Evaluation of Rajput States- UPSC Notes
Evaluation of Rajput States
In the previous page, we discussed the chronology of the Rajput states and the early Muslim invasions. In this page, we shall discuss the reasons for the military failure of the Rajputs, their art and society.
Reasons for the Military failure of Rajputs:
- Military Factors:
- Supply of horses: Cavalry formed the most important part of medieval armies. Whereas the Ghurids got an uninterrupted supply of Central Asian and Arabic horses, the Rajputs’ supply was blocked.
- Lack of Mobility: Rajputs relied more on elephants which were highly immobile. It could not manoeuvre or chase a retreating enemy. Therefore, they could win only in defensive battles.
- Superior Technology: Turks had made various improvements in their cavalry. They used Iron Stirrups (rings to put shoes) to provide stability to the rider and Iron Horse-shoe to increase their speed.
- Battle strategies: The Turks used to keep a reserve force to break the defence lines of an exhausted opponent force, whereas Rajputs preferred an All-out attack.
- Political factors:
- The feudal system of Governance: It led to more internal struggle, which weakened the kings.
- Lack of sound strategic consciousness: Rajputs failed to judge the new threats emerging in Central Asia. They should also not judge the strategic importance of the natural defences provided by the North-Western Frontier of India.
- Lack of Alliances: Only one alliance, i.e. under King Bhoja, could be formed to face the Ghaznavids. Otherwise, Rajputs were sworn enemies of each other.
- Socio-cultural Factors:
- Poor Discipline: Dynasty-based politics was not best suited to maintain discipline. Whereas the Ghurids had an impressive discipline in their army which was composed of a large number of slaves, and treated war as a ‘Jihad’ or Holy war.
- Idealistic Outlook: Rajputs unreasonably expected wars to be “Dharma Yuddha” (wars fought on principles). For example, they expected wars to be paused during the nighttime, or they didn’t kill the surrendered enemy.
- Taking families to war: Rajputs treated wars as sports or as vacations. Often taking families on pilgrimage alongside.
