Hakim Khan Sur


Hakim Khan Sur An ethnic Pathan, was a Pashtun warrior and a general in Rana Pratap's army. He fought with him in the Battle of Haldighati and died in 1576. In Haldighati Battle, he commanded an army of Afghans who were against the rising power of Mughal Empire.

Biography

Hakim Khan Suri was a member of the Sur dynasty and was a descendant of Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the Sur Empire.
Hakim Khan was a seasoned Sur, who had his own axe to grind against the imperial motives of the Mughals. He found in Pratap an energetic, chivalrous and bold veteran hero, for whom the Mughal imperialism was a nuisance too.
The Battle of Haldighati is widely but wrongly perceived as a Hindu-Muslim conflict, but this is not the case. Both armies had a mix of Hindus and Muslims. This was a struggle between the Mughal imperialism and Mewar. Whereas Hakim Khan Suri led the vanguard for Rana Pratap, Akbar's army was commanded by the Rajput chief of Jaipur, Man Singh I and half the Mughal army was composed of Rajput soldiers. Hakim Khan was part of the battle to exact revenge from the Mughals for the defeat of Sikandar Shah Suri, his forefather.
Hakim Khan fighting with Maharana Pratap and Man Singh I along with Akbar, clearly establishes the fact that the battle of Haldighati was fought against imperialistic and expansionistic design, and it was not a communal one. He also served as the treasurer of Rana Pratap.

Legacy

Hakim Khan Suri occupies a high place in the annals of Mewar and an award of the Maharana Mewar Foundation bears his name. Hakim Khan Sur Award goes is given by the foundation to people for outstanding achievement and service to the nation. Every year a commemorative festival is held at Haldighati where his memorial is located.