. Maliq Azizuddin rushed at Bala Simha and struck him with sword but even as the Chittor prince fell dead, he killed the Maliq with a blow from his sword. The Sultan sent Maliq Noor Khan to take the Rana The Maliq with 5000 horsemen surrounded the Rana who had only 600 men with him. The Rana is said to have worshiped Mahadeva, offering himself as a sacrifice to Rudra, and pledged to die for his land and religion. The battle is said to have raged so fierce that the Moslems lost 4000 men while the Rana’s troops were whittled down to just 200. The Rana’s horse was shot down and he continued fighting on foot. He placed his arrows in front of him on the ground and started shooting down the Moslems (The Hindu chronicles claim that with each shaft the brought down a cavalier). Struck by his valor, Alla asked him to become a Moslem and return to his kingdom. However, the Rana spurned the offer and fought on till all his arrows were exhausted. Kehbru, the valiant Mongol who was shielding him all the while, perished in that fight. His brother Alaghu though badly wounded fought on till he fell unconscious. Finding it impossible to take the Rana alive, the Moslems surrounded him on all sides and pressed upon him with their sabers. Hammira Deva kept them at bay for about an hour before his head was cut off.
Thus on Tuesday, July 11th 1301 Rana Hammira Deva Chahamana died fighting at the age of 28. Ten beautifully painted Rajput miniatures accompanying the Rajput chronicles Hammira Prabandha and Hammira Mahakavya provide a very graphic depiction of scenes from this last battle. The Turks captured the Mongol Alaghu and Alla offered him the post of a general. Alaghu declared that after he had served the Sun of the Hindus, he was not willing to serve a lowly Khalji, whose tribesmen were once Naukers of Chingiz Kha’Khan. Alla had Alaghu crushed under an elephant and his head was exhibited in Delhi as a trophy. The Buddhist traitor Sarjan Sah, hoped a lavish reward from the Sultan, but he was instead clubbed to death. The City of Ranthambhor was blotted out and the Sultan devastated all the temples in the region. Thus ended the power of the Chahamanas in Hindustan. The young Hammira Deva was not just a warrior but a scholar of Hindu medicine. He composed a work on therapeutic Ayurveda termed sadyogamuktAvalI that has survived to date and presents a glimpse of the Hindu pharmacopeia on the eve of the Islamic destruction of India. The library of saMskR^ita works at Ranthambhor was burnt down by the Moslems; whatever material could be salvaged was collated several years later as a collection of maxims and poetic sketches by Sharngadhara the grandson of Raghavadeva the Brahmin prime minister of Hammira Deva. The numerous untraceable verses in it are a testimony to the loss of Hindu knowledge in North India.
https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2004/06/20/hammira-devas-last-stand/
After Allauddin Khilji murdered Jalal and took the throne of Delhi he decided to exterminate the Chauhans once and for all. During the attack on the Rajput stronghold of Jalor, a Mongol general Kehbru and his brothers from the Northern alliance of the Chagadai Ulus, who were arch-enemies of the Khaljis, had taken the side of the Hindus. In the fierce battle of Jalor, Kehbru and his brothers had slain Kaaloo Maliq the nephew of Sultan Alla-ud-din. After the fall of Jalor the Mongols fled to Ranthambhor and took shelter of Maharana Hammira Deva Chahamana. Enraged by this, and the recalcitrant nature of the great Rajput, Alla-ud-din decided to destroy him.
Alla sent his brother il-Ghazi Ulugh Khan from Bayana, and his general il-Ghazi Nusrat Khan from Qara each with regiments of 40,000 Turkish cavalrymen and over 10,000 Kullar infantrymen (Indian equivalents of the Ottoman Yenicheri; slaves and castratos converted to Islam). Seeing the vast Islamic army making its way, the Rana of the clan of Prithiviraja Chahamana, who had died fighting and earlier Moslem wave, decided to resort to defensive warfare from the fort of Ranthambhor. Nusrat and Ulugh converged at Jhain, a once flourishing Indian city and erased it off the face of the Earth with its Hindu inhabitants. Historian KS Lal has noticed some ruins in the National Park under the name Naigaon that seem to be all that remain behind of the city after the Turkic arson and rampage. Ulugh Khan sent a message to the Rana to humbly accept Islam and hand over the Mongol chiefs whom he had sheltered. The Rana refused and prepared to take on the Ghazis in battle. He had an elite Rajput cavalry of 12,000 and 40,000 infantrymen. He erected several large stone hurling cross-bows on the ramparts of Ranthambhor and devices that would spray fine red hot sand and burning oil. Nusrat and Ulugh marched forth fiercely and started advancing a wave of Arraadaas (trebuchets), gargachs (seige engines) and Manjiqs (mangonels) to bombard the fort. However, the Rajputs struck back fiercely demolishing the Moslem siege-crafts with their missiles and caused havoc amidst the Moslem armies. Nusrat Khan then sent a force of Kullar infantry to attempt an escalade on the fort, but they were butchered by the Rajput archers. Then, Nusrat with his cavalry tried a forced assault on the main gate of Ranthambhor that was known as Naulakhi. The Rajputs having sighted him early, aimed a rock from a giant cross-bow at his head and crushed him to death. His division was then mowed down under a shower of ballistas and arrows. Hammira Deva seeing that the Moslems where shaken by this attack, despite his smaller army, boldly sallied forth and attacked Ulugh Khan’s division with great fury. The Moslem army was smashed and Ulugh retreated to the ruins of Jhain. Ulugh immediately called his brother for aid, and Alla set out from Delhi to handle the campaign. Hammira Deva, however, set strong defenses to ambush the Moslems and block the march of Alla. Sadly, he soon thought he had repulsed the invader, and lowered his guard.
Alla was waiting for this moment and set out with a large force of 90,000 cavalrymen. In a brisk raid he devastated the country around Ranthambhor and destroyed all the farmlands, thereby preventing the fort from getting any food supplies. He then cutoff all supply routes for horses from Western Rajasthan and thus prevented the Rana from replenishing his cavalry. The nephews of the Rana, Kahnaiya and Bala Simha from Chittor cut through the cordon and brought some supplies and horses for their uncle. Intent on the ultimate Jihad, Alla-ud-din pressed hard on the fort by trying to fill the moat with logs. But the Rajputs repulsed them with showers of burning arrows, oil and red hot sand. Alla made it clear that he would either become a ghazi who slits the throats of the Kaffirs, or would become a shaheed in the process. Alla then tried to build a stone causeway to the fort but was repulsed by a hail of ballistas. Alla then got a Buddhist traitor Sarjan Sah, who for a price, pointed out the location of the granary. Alla with giant trebuchets hurled rotting corpses and refuse into the granary to pollute it. Soon the Rajputs were left without viable food and had no option but to make their last stand. The Rana’s queen Rangaa-Devi immolated herself with the other women. Wearing orange robes, the Rana, his younger brother Viram Deva, his teenaged nephews, his three commanders, Rai Ranadhira, Rai Gangadhara and Kshetra Singh Parmar and the four Mongol brothers with Kehbru at their head advanced to take on the Sultan. The Khullar Infantry was put to sword under the Rajput charge. Ulugh Khan rushed at the Rajput cavalry, but he was wounded by an arrow from Viram Deva. Viram rushed toward the Sultan himself, but the Turks rained blows on him with their maces, slaying him. The Rana’s commanders, each working great havoc in the Moslem ranks, fell dead. The Rana was ably guarded by the Mongol brothers and fought fiercely along with his nephews, who cut their way towards the division of Amir-i-Koh. The Amir shot down Kahniya, but Bala Simha avenged his brother by slaying the Amir with his spear. Maliq Azizuddin rushed at Bala Simha and struck him with sword but even as the Chittor prince fell dead, he killed the Maliq with a blow from his sword. The Sultan sent Maliq Noor Khan to take the Rana The Maliq with 5000 horsemen surrounded the Rana who had only 600 men with him. The Rana is said to have worshiped Mahadeva, offering himself as a sacrifice to Rudra, and pledged to die for his land and religion. The battle is said to have raged so fierce that the Moslems lost 4000 men while the Rana’s troops were whittled down to just 200. The Rana’s horse was shot down and he continued fighting on foot. He placed his arrows in front of him on the ground and started shooting down the Moslems (The Hindu chronicles claim that with each shaft the brought down a cavalier). Struck by his valor, Alla asked him to become a Moslem and return to his kingdom. However, the Rana spurned the offer and fought on till all his arrows were exhausted. Kehbru, the valiant Mongol who was shielding him all the while, perished in that fight. His brother Alaghu though badly wounded fought on till he fell unconscious. Finding it impossible to take the Rana alive, the Moslems surrounded him on all sides and pressed upon him with their sabers. Hammira Deva kept them at bay for about an hour before his head was cut off.
Thus on Tuesday, July 11th 1301 Rana Hammira Deva Chahamana died fighting at the age of 28. Ten beautifully painted Rajput miniatures accompanying the Rajput chronicles Hammira Prabandha and Hammira Mahakavya provide a very graphic depiction of scenes from this last battle. The Turks captured the Mongol Alaghu and Alla offered him the post of a general. Alaghu declared that after he had served the Sun of the Hindus, he was not willing to serve a lowly Khalji, whose tribesmen were once Naukers of Chingiz Kha’Khan. Alla had Alaghu crushed under an elephant and his head was exhibited in Delhi as a trophy. The Buddhist traitor Sarjan Sah, hoped a lavish reward from the Sultan, but he was instead clubbed to death. The City of Ranthambhor was blotted out and the Sultan devastated all the temples in the region. Thus ended the power of the Chahamanas in Hindustan. The young Hammira Deva was not just a warrior but a scholar of Hindu medicine. He composed a work on therapeutic Ayurveda termed sadyogamuktAvalI that has survived to date and presents a glimpse of the Hindu pharmacopeia on the eve of the Islamic destruction of India. The library of saMskR^ita works at Ranthambhor was burnt down by the Moslems; whatever material could be salvaged was collated several years later as a collection of maxims and poetic sketches by Sharngadhara the grandson of Raghavadeva the Brahmin prime minister of Hammira Deva. The numerous untraceable verses in it are a testimony to the loss of Hindu knowledge in North India.
https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2004/06/20/hammira-devas-last-stand/
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Very interesting read.Orange Robe has very sentimental importance for Rajasthani Rajputs for it's only wear when all hopes are lost and when they decide to lay down their life die fighting as their women already immolated herself.
Also,Akbar was unaware of this Practice,so he was surprised to saw large smoke coming out from inside chittorgarh Fort,but Bharmal was aware of this Rajput tradition told Akbar that it was the immolation of Rajput women going on and Rajput decided to made their last stand.
When their wives and daughters performed such deeds, the Rajputs became reckless of life. Seeing there was no hope of salvation, he resolved to signalise the end of his career. The fatal johur was commanded, while 8000 Rajputs ate the last 'bira' together, and put on their saffron robes (kesariya). The gates were thrown open, the work of destruction commenced, and few survived to "stain the yellow mantle" by inglorious surrender(means victory of Akbar).
"
----- The Annals of Mewar
http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/...s-or-villains-during-middle-ages.74521/page-7
In my opinion,the read head dress of Rajput Regiment has something to do with this old HINDU custom,but i may be wrong.
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Battle for Chitor: Storming the Last Hindu Fortress in 1567
BY JEFFREY SAY SECK LEONG
8/21/2006 • MILITARY HISTORY
The walls had been breached. The Mogul forces were closing in on the gallant Rajput defenders inside Chitor Garh, the fort of Chitor. Suddenly, flames were seen rising up in the air from three places inside the fort. The courtiers of Akbar the Great, the Mogul emperor, gave various explanations for the fires. Then Raja Bhagwant Das, a Rajput leader who had allied himself with the Moguls, said that the fires could only mean one thing. The johar–the Rajput custom of burning their women to death in the face of impending defeat–had been performed. Now the Rajput warriors sallied forth to meet the invaders in a desperate last stand with their traditional cry of ‘death for all before dishonor.
It was Tuesday, February 23, 1568. For more than four months, the Mogul army had undertaken a costly and grueling siege of the fort, directed personally by their commander in chief and emperor, Akbar. Now the campaign had reached its apocalyptic climax.
Abu-al-Fath Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar was born on October 15, 1542. His grandfather and the first of the Mogul emperors, Babur, was a Chaghatai Turk who came from an area in what is now Uzbekistan in Central Asia–and was a descendent of the Mongol conquerors Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. Akbar became emperor at the age of 14 upon the death of his father, Humayun, in 1556. In his nearly 50 years on the throne (15561605), Akbar proved to be a tolerant statesman, a shrewd administrator and an avid patron of the arts. He was also a strong-willed individual and a brilliant military commander whose courage and determination enabled him to become master of a vast empire that covered almost two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent. One of the greatest testaments to Akbar’s military and political skills was his subjugation of the martial Rajput kingdoms.
The domain of Rajputana or Land of the Rajputs (in what is now the desert state of Rajasthan) occupied the northwestern portion of India and had presented special difficulties for preceding Muslim rulers, as well as the Moguls. The hostile Rajput kingdoms lay across the routes that ran south from the principal Muslim centers of Delhi and Agra and were uncomfortably close to Dehli and Agra themselves. Mogul rulers also feared that the independent Rajput kingdoms could provide a safe haven for rebels plotting against them. Furthermore, Rajputana bordered on Gujarat, an important center of commerce with western Asia and Europe. To Akbar and the Moguls, therefore, there were potentially huge political and economic advantages to be gained by securing Rajputana.
The Rajputs (sons of kings) had begun to settle in northern and northwestern India after the breakup of the mighty Gupta empire in the late 5th century. They were probably descendants of Central Asian invaders who had contributed to the fall of the Gupta dynasty. Others believe that the Rajputs were the descendants of thekshatriyas (warrior caste, the second tier of the Hindu caste system), who had lived during the Vedic period between 1500 and 500 bc, when an Indo-European people from Iran, called the Aryans, settled in India.
The Rajputs were governed by a chivalric warrior’s code not unlike that of the knights of medieval Europe. It emphasized compassion for defeated foes, generosity toward the helpless, fair play in battle, respect for women, and conduct of warfare by elegant forms and ceremonies. The Rajputs were renowned for their courage on the battlefield.
Their proud martial tradition and passion for war enabled the Rajputs to become the dominant power in northern India by the 9th century, but internecine conflicts led to the emergence of numerous petty kingdoms within their own domain. From time to time, the Rajputs would form confederacies to repel the Turko-Afghan armies that invaded India from the 8th century onward. Such unity tended to be only temporary, however, and their internal discord would ultimately prove to be their undoing.
The victory of Turkish forces from Afghanistan under Muhammad of Ghur over the Rajputs in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 firmly established a Muslim presence in northern India. Nevertheless, the Rajputs maintained their independence in Rajputana and remained a power to be reckoned with in northern India until the arrival of the Moguls in the 16th century.
Akbar fully realized that the Rajputs were tenacious opponents, so he adopted a shrewd policy that combined both military action and diplomacy. For instance, he married Hindu princesses and arranged similar marriages for his heirs. After he defeated a Rajput chieftain, Akbar would make him an ally rather than depose him. As long as they acknowledged Akbar’s suzerainty, paid tribute and supplied troops when required, the Rajput rulers were allowed to retain their territories. That policy of conciliation and compromise won a number of Rajput kingdoms over to Akbar’s side and further weakened whatever remained of Rajput unity. Even as they watched their brothers surrender their independence, however, the Sesodia Rajputs of Mewar refused to bow to Mogul authority.
The Sesodian clan was considered the most powerful and recalcitrant of the Rajputs, carrying the banner of Rajput independence and zealously opposing the Muslim invaders. The Rana of Mewar (rana was a royal title, and rani was the female equivalent) was recognized as the foremost among the 36 royal tribes of the Rajputs. The formidable fortresses of Chitor and Ranthambhor, both in Mewar, were regarded as bastions of Rajput sovereignty and strength.
Mewar, however, had the misfortune of being ruled in 1567 by a weak and incompetent ruler, Rana Udai Singh II. Udai Singh’s defiance was one of the main reasons that Akbar marched against the Sesodias. Akbar also realized that without establishing his suzerainty over the dominion of the Sesodias, he could not hope to be the master of northern India. He was determined to capture the fort of Chitor in particular, thereby setting an example so that no other fortress would dare to resist his army in future.
On October 20, 1567, Akbar arrived at the outskirts of Chitor Garh and pitched camp. A ferocious thunderstorm greeted the Mogul army, as if to serve as an ominous warning against their undertaking. When the storm calmed and the sky cleared, the fortress of Chitor became visible in the distance.
Chitor was the capital of Mewar and had served as the stronghold of the Sesodias since 728. Chitor was formerly called Chitrakut after Chitrang, a Rajput chieftain. Located in present central Rajasthan in northern India, 111 kilometers from Udaipur, Chitor Garh (garh means fort) is the finest medieval Hindu fortification to survive in any state of completeness.
Chitor was situated on a steep, isolated mass of rock that rose some 558 feet from the plain, and was 31Ž4 miles long and 1,200 yards wide in the center. On the summit of the rock stood Chitor Garh. The principal approach to the fortress was from the southeast angle of the present-day location of the lower town (the town was built at the foot of the escarpment after the Sesodias abandoned the fort in 1568) by a steep road that ran for nearly a mile, then made two zigzag bends that were defended by seven massive gates. The summit of the rock, which sloped inward on all sides, collected rainwater that filled several tanks, ensuring an abundant water supply that added to the fort’s capacity to withstand a protracted siege. Unlike most forts in Rajputana, which only enclosed the residence of the clan’s ruler, Chitor Garh held a veritable city within its walls: magnificent palaces, temples, houses and markets. Some of the remains of Chitor Garh can still be seen today.
A 9th-century Hindu chronicle, the Khoman Rasa, described Chitor Garh as the chief amongst eighty-four castles, renowned for strength…it is within the grasp of no foe. Formidable as it was, Chitor had, in fact, been sacked twice before by Muslim forces. It was first taken in 1303 by the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji and was sacked again in 1535 by Bahadur Shah, the sultan of Gujarat. On both occasions, the johar or ritual death by immolation was performed when defeat seemed imminent, after which the Rajput warriors, having taken a vow of death, staged a desperate final charge. Ironically, it was Akbar’s father, Humayun, who intervened and restored the Sesodias after the second sack. That enabled Udai Singh to become rana in 1541.
When he got wind of the Mogul army’s approach, Udai Singh fled to the relative safety of the distant hills, after using scorched-earth tactics to devastate the countryside. When Akbar was informed of the rana‘s flight, he considered pursuing him but decided against it because of the distance involved and the inhospitable terrain.
The rana left the fort in command of two teenage Rajput princes, Jaimal and Patta, ages 15 and 16 respectively. Chitor was defended by a garrison of 8,000 warriors, supported by 40,000 peasants. Several other Rajput clans and their chiefs were also at the fort during this time. The garrison was evidently prepared for a long siege, since it had a well-stocked supply of ammunition, grain and other provisions. And the fort had plenty of firepower, including archers, a corps of crack musketeers and a number of artillery pieces.
When Akbar arrived at the summit of Chitor hill on October 21, 1567, he pitched his camp, which extended 10 miles to the northeast of the hill. The site of the camp was marked by a 30-foot limestone pyramidal column, or tower, known as Akbar’s lamp, which served as a beacon to stragglers at night and denoted the imperial headquarters (such markers were a regular feature of Mogul camps of significant size).
The Mogul army included some 3,000 to 4,000 horsemen and 300 war elephants. The soldiers were armed with swords, lances, matchlocks, and bows and arrows. In addition, there were about 5,000 builders, carpenters, stonemasons, sappers and smiths to construct siege engines and to mine the fort’s walls.
Accompanied by his courtiers and surveyors, Akbar made a reconnaissance of his target and ordered batteries to be set up at various strategic points around the fort. It took about a month for the whole circumference of the fort to be invested.
There were three principal batteries, one of which was Akbar’s, located opposite the Lakhuta gate in the north. The second battery, under Shujaat Khan and other officers, and the third, under Asaf Khan and other officers, were emplaced at unspecified locations. Meanwhile, Akbar sent his officers to devastate the rana‘s territory, hoping to find Udai Singh in the process, but they found no trace of therana.
The opening phase of battle began when some overzealous Mogul troops launched a reckless direct assault upon the fort. Not surprisingly, the Moguls’ arrows and bullets glanced off the surface of the walls and battlements, whereas those the garrison discharged exacted a heavy toll on them.
After that minor debacle, Akbar decided that strategic planning rather than reckless courage was what was needed if the fortress was to be taken. Accordingly, the emperor adopted a two-pronged strategy. One entailed mining the walls of the fort in front of the royal battery, whereupon a party of selected Mogul troops would rush into the fort as soon as the breach was made. While the sappers dug mines under the walls, stonemasons opened the way by removing obstacles with their iron tools.
The other strategy called for the construction of sabats, or covered passageways, an ingenious siege contrivance that was peculiar to India. A sabat was a sinuous sheltered passageway that was constructed out of gunshot range, with earthen walls on both sides and a roof of planks strongly fastened together and covered with rawhide. When a breach was made by mines, troops would rush in under the cover of the sabat. Akbar ordered the construction of two sabats: one to be commenced from the royal battery and the other to be built in front of Shujaat Khan’s position.
At the same time, in the emperor’s presence, an exceptionally large mortar was cast to demolish the walls of the fort. When the defenders became aware of this and saw that the Moguls were making daily progress toward the destruction of the fort, they sent out two representatives to Akbar to bargain for peace, offering to become subjects of his court and to send an annual tribute. Several Mogul officers advised him to accept the offer, but Akbar was adamant: Nothing short of the ranasurrendering in person would persuade him to lift the siege. As they were unwilling–or perhaps unable–to deliver the rana, the Rajputs had no choice but to continue the defense of their fort with renewed fervor.
While the sabat in front of the royal battery was being constructed, artillerymen and marksmen inside the fort kept up such a fusillade that about 200 Mogul laborers were killed daily, even though they protected themselves with rawhide shields. The corpses were buried in the walls of the sabat. But the workers were kept going by lavish gifts of gold and silver coins from the emperor–the amount of which was calculated according to the number of containers of earth added to the sabat. Thesabat opposite Akbar’s position was soon completed near the fort. It was reported to be so extensive that 10 horsemen abreast could ride along it and so high that an elephant rider with his spear in his hand could pass under it.
At the same time, two mines close to each other were brought to the wall of the fort and filled with large quantities of gunpowder. A party of fully armed and accoutered Mogul soldiers, noted for their bravery, stationed themselves near the wall, ready to rush in when it was breached. On December 17, the gunpowder of both mines was set to explode at the same time. One part of the bastion was blown up, inflicting heavy casualties on the defenders. Unknown to the Moguls, however, only one mine had exploded. When the soldiers rushed toward the large breach and were about to enter, the second mine exploded (apparently, the match used to ignite the gunpowder of the mine that exploded first had been shorter than the other match, so the mines failed to discharge simultaneously).
Moguls and Rajputs alike, battling in the breach, were hurled into the air together, while others were crushed by falling debris. The blast was so powerful that limbs and stones were hurled a great distance from the fort. Mogul reinforcements and Rajput troops then engaged in a brief skirmish until the Rajputs succeeded in quickly repairing the demolished part of the wall. About 500 Mogul soldiers, including a significant number of noteworthy men, were killed, while a large number of Rajputs also perished. On the same day, another ill-timed mine exploded in front of Asaf Khan’s battery and claimed 30 more lives.
Akbar viewed these botched undertakings as temporary setbacks that should serve to inspire even greater exertion and resolve on the part of the Moguls. To ensure that the assault on the fort would continue unabated, he ordered the construction of thesabat in front of Shujatt Khan’s battery to be speeded up.
The emperor also frequently visited the sabat in his sector and fired at the garrison from loopholes in the sabat. One day, Akbar saw that some of his men were admiring the marksmanship of one of the musketeers of the fort when, at that very moment, a shot from that marksman hit Jalal Khan, one of Akbar’s attendants. Akbar was reported to have said to his injured attendant, Jalal Khan, that marksman does not show himself; if he would do so, I’d avenge you. Although he could not see the marksman, Akbar took aim at the barrel of the musket that projected from a loophole. He fired but could not determine whether his shot had found its mark. It was only later that Akbar learned that his shot had indeed killed the sharpshooter, who was identified as Ismail, head of the musketeers.
Akbar proved to be quite a marksman himself, killing many noted members of the garrison. But the emperor also came close to losing his own life on a few occasions. Once, a large cannonball that fell near Akbar killed 20 soldiers but left him unscathed. On another occasion, a soldier standing near Akbar was hit by a bullet, and the emperor was saved from the same round only by his coat of mail.
When the second sabat was completed, the Mogul forces prepared to launch a full-scale assault on the fort. The Mogul troops went about their operations with such vigor and intensity that for two nights and a day they had neither food nor sleep, inspired by the personal example of Akbar, who was supervising the operations and keeping up a fusillade upon the garrison from the sabat. Special quarters had been erected for Akbar on top of the sabat, and the emperor stayed there during this crucial period.
On the night of February 22, the Moguls attacked the fort from all sides and created several breaches in the walls. The Rajput warriors put up a stubborn resistance. At one point in the fighting, Prince Patta’s mother commanded Patta to don the saffron robe, which would indicate his desire to die for his gods and his country. She also armed his young bride with a lance and accompanied her down the rock. The defenders of Chitor saw mother and daughter-in-law die heroically, fighting side by side.
The Moguls had destroyed a large part of the wall at the end of the sabat that faced the royal battery. The defenders collected such combustible materials as muslin, wood, cotton and oil to fill the breach, intending to set fire to the heap when the Mogul troops approached to prevent them from entering the fort.
Akbar was in a vantage point inside a specially made gallery on top of the sabat at the time, and he saw a man wearing a chieftain’s cuirass directing the proceedings at the breach. The emperor took out a matchlock he had christened Sangram (Akbar was said to have killed a few thousand birds and animals with this gun during his hunting trips). He then fired at the Rajput chief, but no one could be certain whether the chieftain had been hit.
An hour had passed when Akbar received reports that the Rajputs had inexplicably abandoned their defenses. At about that time, fire broke out in several places in the fort. Akbar’s Hindu adviser, Raja Bhagwan Das, told the Mogul emperor that the Rajputs must be performing their custom of johar.
It came to light later that Akbar’s shot had indeed found its target–none other than Jaimal. The Rajputs, disheartened by the death of their leader, had gone back to their homes to gather their wives, children and property in preparation for the johar. As many as 300 women, including nine ranis and five princesses, and an unknown number of children perished in three houses that served as fiery furnaces.
Although the defenses appeared to have been abandoned, the Moguls decided to proceed cautiously. They took advantage of the lull in the fighting to regroup in preparation for an organized assault on the fort. When the Mogul forces were massed, the soldiers entered the fort through several breaches.
The Rajputs, meanwhile, had finished eating their last betel nuts together and donned their saffron robes. They then sallied forth to meet their enemies and their destiny. Akbar, who was watching the close hand-to-hand combat from atop thesabat, then ordered his war elephants to be taken into the fort to join the onslaught.
At dawn on February 23, the Mogul emperor, accompanied by several thousand men, entered the fortress mounted on a majestic elephant. By then the Rajputs had been routed. People were fighting everywhere, and bodies lay in every street, lane, passageway and bazaar. Some Rajputs died fighting in temples, while others fought to the death in their own homes. Many Rajput warriors had made their last stand in the rana‘s house, from which they emerged in twos and threes to die fighting.
Initially, only about 50 elephants entered the fort, but by the battle’s end, there were as many as 300. The elephants did much damage, and a few were singled out for special praise. One such elephant, named Jangia, had its trunk cut off by a Rajput’s sword. Despite the severe injury, Jangia, who had killed 30 men before he was wounded, crushed another 15 before dying of his wounds.
On another occasion, an elephant trampled a Rajput, rolled him up in its trunk and brought him before Akbar. The mahout (elephant driver) said he did not know the man’s name, but he appeared to be a leader, as a large number of warriors had fought around him. That leader turned out to be the 16-year-old Patta.
The emperor also witnessed an act of Mogul chivalry in the battle. A Rajput warrior had challenged a Mogul soldier to combat when another Mogul decided to come to his aid. But the Mogul soldier waved his compatriot away, saying that it was against the rules of chivalry to render assistance when an opponent had challenged him. The Mogul then single-handedly disposed of the Rajput.
Nearly 30,000 Rajputs were killed, the majority mercilessly slaughtered when Akbar ordered a general massacre of the population. This uncharacteristic barbarity was to remain the only major blemish on the emperor’s otherwise enlightened reign. The peasantry had evidently incurred Akbar’s wrath when they participated as auxiliaries in the fighting. Akbar also may have been exasperated by the fierce resistance put up by the tenacious Rajput defenders. Many, mostly peasants, were made prisoners; few Rajput warriors survived to, in the words of their creed, stain the yellow mantle by inglorious surrender. The Mogul troops also engaged in systematic pillaging of the palaces, temples and residences.
Akbar had particularly wanted to punish the musketeers who had exacted such a heavy toll on his troops when the sabats were being built. Apparently, they had managed to escape by a clever stratagem. In the confusion of battle, they tied up their wives and masqueraded as Mogul soldiers escorting prisoners of war. Mogul losses may have been small, but it is hard to believe the claims of Mogul sources of the time that only one soldier, Zarb Ali Tuwaci, had died in the fighting that followed the final storming of the fort.
After he fled from Chitor, Udai Singh II and his small band of followers took refuge among aboriginal hill tribes and later founded the city of Udaipur, which was named after him. He died four years after the fall of Chitor at the age of 42. In 1616, Akbar’s son and successor, Jahangir, handed Chitor back to the Sesodias, but they had already comfortably settled at Udaipur. Jahangir would not–or dared not–allow them to rebuild the defenses of the fortress, and Chitor was abandoned.
Akbar had known that Chitor would be difficult to take. If his efforts were successful, he had planned to make a thanksgiving pilgrimage to the tomb of Khwaja Muiddin Chisti in Ajmer, about 120 miles from Chitor. Akbar set out on his trek on February 28, 1568. In 1571, when he built his new capital city of Fatehpur Sikri, 24 miles west of the old capital of Agra, Akbar erected statues of Jaimal and Patta in front of one of his gates–as much a testament to the merits of his gallant foes as to his great conquest.
This article was written by Jeffrey Say Seck Leong and originally appeared in the February 1999 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!
BY JEFFREY SAY SECK LEONG
8/21/2006 • MILITARY HISTORY
The walls had been breached. The Mogul forces were closing in on the gallant Rajput defenders inside Chitor Garh, the fort of Chitor. Suddenly, flames were seen rising up in the air from three places inside the fort. The courtiers of Akbar the Great, the Mogul emperor, gave various explanations for the fires. Then Raja Bhagwant Das, a Rajput leader who had allied himself with the Moguls, said that the fires could only mean one thing. The johar–the Rajput custom of burning their women to death in the face of impending defeat–had been performed. Now the Rajput warriors sallied forth to meet the invaders in a desperate last stand with their traditional cry of ‘death for all before dishonor.
It was Tuesday, February 23, 1568. For more than four months, the Mogul army had undertaken a costly and grueling siege of the fort, directed personally by their commander in chief and emperor, Akbar. Now the campaign had reached its apocalyptic climax.
Abu-al-Fath Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar was born on October 15, 1542. His grandfather and the first of the Mogul emperors, Babur, was a Chaghatai Turk who came from an area in what is now Uzbekistan in Central Asia–and was a descendent of the Mongol conquerors Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. Akbar became emperor at the age of 14 upon the death of his father, Humayun, in 1556. In his nearly 50 years on the throne (15561605), Akbar proved to be a tolerant statesman, a shrewd administrator and an avid patron of the arts. He was also a strong-willed individual and a brilliant military commander whose courage and determination enabled him to become master of a vast empire that covered almost two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent. One of the greatest testaments to Akbar’s military and political skills was his subjugation of the martial Rajput kingdoms.
The domain of Rajputana or Land of the Rajputs (in what is now the desert state of Rajasthan) occupied the northwestern portion of India and had presented special difficulties for preceding Muslim rulers, as well as the Moguls. The hostile Rajput kingdoms lay across the routes that ran south from the principal Muslim centers of Delhi and Agra and were uncomfortably close to Dehli and Agra themselves. Mogul rulers also feared that the independent Rajput kingdoms could provide a safe haven for rebels plotting against them. Furthermore, Rajputana bordered on Gujarat, an important center of commerce with western Asia and Europe. To Akbar and the Moguls, therefore, there were potentially huge political and economic advantages to be gained by securing Rajputana.
The Rajputs (sons of kings) had begun to settle in northern and northwestern India after the breakup of the mighty Gupta empire in the late 5th century. They were probably descendants of Central Asian invaders who had contributed to the fall of the Gupta dynasty. Others believe that the Rajputs were the descendants of thekshatriyas (warrior caste, the second tier of the Hindu caste system), who had lived during the Vedic period between 1500 and 500 bc, when an Indo-European people from Iran, called the Aryans, settled in India.
The Rajputs were governed by a chivalric warrior’s code not unlike that of the knights of medieval Europe. It emphasized compassion for defeated foes, generosity toward the helpless, fair play in battle, respect for women, and conduct of warfare by elegant forms and ceremonies. The Rajputs were renowned for their courage on the battlefield.
Their proud martial tradition and passion for war enabled the Rajputs to become the dominant power in northern India by the 9th century, but internecine conflicts led to the emergence of numerous petty kingdoms within their own domain. From time to time, the Rajputs would form confederacies to repel the Turko-Afghan armies that invaded India from the 8th century onward. Such unity tended to be only temporary, however, and their internal discord would ultimately prove to be their undoing.
The victory of Turkish forces from Afghanistan under Muhammad of Ghur over the Rajputs in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 firmly established a Muslim presence in northern India. Nevertheless, the Rajputs maintained their independence in Rajputana and remained a power to be reckoned with in northern India until the arrival of the Moguls in the 16th century.
Akbar fully realized that the Rajputs were tenacious opponents, so he adopted a shrewd policy that combined both military action and diplomacy. For instance, he married Hindu princesses and arranged similar marriages for his heirs. After he defeated a Rajput chieftain, Akbar would make him an ally rather than depose him. As long as they acknowledged Akbar’s suzerainty, paid tribute and supplied troops when required, the Rajput rulers were allowed to retain their territories. That policy of conciliation and compromise won a number of Rajput kingdoms over to Akbar’s side and further weakened whatever remained of Rajput unity. Even as they watched their brothers surrender their independence, however, the Sesodia Rajputs of Mewar refused to bow to Mogul authority.
The Sesodian clan was considered the most powerful and recalcitrant of the Rajputs, carrying the banner of Rajput independence and zealously opposing the Muslim invaders. The Rana of Mewar (rana was a royal title, and rani was the female equivalent) was recognized as the foremost among the 36 royal tribes of the Rajputs. The formidable fortresses of Chitor and Ranthambhor, both in Mewar, were regarded as bastions of Rajput sovereignty and strength.
Mewar, however, had the misfortune of being ruled in 1567 by a weak and incompetent ruler, Rana Udai Singh II. Udai Singh’s defiance was one of the main reasons that Akbar marched against the Sesodias. Akbar also realized that without establishing his suzerainty over the dominion of the Sesodias, he could not hope to be the master of northern India. He was determined to capture the fort of Chitor in particular, thereby setting an example so that no other fortress would dare to resist his army in future.
On October 20, 1567, Akbar arrived at the outskirts of Chitor Garh and pitched camp. A ferocious thunderstorm greeted the Mogul army, as if to serve as an ominous warning against their undertaking. When the storm calmed and the sky cleared, the fortress of Chitor became visible in the distance.
Chitor was the capital of Mewar and had served as the stronghold of the Sesodias since 728. Chitor was formerly called Chitrakut after Chitrang, a Rajput chieftain. Located in present central Rajasthan in northern India, 111 kilometers from Udaipur, Chitor Garh (garh means fort) is the finest medieval Hindu fortification to survive in any state of completeness.
Chitor was situated on a steep, isolated mass of rock that rose some 558 feet from the plain, and was 31Ž4 miles long and 1,200 yards wide in the center. On the summit of the rock stood Chitor Garh. The principal approach to the fortress was from the southeast angle of the present-day location of the lower town (the town was built at the foot of the escarpment after the Sesodias abandoned the fort in 1568) by a steep road that ran for nearly a mile, then made two zigzag bends that were defended by seven massive gates. The summit of the rock, which sloped inward on all sides, collected rainwater that filled several tanks, ensuring an abundant water supply that added to the fort’s capacity to withstand a protracted siege. Unlike most forts in Rajputana, which only enclosed the residence of the clan’s ruler, Chitor Garh held a veritable city within its walls: magnificent palaces, temples, houses and markets. Some of the remains of Chitor Garh can still be seen today.
A 9th-century Hindu chronicle, the Khoman Rasa, described Chitor Garh as the chief amongst eighty-four castles, renowned for strength…it is within the grasp of no foe. Formidable as it was, Chitor had, in fact, been sacked twice before by Muslim forces. It was first taken in 1303 by the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji and was sacked again in 1535 by Bahadur Shah, the sultan of Gujarat. On both occasions, the johar or ritual death by immolation was performed when defeat seemed imminent, after which the Rajput warriors, having taken a vow of death, staged a desperate final charge. Ironically, it was Akbar’s father, Humayun, who intervened and restored the Sesodias after the second sack. That enabled Udai Singh to become rana in 1541.
When he got wind of the Mogul army’s approach, Udai Singh fled to the relative safety of the distant hills, after using scorched-earth tactics to devastate the countryside. When Akbar was informed of the rana‘s flight, he considered pursuing him but decided against it because of the distance involved and the inhospitable terrain.
The rana left the fort in command of two teenage Rajput princes, Jaimal and Patta, ages 15 and 16 respectively. Chitor was defended by a garrison of 8,000 warriors, supported by 40,000 peasants. Several other Rajput clans and their chiefs were also at the fort during this time. The garrison was evidently prepared for a long siege, since it had a well-stocked supply of ammunition, grain and other provisions. And the fort had plenty of firepower, including archers, a corps of crack musketeers and a number of artillery pieces.
When Akbar arrived at the summit of Chitor hill on October 21, 1567, he pitched his camp, which extended 10 miles to the northeast of the hill. The site of the camp was marked by a 30-foot limestone pyramidal column, or tower, known as Akbar’s lamp, which served as a beacon to stragglers at night and denoted the imperial headquarters (such markers were a regular feature of Mogul camps of significant size).
The Mogul army included some 3,000 to 4,000 horsemen and 300 war elephants. The soldiers were armed with swords, lances, matchlocks, and bows and arrows. In addition, there were about 5,000 builders, carpenters, stonemasons, sappers and smiths to construct siege engines and to mine the fort’s walls.
Accompanied by his courtiers and surveyors, Akbar made a reconnaissance of his target and ordered batteries to be set up at various strategic points around the fort. It took about a month for the whole circumference of the fort to be invested.
There were three principal batteries, one of which was Akbar’s, located opposite the Lakhuta gate in the north. The second battery, under Shujaat Khan and other officers, and the third, under Asaf Khan and other officers, were emplaced at unspecified locations. Meanwhile, Akbar sent his officers to devastate the rana‘s territory, hoping to find Udai Singh in the process, but they found no trace of therana.
The opening phase of battle began when some overzealous Mogul troops launched a reckless direct assault upon the fort. Not surprisingly, the Moguls’ arrows and bullets glanced off the surface of the walls and battlements, whereas those the garrison discharged exacted a heavy toll on them.
After that minor debacle, Akbar decided that strategic planning rather than reckless courage was what was needed if the fortress was to be taken. Accordingly, the emperor adopted a two-pronged strategy. One entailed mining the walls of the fort in front of the royal battery, whereupon a party of selected Mogul troops would rush into the fort as soon as the breach was made. While the sappers dug mines under the walls, stonemasons opened the way by removing obstacles with their iron tools.
The other strategy called for the construction of sabats, or covered passageways, an ingenious siege contrivance that was peculiar to India. A sabat was a sinuous sheltered passageway that was constructed out of gunshot range, with earthen walls on both sides and a roof of planks strongly fastened together and covered with rawhide. When a breach was made by mines, troops would rush in under the cover of the sabat. Akbar ordered the construction of two sabats: one to be commenced from the royal battery and the other to be built in front of Shujaat Khan’s position.
At the same time, in the emperor’s presence, an exceptionally large mortar was cast to demolish the walls of the fort. When the defenders became aware of this and saw that the Moguls were making daily progress toward the destruction of the fort, they sent out two representatives to Akbar to bargain for peace, offering to become subjects of his court and to send an annual tribute. Several Mogul officers advised him to accept the offer, but Akbar was adamant: Nothing short of the ranasurrendering in person would persuade him to lift the siege. As they were unwilling–or perhaps unable–to deliver the rana, the Rajputs had no choice but to continue the defense of their fort with renewed fervor.
While the sabat in front of the royal battery was being constructed, artillerymen and marksmen inside the fort kept up such a fusillade that about 200 Mogul laborers were killed daily, even though they protected themselves with rawhide shields. The corpses were buried in the walls of the sabat. But the workers were kept going by lavish gifts of gold and silver coins from the emperor–the amount of which was calculated according to the number of containers of earth added to the sabat. Thesabat opposite Akbar’s position was soon completed near the fort. It was reported to be so extensive that 10 horsemen abreast could ride along it and so high that an elephant rider with his spear in his hand could pass under it.
At the same time, two mines close to each other were brought to the wall of the fort and filled with large quantities of gunpowder. A party of fully armed and accoutered Mogul soldiers, noted for their bravery, stationed themselves near the wall, ready to rush in when it was breached. On December 17, the gunpowder of both mines was set to explode at the same time. One part of the bastion was blown up, inflicting heavy casualties on the defenders. Unknown to the Moguls, however, only one mine had exploded. When the soldiers rushed toward the large breach and were about to enter, the second mine exploded (apparently, the match used to ignite the gunpowder of the mine that exploded first had been shorter than the other match, so the mines failed to discharge simultaneously).
Moguls and Rajputs alike, battling in the breach, were hurled into the air together, while others were crushed by falling debris. The blast was so powerful that limbs and stones were hurled a great distance from the fort. Mogul reinforcements and Rajput troops then engaged in a brief skirmish until the Rajputs succeeded in quickly repairing the demolished part of the wall. About 500 Mogul soldiers, including a significant number of noteworthy men, were killed, while a large number of Rajputs also perished. On the same day, another ill-timed mine exploded in front of Asaf Khan’s battery and claimed 30 more lives.
Akbar viewed these botched undertakings as temporary setbacks that should serve to inspire even greater exertion and resolve on the part of the Moguls. To ensure that the assault on the fort would continue unabated, he ordered the construction of thesabat in front of Shujatt Khan’s battery to be speeded up.
The emperor also frequently visited the sabat in his sector and fired at the garrison from loopholes in the sabat. One day, Akbar saw that some of his men were admiring the marksmanship of one of the musketeers of the fort when, at that very moment, a shot from that marksman hit Jalal Khan, one of Akbar’s attendants. Akbar was reported to have said to his injured attendant, Jalal Khan, that marksman does not show himself; if he would do so, I’d avenge you. Although he could not see the marksman, Akbar took aim at the barrel of the musket that projected from a loophole. He fired but could not determine whether his shot had found its mark. It was only later that Akbar learned that his shot had indeed killed the sharpshooter, who was identified as Ismail, head of the musketeers.
Akbar proved to be quite a marksman himself, killing many noted members of the garrison. But the emperor also came close to losing his own life on a few occasions. Once, a large cannonball that fell near Akbar killed 20 soldiers but left him unscathed. On another occasion, a soldier standing near Akbar was hit by a bullet, and the emperor was saved from the same round only by his coat of mail.
When the second sabat was completed, the Mogul forces prepared to launch a full-scale assault on the fort. The Mogul troops went about their operations with such vigor and intensity that for two nights and a day they had neither food nor sleep, inspired by the personal example of Akbar, who was supervising the operations and keeping up a fusillade upon the garrison from the sabat. Special quarters had been erected for Akbar on top of the sabat, and the emperor stayed there during this crucial period.
On the night of February 22, the Moguls attacked the fort from all sides and created several breaches in the walls. The Rajput warriors put up a stubborn resistance. At one point in the fighting, Prince Patta’s mother commanded Patta to don the saffron robe, which would indicate his desire to die for his gods and his country. She also armed his young bride with a lance and accompanied her down the rock. The defenders of Chitor saw mother and daughter-in-law die heroically, fighting side by side.
The Moguls had destroyed a large part of the wall at the end of the sabat that faced the royal battery. The defenders collected such combustible materials as muslin, wood, cotton and oil to fill the breach, intending to set fire to the heap when the Mogul troops approached to prevent them from entering the fort.
Akbar was in a vantage point inside a specially made gallery on top of the sabat at the time, and he saw a man wearing a chieftain’s cuirass directing the proceedings at the breach. The emperor took out a matchlock he had christened Sangram (Akbar was said to have killed a few thousand birds and animals with this gun during his hunting trips). He then fired at the Rajput chief, but no one could be certain whether the chieftain had been hit.
An hour had passed when Akbar received reports that the Rajputs had inexplicably abandoned their defenses. At about that time, fire broke out in several places in the fort. Akbar’s Hindu adviser, Raja Bhagwan Das, told the Mogul emperor that the Rajputs must be performing their custom of johar.
It came to light later that Akbar’s shot had indeed found its target–none other than Jaimal. The Rajputs, disheartened by the death of their leader, had gone back to their homes to gather their wives, children and property in preparation for the johar. As many as 300 women, including nine ranis and five princesses, and an unknown number of children perished in three houses that served as fiery furnaces.
Although the defenses appeared to have been abandoned, the Moguls decided to proceed cautiously. They took advantage of the lull in the fighting to regroup in preparation for an organized assault on the fort. When the Mogul forces were massed, the soldiers entered the fort through several breaches.
The Rajputs, meanwhile, had finished eating their last betel nuts together and donned their saffron robes. They then sallied forth to meet their enemies and their destiny. Akbar, who was watching the close hand-to-hand combat from atop thesabat, then ordered his war elephants to be taken into the fort to join the onslaught.
At dawn on February 23, the Mogul emperor, accompanied by several thousand men, entered the fortress mounted on a majestic elephant. By then the Rajputs had been routed. People were fighting everywhere, and bodies lay in every street, lane, passageway and bazaar. Some Rajputs died fighting in temples, while others fought to the death in their own homes. Many Rajput warriors had made their last stand in the rana‘s house, from which they emerged in twos and threes to die fighting.
Initially, only about 50 elephants entered the fort, but by the battle’s end, there were as many as 300. The elephants did much damage, and a few were singled out for special praise. One such elephant, named Jangia, had its trunk cut off by a Rajput’s sword. Despite the severe injury, Jangia, who had killed 30 men before he was wounded, crushed another 15 before dying of his wounds.
On another occasion, an elephant trampled a Rajput, rolled him up in its trunk and brought him before Akbar. The mahout (elephant driver) said he did not know the man’s name, but he appeared to be a leader, as a large number of warriors had fought around him. That leader turned out to be the 16-year-old Patta.
The emperor also witnessed an act of Mogul chivalry in the battle. A Rajput warrior had challenged a Mogul soldier to combat when another Mogul decided to come to his aid. But the Mogul soldier waved his compatriot away, saying that it was against the rules of chivalry to render assistance when an opponent had challenged him. The Mogul then single-handedly disposed of the Rajput.
Nearly 30,000 Rajputs were killed, the majority mercilessly slaughtered when Akbar ordered a general massacre of the population. This uncharacteristic barbarity was to remain the only major blemish on the emperor’s otherwise enlightened reign. The peasantry had evidently incurred Akbar’s wrath when they participated as auxiliaries in the fighting. Akbar also may have been exasperated by the fierce resistance put up by the tenacious Rajput defenders. Many, mostly peasants, were made prisoners; few Rajput warriors survived to, in the words of their creed, stain the yellow mantle by inglorious surrender. The Mogul troops also engaged in systematic pillaging of the palaces, temples and residences.
Akbar had particularly wanted to punish the musketeers who had exacted such a heavy toll on his troops when the sabats were being built. Apparently, they had managed to escape by a clever stratagem. In the confusion of battle, they tied up their wives and masqueraded as Mogul soldiers escorting prisoners of war. Mogul losses may have been small, but it is hard to believe the claims of Mogul sources of the time that only one soldier, Zarb Ali Tuwaci, had died in the fighting that followed the final storming of the fort.
After he fled from Chitor, Udai Singh II and his small band of followers took refuge among aboriginal hill tribes and later founded the city of Udaipur, which was named after him. He died four years after the fall of Chitor at the age of 42. In 1616, Akbar’s son and successor, Jahangir, handed Chitor back to the Sesodias, but they had already comfortably settled at Udaipur. Jahangir would not–or dared not–allow them to rebuild the defenses of the fortress, and Chitor was abandoned.
Akbar had known that Chitor would be difficult to take. If his efforts were successful, he had planned to make a thanksgiving pilgrimage to the tomb of Khwaja Muiddin Chisti in Ajmer, about 120 miles from Chitor. Akbar set out on his trek on February 28, 1568. In 1571, when he built his new capital city of Fatehpur Sikri, 24 miles west of the old capital of Agra, Akbar erected statues of Jaimal and Patta in front of one of his gates–as much a testament to the merits of his gallant foes as to his great conquest.
This article was written by Jeffrey Say Seck Leong and originally appeared in the February 1999 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!
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Akbar’s self-glorification
No Hindu should forget the deaths of the valiant Rai Jaimal Rathore and Pratap Sisodia (Patta). A comparison of the Hindu chronicles of the Rathores of Badnor and Akbar’s Fathnamah reveals a discrepancy that I believe is a creation of Akbar. Of course the secularists who have penned the modern Indian history texts have whole-heartedly accepted Akbar’s narrative as they fall in the line of providing an Islamic narrative for Indian history.
Briefly: Rai Jaimal was the brother of the bhakti poetess Mirabai and was entrusted the defence of Chittor when it was assaulted by the army of Islam, led by Akbar. Jaimal was a victor of many battles is well remembered as the hero of Badnor who placed a wall of steel against the advance of the Mogols and other Moslem marauders like the Turkic clans of Afghanistan that were lashing against the land. Given his victorious track record he was entrusted the defence of Chittor along with the relative of the Rana Udaisingh, the chief of Salumbar. His son was the 16 year old Udayabhanu Pratap (Patta) who, along with his young bride died fighting the Mogols.
Akbar himself declares in his Fathnamah “…Since the thoughts of war-like Jihad dominated the enlightened mind, the Rana’s behaviour made the King angry and increased his zeal for the divine Islam… Sahidas Jaimal and Udiban Patta who are renowned for their valor among the infidels, may Allah forsake them and lead them to the abode of Hell, and who are considered to be equal to a thousand horsemen in intrepidity and prowess…”
He then adds ” The mountain traversing ghazis, who brave the battlefields and seek Jihad with all their heart and soul and consider becoming a Shahid to be the greatest reward in this as well as heaven, sought permission to capture the towers and fortifications and putting their trust in Allah and relying on his help, which is the source of strength to the imperial authority, carry out brave assaults and bring the fort under control by force. Since those ignoble Kaafrs had collected such large quantities of weapons for defending the fort like deg, zarbzan (both kinds of fire throwers), tofs (guns), tufang(muskets), manjaniq (mangonels), jarr i saqil (triple cross bows), naft (naphata) and nawak (heated sand) that would last for thirty years even if continuously used, and since they had great confidence in these weapons and in the strength of the fort as well as their own prowess, we did not let the royal Mogols fight with a view of protecting the people of Islam, may God preserve them till the day of resurrection, lest some of them may get killed in rashness. We sent for the giant rads (guns), mortars and other pieces of artillery which were left at the capital. We also ordered the manufacture of cannons and mountain-breaking mortars in the camp and decided that tunnels be dug and after the arrival of sarkob (batteries) and sabat (shelters) an attack be launched… We sent another army to plunder and sack Rampur. The troop returned with immense booty after dispatching many of the worthless Hindus to the abode of Hell. After the arrival of the topkhana and completion of the covered passage Sabat, explosion of the mines causing conflagration and blowing up of the towers and battlements, we directed the troops to establish themselves at the foot of the rampart and surround the fort from every side.
Finally “The brave warriors skilled in the use of deadly swords, set against the enemy and drenched in blood, delivered concerted assault and succeeded in removing the wooden planks with which those accursed Hindus had blocked the breaches. Seeing this, Jaimal, one of the three chiefs, who had taken the lead in the battle and was looking after the fort from the beginning to the end advanced with a body of men to stop the breach. In the meanwhile some artillery men belonging to that accursed infidels fired their guns one after the other and in their flashes Jaimal, and these accompanying him could be seen from afar. As for the last three days and nights we have been present there often firing with muskets and arrows and since it was destined for Jaimal that he should hasten to the lowest parts of Hell at our own Allah‑worshipping hands. When he came in view the tufang we were holding, was ready as it is said, “When God wills anything, He provide its means.” No sooner he was seen and the gun discharged then the worthless Hindu was struck in forehead. Hearing the [Quranic] call, “where so ever you may be, death will overtake you, even though you were in lofty towers,” proceeded to the abode of Hell. This caused great consternation among the high and low of that cattle-like kaffrs.”
He concludes by stating: “They should also pray in the auspicious moments, when the prayers are more likely to be granted, for the long life of our noble self, the perpetuity of the empire and for the grant of greater competence to us for fulfilling obligation of Jihad, divine worship and acts of piety.”
So much for the secular hero Akbar- he has clearly taken on himself the claim that as a brave ghazi engaged in Jihad he himself shot down Jaimal with his musket.
The Hindu chronicle of Badnor tell a different tale. Apparently Jaimal was indeed wounded during the attempt to fill a breach created by the Mogol mining. Due to this wound he was unable to mount a horse. So when the Mogols started pouring in after breaking though one of the 7 gates of Chittor he sat on the shoulders of a soldier and wielding swords in both his hands fought bravely in the general throng till he fell fighting. Given that right in the begining Akbar states that he tried to shield his royal men from the infidel fire. Given the general range of the smooth bore Mogol muskets (90m or so) it is unlikely that Akbar struck a specific target from upclose. This suggests that the Fathnamah narrative we are often fed with is a creation of Akbar as he had it composed to celebrate his Jihad.
After the fall of Patta’s father near the Suraj gate of Chittor and that of Jaimal, Patta, with his bride and mother taking up arms went against the Mogols. It is said that single handed he cut a trail of destruction through the Moslem ranks till an elephant was sent charging against him. Struck by the charge he was killed, while his wife and mother had been slain earlier.
The secular hero Akbar was no better than his ancestors or his descendents in his conduct of the Jihad or hatred for Hindus. But the secular historians have been more than eager to attribute heroic deed to this tyrant, without questioning his own concoctions.
No Hindu should forget the deaths of the valiant Rai Jaimal Rathore and Pratap Sisodia (Patta). A comparison of the Hindu chronicles of the Rathores of Badnor and Akbar’s Fathnamah reveals a discrepancy that I believe is a creation of Akbar. Of course the secularists who have penned the modern Indian history texts have whole-heartedly accepted Akbar’s narrative as they fall in the line of providing an Islamic narrative for Indian history.
Briefly: Rai Jaimal was the brother of the bhakti poetess Mirabai and was entrusted the defence of Chittor when it was assaulted by the army of Islam, led by Akbar. Jaimal was a victor of many battles is well remembered as the hero of Badnor who placed a wall of steel against the advance of the Mogols and other Moslem marauders like the Turkic clans of Afghanistan that were lashing against the land. Given his victorious track record he was entrusted the defence of Chittor along with the relative of the Rana Udaisingh, the chief of Salumbar. His son was the 16 year old Udayabhanu Pratap (Patta) who, along with his young bride died fighting the Mogols.
Akbar himself declares in his Fathnamah “…Since the thoughts of war-like Jihad dominated the enlightened mind, the Rana’s behaviour made the King angry and increased his zeal for the divine Islam… Sahidas Jaimal and Udiban Patta who are renowned for their valor among the infidels, may Allah forsake them and lead them to the abode of Hell, and who are considered to be equal to a thousand horsemen in intrepidity and prowess…”
He then adds ” The mountain traversing ghazis, who brave the battlefields and seek Jihad with all their heart and soul and consider becoming a Shahid to be the greatest reward in this as well as heaven, sought permission to capture the towers and fortifications and putting their trust in Allah and relying on his help, which is the source of strength to the imperial authority, carry out brave assaults and bring the fort under control by force. Since those ignoble Kaafrs had collected such large quantities of weapons for defending the fort like deg, zarbzan (both kinds of fire throwers), tofs (guns), tufang(muskets), manjaniq (mangonels), jarr i saqil (triple cross bows), naft (naphata) and nawak (heated sand) that would last for thirty years even if continuously used, and since they had great confidence in these weapons and in the strength of the fort as well as their own prowess, we did not let the royal Mogols fight with a view of protecting the people of Islam, may God preserve them till the day of resurrection, lest some of them may get killed in rashness. We sent for the giant rads (guns), mortars and other pieces of artillery which were left at the capital. We also ordered the manufacture of cannons and mountain-breaking mortars in the camp and decided that tunnels be dug and after the arrival of sarkob (batteries) and sabat (shelters) an attack be launched… We sent another army to plunder and sack Rampur. The troop returned with immense booty after dispatching many of the worthless Hindus to the abode of Hell. After the arrival of the topkhana and completion of the covered passage Sabat, explosion of the mines causing conflagration and blowing up of the towers and battlements, we directed the troops to establish themselves at the foot of the rampart and surround the fort from every side.
Finally “The brave warriors skilled in the use of deadly swords, set against the enemy and drenched in blood, delivered concerted assault and succeeded in removing the wooden planks with which those accursed Hindus had blocked the breaches. Seeing this, Jaimal, one of the three chiefs, who had taken the lead in the battle and was looking after the fort from the beginning to the end advanced with a body of men to stop the breach. In the meanwhile some artillery men belonging to that accursed infidels fired their guns one after the other and in their flashes Jaimal, and these accompanying him could be seen from afar. As for the last three days and nights we have been present there often firing with muskets and arrows and since it was destined for Jaimal that he should hasten to the lowest parts of Hell at our own Allah‑worshipping hands. When he came in view the tufang we were holding, was ready as it is said, “When God wills anything, He provide its means.” No sooner he was seen and the gun discharged then the worthless Hindu was struck in forehead. Hearing the [Quranic] call, “where so ever you may be, death will overtake you, even though you were in lofty towers,” proceeded to the abode of Hell. This caused great consternation among the high and low of that cattle-like kaffrs.”
He concludes by stating: “They should also pray in the auspicious moments, when the prayers are more likely to be granted, for the long life of our noble self, the perpetuity of the empire and for the grant of greater competence to us for fulfilling obligation of Jihad, divine worship and acts of piety.”
So much for the secular hero Akbar- he has clearly taken on himself the claim that as a brave ghazi engaged in Jihad he himself shot down Jaimal with his musket.
The Hindu chronicle of Badnor tell a different tale. Apparently Jaimal was indeed wounded during the attempt to fill a breach created by the Mogol mining. Due to this wound he was unable to mount a horse. So when the Mogols started pouring in after breaking though one of the 7 gates of Chittor he sat on the shoulders of a soldier and wielding swords in both his hands fought bravely in the general throng till he fell fighting. Given that right in the begining Akbar states that he tried to shield his royal men from the infidel fire. Given the general range of the smooth bore Mogol muskets (90m or so) it is unlikely that Akbar struck a specific target from upclose. This suggests that the Fathnamah narrative we are often fed with is a creation of Akbar as he had it composed to celebrate his Jihad.
After the fall of Patta’s father near the Suraj gate of Chittor and that of Jaimal, Patta, with his bride and mother taking up arms went against the Mogols. It is said that single handed he cut a trail of destruction through the Moslem ranks till an elephant was sent charging against him. Struck by the charge he was killed, while his wife and mother had been slain earlier.
The secular hero Akbar was no better than his ancestors or his descendents in his conduct of the Jihad or hatred for Hindus. But the secular historians have been more than eager to attribute heroic deed to this tyrant, without questioning his own concoctions.
Indians don't value their independence because all these stories of past sacrifice have been suppressed & are now even belittled through lame movies and tv shows. Indian History according to eminent intellectuals = Asoka + Muslim invaders + Taj Mahal + Mohandas Gandhi + Congress party. These people have neutered Indian psyche so they can live out their fantasy of 'idea of india'.
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That reminded me, the Mewar state emblem still shows Maharana Pratap & a Bhil tribesman to emphasize Rana's association with Bhil tribals.
As part of Rajput coronation ceremonies, it was the Bhil chieftain who would apply a Tilak on the new Rajput leader's head using his thumb's blood. I've said it time and again on this forum, Left-secular history completely booted out Dalits & tribals because they resisted Islamic and British invasions. It's actually a very subtle way of destroying their self esteem, much like how British branded some of them as "criminal tribes".
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They first started by Gurjars of North India,the Gurjjar jailor of Merrut who freed the mutineer in 1857,Ahirs of Gurgaon under Rao Tula Ram revolted against British. Gurjars were branded as criminal tribes along with Meena of Rajasthan.That reminded me, the Mewar state emblem still shows Maharana Pratap & a Bhil tribesman to emphasize Rana's association with Bhil tribals.
As part of Rajput coronation ceremonies, it was the Bhil chieftain who would apply a Tilak on the new Rajput leader's head using his thumb's blood. I've said it time and again on this forum, Left-secular history completely booted out Dalits & tribals because they resisted Islamic and British invasions. It's actually a very subtle way of destroying their self esteem, much like how British branded some of them as "criminal tribes".
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On way back from Jalandhar, Allauddin's army looted all Hindu homes and turned all Hindu temples into mosques. Cows were butchered and Hindu women raped. It is such atrocities that had forced the local Hindus to accept Islam and the fairy tales that are told by the Gandhis and the Nehrus that Indian Moslems were all willing converts to that alien creed are just that, fairy tales. And this has been going on since the time of Mohammed Qasem.
In 1297 A.D. Allauddin's army set out on its annual Islamic duty to plunder Hindu homes in a big way. Every year they chose a new region for the exercise. This time it was the turn of Gujarat.
Nusrat Khan proceeded to Khambayat and looted all the Hindu merchants there. A handsome Hindu boy was retained by Nusrat for sodomy. This boy later became notorious in Indian history under the name of Malik Kafur. In no time, he blossomed into a perfect prototype of a Muslim marauder
Kanhad Dev
Kanhad Dev Sonigara was a Rajput Maharaja who ruled Jalore in the 13th century CE, in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan.
In 1298, Ala ud din Khilji's Mongol general Ulugh Khan asked permission of Kanhad Dev to march through Jalore to conquer Gujarat and destroy the temple at Somnath. Kanhad Dev refused and denounced Khilji's actions. Due to the risk of an attack Ulugh Khan had to take a longer route to Gujarat.[1] In 1299 Ala ud din sacked the temple and broke the Shiva lingam that had been worshipped there. He was carrying the broken pieces back to Delhi when he was attacked and defeated by Kanhad Dev Sonigara's armies. Kanhad Dev's son Biramdeo (Viramdev) and trusted general Jaitra Deora were in charge of his army. The broken pieces of the Shiva lingam were recovered and 20,000 hindu prisoners were freed . Kanhad had the shivling washed in water from the Ganges river, which is regarded as sacred, and then placed within various Shiva temples in and around Jalore. The enraged Ala ud din Khilji attacked Jalore with a huge force of 200,000 men Kanhad Dev with an army of 50,000 men defended Jalore until he and his son Viramdev were both killed. Ala ud din Khilji later plundered the city and enslaved the populace but could not find the Somnath Shiva lingam as it was secretly sent away with trusted Brahmans of the kingdom. This story is recounted in the 16th century ballads Padmanabhama and Kanhad Dev
Taking a cue from Allauddin, Nusrat Khan, who was chafing to avenge his brother's murder, "ordered the wives of the assassins to be dishonored and exposed to the most disgraceful treatment; he then handed them over to vile persons to make common strumpets of them. Their children he caused to be cut to pieces on the heads of their mothers. Outrages like this are practiced in no religion or creed," (Pp. 164-165, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson). Barni, himself a Muslim, has rightly observed that such outrages are not practiced in any other creed but Islam.
In 1297 A.D. Allauddin's army set out on its annual Islamic duty to plunder Hindu homes in a big way. Every year they chose a new region for the exercise. This time it was the turn of Gujarat.
Nusrat Khan proceeded to Khambayat and looted all the Hindu merchants there. A handsome Hindu boy was retained by Nusrat for sodomy. This boy later became notorious in Indian history under the name of Malik Kafur. In no time, he blossomed into a perfect prototype of a Muslim marauder
Kanhad Dev
Kanhad Dev Sonigara was a Rajput Maharaja who ruled Jalore in the 13th century CE, in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan.
In 1298, Ala ud din Khilji's Mongol general Ulugh Khan asked permission of Kanhad Dev to march through Jalore to conquer Gujarat and destroy the temple at Somnath. Kanhad Dev refused and denounced Khilji's actions. Due to the risk of an attack Ulugh Khan had to take a longer route to Gujarat.[1] In 1299 Ala ud din sacked the temple and broke the Shiva lingam that had been worshipped there. He was carrying the broken pieces back to Delhi when he was attacked and defeated by Kanhad Dev Sonigara's armies. Kanhad Dev's son Biramdeo (Viramdev) and trusted general Jaitra Deora were in charge of his army. The broken pieces of the Shiva lingam were recovered and 20,000 hindu prisoners were freed . Kanhad had the shivling washed in water from the Ganges river, which is regarded as sacred, and then placed within various Shiva temples in and around Jalore. The enraged Ala ud din Khilji attacked Jalore with a huge force of 200,000 men Kanhad Dev with an army of 50,000 men defended Jalore until he and his son Viramdev were both killed. Ala ud din Khilji later plundered the city and enslaved the populace but could not find the Somnath Shiva lingam as it was secretly sent away with trusted Brahmans of the kingdom. This story is recounted in the 16th century ballads Padmanabhama and Kanhad Dev
Taking a cue from Allauddin, Nusrat Khan, who was chafing to avenge his brother's murder, "ordered the wives of the assassins to be dishonored and exposed to the most disgraceful treatment; he then handed them over to vile persons to make common strumpets of them. Their children he caused to be cut to pieces on the heads of their mothers. Outrages like this are practiced in no religion or creed," (Pp. 164-165, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson). Barni, himself a Muslim, has rightly observed that such outrages are not practiced in any other creed but Islam.
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"Toward the end of the year 1296 A.D.," records the Tarikh-i- Firoz Shahi (Pg. 160, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson), "Allauddin entered Delhi with great pomp and a large force. He proceeded to the 'Kushk-i-Lal, the Red Palace', where he took up his abode." Scholars and students of Indian history should awake to this observation of the chronicler Ziauddin Barni. This Red Palace is no other than what we know today as the Red Fort in Delhi. But that does not prevent the idiots to assert that Shahjahan had built the Red Fort in the 17th century!
The Red Fort is a pre-Muslim Hindu Fort. It has been successively occupied by all Muslim conquerors of Delhi. It is therefore a serious error to teach our children that Shahjahan had built this structure in the 17th century. And yet the stupid government of India repeats the same error over its'Son et Lumi Are' (Sound and Light) expositions! It was king Anangpal of the Tomar Rajput clan who had built the Red Fort at least 1200 years before Shahjahan's birth!
Barni the chronicler, author of the Tarikh-i-Firozshahi has left us a very revealing conversation between Sultan Allauddin and his religious counselor, a kazi. Since the conversation is typical of the Islamic attitude toward the Hindus and all non- Muslims in general, we quote him.
"The Sultan asked the kazi 'How are Hindus designated in the Islamic Law, as payers of tribute or givers of tribute?' The kazi replied, They are called payers of tribute and when the revenue officer demands silver from them, they should, without question and with all humility and respect, tender gold. If the officer throws dirt into their mouths, they must without reluctance open their mouths wide to receive it. The due subordination of the zimmi (tribute-payer) is exhibited by this throwing of dirt in their mouths. The glorification of Islam is a duty...Allah holds them in contempt, for He says 'keep them in subjection.' To keep the Hindus in abasement is especially a religious duty because they are the most inveterate enemies of the Prophet and because the Prophet has commanded us to slay them, plunder them and make them captive, saying, 'convert them to Islam or kill them, enslave them and spoil their wealth and property...The great doctor (Hanifa) to whose school we belong, has asserted to the imposition of the jeziya (poll tax and 19 other disabilities) on Hindus. Doctors of other schools allow no other alternative but 'death or Islam'." (Pg. 184, ibid).
The above passage fully explains the role that Islam has played in India and throughout the world all these centuries since its founding. One has only to look at Saudi Arabia and now Islamic Pakistan.
Barni writes: "Every year he had two or three sons born."(Pg. 168, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson). Of daughters, obviously, there was no count.
Allauddin was illiterate. With his renewed success he appeared to have lost his head. Barni tells us that Allauddin began to emulate the Prophet Mohammed and used to brag: "Allah gave the blessed Prophet four friends...I can with the help of these four, establish a new religion and creed, and my sword and the swords of my friends will bring all men to adopt it." (Pg. 169, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson) Obviously Allauddin did not succeed in this while the Prophet did.
The Red Fort is a pre-Muslim Hindu Fort. It has been successively occupied by all Muslim conquerors of Delhi. It is therefore a serious error to teach our children that Shahjahan had built this structure in the 17th century. And yet the stupid government of India repeats the same error over its'Son et Lumi Are' (Sound and Light) expositions! It was king Anangpal of the Tomar Rajput clan who had built the Red Fort at least 1200 years before Shahjahan's birth!
Barni the chronicler, author of the Tarikh-i-Firozshahi has left us a very revealing conversation between Sultan Allauddin and his religious counselor, a kazi. Since the conversation is typical of the Islamic attitude toward the Hindus and all non- Muslims in general, we quote him.
"The Sultan asked the kazi 'How are Hindus designated in the Islamic Law, as payers of tribute or givers of tribute?' The kazi replied, They are called payers of tribute and when the revenue officer demands silver from them, they should, without question and with all humility and respect, tender gold. If the officer throws dirt into their mouths, they must without reluctance open their mouths wide to receive it. The due subordination of the zimmi (tribute-payer) is exhibited by this throwing of dirt in their mouths. The glorification of Islam is a duty...Allah holds them in contempt, for He says 'keep them in subjection.' To keep the Hindus in abasement is especially a religious duty because they are the most inveterate enemies of the Prophet and because the Prophet has commanded us to slay them, plunder them and make them captive, saying, 'convert them to Islam or kill them, enslave them and spoil their wealth and property...The great doctor (Hanifa) to whose school we belong, has asserted to the imposition of the jeziya (poll tax and 19 other disabilities) on Hindus. Doctors of other schools allow no other alternative but 'death or Islam'." (Pg. 184, ibid).
The above passage fully explains the role that Islam has played in India and throughout the world all these centuries since its founding. One has only to look at Saudi Arabia and now Islamic Pakistan.
Barni writes: "Every year he had two or three sons born."(Pg. 168, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson). Of daughters, obviously, there was no count.
Allauddin was illiterate. With his renewed success he appeared to have lost his head. Barni tells us that Allauddin began to emulate the Prophet Mohammed and used to brag: "Allah gave the blessed Prophet four friends...I can with the help of these four, establish a new religion and creed, and my sword and the swords of my friends will bring all men to adopt it." (Pg. 169, Vol. III, Elliot & Dowson) Obviously Allauddin did not succeed in this while the Prophet did.
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Gora Badal
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)
Gora and Badal were legendary warriors from Chittorgarh Mewar who fought bravely for rescue of Rawal Ratan Singh. Songara Chauhan Gora and Badal were the Uncle-Nephew (Kaka bhatija) duo who hailed from the Songara Chauhan kingdom of Jalore.
In 1298 Alauddin Khilji by deceit had taken Ratan Singh ruler of Chittorgarh as prisoner. In ransom Khilji wanted nothing else but Padmini. A war council was held in which Padmini herself decided that Ratan Singh had to be rescued. The heroics were left to Gora and his nephew Badal who devised a plan for Ratan Singh’s liberation. Word was sent out to the Khilji camp that Padmini would be delivered to him the day his army pulled out of their trenches. But there was a catch – her entourage of female servants and friends would accompany Padmini in 50 palanquins.
The palanquin's were armed with the best of the Rajput warriors with two swords each. When Padmini's palanquin, which was occupied by Gora reached Ratan's tent, he asked Rawal to mount the horse and go back to the fort. Then Gora gave a signal and all the Rajput warriors came out of their palanquins and attacked the Muslim soldiers cutting them to pieces. Gora reached Khilji's tent and was about to kill the sultan when Khilji moved his concubine in front of himself. Gora, being a Rajput, could not kill an innocent women and these few seconds were enough for Khilji's guards to kill Gora from behind.
The story of Gora Badal has been depicted on a wall painting in Eklingji temple in Udaipur. Two dome shaped houses have been constructed in their name known as Gora-Badal Mahal, south of Padmini Mahal, in Chittorgarh Fort.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gora_Badal
Story of Gora-Badal Brave Rajput Warriors from Chittorgarh -
गोरा और बादल चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के महान योद्धाओं में से एक थे, जो चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के रावल रतन सिंह के बचाव के लिए बहादुरी से लड़े थे | गोरा ओर बदल दोनों चाचा भतीजे जालोर के चौहान वंश से सम्बन्ध रखते थे | छल द्वारा 1298 में अलाउद्दीन खिलजी ने चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के शाशक रावल रतन सिंह को कैदी बना दिया था | फिरौती में खिलजी ने, चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के रावल रतन सिंह कि पत्नी रानी पद्मिनी कि माँग कि थी | यह सब होने के बाद रानी पद्मिनी ने एक युद्ध परिषद आयोजित की जिसमे रावल रतन सिंह को बचाने कि योजना बनाई गयी | रावल रतन सिंह को बचाने का जिम्मा गोरा ओर बादल को दिया गया | गोरा ओर उसके भतीजे बादल को अलाउद्दीन खिलजी के पास दूत बना कर भेजा गया ओर संदेश पहुँचाया गया कि रानी पद्मिनी को खिलजी को सोप दिया जयेगा अगर खिलजी अपनी सेनाये चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ से हटा दे, पर एक शर्त यह है कि जब रानी पद्मिनी को खिलजी को सोपा जयेगा तब रानी पद्मिनी कि दसिया ओर सेवक 50 पालकियो में साथ होगी | जब रानी पद्मिनी को खिलजी को सोपा जा रहा था तो हर एक पालकि में 2 अच्छे अच्छे राजपूत योधा को बिठाया गया | जब रानी पद्मिनी कि पालकि जिसमे गोरा ख़ुद भी बैठा था, जब रत्न सिंह के टेंट के पास पहुँची तो गोरा ने रतन सिंह के टेंट में जाके रत्न सिंह को घोड़े पे बैठने को बोला ओर कहा कि आप किले(चित्तौड़गढ़) में वापस चले ज्यों | उसके बाद गोरा ने सभी राजपूत योद्धाओं को उनकी पालकी से बाहर आने को कहा ओर बोला कि मुस्लिम सैनिकों पर हमला करो | गोरा खिलजी के तम्बू तक पहुँचा और सुल्तान को मारने ही वाला था पर सुल्तान अपनी उपपत्नी के पीछे छिप गया | गोरा एक राजपूत था ओर राजपूत मासूम महिलाओं को नहीं मारते, इसलिए गोरा ने उस महिला पे हाथ नही उठाया | ओर सुल्तान के सैनिकों से युध करते हुए गोरा ओर बदल वीर गति को प्राप्त हुए | चित्तौड़गढ़ किले में रानी पद्मिनी के महल के दक्षिण में दो गुंबद के आकार घरों का निर्माण किया गया है जिन्हें गोरा बादल के महल के नाम से जाना जाता है
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Gora and Badal were legendary warriors from Chittorgarh Mewar who fought bravely for rescue of Rawal Ratan Singh. Songara Chauhan Gora and Badal were the Uncle-Nephew (Kaka bhatija) duo who hailed from the Songara Chauhan kingdom of Jalore.
In 1298 Alauddin Khilji by deceit had taken Ratan Singh ruler of Chittorgarh as prisoner. In ransom Khilji wanted nothing else but Padmini. A war council was held in which Padmini herself decided that Ratan Singh had to be rescued. The heroics were left to Gora and his nephew Badal who devised a plan for Ratan Singh’s liberation. Word was sent out to the Khilji camp that Padmini would be delivered to him the day his army pulled out of their trenches. But there was a catch – her entourage of female servants and friends would accompany Padmini in 50 palanquins.
The palanquin's were armed with the best of the Rajput warriors with two swords each. When Padmini's palanquin, which was occupied by Gora reached Ratan's tent, he asked Rawal to mount the horse and go back to the fort. Then Gora gave a signal and all the Rajput warriors came out of their palanquins and attacked the Muslim soldiers cutting them to pieces. Gora reached Khilji's tent and was about to kill the sultan when Khilji moved his concubine in front of himself. Gora, being a Rajput, could not kill an innocent women and these few seconds were enough for Khilji's guards to kill Gora from behind.
The story of Gora Badal has been depicted on a wall painting in Eklingji temple in Udaipur. Two dome shaped houses have been constructed in their name known as Gora-Badal Mahal, south of Padmini Mahal, in Chittorgarh Fort.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gora_Badal
Story of Gora-Badal Brave Rajput Warriors from Chittorgarh -
गोरा और बादल चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के महान योद्धाओं में से एक थे, जो चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के रावल रतन सिंह के बचाव के लिए बहादुरी से लड़े थे | गोरा ओर बदल दोनों चाचा भतीजे जालोर के चौहान वंश से सम्बन्ध रखते थे | छल द्वारा 1298 में अलाउद्दीन खिलजी ने चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के शाशक रावल रतन सिंह को कैदी बना दिया था | फिरौती में खिलजी ने, चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ के रावल रतन सिंह कि पत्नी रानी पद्मिनी कि माँग कि थी | यह सब होने के बाद रानी पद्मिनी ने एक युद्ध परिषद आयोजित की जिसमे रावल रतन सिंह को बचाने कि योजना बनाई गयी | रावल रतन सिंह को बचाने का जिम्मा गोरा ओर बादल को दिया गया | गोरा ओर उसके भतीजे बादल को अलाउद्दीन खिलजी के पास दूत बना कर भेजा गया ओर संदेश पहुँचाया गया कि रानी पद्मिनी को खिलजी को सोप दिया जयेगा अगर खिलजी अपनी सेनाये चित्तौड़गढ़ मेवाड़ से हटा दे, पर एक शर्त यह है कि जब रानी पद्मिनी को खिलजी को सोपा जयेगा तब रानी पद्मिनी कि दसिया ओर सेवक 50 पालकियो में साथ होगी | जब रानी पद्मिनी को खिलजी को सोपा जा रहा था तो हर एक पालकि में 2 अच्छे अच्छे राजपूत योधा को बिठाया गया | जब रानी पद्मिनी कि पालकि जिसमे गोरा ख़ुद भी बैठा था, जब रत्न सिंह के टेंट के पास पहुँची तो गोरा ने रतन सिंह के टेंट में जाके रत्न सिंह को घोड़े पे बैठने को बोला ओर कहा कि आप किले(चित्तौड़गढ़) में वापस चले ज्यों | उसके बाद गोरा ने सभी राजपूत योद्धाओं को उनकी पालकी से बाहर आने को कहा ओर बोला कि मुस्लिम सैनिकों पर हमला करो | गोरा खिलजी के तम्बू तक पहुँचा और सुल्तान को मारने ही वाला था पर सुल्तान अपनी उपपत्नी के पीछे छिप गया | गोरा एक राजपूत था ओर राजपूत मासूम महिलाओं को नहीं मारते, इसलिए गोरा ने उस महिला पे हाथ नही उठाया | ओर सुल्तान के सैनिकों से युध करते हुए गोरा ओर बदल वीर गति को प्राप्त हुए | चित्तौड़गढ़ किले में रानी पद्मिनी के महल के दक्षिण में दो गुंबद के आकार घरों का निर्माण किया गया है जिन्हें गोरा बादल के महल के नाम से जाना जाता है
The Last Stand
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@asingh10 you are correct about drug stuff though.
Many have left but, it was hell few years ago. Pind Jainpur my dad chacha soray I think : a doctor who used to sell heroin died, people say 1/3 boys in the village died in next few weeks due to supply.
So many they had to make mass grave..
Yesterday coming from Delhi right around Ropar I think (near sutlej bridge) say 6-8 boys trying to stop our car.
Looked like mix of Punjabis & Up biharis. Little further boy riding bicycle carrying something in large plastic bag..
Atleast it came out that state is involved. Punjab sp got diamonds or something for letting through smugglers.
If Congress had won again we would be at war in 2017. Probably still will be : they retire 10 squadrons next year.
In topic :
Bhai Mani Singh Ji. Rathore son of Raja VikramAditya.
Also many Rajputs came to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's darbar. Weapons trainers, etc can't find names now.
Many have left but, it was hell few years ago. Pind Jainpur my dad chacha soray I think : a doctor who used to sell heroin died, people say 1/3 boys in the village died in next few weeks due to supply.
So many they had to make mass grave..
Yesterday coming from Delhi right around Ropar I think (near sutlej bridge) say 6-8 boys trying to stop our car.
Looked like mix of Punjabis & Up biharis. Little further boy riding bicycle carrying something in large plastic bag..
Atleast it came out that state is involved. Punjab sp got diamonds or something for letting through smugglers.
If Congress had won again we would be at war in 2017. Probably still will be : they retire 10 squadrons next year.
In topic :
Bhai Mani Singh Ji. Rathore son of Raja VikramAditya.
Also many Rajputs came to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's darbar. Weapons trainers, etc can't find names now.
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Why did Rajputs give their daughters to Muslims? Were they proud of pimping their daughters? Rajputs are a very proud and noble race allegedly so help me understand.
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Indraprastha (Delhi) is a later vedic settlement for 2000 years,ASI claims to have excavated sites which belong to mahabharat period, no way in hell that Shahjahan made Red fort from scratch.
For one it was the capital of chauhans and other dynasties who are credited with several forts might had constructed the original structure,second the location of the fort being near to Yamuna, makes it a ideal place for making a fort.
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Which ਰਾਜਪੂਤ the ones who donned saffron robes & fought to the death while their women & children commit Johaur?
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What about Jodha? Rajasthani Rajputs enjoyed pimping their women to Mughals.
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Are you a Himachali Rajput? Do you feel a kinship with Rajasthani Rajputs?
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