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Rana Sanga Saṇgrām Singh : popularly known as Rāṇā Saṅga, was ruler of Mewār (1508-29). Grandson of legendary Sisodia Rāṇā Kumbha, he succeeded his father Rāṇā Raimal after winning a battle of succession with his brothers. He began by expanding his territories: Taking advantage of the internal strife in the Delhi Sultanate, he annexed the north-east of Rājputāna by defeating Sultan Ibrahim Lodi in the battles of Khatoli & Dholpur; but his attempt to vassalise the Muhammedan ruler of Idar, led to a war with Idar’s ally the Muslim ruler of Gujarat whom he successfully defeated. In 1510 Mahmud II ascended the throne of Mālwā. To get rid of the influence of the Muslim nobles, he appointed Medini Rāi, the powerful Rajput chief of Chanderi, his minister. Seeing Medini appoint capable Hindu chiefs to offices of trust & responsibility, the jealous Muslim nobles in Mahmud’s Mālwā, removed him with help of Sultan Muzaffar Shāh II of Gujarat. Medini sought the help of Rāṇā Saṇga who captured Mahmud’s capital Mandsaur & defeated the joint forces of Mahmud & Muzaffar Shāh in the battle of Ghagron. The Rāṇā who aspired (like Bāppā before him, & Bājirao Peshwa after him) to restore the primacy of Hindu culture & civilisation, proved a formidable to the pucca barbarian Bābur, a Chagatai Turk descended on his father’s side from Tīmūr, & connected on his mother’s side with Chenghīz Khān. Bābur had made several exploratory expeditions before being invited to overthrow the Delhi Sultanate by two its own nobles: Daulat Khān Lodi of Punjab, to take revenge for the cruel treatment meted out to his son Dilāwar Khan by Sultan Ībrāhīm Lodi of Delhi, & ‘Ᾱlam Khān, uncle of Ībrāhīm eager to take over the throne of Delhi. Bābur at once responded, entered Punjab & occupied Lahore in 1524. The next year Bābur swooped down from Kabul, took over Daulat’s Punjab. On 21 April 1526 Bābur vanquished Ibrahim Lodi at Pāṇīpat (q.v.) who, unlike him, trained in the underhand tactics & strategies perfected by such invincible invaders as Timur & Chenghiz, & an equally unethical park of artillery, possessed neither the right tactics nor the cannons. But the barbarian knew that before establishing himself on the throne of Delhi, he needed to defeat the Afghāns settled in Hindusthan & the Rajput alliance led by Rāṇā Saṇgha. Rāṇā Saṇgha marched to Delhi with the rulers of Mārwād, Amber, Gwalior, Ajmer & Chanderi, & Sultan Mahmud Lodi (another son of Sultan Sikandar Lodi) whom the Rāṇā had acknowledged as the ruler of Delhi. Rāṇā Saṇgha led the allied forces to Biyāna, where he was joined by Hasan Khān Mewāti & some other Afghan supporters of the Lodi dynasty…but no other Afghān chief joined them, converted as they were by wily Babur turned the confrontation as a religious war, taunting them on their having joined the godless Kāfirs against their co-religionist. The course of Indian history might have taken a different turn had that descendant of Timur & Chenghiz faced the united strength of the Hindus & the Muslims of that period. The two armies met at Khānua or Kānwā, a village almost due west of Ᾱgrā on 16th March 1527. This battle too ran its course in the same fashion as had the one on 21 April 1526 when Bābur & Ibrahim Lodi met at Pāṇīpat. Before the battle Babur had carefully inspected the site. Like in Pāṇīpat, he strengthened his front by procuring carts that were fastened by iron chains (not leather straps, as at Pāṇīpat) in the Ottoman fashion. These were used for providing shelter to horses & for storing artillery. Gaps between the carts were used for horsemen to charge at the opponent at an opportune time. To lengthen the line, ropes made of rawhide were placed over wheeled wooden tripods. Behind the tripods, matchlock men were placed who could fire &, if required, advance. The flanks were given protection by digging ditches. In addition to the regular force, small contingents were kept apart on the left flank & in front for the tulghuma (flanking) tactic. Thus, a strong offensive-defensive formation had been prepared by Babur. Rāṇā Saṇga, fighting in a traditional way, attacked the Mughal army’s flanks. He was prevented from breaking through by reinforcements dispatched by Babur. Once the advance of the Rajputs & their Afghan allies had been contained, Babur’s flanking tactic came into play. The carts & matchlock men were ordered to advance, hemming in the Rajputs & their allies. At about this time Silhadi of Raisen deserted the Rāṇā’s army & went over to Babur’s. It was then inevitable that despite putting up a gallant fight, Rāṇā Saṇga & his allies suffered a disastrous defeat. It is suggested that had it not been for the artillery of Babur, Rāṇā Saṇga might still have achieved victory. Following his victory, Babur ordered a tower of enemy skulls to be erected, a practice formulated by his ancestor Timur against his adversaries, irrespective of their religious beliefs. According to Chandra, the objective of constructing a tower of skulls was not just to record a great victory, but also to terrorize opponents. Earlier, the same tactic had been used by Babur against the Afghans of Bajaur. Nine months after the defeat of his painstakingly built Rajput alliance, while planning to renew the fight with Babur, Rāṇā Saṇga died (murdered by his own chiefs?) on 30 January 1528, in Chitore). [Based on Bhattacharya’s D.I.H.; Advanced History of India, R.C. Majumdar et al, pp.344, 395-96, 418-21, 442; & Internet]