If Gandhiji is 'Rashtrapita', Rana Pratap and Shivaji are 'Rashtra Gaurav Purush'

May 9, 2015 was the 475th birth anniversary of Rana Pratap - a name that remains a deep source of inspiration for those who believe in fighting for righteous but forlorn causes against power and success. Even 400 years after his death, Rana Pratap's name continues to shine as one of India's earliest nationalists. The coalition he raised against Emperor Akbar had people from all castes, including the lowest and even a Muslim warrior, Hakim Khan Sur. There is very strong evidence to show that in appreciation of the bravery displayed at Haldighati by a tribal chief, Rao Punja, Rana Pratap admitted his son (Rao Punja was slain displaying uncommon bravery) into the Rajput caste. Not only that, Rana Pratap directed his Rajput associates to feel free to enter into matrimonial alliance with his family. Rao Punja's descendants still live in Mewar, now proud members of the Rajput clan. This is the biggest example of Rana Pratap's love for justice and merit because it shows he was prepared to relax the rules of caste to reward high merit in an age in which caste rules were inflexible.

This is the reason why historians have heaped praise on Rana Pratap like on few else. Says the great historian Ishwari Prasad: "The many Mughal and Rajput generals who fought against Rana Pratap are mere phantoms across the pages of history while even after 400 years, Rana Pratap lives a charmed life. His name is a beacon of light for those whose endeavour is to fight for righteous but forlorn causes." He adds: "Had Rana Pratap decided to bow down before Akbar, the emperor would have put him on the highest pedestal. But Rana Pratap chose to fight for the freedom of his people and make his mother's milk resplendent by taking on the might of the Mughal empire. That's the reason why mothers deep down in the remote Indian villages still pray that their sons emulate Rana Pratap."

Ishwari Prasad's description of Rana Pratap's love for the motherland is moving. One episode is truly touching. One day when Rana Pratap was living in a jungle with his family, the bread made out of grass flour that his small daughter was eating was suddenly snatched by a cat. The hungry princess started to cry. It brought tears to his eyes and he decided to write a letter to Akbar describing his hardships and appealing to him to relax his severity. When the Bikaner prince, Prithviraj, already a nobleman in Akbar's service, came to know about it, he dispatched a sharp letter appealing to Rana Pratap's patriotic sentiment, the purport of which is "Rana, if you surrender, then the pride of the Rajputs and Rajputana would be lost forever." The powerful letter made Rana Pratap reverse his decision.

Similarly Chhatrapati Shivaji, in his 35-year-struggle against the might of the Mughal empire and the combined Deccani sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda, aroused the urge for freedom in all sections of people and made extensive use of their skills. He turned the untouchable Mahar community, to which Babasaheb Ambedkar belonged, into a fighting group of people by assigning them suitable roles in battles and in protection of his forts. The upshot of this was that the Mahars turned into a fighting community, resulting in the British raising the Mahar regiment. Significantly, Ambedkar's father was a soldier in the Mahar regiment at Mhow and it won't be an overstatement to say that the military culture he imbibed in his veins also played a role in injecting in him the fighting spirit in his struggle against caste prejudice and injustice. The Marathi powadas (folk songs) of Shivaji's time are a reflection of the sense of justice, pride and equality that Shivaji injected into the society during his epic struggle. The powadas also eugolise the role that lower castes like Ramodhis, Kolis and even Mahars played in his fight.

Interestingly, the episode involving Rana Pratap and tribal chief Rao Punja has a parallel in the case of Shivaji and a Nai (barber caste) warrior called Jiva Mahale. Shivaji had picked Mahale from a Konkan village when he saw him practising with a Dand-Patta (A straight Roman-like, thin-blade sword which sways when used in a fight and is very famous in Maharashtra) with great skill. Shivaji developed him as a Dand-Patta expert and made him his personal bodyguard. The move paid off when Mahale saved Shivaji's life in his duel with the ferocious Bijapuri general, Afzal Khan, on November 10, 1659, at Pratapgadh, near Mahabhaleshwar.

The incident led to the coining of a saying, "Because of Jiva, Shiva was saved". After the battle, Shivaji elevated Mahale's rank as a soldier and gave him the honourable right to use palkhi. Shivaji's life story clearly proves that in his fight for freedom from Muslim tyranny, he inspired all castes and made their appropriate use in the service of the nation. That Muslim warriors like Siddi Hilal, Ibrahim Khan and Darya Khan and Noor Baig were given important military roles by him also proves that he was willing to take moderate and non-iconoclastic Muslims along with him.

Shivaji also embarked on social reform not seen in those days. After Bajaji Nimbalkar, the ruler of Phaltan, had been forcibly converted to Islam, Shivaji not only brought him back to Hinduism, but gave his daughter Sakhubai in marriage to his son Mahadji. It was a rare example in an age when Hindus used to simply abandon a fellow Hindu if he left Hinduism. Shivaji had great respect for saints and never hesitated to pay his respects to saints of low caste belonging to the Bhakti cult and even Muslim saints.

This brings us to a wish of a section of Indians who believe that the epic struggles waged by Rana Pratap and Chattrapati Shivaji to protect the honour and freedom of their people against the onslaught of the Mughal empire are unparalleled in Indian medieval history and now that a nationalist government is in power in New Delhi, why should the duo not be accorded the status of "Rashtra Gaurav Purush" (icons of national pride)? The argument run thus: The duo's fight inspired all classes of people, rose above social divisions and instilled national pride in one and all. The iconic status they enjoy as national heroes is best illustrated by their images that hang in frames at thousands of haircutting saloons and small schools in villages across the length and breadth of the country.

So, if Gandhiji could be made "Rashtrapita" (Father of the Nation) for his great contribution to the freedom movement, despite his mistakes, why should the two great patriots not be accorded the status of "Rashtra Gaurav Purush" by the Narendra Modi government, which many believe is one of the first truly nationalist governments to come to power? One of the arguments advanced in favour of Gandhiji is that his movements had the involvement of the lowest classes and castes and even Muslims and therefore, the "Rashtrapita" status squarely sits on him. As narrated above, both Rana Pratap and Shivaji led national struggles against foreign domination and Muslim tyranny that also involved all classes of people including moderate Muslims. Plus, they fought in much more adverse circumstances than the Mahatma. British power was much softer than Mughal power.

Moreover, like Gandhjii, both Rana Pratap and Shivaji proved to be winners in the end. Before he died in 1597, Rana Pratap had won back from Akbar large parts of Mewar except Chittor. And Shivaji's successes were much more spectacular than Rana Pratap. When he died in 1680, Shivaji ruled over an area which could be compared to a small empire as it included parts of today's Mararashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Plus, Shivaji left behind a role model of good civil governance which has remained a point of admiration till this day.

Is the Narendra Modi government listening?