The first ruler to use the title ‘Rana’, ’Rana Hamir’ was the 14th-century ruler of Mewar ascending the throne at the age of 22 with his wife Songari in 1326. Belonging to the cadet branch of ruling Guilhot dynasty that lost in battle with Allauddin Khilji.,young Hamir lost his parents and his home in this war. Mewar was at the mercy of invaders after the battle leading to chaos in once splendid Mewar. The then king of Mewar, Munja Balecha, minor sycophant of Sultan Khilji, made the life of people of Mewar difficult to live which made Hamir come out and kill the former with his swift and dexterous archery at the bare age of ten. As a result of this, younger brother of Amir’s father, Ajay Singh, spotted the young Hamir first time and learned of his lineage.
Ajay Singh took Hamir as his disciple to teach him the ancient shastras and art of warfare in his fortified retreat of Kelwara, located strategically between the roads from Chittor to Delhi. Ajay Singh taught Hamir to not only learn from previous Rajput kings but also from their mistakes which made the lost the previous battles. Hamir got to know that strength and brain both are important for victory on the battlefield.
Rana Hamir was a supporter of widow remarriage and since actions speak louder than words, he married widowed princess Songari. However, the latter’s father, Raja Maldeo deputed by Allauddin khiliji, ruler of Chittor, ambitions to subdue him with this marriage did not escape his eyes. So he engineered a coup d'etat against Raja Maldeo, giving him a taste of his own medicine, and claiming back his lost motherland of Chittor.
After becoming the king, he refused to accept the suzerainty of the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad Bin Tughluq. The latter, like previous, invades Sultan Allauddin Khilji, who killed his relatives, killed his father Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, to claim the throne of Delhi. Raja Maldeo who did not want to accept his defeat escaped from prison and joined hands with Muhammad Bin Tughluq to defeat Hamir.
The battle between the forces of Mewar and that of Delhi was the final testament of Rana Hammir ’s supremacy, both on and off the field. Thanks to the teachings of his uncle, and having spent most of his childhood in the region of Kelwara hills, Hammir was quite adept in guerrilla warfare. Even though his force was outnumbered four to one, Rana Hammir knew one maxim of the war, later immortalized by famous American general George S. Patton, was:- ‘The object of war is to not die for the country but to make the other man die for his’ which became his biggest strength on the field.
This war was the ‘do or die ‘ situation for Rana Hammir, he didn’t fear death, but if he wanted the glory of both Mewar and Rajputana to be restored, he needed to win for which he needed to kill.
So, for that Rana Hammir conducted a surprise attack on the enemy camp at midnight, with only a battalion strength of his army. The enemy, taken unawares, were slaughtered like carrots. From folklore, it can be deduced that Raja Maldeo met a deserving end at the hands of the Mewar forces. That night not only Rana Hammir had won the war but also took the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughluq as his prisoner.
He had managed to avenge the humiliation wrecked upon his Chittor by reducing the pride of the Delhi Sultan to dust.
The Sultan was kept hostage, and he was left only when he agreed to, in writing, giving the independence of the entire region of Rajputana, along with Mewar. Even though he was left alive, Muhammad bin Tughluq was crushed, and could never dare to attack Mewar again. Only a few years later, in 1336, either directly or indirectly inspired by this very tale of valor, two brothers, Harihara and Bukka Rai, defeated the forces of the same Sultan near Warangal, and laid the foundation of the glorious Vijayanagar Empire. Even though Hammir had stepped down from the throne of Mewar in 1364, his days of glory continued to inspire many Rajputs in the Rajputana for centuries to come.
Hammir also became the progenitor of the Sisodia clan, a branch of the Guhila dynasty, to which every succeeding Maharana of Mewar has belonged. Mewar during Rana Hammir’s reign was one of the few ethnic Indian states that had withstood the Turkic invasions. He also built the Annapoorna Mata temple located in the Chittor Fort in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.
However, the tale doesn’t end here as Sharukh says ”Picture(film) is still left”. Allaluddin Khilji assassinated Jalaluddin and then crowned himself as the new Sultan of Delhi. Muhammad Shah was instrumental in making this coup successful which earned him a basketful of privileges including access to the harem as a result of which he soon built up a good rapport with its inmates.
Chimna was one of Allaudin's begums, but Allaudin never gave her as much attention as other begums which managed to antagonize her, She saw a valiant soldier in Muhammad Shah and was extremely impressed by his courage and boldness. So, the vindictive begum and the ambitious Muhammad Shah started a conspiracy to slay Allaudin and to capture the throne for themselves. However, the conspiratorial plans somehow leaked out which enraged Allaudin. To escape the former’s fury, Muhammad Shah had to flee from Delhi along with his brother. He sought asylum in many nearby kingdoms but no one was ready to stand up to the wrath of Allaudin.
He approached Hamir Dev who was moved by his humble pleading and misery and agreed to provide him shelter but it roused Allaudin's ire. The latter immediately attacked the fort of Ranthambore. The armies of Allaudin and Hamir Dev met in a battle on the banks of river Banas. The Rajputs had the initial victory, but due to personal feud between the Prime Minister and the Senapati (General-in-charge of the army) Hamir Dev's army got disorganized. Meanwhile, Allaudin reorganized his forces and made a renewed attack on the fort.
Some unscrupulous officers of Hamir Dev, with Bhoj Dev as their leader, colluded with Allaudin and started giving him secret information about the fort. The war continued. The strong walls of the fort were strategically situated so that it was not possible to blow them down with guns, for the debris so created had already killed numerous soldiers of the Sultan in their futile attempt to break into the fort. At last, Allaudin sent a message to Hamir Dev that if he handed over Muhammad Shah to him, then he would go back to Delhi. However, Hamir Dev, contrary to his expectations, sent back the messenger with the reply that when the Rajputs promise to protect someone, they would even give their lives for his safety. Muhammad Shah saw the hopelessness of the situation and counseled Hamir Dev to hand him over to Allaudin rather than fight such a long-drawn-out war and suffer such an enormous loss of lives and resources.
Allaudin's army was immense. He put a complete siege on the Ranthambore fort. Bhoj Dev and his informers kept on supplying him with information on the food and water situation inside the fort. The ill-fated war ended with the Sultan's legions emerging victorious. The female members of the Rajput kingdom committed jauhar and gave up lives on the pyres. Hamir Dev, himself, severed his head and put it in front of Lord Shiva's idol as an offering.
The story of Rana Hamir is a legacy for a country like India because every warrior of India has given their lives for every single grain of it.
Writer: Niharika Agarwal
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