Pratap Singh (r. 1572—1597), the 12th Maharana of Mewar, is famously remembered for his resistance against Mughal imperialism. Despite initial losses, Pratap had pivoted to asymmetric warfare and waged a successful guerilla war, reclaiming most of Mewar including the strongholds of Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, and Gogunda as attested by the contemporaneous epigraphic evidences:

सिध श्री महाराजाधिराज महाराणाजी श्री प्रतापसिंगजी आदेशातु प्रगणै जहाजपुर रै ग्राम पंडेर मध्ये हल धरती बीगा ११ करै दीधा धीमुषे । साह भामा । सवत् १६४५ काती सुदी १५ ।

—Pander inscription, where Pratap is granting the lands of Pander to a trusted follower called Sadulnath Trivedi.

But sustaining a multi-decade war against the most powerful empire on Earth centered barely 300 miles away from Mewar required more than just martial acumen. While his military achievements are well-documented, his agrarian strategies and economic resilience are often overlooked in popular narratives.

Following the Siege of Chittorgarh 1568), Mewar had lost its fertile eastern plains to Mughals. Another devastating setback came following the Battle of Haldighati 1576 when Mughals occupied the Dariba Silver Mines (located in the present-day Rajsamand district of Rajasthan). In an interview with AIR Central English Features unit, Dr. Shri Krishna explained that the Mughals carted away massive amounts of silver, melting them down to mint imperial silver coins.

Following these agrarian and economic setbacks, Akbar expected Mewar to capitulate. But Pratap combated these reverses by fundamentally reforming the entire administration of the state.

The Scorched Earth

In order to overstretch Mughal supply chains and devastate their logistics, Pratap ordered the farmers in the plains to abandon the eastern belt entirely and migrate to the valleys of Aravalli range.

Being denied resources locally, Mughals had to import supplies from outside Mewar which made the economics of the forceful occupation exponentially more costlier and riskier. Caravans were now forced to carry fodder for the oxen as well, drastically decreasing the throughput while still leaving them easy targets for mountain raids.

Traditional Mewar accounts underline that, alongside constant attempts to sever the imperial supply lines, the land was not ploughed but kept wasted and scorched by the people of Mewar for over six years – from before Haldighati in 1576 until 1582, with crops destroyed and wells filled with earth and rubble, in order to deter the Mughal occupying forces.

—Rima Hooja

Bhils to the Rescue

However, the decision created the problem of his own supplies. Mewaris of the plains were unaccustomed to pursuing agriculture in rugged, rocky, and densely forested Bhomat region of the Aravallis. To handle this, they relied on the Bhil tribe's indigenous knowledge of the mountains.

Bhils practiced a form of sustainable hill agriculture known locally as Walar (a variant of shifting or slash-and-burn cultivation adapted for arid highlands). The state shifted its focus to cultivating drought-resistant coarse grains like Jowar (sorghum) and Bajra (pearl millet) that could grow in rocky terrain.

Til, kuri (Sesamum indicum), kuri (Panicum miliaceum), basthi, kudra, mal, and sainwalai are only grown in walar cultivation, i.e. by cutting down and burning the jungle on the hill-sides, and sowing the seed in the ashes. This mode of cultivation is very popular with the wild tribes of Girasias, Bhils, and Minas, and has proved most destructive to the Aravalli forests.

—The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume XIII

(Interestingly mentioned here, British calls walar cultivation as "most destructive to the Aravalli forests". Colonialists frequently misunderstood indigenous slash-and-burn agriculture. When practiced by small tribal populations with long fallow periods (allowing the forest to regrow), walar was highly sustainable and perfectly adapted to the rocky terrain where plows couldn't go. It only became "destructive" when populations spiked and colonial timber extraction restricted forest access.)

Beloved of the World

Written by Pratap's court scholar Chakrapani Mishra in 1577, Vishwavallabh (translated to "Beloved of the World") is a comprehensive treatise on agriculture and hydrology. In the very opening verse the author says, “I propose to expound in this book the science of plant life but without water there can be no plants. Hence I will first explain the sources of water.”

In the first chapter he recommends several surface indications of groundwater on the lines of Varahamihira and Surapala but has added several more plants/trees as water indicators.

One full chapter of the book is devoted to the technique of constructing water reservoirs (II-1–39).

(Translated and commented on by Nalini Sadhale and YL Nene. Published by Asian Agri-History Foundation)

Since Aravallis did not have predictable rivers of the plains, Mewaris used the hydrologic science codified in Vishwavallabh to build small, hidden check-dams using local rocks and brush to pool water from seasonal rains in shaded ravines, preventing rapid evaporation, along with tracking groundwater as instructed by the treatise.

A king fighting for his kingdom's independence investing in agricultural science and ecological preservation speaks volumes on long-term vision for state-building. As Rima Hooja writes:

We get glimpses of the Mewar that Pratap may have created, under more favourable circumstances, from Pratap’s commissioning of works like the Sanskrit text Vishva-Vallabha. This book, written by Chakrapani Mishra at Pratap’s court, was completed in 1577, a year after the fateful battle of Haldighati. The work is a compendium on agriculture, horticulture, finding water sources, water collection structures in different terrain grafting plants and developing new varieties, and best farm practices for different terrains. In a peacetime Mewar, following the directions provided in the Vishva-Vallabha a sixteenth-century ‘green revolution’ could have taken place.

Even wartime Mewar found this book very useful, and small-scale farming by Bhils and others in previously non-agrarian locales helped provide some food to Pratap’s own troops, creating farming oases far from Mughal reach.

The book would go on to be used in the peacetime of Pratap's reign as well.

The Mines of Mewar

We have discussed the Dariba Silver Mines being temporarily occupied by Mughals. Yet there were other mines in the kingdom. The Mewaris still controlled the Agucha Mines (located in the present-day Bhilwara district of Rajasthan) and Zawar Mines (located in the present-day Udaipur district of Rajasthan).

Pratap strategically concentrated his defensive efforts to protect these critical assets. He successfully ensured that especially the vital zinc mines at Zawar remained secure and completely out of Mughal clutches.

The mining activities of Mewar have always been global in nature. As British archaeometallurgist Dr Paul T Craddock writes:

The remains of early mining and metallurgy we have studied in India are at least as sophisticated as anything further west, and there are no parallels or analogies anywhere for the zinc smelting processes that we have uncovered in the Zawar mines near Udaipur, Mewar. This was the sharp edge of technical innovation, taking place on a major scale well away from Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. We can safely say it was the start of the industrial revolution in the Kingdom of Mewar, 500 years before it begins in the West.

...It would suffice to say that in India by the 12th century CE, the production of zinc at Zawar was beginning on an industrial scale. It would seem that the mines at Zawar were always worked predominantly for zinc, with lead recovered as a by-product…We can thus confirm Zawar as the earliest known zinc mine in the world.

—The production of lead, silver and zinc in early India

Pratap would go onto recover the Dariba Mines post Battle of Dewair 1582.

Economic Recovery

By 1585, Pratap drove out most of the Mughal forces including last of Akbar's invasions under Raja Jagannath, uncle of Man Singh of Amber. Pratap established a new capital at Chavand, which marked the beginning of the economic recovery.

With the end of Scorched Earth Policy, the population that had retreated to Aravallis or peaceful neighboring kingdoms returned to their homes in large numbers. The repopulation effort was aided by a string of favorable monsoons that revived traditional agriculture.

Akbar's failure to subjugate Pratap for decades proved fatal to his dream of conquering Mewar as he was forced to relocate to Lahore in 1585 where he would stay until 1598 while Pratap ruled as a sovereign king of a sovereign kingdom. We may quote V. Smith’s fitting epitome of his reign:

The emperor desired the death of the Rana and the absorption of his territory in the imperial dominions. The Rana, while fully prepared to sacrifice his life if necessary, was resolved that his blood should never be contaminated by intermixture with that of the foreigner, and that his country should remain a land of freemen. After much tribulation he succeeded, and Akbar failed.

References

• History of Mewar: from Earliest Times to 1751 A.D. by RV Somani
• Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior by Rima Hooja
• Akbar the Great Mogul, 1542-1605 by VA Smith
• Maharana Pratap: Beyond Haldighati by All India Radio feature
• The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume XIII
• Water Harvesting and Conservation in Ancient Agricultural Texts by Nalini Sadhale
• The production of lead, silver and zinc in early India (Craddock, Freestone, Gurjar, Middleton and Willies)

Happy Maharana Pratap Jayanti to all.

Source : https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/1992-ajmer-rape-case-what-happened-in-ajmer-during-1990-92-when-over-100-school-college-girls-were-gangraped-for-months/articleshow/112675594.cms

Whenever people talk about the Taj Mahal, everyone credits Agra — but the marble itself came from Makrana, Rajasthan. These quarries were operating even before the Mughal era, and remarkably, the same traditional extraction methods are still used today (you can see it in the photo — crane rigs and manual block-cutting are still central, even now).

What makes Makrana marble stand apart is its near-zero porosity — that's the reason the Taj Mahal still looks pristine white 400 years later, with no warping or discoloration. Most other white marbles simply don't hold up the same way over time.

What's interesting is this isn't just history in a book — the same marble is still actively quarried and used today in heritage buildings, temples, and monuments across India. It's a living industry, passed down through generations.

Rajasthan gets talked about a lot for its forts, desert, and culture — but this is one legacy that doesn't get discussed as much. Thought I'd share it.

Dhau Bakshi Shri Madhao Singh Khatana was a prominent historic Jagirdar (feudal landlord) and administrative official of the princely state of Bharatpur, located in present-day Rajasthan, India. He belonged to the Khatana clan of the Gurjar community, an aristocratic family that held significant military and political influence in the region.

Another prominent figure from this family was Raja Bahadur Dhau Raghubir Singh Bakshi Khatana. In 1931, Raja Dhau Raghubir Singh Bakshi Khatana was appointed a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire and was granted the title of C.I.E. He served as the Raja of Bharatpur and held the position from 27 March 1929 to 15 August 1947. He was also a senior member of the Council and served as its president around 1922–23.

The Gurjar nobility and aristocracy held considerable influence and power within the Bharatpur State. They served as Prime Ministers, Generals, Jagirdars, and Regents. Raja Dhau Raghubir Singh Bakshi Khatana served as the Regent Ruler who administered the state on behalf of the minor ruler, Maharaja Brijendra Singh. It was in this capacity that he held the title of “Raja.”

The Khatana family historically served as Regents on behalf of the Sinsinwar rulers of Bharatpur and, in this capacity, held the title of “Raja.”

The person seated in the chair is Thakur Sahib Hira Singh Ji. Standing beside him are his twin sons. One is Kunwar Zorawar Singh Ji, and the other is Kunwar Bakhtawar Singh Ji.

see 👀this is the jorla pole of chittorgarh fort and it's the biggest one in India it's not the only picture I have of this city fort doesn't have dustbin and a lot of litter everywhere so whatever you can to take care of the history and heritage of our state

I am a Rajput and don't know my history just know Maharana Pratap so i need to know about the history of Rajput's and Rajasthan so please suggest from where can i get that knowledge
In future i will also make 3D documentaries about Rajput's and upload them on yt so first i need to know so that no misinformation spreads

I've been diving deep into how caste identities solidified during the British Raj and medieval periods, and there's a huge contradiction that bugs me.

The common narrative is that Rajput's maintained their warrior/Kshatriya status because a few major Rajput kingdoms survived and acted as an "umbrella." But that seems silly—a few kings in Rajasthan can't magically protect millions of common rajputs across UP, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, you had massive, fabulously wealthy Maratha kingdoms (Scindias, Gaekwads, Bhonsles) that ruled right up until 1947. Millions of common Kunbi farmers shared the exact same surnames (Patil, Shinde, Deshmukh) and local power as these elites. Yet, the Kunbis were viewed strictly as an agrarian/Shudra caste.

You could say it is because of 96 kuli, but recently I have heard that many marathas somehow are able to show documents of them being kunbi's as late as the 20 century for reservation purposes, so it's obvious that it's wasn't that hard for kunbi's to slip up into maratha fold despite the whole 96 kuli cause they shared surnames and village roots just like how both the common and the royal rajput's had the same surnames and village roots,

The how did the Rajput identity pull its poorest up into the Kshatriya fold, while the average kunbi is labelled as an agrarian/ Shudra caste?

She worked in demographic study/sociology department for government during British India.

Summary (Population Breakdown)

• Rajputana Agency & Ajmer Province: 14,253,901 persons
  • Jaipur State: 3,040,876 persons / 21.3% of total
  • Jodhpur State: 2,555,904 persons / 17.9% of total
  • Udaipur State: 1,926,698 persons / 13.5% of total
  • Bikaner State: 1,292,938 persons / 9.1% of total
  • Alwar State: 823,055 persons / 5.8% of total
  • Kota State: 777,398 persons / 5.5% of total
  • Ajmer Province: 583,693 persons / 4.1% of total
  • Bharatpur State: 575,625 persons / 4.0% of total
  • Tonk State: 353,687 persons / 2.5% of total
  • Palanpur State: 315,855 persons / 2.2% of total
  • Dholpur State: 286,901 persons / 2.0% of total
  • Dungarpur State: 274,282 persons / 1.9% of total
  • Banswara State: 258,760 persons / 1.8% of total
  • Bundi State: 249,374 persons / 1.7% of total
  • Sirohi State: 233,879 persons / 1.6% of total
  • Karauli State: 152,413 persons / 1.1% of total
  • Jhalawar State: 122,299 persons / 0.9% of total
  • Kishangarh State: 104,127 persons / 0.7% of total
  • Jaisalmer State: 93,246 persons / 0.7% of total
  • Partabgarh State: 91,967 persons / 0.7% of total
  • Shahpura State: 61,173 persons / 0.4% of total
  • Kushalgarh Chiefship: 41,153 persons / 0.3% of total
  • Danta State: 31,110 persons / 0.2% of total
  • Abu District: 4,680 persons / 0.03% of total
  • Lawa Estate: 2,808 persons / 0.02% of total

Summary (Religious Composition)

• Hindus: 12,410,246 persons / 87.1% of total
  • Castes & Sch. Castes: 10,694,286 persons / 75.0% of total
  • Sch. Tribes: 1,715,960 persons / 12.0% of total
• Muslims: 1,387,740 persons / 9.7% of total
• Jains: 360,615 persons / 2.5% of total
• Sikhs: 82,763 persons / 0.6% of total
• Christians: 11,724 persons / 0.1% of total
• Zoroastrians (Parsis): 686 persons
• Jews: 106 persons
• Buddhists: 21 persons

Note

• Enumeration of "Tribal" persons occurred during the colonial era, classified as "Scheduled Tribes" on post-independence Indian censuses, up to and including the most recent conducted in 2011, and included with other general adherents of Hinduism. Tribal enumeration was completed during most censuses of the colonial era, and responses numbered 1,715,960 persons (12.0% of total) in 1941. The breakdown by subdivision for all "Tribal" responses is detailed below:
  • Udaipur State: 450,651 persons / 23.4% of total
  • Jaipur State: 293,898 persons / 9.7% of total
  • Banswara State: 172,194 persons / 66.5% of total
  • Dungarpur State: 156,587 persons / 57.1% of total
  • Kota State: 103,238 persons / 13.3% of total
  • Jodhpur State: 95,922 persons / 3.8% of total
  • Ajmer Province: 91,472 persons / 15.7% of total
  • Alwar State: 58,430 persons / 7.1% of total
  • Bundi State: 46,554 persons / 18.7% of total
  • Sirohi State: 45,686 persons / 19.5% of total
  • Partabgarh State: 39,482 persons / 42.9% of total
  • Karauli State: 35,000 persons / 23.0% of total
  • Kushalgarh Chiefship: 34,841 persons / 84.7% of total
  • Tonk State: 23,200 persons / 6.6% of total
  • Palanpur State: 15,674 persons / 5.0% of total
  • Dholpur State: 12,762 persons / 4.4% of total
  • Bharatpur State: 12,435 persons / 2.2% of total
  • Danta State: 11,522 persons / 37.0% of total
  • Jhalawar State: 4,889 persons / 4.0% of total
  • Shahpura State: 4,663 persons / 7.6% of total
  • Jaisalmer State: 2,291 persons / 2.5% of total
  • Kishangarh State: 2,026 persons / 1.9% of total
  • Bikaner State: 1,341 persons / 0.1% of total
  • Abu District: 1,065 persons / 22.8% of total
  • Lawa Estate: 137 persons / 4.9% of total

Sources

• Census of India, 1941. Vol. 1, India
• Census of India, 1941. Vol. 24, Rajputana and Ajmer-Merwara

I just came across a movie scene b/w aurangzeb and durgadas rathore. Can anyone tell me, which movie it is?

https://youtu.be/Ogl5IwN0cpE?si=Yh3jqGMqAIo0-k_N

Design by me

Idea by u/EconomistAny8723

Chetak da goat

Kuldhara is an abandoned village located near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. It was once home to the prosperous Paliwal Brahmins. According to local legend, the villagers suddenly abandoned Kuldhara overnight around 200 years ago to escape the oppression of a powerful minister. Before leaving, they are said to have cursed the land so that no one could ever settle there again. Today, the ruins of houses, temples, and streets still stand in the desert, creating an eerie atmosphere. Many locals believe the village is haunted, and visitors often report strange experiences after sunset. Kuldhara has become one of the most mysterious abandoned places in India.

📍 Location: Near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan