BATTLE OF HALDIGHATI: What made it inconclusive

The Battle of Haldighati was fought in June 1576 between Mughal forces led by Akbar's general Raja Maan Singh of Amer and Mewar forces led by Maharana Pratap. Akbar fought this battle with eighty thousand troops while Maharana only had ten thousand troops still this son of, Mewar, made this 4hour battle inconclusive& toughest battle of Akbar's life. Do you know how Pratap managed to do that?

Three key factors are responsible for Maharana's success- bravery and luck, but the most important was Maharana Pratap's strategy.

Akbar wanted to form a diplomatic alliance with Maharana and wanted Mewar under the canopy of the Mughal Empire. He sent 8 Ambassadors to the Royal Court of Mewar with his message of Alliance but Maharana Pratap like a true patriot refused to bow down to the foreign ruler.

Every time whenRana sent back any Mughal diplomat empty-hand he knew that war is coming close, His guess was right frustrated Akbar declared war against Mewar on 18 June 1576

Mughals had guns &cannons whereas, the Mewar Army had swords, bows & arrows, Here luck favoured Pratap because the only way to reach rakt talai(रक्त तलाई ) the actual battleground was a narrow mountain pass of Haldghati from where only a limited number of army & weapons could pass.

Strategically Maharana trained the local bheels & took geographical knowledge of the terrain of Haldighati which the Mughals lacked.

When Rana Pratap & his horse Chetak got injured in the battle General JhallaMana ( झाला मन्ना ) who was believed to be a look-alike of Pratap wore royal poshak & accessories and diverted Mughal force towards himself & helped Rana Pratap to run away from the battlefield. He himself lost his life while fighting.

Not only the soldiers but animals of the Mewar forces were also extraordinarily brave & patriotic Ram Prasad one of the bravest elephants of the Mewar army caused massive destruction in the Mughal camp as a result enemies captured him and put him behind bars but he was so loyal to Rana that he refused to have food &water from the enemy side and chose to die starving in captivity.

One of the smartest moves of Rana was he covered Chetak's face with a fake trunk & tusk to confuse the elephants of the enemy side

Similarly, Chetak in order to save his master from the enemy crossed a 22 ft. wide waterbody with an injured& bleeding leg and died only after dropping Pratap to a safer place

This place is now known as Chetak Nala and Chetak Samadhi is located a few kilometers away from here in Balicha village. Rajsamand district Rajasthan. Thus Mewar army successfully crushed Akbar's dream to capture Rana Pratap dead or alive and the battle remain inconclusive.Impressed by the loyalty of Ramprasad & Chetak towards Rana Pratap Akbar said

जिस प्रताप के हाथी घोड़े भी मेरे आगे सिर नहीं झुकाते मै उसे मुग़ल सल्तनत के अधीन कैसे लाऊंगा ?

Therefore it is rightly said wars cannot be won through weapons but through strategies and willpower.