HistoriCity: Secular alliances in the battle of Haldighati and its forgotten hero

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

At a short distance from Haldighati lies the grave of Hakim Khan Suri, a forgotten hero of an epic battle, which remains a source of controversy over who was the victor, Maharana Pratap Singh or Emperor Akbar.
In the summer heat of 1576, Emperor Akbar (1542-1605), who, having subdued most Afghan rebellions against the incipient Mughal rule, rode out with his ally and relative Raja Man Singh of Jaipur and others towards Gogunda near present day Udaipur. In a tradition replicated by his descendants, to cement alliances and allegiance, Akbar had married Man Singh's bua or father's sister in 1562. Akbar further strengthened the bond by marrying his son Salim (later emperor Jahangir) to Man Singh's sister Manbhawati Bai in 1582.
Maharana Pratap (1540-1597), the scion of Mewar, had established a new capital at Udaipur after the ancient citadel of Chittor was lost to the Mughals in 1568. Pratap was ensconced in the fort at nearby Gogunda when his forces clashed with Akbar's in June 1576.
Pratap remains unparalleled among the cast of Rajput kings. While most Rajput houses formed alliances with the rising Mughal kingdom, he remained defiant till his death. It is this stubbornness rooted in regional autonomy and martial pride that gained him the respect of even his adversaries – fellow Rajputs like the Kachwaha chief Man Singh, or Akbar.
The Mewar forces numbering around 3,000 were composed of 800-900 Pathan troops led by Hakim Khan Suri, who traced his lineage to Sher Shah Suri, the legendary Afghan, who rose from being the de facto ruler of Bihar (1530-1540) to the emperor of India. Sher Shah Suri may have died in battle at the fort of Kalinjar in 1545, but his short reign was immortalised due to public works such as construction of sarais, the highway from Bengal to Peshawar, and the suppression of banditry.
His death left the Suris, an Afghan Pashtun tribe, in disarray and desperate. Sher Shah's successors lasted barely a decade after his death. Adil Shah, the last Suri king, is remembered more through his prime minister, Hemu, who lost the battle of Panipat to Akbar in 1556. But some Suri nobles survived, retaining their grudges and militias. During the conflict between Maharana Pratap and the young Akbar, it was one such Suri noble, Hakim Khan, who saw an opportunity, perhaps the last one to restore Suri supremacy over the Mughals.
Khan rode with his well-trained and battle-hardened troops from the fertile plains of Bihar to the desert of Rajasthan's Mewar following the ancient motto of 'Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei' or enemy's enemy is my friend. Hakim Khan brought with him a better knowledge of Mughal war tactics; he also persuaded Maharana Pratap to order new metal headgear for Mewar's troops instead of the traditional turban to ensure protection from head injuries.
Chronicler Abdul Qadir Badayuni's 16th century eyewitness account, Muntakhab at-Tawarikh, noted that, 'one division, of which Hakim Sur Afghan was the leader, came straight from the direction of the mountains, and attacked our advance-body. And on account of the broken and uneven state of the ground, and the quantity of thorns, and the serpentine twistings of the road, the skirmishers and the advance-body of our troops (led by Man Singh) became hopelessly mixed up together, and sustained a complete defeat'.
But the imperial army recovered soon enough, and under Man Singh's leadership rallied, forcing Maharana Pratap to make a strategic retreat. Badayuni wrote: 'Man Singh springing into the place of the elephant-driver exhibited such intrepidity as surpassed all imagination…'. Later, Badayuni turned into a bitter critic of Akbar because of his secular nature and policy of tolerance towards non-Muslims.
Author Reema Hooja wrote in 'Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior': 'In the heat of the battle, when the Mewar forces seemed to be gaining the upper hand, the Mughal commander Mahtar Khan spread the rumour that emperor Akbar himself was approaching, leading a large contingent of the imperial army. Akbar was not present at any stage of the battle of Halighati, but at that moment the ploy worked, ad boosted the morale of the Mughal forces, who instilled with fresh courage, rallied anew'.
The 'Secular' Battle of Haldighati
Far from the communal tinge given to the battle, Haldighati richly exemplified the shifting allegiances among kingdoms and rulers. While Hakim Khan Suri was a general who led the vanguard (or haraval pankti) in Maharana Pratap's force, the 'Mughal forces were commanded by Man Singh. With both the Hindus and the Muslims divided, the battle of Haldighati can scarcely be considered a struggle between Hindus and Muslims. Nor can it be considered a struggle for Rajput independence, influential sections of the Rajputs already having cast their lot with the Mughals. The struggle can be regarded, at best, as an assertion of the principle of local independence,' historian Satish Chandra noted in 'Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals- Mughal Empire' (1526-1748).
Noted historian Romila Thapar added: 'Both religious identities had participants on each side in a complex political conflict. Rajput clans had differing loyalties among themselves and the imperial power, and therefore fought on opposite sides. And regaining ancestral kingdoms was on both agendas.'
An award in Hakim Khan's name
Instituted in 1986, a national award, known as the Hakim Khan Suri award, is given by the Maharana Mewar Foundation to honour the 'work of permanent value for the cause of national integration'. The foundation notes that Suri's commandeering of Pratap's military division in Haldighati was the 'first
recorded instance in the Annals of Mewar in which the responsibility of leading the Mewar Army was not entirely entrusted to Shaktawat or Chundawat brethren'. Citing him as an example of someone whose beliefs trumped religious ideology, the foundation further states that, 'even in death no one
could part him from his sword and he was buried with full honours with his sword in hand.' Past recipients of this award include actor Rahul Bose and Dr. E. Sreedharan (the metro man).
HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal.
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