Conflict With Rana Pratap
Man Singh was sent by Akbar to bite Maha Rana Pratap to make a treaty with Akbar and accept Mughal sovereignty. But Maha Rana Pratap, as a grandson of Rana Sanga, considered the Mughals invaders and intruders on Indian territory; he declined to accept Akbar's sovereignty.
On the day of their meeting Maha Rana Pratap invited Man Singh for dinner. Maha Rana Pratap deliberately avoided attending the dinner in person and sent his son "Kunwar" Amar Singh to dine with "Kunwar" Man Singh (as a custom Rajput men are called "Kunwar" in the lifetime of their father). The attitude of other Rajput nobles was also discouraging. They were secretly making mockery of Man Singh as his aunt Jodhabai was married to Akbar. Man Singh took this as an insult to Akbar and himself. He knew Maha Rana Pratap was making an excuse to avoid him. He refused to dine with Amar Singh. He remarked, "I will come again and then will have a dinner". Understanding the hidden meaning a noble of Pratap remarked "well, don't forget to bring your uncle Akbar". This laid the foundation of war between the Mughals and Rana Pratap, who already had many decades of rivalry and enmity.
Appointed by Akbar to lead the Mughal Army against Rana Pratap, Kunwar Man Singh started from Ajmer on 3 April 1576. A gruesome battle was fought on June 18, 1576 at Haldi Ghati. Rana Pratap personally attacked Man Singh, who defended himself by ducking. Man Singh's "Mahout" (the driver of his elephant) was killed. Rana Pratap's famous warhorsethe blue eyed kathiawari stallion "Chetak" was mortally wounded. Rana Pratap, himself, amazingly survived this battle. A nobleman, Jhala Man Singh, who pretended to be Rana Pratap, was killed by the Mughal forces. Jhala Man Singh put the helmet of Rana Pratap on his head, though he knew he would be killed soon by doing this. Ultimately, the Mughal army won the battle. The next day Man Singh advanced and captured Gogunda, the seat of Pratap's coronation, but the geographical situation of Mewar was such that Rana Pratap could hide between hills. He exploited this and began guerrilla warfare. Ultimately, Pratap was able to liberate all of Mewar except the fort of Chittor. Despite his success Akbar was not happy with Man Singh, and stopped conversing with him for some time. Perhaps he thought Man Singh was responsible for Pratap's escape from the battlefield. Conspirators also fed this to his ears, but Akbar's doubts cleared when he visited Ajmer's shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti the following year.
In the Battle of Haldighati, despite exaggerated figures, it is estimated that Rana Pratap had 3000 horsemen, some elephants and the same number of Bhil warriors under Rao Poonja. A small artillery unit was also with him under Hakim Khan Sur. The force was divided into five wings. Advance wing was under Hakim Khan Sur, Bhim Singh Dahiya and Ramdas Rathore. The right wing was under Bhamashah and Ramshah Tanwar. The left wing was under Jhala Man Singh. Rana Pratap was in the centre. Behind him was Rao Poonja with his Bhil warriors.
The Mughal army had 10,000 horsemen, some elephants and infantry. Among the horsemen 4,000 were Kachwaha Rajput warriors. One thousand other Hindu warriors and rest were Uzbeks, Turkics, Kazakhs, Sayyids and other Muslims. This force divided into five wings. There were two advance wings. The first was under Sayyid Hashim Barah son of Sayyed Mahmud Khan, Barah Jagganath Kachwaha and Asaf Ali Khan. The second advance troop was under Madho Singh Kachwaha. Behind this was Man Singh. To his right was Mulla Kazikhan Badkhsi and to left were Sayyeds of Barah. At first Rana Pratap attacked and scattered the advance and left wings of the Mughal army. Jagnnath Kachwaha killed Ramshah Tanwar and Rajput warriors of both sides engaged in fierce battle. The Mughal army could not distinguish between friend and foe and killed Rajputs of both sides. The Mughal army surrounded Rana Pratap; so to save his life Jhala Man put the Rana's helmet on his head and died in his place. This provided Maha Rana Pratap a chance to escape. After this, Rana's army dispersed. The Mughal Army, expecting another attack, remained vigilant all night. Only in the morning they were able to judge their success. Almost half of Rana's army was finished. The battle was won but the Maha Rana had survived.
Read more about this topic: Man Singh I
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