RAS question
After the Battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap made which place his new capital to continue guerrilla warfare against the Mughals?
Correct answer: (B) Chavand.
After the Battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap made Chavand his new capital for continuing guerrilla warfare against the Mughals.
Explanation
After the Battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap withdrew into the hills of Mewar and established Chavand as his new capital. The point of the move was strategic: Chavand gave him a base from which he could continue guerrilla warfare against the Mughals instead of fighting only set-piece battles. This is why Chavand, not an earlier coronation or temporary refuge site, is the answer. The same phase is also linked with Pratap's recovery of most of Mewar before his death in 1597, while Chittorgarh and Mandalgarh remained outside his control.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Kumbhalgarh was used temporarily, but the question asks for the new capital from which Pratap continued the later guerrilla struggle.
- (C) Dungarpur was a separate princely state under another dynasty, not Maharana Pratap's post-Haldighati capital.
- (D) Gogunda is associated with Pratap's coronation, whereas the question asks for his later guerrilla base after Haldighati.
Concept
This tests the post-Haldighati phase of Mewar resistance, especially the shift from battlefield confrontation to hill-based guerrilla strategy. RAS repeats this theme because it links Rajasthan's political geography with major Rajput-Mughal conflicts.