Rajasthan: Disputed plaques on Haldighati war removed

Ground Report | New Delhi: Rajasthan: Disputed plaques; The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has removed the disputed band from Raktalai in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, on which it was written that Maharana Pratap's army had to retreat in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.

Apart from this, objections have also been raised on connecting Badshah Bagh, located on the Haldighati-Khamner route, with the Mughal ruler Akbar.

Two days ago, Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal had ordered the removal of this disputed inscription.

According to The Times of India report, this inscription was removed at three in the evening. According to the newspaper report, later two more stone plates were removed from Chetak Samadhi and Haldighati.

It has been said that the size of the font and the written on them were not according to the format of ASI. BJP MP from Rajsamand, Divya Kumari had also raised objections regarding these inscriptions. (Rajasthan: Disputed plaques)

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ASI officer of the Jodhpur area, Bipin Chandra Negi, told the newspaper that these inscriptions were removed on Thursday. He said, "When Indira Gandhi came to these areas in 1975, these bandages were installed in Chetak Samadhi, Badshah Bagh, Rakttalai, and Haldighati. At that time these monuments did not come under the supervision of the center. These sites were declared monuments of national importance in 2003, but this information was not found on these inscriptions. Due to long time they were out of date. Along with this, there were also controversies regarding the date and fact.

Negi said, "There were many requests from historians and public representatives to remove these inscriptions. Seeing these, I took my own cognizance. The name of ASI was not even on the old inscriptions. The Ministry of Culture had also raised this issue from our Headquarters. Now new inscriptions will be based on confirmed historical facts.

The rock-plate of Rakttalai which has been removed was written on it, "Rakt Talai, which is also colloquially called Khoon ki Talai, is a wide plain on the other side of Banas. Here there was a fierce battle between Shahi and Pratap's army. This war was led by Maharana Pratap and Man Singh riding on horse and elephant respectively. The battle was so fierce that the entire field was filled with corpses. In such a situation, Pratap's army had to retreat and the war ended on June 21, 1576.

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Chandra Shekhar Sharma, an associate professor at Mira Girls College in Udaipur, told The Indian Express that she had complained to the ASI about the old inscriptions.

Sharma said, "I had raised this issue on the birth anniversary. The fact that the Rajputs had retreated with the date of the battle at Shilapat is factually incorrect. This is historically wrong because the Mughal army had retreated. I went to Haldighati and did a seminar with the youth about it. Earlier, I had sent a delegation to ASI and demanded the removal of those inscriptions.

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