RAS question
The first Rajput ruler to accept Mughal suzerainty was:
Correct answer: (C) Bharmal of Amber.
Bharmal of Amber was the first Rajput ruler to accept Mughal suzerainty under Akbar in 1562.
Explanation
Raja Bharmal, also known as Bihari Mal, ruled Amber and was the first Rajput ruler to submit to Akbar. At Sanganer in 1562, Bharmal offered his daughter in marriage and personally attended the Mughal court. Britannica supports the core historical point: the Rajput raja of Amber acknowledged Akbar's suzerainty in 1562, after which other Rajput rajas followed. The decisive sequence began with Amber's submission, not with later Rajput commanders or houses that supplied major imperial nobles. Bharmal first accepted Mughal overlordship before later Rajput participation in Akbar's imperial order.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Rao Maldeo of Marwar is wrong because the first submission was made by Bharmal of Amber, and Maldeo never submitted to the Mughals.
- (B) Udai Singh of Mewar is wrong because he did not make the first submission; he fled before Akbar's siege of Chittor, while Amber had already acknowledged Akbar's suzerainty in 1562.
- (D) Man Singh of Amber is wrong because, although he served Akbar, the submission came earlier from Bharmal of Amber.
Concept
Rajput-Mughal relations in RAS history include Akbar's policy of alliance and suzerainty in Rajasthan. Amber's early submission marks the starting point for wider Rajput participation in the Mughal imperial structure.