Battle of Diwer: Another prominence of Dussehra from the history of Mewar

Article by Ashok Mathur

Vijay Dashmi is a historic day even in the annals of Mewar, as on this auspicious occasion in 1582 the famous battle of Dewair started. Situated among the tall Aravali ranges, Diwer known for the scenic beauty has been witness to the event that turned out to be a turning point in the fight for freedom.

Located at about the distance of 118 km from Udaipur and 2 km from Dewair town, the valley of Dewair ki Naal has been given the form of a beautiful war memorial by the government of Rajasthan under its Mewar Complex Project.

The Battle of Dewair in a way marks the climax of Maharana Pratap’s life. The name of this great warrior shines like a glorious sun. By the time Akbar took over the reins of Mughal rule in India the thousands of year old national values of Indian nationalism had begun to decline.

The troubled nation saw a ray of light when Rana Pratap appeared on the scene in 1572 and challenged the supremacy of the Mughal Empire.

To re-establish Indian values, Maharana Pratap gave up all comforts of life and chose to make forest his home in order to unite people to fight against the mighty Mughal emperors.

Pratap was born on 9^th May 1540. His childhood was spent at Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh. When Maharana Udaisingh established Udaipur and made Gogunda his capital, Pratap spent his youth at these places. He succeeded to the throne on 28 February 1572 after the death of Udaisingh.

He strongly opposed expansionist design of the Mughals. He continued to do so after the famous battle of Haldi Ghati.

On the Northern end of Mewar, between the hill ranges of Kumbhalgarh and Madaria is located Diwer ka Naka.

National Highway-8 passes through Dewair which is about 50km from Rajsamand town.

In ancient times it was ruled by the Mers and Dewda Rajputs. It had great strategic importance as it is on the road to Marwar, Mewar, Gujarat and Malwa. The early rulers connected the hills of Dewair with ‘Khurra’ roads.

After the battle of Haldighati, Emperor Akbar sent his soldiers through Mewar’s north-west borders- Mandal, Madaria, Mohi and especially Dewair Diwer and ‘thanas’ were established there. During this period military campaigns were taken up under the leadership of Bhagwandas, Mansingh, Todarmal, Shahbaz Khan and others using guerilla technique, Maharana Pratap kept on making these efforts unsuccessful. He utilized this period to organize his forces, to collect arms and rations and to get the support of the rulers of Sirohi, Idar, Jalore and other places.

Then was spread a pre planned rumor that Maharana Pratap had left Mewar, Pratap’s army marched unnoticed through secret paths to Dewair, a stronghold of Mughals and attacked it unexpectedly. Amarsingh fought bravely.

This resulted in the flight of the Mughal soldiers and the closing of all the 36 Mughal posts in Mewar.

The war memorial at Mewa ka Mathara, near Dewair commemorates the historic victory of the bravest son of Mewar.