Facts about Maharana Pratap

Facts about the tribe that helped Maharana Pratap

Have you heard of a community keeping a promise they made to a ruler for over 400 years. That's the story of the Gadiya Lohars. On Rana Pratap's 480th birth anniversary, remembering his faithful Gadiya Lohars.

The Gadiya Lohars were the blacksmiths  for Mewar's army.  When Rana Pratap's troops were defeated by a much larger Mughal force at Haldighati, he switched to guerrilla warfare. As he was now living off the land, the Lohar's  also vowed to do the same till Chittor was won back.

Rana Pratap won back almost all of Mewar over the years, but the Gadiya Lohars remained nomadic. In the 1950s, Nehru met them at Chittorgarh assuring them that the land was now free. Many came, but most went back to their nomadic ways. The Gadiya Lohars are a fascinating study!