7 reasons why Rajnath Singh possibly believes Maharana Pratap may be one of India’s greatest rulers after all!

Rajasthan education minister Vasudev Devnani and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have been facing flak on a tricky historical point. Is Akbar great or his arch rival Maharana Pratap Singh?

If Akbar can be called 'Akbar the Great' for his contribution then why can't Maharana Pratap be recognised as 'Maharana Pratap the Great'

— Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) May 17, 2015

Well, that can be a difficult one to guess as both of them are buried deep in the annals of history. But since one was a king of a small part of the country while the other an emperor of the whole, most votes have inclined towards Akbar “The Great”.

It’s precisely this “The Great” that both the ministers seem to be having a problem with and many attribute this to the Hindutva sentiments the both of them share.

Since there are many books and films on Akbar the Great, here are some reasons that turn the table a bit making it a harder task to compare these two legends as easily as we’ve been doing.

1. Refusal of Moghul suzerainty 

In the 16^th century, when most Kings were handing over their kingdoms and powers to Akbar, and when Uday Singh II too had accepted defeat, his valorous son Rana Pratap Singh refused to follow suit and challenged the emperor from Mewar to fight him. Despite sending 6 official missions to coax the King to accept defeat, Akbar couldn’t win over this brave Rajput opponent.

 2. Conquests

Though Akbar has been recognized in history for annexing individual principalities to form an empire, Rana Pratap too had his share of conquests like the Vagad, and Chhappan areas and maintained social decorum in the Godwad and the Arawali ranges of Rajasthan.

3. Preparation for War

After losing Chittor to Akbar, Rana Pratap began preparing for the inevitable war with Akbar to save his other kingdoms. During this time, the clever king asked everybody to move to the Aravali mountains and ordered them to leave nothing behind for the Mughal army to take away. This was because the Rajputs could tackle the mountain, while the Mughals were unaware of the terrain.

4. Penance

During this time he also imposed poverty on himself to stay focused on the war and asked his army to vow their unswerving allegiance to the cause of freedom from the Mughals. It is said that the king at this time used to eat with leaf plates and sleep on the floor.

5. Battle of Haldighati

In this famous battle, which he fought against Raja Man Singh, Akbar’s brother-in-law and right hand man at the time, Rana proved a heady opponent and challenged with his puny regiment of 20,000 men as against Akbar’s 80,000. Though defeated, Rana managed to escape Akbar’s clutches.

6. Many failed attempts

Even after being defeated in the battle, Rana evaded Akbar’s capture for the next 20 years. He, during his exile, fought another  battle at Dewar against Akbar’s forces, and freed most of Mewar, though his birthplace Chittor was lost to Akbar. During his hideouts it is said that he lived a life of abject poverty along with his family, even eating bread made of grass.

7. Victory of Self

The Rana was never ever captured by Akbar and died in 1597 due to injuries caused by a hunting accident, thus till the end giving the slip to Akbar “The Great”.