Global Hindu Heritage Foundation is conducting nearly 200 Bala Samskar Kendras to teach the greatness of Sanatana Dharma, infinite knowledge from the scriptures, richness of our culture and national heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect Bharat from foreign rule. One such great personality was Rana Pratap Singh, a king of Mewar. 
By the time Maha Rana Pratap ascended the throne, the situation was very miserable. Enemies lurk on all sides. The enemy has vast wealth and other means. There is an army of millions. At that time, Maha Rana Pratap Bhishana vowed that he would not 'eat on a golden plate, sleep on soft mattresses, or sleep on royal quarters' until the independence of Chittod.
Dhisali, Dhirodattu, Maharana Pratap, king of Mewar, who slept in the heart of Mughal Padusha Akbar. In the history of India, Maharana Pratap's courage, bravery, sacrifice, martyrdom became an inspiration for the future freedom struggle.
It was not until the 6th century AD that India fought and won against foreign invaders and asserted its existence. Sriharsha was the last emperor who brought most of the country under his rule and gave good governance in the 6th century AD. After the death of Sri Harsha disunity spread among the Hindu kings. Arrogantly fighting each other and acting independently of each other.
At the same time, foreign invaders focused on India. Muslim soldiers like Mohammad Ghazani and Mohammad Ghori continued to raid Indian territory. The Hindu kings who had to fight unitedly with the foreign invaders became inactive. The differences and disunity between the kings of the country became a boon for the Muslim kings. Gradually the Muslim armies conquered each king in the country and expanded their kingdom.
This history of aggression continued for about 700 years and marked the beginning of the Mughal rule. By the time of Mughal ruler Akbar, 50 percent of India's territory was under Muslim control. During these 700 years the indigenous rulers resisted the foreign invaders but failed because they did not fight unitedly. That is the curse of India.
Many Rajput kings bowed to his authority and sought his shelter due to the tyranny of the Mughal ruler Akbar. All of them lost freedom equal to life and became vassals of Akbar. Some others joined Akbar's army as soldiers. Raja Mansingh, who was a great warrior, worked for the expansion of the Mughal kingdom as the commander-in-chief of Akbar's army. Rajamansingh, who did not do Shiva Puja regularly and did not even touch raw fresh water, performed gulangiri at the foreign rulers is a proof of the self-forgetfulness of the Hindu kings.
The birth
Maharana Pratap was born about 475 years ago in Chittod, Rajasthan on 9th May 1540 AD. Maharana Uday Singh of the Sisodia clan was Rana Pratap's father. Mother Rani Jayavantbai. Uday Singh had 25 sons. Rana Pratap is the eldest among them all. Udaisingh declared Junmalsingh, son of his beloved queen Dhirbhai, as his successor. But after the death of Uday Singh, all the ministers of the Mewar kingdom discussed and anointed the mighty Rana Pratap Singh as the king of Mewar. Enraged by that, Janmal Singh joined Akbar's army as a soldier and fought on his homeland. The ambition of the Rajputs of that time ignored the welfare of the country. In such dire circumstances, Maharana Pratap Singh, who was anointed as the king of Mewar in 1572 AD, rushed to protect the motherland. Akbar raised a powerful army to oppose Padusha. He gathered the Bhil youths living in the mountainous regions of Aravali and instilled in them a thirst for freedom and trained them as brave soldiers. The brave and fearsome soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the motherland were in the army of Maha Rana Pratap.
By the time Maha Rana Pratap ascended the throne, the situation was very miserable. Enemies lurk on all sides. The enemy has vast wealth and other means. There is an army of millions. At that time, Maha Rana Pratap Bhishana vowed that he would not 'eat on a golden plate, sleep on soft mattresses, or sleep on royal prasad' until the independence of Chittod. Maha Rana Pratap, who fought with Akbar for about 25 years, lived like a common soldier. There are many stories still prevalent in Chittorgarh that at one stage he used to eat grass bread when he did not have enough food to eat.
A poet named Sheetal, who witnessed the lifestyle and prowess of Maha Rana Pratap himself, wrote an inspiring lyric on Rana. Rana Pratap honored Sheetal by removing his turban. Sheetal Kavi used to travel around the villages and sing the heroic stories of the Mewar king. Finally, in Akbar's padusha pool in Agra, Sheetal Kavi sang the valor of Rana Pratap.
There was a tear-jerking incident. Generally, on entering Akbar's throne, one bows his head and salutes Emperor Akbar with his right hand. When Sheetal Kavi entered Akbar's court, Rana Pratap took off the turban on his head, held it with his right hand, bowed his head and saluted with his left hand. Left-handed Salam enraged the emperor. Suppressing his anger for a moment, Sheetal asked the poet why he did that. Then Sheetal Kavi said.
‘Padusha ji. forgive my mistake of greeting you with my left hand. There is a strong reason for that. This bloody turban was presented to me by the great hero Rana Pratap Singh and he himself put it on my head with his own hands. So bowing my turbaned head before you would mean insulting that hero who has not submitted to you so far. So I took off that turban and bowed my head in front of you, holding it with my hand. Even holding the turban of a great hero with his left hand would be an insult to him. That is why I held the turban with my right hand and saluted you with the other hand. "I give more priority to show the heroism of Maha Rana Pratap than to fear you," said Sheetal Kavi with courage and self-confidence. Akbar Padusha was shocked to see Sheetal's composure.
Haldighati fight
The battle of Haldighati has a special place in world war strategies. Akbar Padusha's attempts to bring Rana Pratap under his jurisdiction all failed. The failure of the embassy made war inevitable. Rana Pratap became a problem for Akbar. Akbar decided to fight with Rana Pratap. To fight against Rana Pratap, Akbar prepared a large army of two lakh soldiers and appointed Raja Mansingh as its commander. The stage was set for another Hindu king to fight on behalf of a foreign ruler against a Hindu king. Prince Salim appointed Rana Pratap's younger brother Saktisimha, who fought with the Mughals, as assistants to Raja Mansingh. This army moved towards Mewar.
Rana Pratap assessed the situation there. He shifted the capital from the inaccessible hills to Kumbhavgarh. He called upon all the Rajput chiefs to unite to protect the freedom of Mewar. He took a well-trained army and reached the crucial area of Haldighati. This Haldighati is situated among the high hills. Rana Pratap had only an army of 22,000 including 3,000 cavalry and 400 elephants. It would be a great adventure for this army to fight Akbar's army of two lakhs.
Stones rained down on the Mughal army coming along the narrow hill passes to Haldighati. The Mughal army was stunned by the onslaught of sharp arrows from the bows of the Bhills. But in the end, it was the Mughal army that got the upper hand. Noticing this situation, King Mansingh of Jhalaku tried to stop the Mughal army. On his advice, Rana Pratap left the battlefield and went to a safe place. On the other side, he galloped his horse Chetak, who traveled with the speed of air. Thousands of Rajput heroes died in defense of motherland. Rana Pratap was chased by two Muslim chiefs. Repentance started in Shakti Singhu who was following them. Anna wanted to help Rana Pratap who was fighting to save the throne of Mevaru. He immediately cut off the heads of two Muslim Sardars with his sword. Anna fell on Rana Pratap's legs and took refuge. Rana Pratap consoled Shaktisingh by touching his heart. The battle of Haldighati in July 1576 AD was a witness to the bravery of the Rajputs.
Rana Pratap fought many battles with Akbar's army even after the battle of Haldighati. Rana Pratap fought the Mughal army for about 25 years. He left for the safety of the Indus with his family. On the way, Bhamasha, who had previously served as the minister of Mewar, met him and asked him to hand over all his wealth to Rana Pratap and rebuild the army. Rana Pratap returned with renewed enthusiasm and captured many forts. But he died on 17th January 1597 AD without winning Chittodh.
The late Maharana Pratapasimha fought for the nation, dharma, culture and freedom and became an inspiration to future generations. He was decorated as a true Hindu hero. Later Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja was inspired by Rana Pratapsinhu's war strategy.
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