Maharana Pratap is known to be the bravest and most chivalrous
Rajput ruler of India. Though he never practically ruled a land,
he was a King at heart. He was born in Kumbhalgarh to Rana Udai
Singh II in the year 1540 and has a very bright spot in the
annals of political history of India. He is known to be the only
Rajput ruler who never gave in to Akbar’s suzerainty policy. His
patriotism to his ancestral land Chittor was incomparable and
was his guiding light all his life. Maharana Pratap’s biggest
and strongest dream was to free Chittor from the clutches of
Mughals. Everything he did was towards seeing his dream turn
into reality. He never accepted Akbar as the sole ruler of India
and foiled Akbar’s every plan to win him over. He resented Akbar
for killing 27,000 civilians in the siege of Chittor and
strongly opposed the policy of Rajput chieftains marrying off
their daughters to Mughals. In the meantime, many Rajput
chieftains had accepted Akbar as their king and were ruling
their territories under him. A