Rajput Resistance to Mughal Rule
The long relationship between the Rajput polities of western and central India and the Mughal Empire was one of the defining political and cultural encounters of early modern South Asia. Beginning with the armed resistance of the Rajput confederacy to Babur in the 1520s, the relationship evolved, over more than a century, into a form of accommodation in which the principal Rajput states accepted Mughal suzerainty in exchange for a substantial measure of internal autonomy and a significant role in the imperial administration. The history of the relationship is examined in the broader context of the Hindu-Muslim relations and the Mughal Empire overview pages, and the specific military events of the period are treated on the Battle of Khanwa 1527 and the Battle of Haldighati 1576 pages.
The Early Resistance of Rana Sanga
The first major Rajput challenge to Mughal rule came from the Rajput confederacy of Mewar, under the leadership of Rana Sanga, in the 1520s. The confederacy, which included most of the major Rajput polities of the central and western Indian subcontinent, posed a serious threat to the newly established Mughal state. The confederacy was, however, defeated in detail at the Battle of Khanwa 1527, and the death of Rana Sanga the following year marked the effective end of the early Rajput challenge.
The Conflict Under Rana Pratap
The second major phase of Rajput resistance came in the 1570s, when the young Maharana Pratap of Mewar refused to accept the suzerainty that Akbar had imposed on the other major Rajput polities. The conflict culminated in the Battle of Haldighati 1576, a narrow Mughal tactical victory that did not, however, lead to the capture of the Rana, who continued the struggle for nearly a decade until his death in 1597.
The Reconciliation Under Akbar
The reconciliation between the Mughal Empire and the principal Rajput polities was the work of Akbar. By the late 1570s, the emperor had concluded a series of political and marital alliances with the ruling houses of Amber, Marwar, and other principalities. The most celebrated of these alliances was the marriage of Akbar to the Rajput princess Mariam-uz-Zamani, the daughter of the Raja of Amber, in 1562.
The political and cultural background of the reconciliation is examined on the Akbar the Great and the Hindu-Muslim relations pages, and the institutional framework of the relationship is treated on the Mughal court and nobility and the mansabdari system pages.
The Marriage Alliances
The marriage alliances between the Mughal house and the principal Rajput ruling families were features of the imperial system of the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The alliances were not merely symbolic; they were accompanied by the grant of high mansabs to the Rajput princes, the appointment of Rajput nobles to senior positions in the imperial administration, and the integration of substantial Rajput contingents into the imperial army. The institutional background of these arrangements is examined on the Mughal court and nobility and the mansabdari system pages.
The Jauhar Tradition
The Rajput tradition of jauhar — the mass self-immolation of the women of a fortress or city in the face of imminent defeat — was features of Rajput military culture. The custom, which had its origins in the early medieval period, was observed on several occasions during the Mughal period, most notably at the siege of Chittor in 1568 and at the fall of several other Rajput strongholds in the seventeenth century. The cultural and religious background of the custom is examined on the Hindu-Muslim relations and the Mughal culture and society pages.
The Role of Rajputs in the Mughal Army
The integration of the Rajput polities into the imperial system was accompanied by a substantial Rajput presence in the imperial army. Rajput nobles held high mansabs and commanded some of the most important military units in the imperial service. The most celebrated of the Rajput commanders in the Mughal army were the rajas of Amber and Marwar, who served as senior military officers from the reign of Akbar to the reign of Aurangzeb and beyond. The institutional context of this military integration is examined on the mansabdari system and the Mughal military overview pages.
The Legacy of Resistance
The legacy of Rajput resistance to Mughal rule is one of the most complex and contested themes in the history of early modern India. The resistance of Rana Sanga and Maharana Pratap has been celebrated, in later Indian nationalism, as the archetypal expression of indigenous resistance to foreign rule. The political and cultural accommodation of the principal Rajput polities, on the other hand, has been the subject of a more nuanced historical assessment. The full arc of this history is treated in the Hindu-Muslim relations and the Mughal culture and society pages.
Sources
- Satish Chandra, Medieval India (2004), pp. 215–40.
- Norman P. Ziegler, Rajput, Mughal, and the European: A Study of the Political and Cultural Relations of the Rajput States with the Mughals and the European Trading Companies in the 16th and 17th Centuries (Meenakshi Prakashan, 1969).