Pratirodh: The Resistance

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Cast in the backdrop of the Mughal era during the reigns of and his successors, Aurangzeb and his Pratirodh is a saga of the relentless resistance by a few brave men against a seemingly invincible Empire to protect their honour and way of life. In response to the rather partisan policies of Mughal emperors, a number of personalities came forward in different parts of Hindustan, to lead people in resisting the tyranny.
Though the geographical disper- sion precluded any visible unified approach, they were indirectly bene- fitted by each other. When Aurang- zeb got cowed down in Rajputana against the unified resistance of Marwar and Mewar, it provided much needed succour to the great Shivaji and Guru Govind Singh to regroup and consolidate forces in their respective areas. The credit for tying down the Mughals for the longest period in history goes to the Marathas; this also acted as a lifeline to the Sikhs, Rajputs, Bundelas and Jats. Rajputs and Sikhs repaid their debt to Marathas by keeping the Mughals, post Aurangzeb, completely embroiled in Punjab and Rajputana, and indirectly paving the way for an almost unchallenged rise of the Marathas.
The prolonged resistance witnessed the supreme sacrifices of numerous unsung heroes of medieval history. Through unmatched grit and determination, they succeeded in bringing down the mighty Empire to its knees, eventually leading to its demise.

Lt General Dalip Singh, PVSM, VSM is an army veteran who has served the army in varied capacities such as Command, Staff, Instructional and UN assignments, and recently retired as DG OS in the rank of Lt General. As an avid reader and keen observer of Indian history, he always felt that our esteemed historians have not paid enough attention to the historical accounts written in local dialects or informal sources. to Therefore, on superannuation from the army, he decided to contribute his bit in remembering the deeds of such selfless and unsung heroes of our history. The book Pratirodh : The Resistance is his first humble contribution towards this endeavour.

Cast in the backdrop of the Mughal era and the reign of Curang Aurangzeb and his successors, Pratirodh (The Resistance) is the saga of relentless resistance by a few brave men to protect their honour and way of life against a seemingly invincible empire. In face of certain partisan policies of Mughal emperors, a number of stalwarts came forward from different parts of India to lead people in resisting the empire. Through unmatched grit and determination, they succeeded in bringing the mighty empire to its knees, eventually leading to its demise.
Some of these heroes rose from very ordinary backgrounds but etched themselves a place in history through their noble intent and glorious deeds. However, history has not been very kind to them and the deeds of these unsung men and women have been largely reduced to mere events and outcomes, often constrained by political expediency.
The defining epoch was shaped by many - the resistance and rebellion of Marwar with the active assistance of Mewar in Rajputana, the legendary deeds of Shivaji and other Marathas, the defining contributions of Guru Gobind Singh, Banda Singh Bahadur and their Sikh disciples in Punjab, the pathbreaking efforts of Jat chiefs like Rajaram and Churaman in the Mathura- Bharatpur area and the localised resistance by Bundelas and a few others in Malwa, among others.
The visionary Shivaji guided the collective conscience of the Marathas and Guru Gobind Singh played a stellar role in defining the resistance of the Sikhs. Their contributions in guiding the