The inevitable imperial invasion of his territory took place in April, 1576, under a body of troops commanded by Man Singh of Amber and Asaf Khan, and a furious battle was fought at the pass of Haldighat near Gogunda. Pratap was defeated, and barely escaped with his life, which was saved by the selfless devotion of the chief of Jhala, who drew upon himself the attack of his imperialists by declaring himself to be the Rana. Mounted on his beloved horse “Chaitak”, the Rana betook himself to the hills, and his strongholds were captured by his enemies one by one. But Pratap could not think of submission even in the midst of the direst adversity. Hunted from rock to rock by his implacable enemy, and “feeding his family from the fruits of his native hills”, he continued the war with undaunted spirit and energy and had the satisfaction of recovering many of his strongholds before be died on the 19th January, 1597, at the age of fifty-seven. The Rajput patriot was anxious for his motherland even at his last moment, for he had no faith in his son; and before he expired, he exacted, from his chiefs “a pledge that his country should not be abandoned to the Turks”. “Thus closed the life of a Rajput whose memory,”observes Tod, “is even now idolized by every Sisodia.” Pratap’s is indeed an inspiring personality in Indian history. The Rajputs have produced abler generals and more astute statesmen than Pratap, but not more brave and noble patriotic leaders than he. Pratap’s son, Amar Singh, tried to carry out the behest of his father but was attacked by a Mughul army under Man Singh in 1599 and was defeated after a gallant resistance. Akbar could not undertake any other invasion of Mewar owing to illness.
After annexing Ranthambhor and Kalinjar in A.D. 1569, the Mughuls subjugated Gujarat. With rich and flourishing ports on its coasts, Gujarat had an attractive commercial position and a special economic advantage. Its possession had therefore been coveted by the preceding rulers of Delhi, even by Humayun, whose occupation of it was, however, temporary. But Akbar must have realized the importance of occupying this province for the interests of his Empire, and the prevailing distracted condition of Gujarat under its nominal king, Muzaffar Shah III, gave him an excellent opportunity for it. As a matter of fact, his intervention being sought by Itimad Khan, the leader of a local faction, had some justification. In 1572 Akbar marched in person against Gujarat, defeated all opposition and pensioned off the puppet king. He captured Surat on the 26th February, 1573, after besieging it for a month and a half, and the Portuguese, who came in touch with him on this occasion, courted his friendship. But no sooner had he reached his headquarters at Fatehpur Sikri than insurrections broke out in the newly conquered province, in which some of his own cousins took part. Highly enraged at this, Akbar marched hurriedly to Ahmadabad, having traversed six hundred miles in eleven days, and thoroughly vanquished the insurgents in a battle near Ahmadabad on the 2nd September, 1573. Gujarat thus came under Akbar’s authority and became henceforth an integral part of his Empire. It turned out to be one of its profitable sources of income, chiefly through the reorganization of its finances and revenues by Todar Mal, whose work in that province was ably carried on by Shihab-ud-din Ahmad from 1577 to 1583 or 1584. “The conquest of Gujarat, ” remarks Dr. Smith, “marks an important epoch in Akbar’s history.” Besides placing its resources at the disposal of the Empire, it secured for it free access to the sea and brought it in contact with the Portuguese, which in some ways influenced the history of India. But the Mughuls made no attempt to build up any sea-power and their shortsightedness in this direction helped the intrusion of the European traders.
The more important province of Bengal was next conquered by the Mughuls. The Sur kings made themselves independent in Bengal during the short and stormy reign of Muhammad ‘Adil Shah and ruled it till 1564, when, taking advantage of the disorders following the murder of the reigning young king, Sulaiman Kararani, governor of South Bihar, extended his authority over Bengal also. Till his death in A.D. 1572, Sulaiman formally recognised the overlordship of Akbar and maintained friendly relations with him. He transferred his capital from Gaur to Tanda and annexed the Hindu kingdom of Orissa. But his son, Daud, who, according to the author of the Tabaqat, “knew nothing of the art of government”, soon ” forsook the prudent measures of his father “. He incurred the Emperor’s resentment not only by proclaiming his independence but also by attacking the outpost of Zamania on the eastern frontier of the Empire (situated in the Ghazipur district of U.P.). In 1574 Akbar himself marched against the presumptuous governor of Bengal and expelled him from Patna and Hajipur during the rainy season. He returned to Fathpur Sikri, leaving Mun’im Khan in charge of the Bengal campaign. Daud retreated towards Orissa and was defeated by the Mughul troops at Tukaroi near the eastern bank of the Suvarnarekha on the 3rd March, 1575. But this battle had no decisive result owing to the ill-advised leniency of Mun’im Khan towards the vanquished foe, who was consequently able to strike once more to recover Bengal in October, 1575. This necessitated another campaign against Daud, who was finally defeated and killed in a battle, near Rajmahal, in July, 1576. Bengal henceforth became an integral part of the Mughul Empire. But the weak policy of the imperial governor, Muzaffar Khan Turbati, who was “harsh in his measures and offensive in his speech “, gave rise to fresh troubles in that province. Further, the authority of the Emperor continued to be long resisted there by some powerful Bengal chiefs, the most important of whom were Isa Khan of East Central Dacca and Mymensingh, Kedar Rai of Vikrampur, Kandarpanarayan of Chandradvipa (Bakarganj) and Pratapaditya of Jessore. Orissa was finally annexed to the Empire in 1592.
In the meanwhile, Akbar had to face a critical situation due to the sinister motives of his stepbrother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim who governed Kabul as an independent ruler for all practical purposes. In conspiracy with some nobles of the eastern provinces, and some discontented officers of the court, like Khwaja Mansur, the Diwan of the Empire, and others, he cherished the ambition of seizing the throne of Hindustan for himself and even invaded the Punjab. Considering it inadvisable to ignore any longer his intrigues and movements, Akbar marched from his capital on the 8th February, 1581, towards Afghanistan with about 50,000 cavalry, 500 elephants and a large number of infantry. Mirza Muhammad Hakim, on hearing of the Emperor’s advance, fled from the Punjab to Kabul without offering any opposition to his brother. The Emperor thereupon entered Kabul on the 9th August, 1581. Mirza Muhammad Hakim was defeated, but was restored to the government of his province on taking a vow of fidelity to the Emperor, who returned to Delhi early in December, 1581. The victory at Kabul brought immense relief to Akbar. It gave him, writes Smith, “an absolutely free hand for the rest of his life, and may be regarded as the climax of his career”. Kabul was formally annexed to the Delhi empire after the death of Muhammad Hakim in July, 1585.
