Remembering the Beloved Animal War Heroes from India's Pre-Independence Era (Independence Day Special)
Remembering the Beloved Animal
War Heroes from India's Pre-Independence Era
(Independence Day Special)
Meghna 'Phoenix' Ghatak
Animals have been inseparable and
indispensable part of India's pre colonial as well as colonial history. No
battle could have been fought or won without the loyal involvement of a wide
array of our ancient four legged companions. But while a number of Western
countries have commemorated their war veteran animals by erecting statues,
immortalizing them in film and literature and remembering them on social media;
we Indians have sadly paid limited homage to our animal war heroes. This
article endeavors to remember a few unsung warrior companions of Royal patriots
from our pre - independence era.
- Chetak
( the Royal steed of Maharana Pratap)
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| Statue of Maharana Pratap Singh in Udaipur |
Maharana Pratap, the brave Rajput king
of Mewar, needs no introduction to most Indians. In 1568, when most rajput
kings were submitting to the mighty Mughal emperor, Akbar, the newly crowned
Rana refused to give up Mewar. He entered into the Battle of Haldighati, riding
his blue steed, Chetak in 1576, in the Aravali Mountains of Rajasthan and
escaped being captured despite the loss of his army. He resurged years later to
win back parts of Mewar and establish a new capital near modern Dungarpur but
he only lived due to the valour of his loyal horse. The only historical mention
of this Marwari breed of war horse is not of their bravery, but the use of fake
elephant trunks fastened to them, in order to gain the appearance of baby
elephants, giving them the added leverage of attacking first. Mahouts would be
killed when the horses rose on their hind legs and placed their forelegs on the
opponent elephant's heads.
In the battle, Akbar’s elephant had
panicked and a dagger tied to its trunk had chopped off one of Chetak's legs,
yet he had carried his master away from harm, leaping across a river and
serving him till his last breath.
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| Chetak Fighting Akbar's Elephant in the Battle of Haldighati |
Today multiple statues commemorate the
blue horse and his rider, in Udaipur and Jodhpur after reference in an 18th
century ballad, ' Khummana-Raso' by poet Dalpati Vijay. The horse here has been
described as bestowed with blue skin, peacock neck, broad chest, inward
pointing ears and small height. Chetak Smarak in Haldighati in the modern day
Rajsamand district has been erected where Chetak had supposedly fallen on 21
June 1576. For more than 300 years, Sarangkheda village of Nandurbar district
of Maharashtra holds a month long Chetak festival in the winter months to
showcase the finest equestrian breeds.
2. Hiran (the
Royal executioner of Emperor Akbar)
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| Akbar’s Adventure with the Elephant Hawa’i/Hiran in 1561 by Basawan and Chetar Munti (1590-95) |
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| Hiran Minar, Fatehpur Sikri |
This Asiatic elephant was not just a
loyal companion, war hero but also his personal executioner. He is said to have
let only the emperor ride him and had even participated in the Battle of
Haldighati against Maharana Pratap Singh and Chetak. When the emperor sat in
the Audience Hall (Diwan-i-am) to bestow justice and proclaim a death sentence,
he would call the pachyderm to crush the heads of condemned men laid on
flat stones. Hiran is also sometimes referred to as Hawa'i, a ferocious
elephant and is seen championing over another terrifying and ferocious elephant
called Ran Bagha in a watercolor by Basawan and Chetar Munti in 1561 in
Akhbarnama by Abu'l Fazl. The emperor was famous for taming wild elephants and
hence loved Hiran dearly. Hence after a long life, when it died peacefully, he
had Hiran Minar constructed over its grave.
3. Neela (Guru
Govind Singh's Blue Roan Horse)
 |
| Blue Roan Breed of Horses |
The tenth spiritual leader of Sikhs,
Guru Govind Singh is remembered for his velour in numerous battles against
Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, for tormenting Hindus into forceful religious
conversions. He notably found the Khalsa, a special unit of Sikh warriors
and commanded them to carry the five Ks: (Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (a wooden
comb for the hair), Kara (an iron bracelet), Kachera (100% cotton tieable undergarment)
and Kirpan (an iron dagger)). Despite suffering the gruesome capture and
execution of his family members, the guru fought 13 battles in defense of
righteousness ( dharma-yudha) from 1688 to 1705. In Nanded near the river
Godavari, the guru was secretly followed back to his tent and stabbed fatally
by Mughal soldiers and he succumbed to his injuries on 8th October, 1708.
Legend talks of him proclaiming the Guru Granth Saheb as his successor and then
riding to his funeral pyre on his beloved blue horse - Neela. The blue horse is
said to be a Blue Roan who have specific color genes and can be red, blue or
grey with absence of solid color on their mane, tail and legs.
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| Guru Govind Singh Riding on Neela |
At Puthi Saheb, Punjab, the guru's
guruship was challenged by a local artisan by asking him to sleep in a furnace.
Neela was instructed by the guru to trample on the mud surrounding the kiln
(puthi) , cooling it instantly. The guru's rest and Neela's hoof marks in the
kiln are commemorated by his followers till today by building a gurudwara at
that spot. The same incident was repeated in front of Nihang Khan, a local
Afghan chief at Kotla Nihang Khan, two and a half kilometers south of Ropar,
where the present gurudwara Bhatta Sahib stands.
Multiple stories from folk tales talk
of the guru mounting and marching on his beloved stallion while teaching the
morals of Sikhism to fellow warriors and common men. The horse is also
sometimes called Dilbag and his lineage continues till today at Hazoor Saheb,
Nanded in Maharashtra despite the dilution of the original blue color. They are
decorated and respected, especially on the occasions of Gurpurabs - the
festivals celebrating the Sikh gurus and believe to get agitated at times as if
being ridden by the spirit of the guru.
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