Despite deploying vast resources, elite cavalry, and seasoned Afghan soldiers, the Mughal Empire never fully subdued the Aravalli range. Stretching across what are now Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat, this ancient mountain system remained a persistent obstacle not only for the Mughals, but earlier for the Delhi Sultanate as well.
Shared by the Rajput kingdoms of Mewar, Marwar, Amber, and several smaller feudatories, the Aravalli belt became a zone of enduring resistance. Even as the Mughals consolidated control over much of Hindustan, these hills remained an area of incomplete conquest—an unresolved military and political challenge.
The question of how comparatively smaller Rajput states managed to resist far larger imperial forces for centuries has renewed relevance today, as the Aravallis re-enter public debate amid discussions on their legal definition, conservation, and ecological protection.
A Natural Barrier That Shaped History
James Tod, one of the earliest chroniclers of Rajputana, captured the significance of the Aravallis in Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829–32). He observed that without the Aravalli barrier, large parts of central India would have been overwhelmed by desert sands. The range acted not merely as a geographical feature, but as a stabilising force—environmental, political, and military.
Running from Delhi through Haryana and Rajasthan and skirting Gujarat, the Aravallis formed a natural divide. They controlled movement from north to south into Rajasthan and from east to west across the region, making them strategically indispensable to anyone seeking dominance over western India.
Forts, Terrain, and the Rajput Advantage
The Rajputs transformed the Aravallis into a fortified landscape. Strongholds such as Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Gogunda, Siwana, Jalore, Ranthambore, Amber, Mandalgarh, Badnor, and Gagron were deliberately positioned on ridges, spurs, and hilltops. Each fort exploited elevation, narrow passes, and surrounding forests to neutralise the numerical superiority of invading armies.
Mughal emperor Akbar’s 1568 siege of Chittorgarh illustrated the challenge. Despite weeks of fighting and enormous expenditure, victory came at a heavy cost. Even then, the Sisodiyas withdrew deeper into the hills, relying on Kumbhalgarh and the forested tracts around Gogunda.
Subsequent conflicts—including the Battle of Haldighati (1576) and the Battle of Dewair—were fought in terrain that favoured guerrilla tactics and local knowledge. As historian Rima Hooja notes, medieval forts across India had strong walls, but in the Aravalli region, these defences were reinforced by geography that naturally slowed and fragmented invading forces.
The Hills That Sustained Resistance
The Aravallis were not only defensive structures but living landscapes. Indigenous Bhil communities, long-time inhabitants of the range, played a crucial role in sustaining Rajput resistance. They guided forces, provided shelter, and maintained supply networks through forests and seasonal river systems such as the Banas, Luni, and the Sabarmati headwaters.
Maharana Pratap’s survival after Haldighati depended heavily on these networks. Kumbhalgarh, with its massive wall stretching across multiple hill spurs, served as a refuge for generations of Sisodiya rulers and was where Pratap himself was raised when Chittor became untenable.
Durgadas Rathore and the Western Aravallis
Further west, the same terrain frustrated Mughal ambitions under Aurangzeb. After the death of Jaswant Singh of Marwar, Veer Durgadas Rathore sustained resistance for decades, using the Aravalli belt to evade imperial forces.
Regions such as Sirohi and Mount Abu, located on the southern edge of the range, also played significant roles. Early medieval dynasties, including the Paramaras of Abu, left behind inscriptions and temples that testify to the political and religious importance of the area. Jain manuscript traditions and temple complexes at Delwara and Abu flourished between the 13th and 15th centuries, even during periods of political upheaval.
More Than a Battlefield
The Aravallis shaped not only warfare but governance and trade. Towns such as Jodhpur, Bikaner, Bundi, Karauli, Dungarpur, and Sirohi developed around forts or along trade routes that navigated the hills. Caravans moving between Kabul, Multan, Malwa, and Gujarat often relied on escorts from Charan communities, who became integral to the region’s trading networks.
Administratively, Rajput states functioned through systems of jagirs, parganas, and mandals, but effective power depended on control of key hill forts. The Aravallis thus formed the backbone of Rajput political organisation.
A Legacy Under Threat
The Aravallis carry the memory of kingdoms forged by terrain, resilience, and adaptation. Yet, as Hooja notes, much of the large-scale deforestation and forest clearance has occurred only in the past half-century, altering a landscape that remained largely intact for over a thousand years.
While courts and policymakers may debate new legal definitions of the Aravallis, one fact remains unchanged: these mountains shaped India’s political history and resisted some of its most powerful empires.
Today, illegal mining, deforestation, and land-use change pose existential threats to the range. Protecting the Aravallis is no longer only an environmental concern—it is about preserving a historical and ecological system that once shaped the destiny of the subcontinent.
