There is no future for a civilization or a country that doesn’t know its history.
After independence, our modern-day historians were so busy praising invaders and looters that they forgot to appreciate those who sacrificed generations to protect one of the oldest living civilizations on this planet—modern-day India. But what if we told you that there is a much deeper, richer history that has often been left out of textbooks? For over five centuries, Indian rulers and warriors fought fiercely to protect their homeland from invaders, yet these heroes have largely been forgotten. In this article, we will explore the unsung warriors

Let’s deep-dive into those 500 years of Indian history that have not found their rightful place in our history books or in the minds of the Indian population.

The fall of Sindh in 712 CE marked the beginning of the Islamic conquest of India. In 711 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim of the Umayyad Caliphate began his brutal and merciless conquest of Sindh. Millions died, women were raped, and the entire bloodline of the last ruler of Sindh, Raja Dahir, was wiped out.
But what happened after that? India didn’t fall to the Caliphate like Persia or Egypt.

One of the greatest rulers who defeated the Arab invaders was Maharana Bappa Rawal, ruler of the Mewar Kingdom (modern-day Udaipur), also known as Raja Kalbhoj. He was the founder of the Mewar Kingdom, whose capital was Chittorgarh.

He not only promoted art and architecture by building numerous forts and architectural masterpieces like the Vijay Stambh, but also fought and defeated the Arab invaders, forcing them to retreat to the boundaries of modern-day Iran. This defeat was so decisive that the forces of the Caliphate didn’t dare to invade India again for hundreds of years.

The Battle of Rajputana (a battle or series of battles), which took place around 738 A.D., somewhere along the borders of modern Sindh and Rajasthan, saw a Gurjar-Hindu alliance defeat the Arab invaders and drive them out of the region east of the Indus River—thus protecting the whole of India.

The key Indian kings who contributed to the victory over the Arabs were:

* Gurjara-Pratihara King Nagabhata I

* Jaysimha Varman of the Rashtrakuta Empire

* Bappa Rawal of the Hindu Kingdom of Mewar

To fortify the north-western frontier, Bappa Rawal built a city named Rawalpindi, which still exists in present-day Pakistan, and made it his military base. The brilliant war tactics used by Bappa Rawal secured India’s boundaries from the brutal Arab invaders. Even after his death, many rulers continued to resist these incursions.

The Arabs were not able to secure any major victory in India until the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192 CE by Muhammad Ghori of the Ghurid dynasty. These 480 years of resistance and triumph are largely missing from our history books and collective memory.

Now, it’s high time that we recognize and celebrate our real heros

BY Dr. HIMANSHU AUDICHYA