The courageous sacrifice of Maharana Partap to preserve the independence of his kingdom is still relevant, as we all can learn from the tales of his bravery. This was stated today by the Governor of Punjab V.P. Singh Badnore while participating in a panel discussion on ‘Guerrilla Campaign of Maharana Pratap Singh’ during the second day of Military Literature Festival at Lake Club Chandigarh.Though the focus of today’s discussion was the Guerrilla Campaign of Maharana Partap Singh, the Governor mentioned the battles of Haldighati, wars and fights between Mewar and the Mughals.Before the discussion, the governor released a book ‘The invisible warrior’, written by Rima Hooja, who was the moderator in the panel. Major General Randhir Singh (retd) and Dr. Abhimanyu-Assistant Professor of History, Department of history & Indian Culture University of Rajasthan were also among the panellists
Badnore. who also hails from Rajasthan, gave an insight into the role of Pratap Singh (9-May-1540 to 19-January-1597)- Rajput King of Mewar- popularly known as Maharana Pratap.The Governor informed the audience about the importance of guerrilla or Chhapemar warfare, which proved successful in loosening the grip of Mughals upon Mewar. One of the key reasons of the success of this tactics was the fact that the attackers (Mewaris’) were completely aware of their territory and geographical area. He said that this tactics gave Mewaris’ an upper hand while fighting with the Mughals.“Maharana Pratap chooses to die with honour than live with humiliation. He did not bow before the superfluous demands of Akbar who wanted to have a secure route to Gujarat through Mewar,” said Dr. Abhimanyu Singh. He informed that before being crowned as the king, the siege of Chhittorgarh by Mughals had lead to the loss of eastern fertile land of Mewar to the Mughals.When Maharana Pratap refused to give his land to the Mughals, the battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576 between the forces of Maharana and Akbar after which continuous guerrilla warfare was launched against Mughals as they failed to capture Maharana.