Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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pride of ancestry, often his sole inheritance.’ 20 ‘When Nadir Shah entered
India, a compact was made between the three great tribes of the
Sisodiyas, Rathors and Kachwahas, which would have had an important
result politically.’ But this compact broke down simply on a question
of social precedence. 21
2. The Rajputs and the Khalsa
All those how are familiar with Rajput history have paid rich
tributes to the valour of the Rajputs, their spirit of self-sacrifice, their
fidelity, their sense of honour and many other virtues. Payne goes so
far as to say that the history of the world hardly affords a parallel to
the Rajput ‘spirit of constancy and enduring courage.’ 22 Many a nation
have gone under because of internal decay of character, but the Rajputs
lost their preeminence mainly because they lacked a unity of purpose.
Tod writes: ‘The closest attention to their history proves beyond
contradiction that they were never capable of unity even for their
own preservation.’ 23 This was because they were never inspired by
any motive higher than that of the preservation of their feudal interests.
As the patriarchal-cum-feudal constitution of their society confined
their loyalties as well as their economic interests to small units, they
lacked even the perspective of forming a Rajput national state. As a
consequence, all the virtues of the Rajputs - their gallantry, their spirit
of self-sacrifice, their fidelity - continued to move within narrow
grooves. For the lack of a common purpose, the Rajputs, who had
one of the richest martial traditions in the world, not only submitted
to their enemies, but became the pillars of the Mughals power. They
became the instruments in defeating the one high-minded spirit among
them, Rana Pratap, who defied the Mughals.
The Sikhs, on the other hand, had no martial tradition worth the
name. The Sudras, who joined the Sikh movement, had been debarred
by the caste system the use of arms for centuries on end. The
Jats, who joined the movement, had their fighting qualities, but,
as Jats they had throughout remained subservient to the Rajputs,
although they were equal in number to that of the Rajputs in
Rajasthan, and in a majority in Sindh. 24 The Khalsa continued to
fight the Mughals to the bitter end till the latter were finally