DNA Exclusive: The real story of great Hindu warrior King Prithviraj Chauhan

Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chillar-starrer 'Samraat Prithiviraj,' a period movie based on the chronicles of brave Hindu ruler Prithviraj Chauhan is set to release in theatres on Friday. However, the film has once again highlighted the issue of misrepresentation of Indian, especially Hindu kings, in the history books of India for several decades. Prithiviraj Chauhan, who fought with invader Mohammad Ghori for years was presented to the students in Indian history books as a loser, who lost the battle against the Islamic invader. However, in reality, Prithviraj Chauhan first defeated Ghori in a battle of Tairan in 1191 and captured his army in a war. Though, the Hindu ruler later released Ghori and asked him to Afghanistan, the real story of Chauhan’s bravery and heroism never found its place in the history books while the Islamic invader like Aurangzeb, Akbar, Humayun, and Babar are celebrated.

In today's DNA, Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary sheds light on the double standards of the previous governments in the representation of Hindu rulers in the NCERT books and discusses how these brave Hindu rulers and the stories of their valour were hidden from the students while anti-Indian invaders were served as heroes.

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In 2021, a think tank named Public Policy Research Center analysed NCERT history books and found that Hindu rulers were not given equal importance as Muslim rulers in these books. As per the survey, the name of Muslim ruler Akbar is mentioned 97 times while Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb were mentioned 30 times each. However, famous Hindu ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj finds only 8 mentions in NCERT books while Bravehearts like Rana Sangha and Maharana Pratap are mentioned hardly once or twice.

The truth of Prithviraj Chauhan

In most history books, it is written that Mohammad Ghori, who was an Islamic invader, defeated the king of the Chauhan dynasty, Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain. The textbooks also present Ghori as a skilled strategist and a great warrior. However, the truth is that in the year 1191, Mohammad Ghori was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan in the first battle of Tarain and at that time Prithviraj Chauhan did not kill him but let him and his army return to Afghanistan.

At the time, India was one of the most wealthy nations in the world and invaders like Mohammad Ghori wanted to plunder these resources. And that is why in 1192, a year after the first battle of Tarain, he fought with Chauhan again and this time, he won but by deceit.

Why did Prithviraj Chauhan lose the second battle of Tarain to Ghori?

Prithviraj Chauhan lost the second battle to Mohammad Ghori due to division among Indian rulers and their lust for power.

At that time, King Jaichand of Kannauj, who was also Chauhan’s cousin, had supported Mohammad Ghori against Prithvi Raj Chauhan in the hope of annexing the throne of Delhi. Jaichand lent his military to Ghori to fight Prithviraj and felt that he had hammered his nail into the power of Delhi, however, Mohammad Ghori killed Raja Jaichand soon after the war.