Complete Medieval History | Akbar's Expeditions | LEC 32 | History for UPSC 2026 By Alok Ojha

Hello everyone good evening Yes guys can you hear me and see me Please ping me so I can start today’s brief session on Akbar’s Rajputana campaigns Am I audible and visible Good evening Shiva Rishi Yes can you all hear and see me Please ping me so I can start today's session Thanks Shiva Okay thanks Rishi So guys today we're going to talk about the Rajputana expeditions led by Akbar Here we will discuss the kingdom of Merta situated in the Nagaur region of Rajasthan In addition we will also examine the role of Raja Bharmal the ruler of Amber the present-day region of Jaipur We will also discuss the famous Battle of Haldighati fought in 1576 Beyond this as you'll find if you search online the Battle of Haldighati is often described as one of the decisive victories for Akbar Right But here we're also going to explore one more battle that's hidden within the pages of history And that battle was the Battle of Dever fought on the day of Vijayadashmi also known as Dashera in 1582 The clash between the Mughal forces and Maharana Pratap ji along with one of his sons Maharana Amar Singh ji marked a pivotal moment in Mewar's history The Battle of Dever is also known as the Marathon of Mewar We will also understand the strategy Akbar employed toward Rajputana Alright everyone before I get started with today’s session a quick note to those specifically who haven’t attended my previous sessions on Medieval India let me inform you I have covered major topics as part of the Medieval Indian History Series including the Delhi Sultanate the Bhakti Movement and Sufism regional kingdoms such as Gujarat Jaunpur Malwa Bengal and so on Apart from this I am now covering the Mughal Empire Following this I'll delve deeply into the Maratha Empire with thorough detail Alright folks I'll give you a brief overview of Akbar within the next one to two minutes For those attending the session for the first time this will help them easily follow along So once again I'll proceed step by step to make the concept easier to understand Alright so Babur laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India He was succeeded by his son Humayun a name meaning essentially "the most fortunate " Yet he is regarded as one of the most unfortunate rulers in the entire Mughal dynasty The years from 1540 to 1555 marked a time of political instability in India with the Mughals absent from the scene Why Because a new dynasty was ruling over India at that time—the Sur dynasty—founded by Farid also known as Sher Khan or Sher Shah Suri After 1555 following the fall of the Sur dynasty Humayun reestablished the Mughal Empire Humayun died from what is said to be a fall down the stairs of a library and he was succeeded by his son Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar was born in 1542 in the port of Amarkot which is situated in the Sindh region and he was born to Humayun and Hamida Bano Begum He was being lifted by Mahama Anga who also had one of the sons known as Adam Khan So Mahama Anga is regarded as one of the what we call During Akbar's time the political figure regarded as the maternal ancestor of Akbar is known as the poster mother and Adam Khan is considered the poster brother of Akbar Now the second battle of Panipat took place in 1556 between Hemchandra Vikramaditya also known as Hemu and the Mughal forces led by Bairam Khan one of Akbar's Raj Pratinidhi or regents Now Akbar it is believed that during his reign the entire major part of northern India was under the Mughal Empire What strategy did Akbar adopt Did he consistently follow a policy of imperialism or expansionism or did he also pursue a policy of matrimonial alliances And one more thing to keep in mind my friends marriage alliances were not a new strategy introduced by Akbar In fact we have studied ancient India and within ancient India we have examined various examples in which matrimonial alliances played a crucial role and a significant role in maintaining the balance of power Like I'll give you one of the finest examples—try to connect the dots okay We studied the Mahajanpats and in that discussion we covered the most significant ones One important Mahajanapada was Magadha Due to its geographical and strategic location Magadha was one of the most powerful Mahajanapadas So what happened At that time Magadh wielded influence over much of northern India but there were also 15 other kingdoms that formed part of the Mahajanapada So I'll give you a small example—Khosla the ruler of Khosla He married his sister Khosla Devi Okay Prasanjit married his sister Khosla Devi to Bimbisar the ruler of Magadh in order to strengthen his position Marriage alliances have long been a strategic policy used since ancient times to maintain a balance of power Thus Akbar conquered regions such as Malwa Gujarat Gondwana and Rajputana through his policy of imperialism In addition he had also implemented another policy—marital alliances Correct Now what was his policy toward Rajasthan First of all he seized the major forts in the Rajasthan region Chittor Fort Kumbhalgarh Fort Gogunda Fort and Merta Fort situated in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan Thus he conquered the fort the Fort of Ranthambore What else occurred He also pursued a policy of imperialism After adopting the policy of imperialism many Rajput rulers accepted Akbar's suzerainty So what did Akbar do Akbar restored their kingdom to them on the condition that they could freely govern their independent realm under Mughal suzerainty This was the second policy he implemented The third was the harsh policy of expansionism and imperialism adopted by Akbar Now let's understand this step by step ow Akbar had conquered the region of Aamir followed by Merta but still he was not successful in subduing one of the most powerful Rajputana states at the time Mewar Although he initially succeeded in laying siege to the Chittor fort the entire region of Mewar remained firmly beyond Akbar’s control I say this again my friend Many historical texts state that the region of Mewar was being conquered by Akbar This is only partially true The region of Chittor which is part of Mewar was conquered by Akbar Not the entire region of Mewar So now we’ll understand step by step how Akbar brought the Rajputanas under Mughal suzerainty Okay now let’s move ahead Yes good evening Ramesh ji Now let's explore the region of Aamir modern-day Jaipur Now Raja Bharmal he was the ruler of Amber And many historians believe that in 1556 Raja Bharmal had made contact with one of the Mughal commanders who then introduced him to Akbar So this is one part of the history The other part of the history says long ago this man Akbar was traveling toward the region of Ajmer And he was visiting the tomb of the renowned Sufi saint Sheikh Muinuddin Kishti whose name was Sheikh Muinuddin Kishti We had studied various Silsilas in particular So to be precise Sheikh Muinuddin Kishti laid the foundation of the Kishti Silsila in India And Akbar was headed to Ajmer to visit the shrine Well whenever someone visits the tomb of any Sufi saint this act is known as Ziyarat Okay ziyarat basically means visiting the tomb of a Sufi saint So Akbar he goes to Ajmer to pay tribute to whom Sheikh Muinuddin Kishti Here he meets the ruler of Aamir Bharmal And Bharmal was the first Rajputana ruler to acknowledge Mughal supremacy How He entered into a policy of matrimonial alliances with Akbar To be precise he married his daughter Jodhabai—commonly known as Jodhabai—to Akbar whose son was Jahangir also known as Prince Salim Yes so Raja Bharmal married his daughter whose name was Jodhabai to Akbar She is also known as Mariam Uz Zamani Beyond that what occurred One of his sons Bhagwandas and one of his grandsons Mansingh both attained the rank of mansabdars in Akbar's court In simple terms Aamir they accepted Mughal suzerainty—and they were the first to do so Aamir is also known as Ambar Alright So I'll say it again How did Aamir initially submit to Mughal suzerainty Just as Akbar once visited the tomb of the Sufi saint Muinuddin Kishti Here at a place called Ajmer he met Raja Bharmal who accepted Mughal suzerainty He entered into a matrimonial alliance with Akbar by marrying his daughter also known as Mariam Uz Zamani or Jodhabai to Akbar In fact one of Raja Bharmal's sons Bhagwandas became a mansabdar in Akbar's court In addition one of his grandsons or the son of Bhagwandas known as Mansingh also rose to the rank of mansabdar in Akbar's court I hope you understand Aamir Now let's talk about Merta The region of Merta or the city of Merta lies precisely within the Nagaur district of Rajasthan and historically Merta served as a vassal state of the Mewar rulers Okay Exactly—they were the vassals of Raja Uday Singh or Maharana Uday Singh who was the Maharana of Mewar at that time And the ruler of Merta was Jaimal Alright Now what happened There was a Mughal military commander named Sharifuddin Now Sharifuddin was determined to seize the Merta region at all costs due to its strategic significance As I mentioned earlier forts typically play a crucial role in such campaigns I gave you the example of Kautilya's Arthashastra In Kautilya's Arthashastra there is a term known as Durga Durga essentially means fort and offers strategic advantage against enemies There are various types of Durga including Jaldurga situated between bodies of water Dweepadurga situated on a remote island Vanadurga nestled deep within the jungles held strategic significance which is why Akbar sent one of his military commanders there whose name was Sharifuddin to seize the fort of Merta to capture the city of Merta situated in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan And at that time the ruler of Merta was Jaimal And Jaimal was a vassal of Rana Uday Singh e Maharana of Mewar Okay As soon as Jaimal learns of this his nobles advise him to abandon the fort of Merta and immediately head to the Mewar region Because there is a chance that after conquering the Merta region Akbar will lead his troops to the region of Mewar And since Raja Jaimal was one of the vassals of Raja Uday Singh the Maharana of Mewar It is his duty and responsibility to assist him first So following the counsel of his nobles Raja Jaimal left Merta and relinquished command of the fort of Merta was left under the care of a single individual whose name was Devdas Okay So to be precise there were over 200 Rajput warriors All of them were being slaughtered All of them were being brutally killed They were being murdered slaughtered by the Mughal forces And now Merta also fell into the hands of what we call the Mughal Emperor Akbar Got it Yes good evening Anjali Are the points regarding Amer that is modern-day Jaipur and Merta clear Yes my friends Do you have any questions doubts or queries Because now I’m going to discuss one of the most important parts—that is Mewar Is that clear Okay Now let's explore the story of Mewar Mewar until 1597 never accepted Mughal suzerainty while the majority of Rajput rulers had except the region of Mewar which includes Udaipur Chittorgarh Rajtaman Pratapgarh and others So as discussed previously The rulers of Mewar were not called Maharajas they were known as Maharanas The Gohila dynasty also known as the Sisodia dynasty ruled over the region of Mewar The foundation of the Gohila dynasty or the Sisodia dynasty was laid by whom Bappa Rawal And there were many other rulers who were regarded as some of the region's greatest warriors renowned for their bravery and fearlessness such as Maharana Kumbha He is credited with the construction of the renowned Kumbhalgarh Fort followed by Maharana Raimal Following Maharana Sangram Singh also known as Rana Sanga and as we previously discussed the fate of Rana Sangaji Like Maharana Raimal he had four sons Prithviraj Jaimal Shesh and Rana Sanga What happened after the death of Rana Raimal The elder son Prithviraj He fought a battle against Rana Sanga and it is believed that Rana Sanga lost one of his eyes and an arm in the conflict Yet he is still regarded as one of Mewar's greatest warriors And specifically after the battle of Khanwa it is believed that Sangram Singh ji also known as Rana Sangaji was killed by one of his own nobles And Rana Sangaji was succeeded by one of his sons whose name was Rana Uday Singh So at this time Rana Uday Sing He was the ruler of Mewar Now why did Akbar want to conquer the region of Mewar There are two major reasons for this And what is that As we discussed earlier Akbar had a foster brother whose name was Adam Khan And Akbar had sent his foster brother to conquer the region of Malwa from Baaz Bahadur the ruler at the time Adam Khan invaded the Malwa region and also forced Rani Roopmati the wife of Baz Bahadur into submission At that time Baaz Bahadur fled the battlefield and Rani Roopmati performed Johar by consuming poison So where did Baaz Bahadur flee He fled to the region of Mewar where he was granted asylum by Rana Uday Singh Rana Uday Singh had also granted asylum to several of the Mirzas who were opposing the Mughal throne at the time One of the reasons why Akbar now decided to conquer e region of Mewar The second major reason is Chittor not merely one of the capitals but the capital of Mewar Chittor was of strategic importance because it had direct access to the coastal regions of Gujarat a region renowned for its vibrant trade since ancient times Since the time of the Indus Valley Civilization the ports of Lothal and Surkotra have been renowned for their thriving trade since ancient times making conquest essential e region of Mewar So Mewar not only held strategic significance but also played a vital role in the economy And at that time as previously discussed The ruler of Mewar was Rana Uday Singh Akbar sent his forces to capture the region of Chittor so he laid siege to it What does the word besieged mean He surrounded the entire fortress of Chittor with his vast army And at that time once more Rana Uday Singh was being urged by his nobles o retreat to the jungle region in order to assist other Rajput rulers and he handed over the entire fort of Mewar or Chittor to whom Jaimal As I mentioned earlier who had left the Merta region I’ve told you about him The command of Merta was then entrusted to Devdas Where was Jaimal Jaimal it is his duty now to protect the region of Chittor Although Akbar had laid siege to the fort of Chittor he was unable to capture the region for another five months And it is said that one night Jaimal was outside the fort inspecting its walls along with a few of his soldiers Then a shot from the Mughal side struck Jaimal And he was severely wounded And when he was badly wounded He is said to have passed away At that time it is said that many women in the fort of Chittor performed Johar And the very next day another prominent warrior —whose name was Fateh Singh—appeared He was determined that the region of Chittor would not fall under Mughal control So Fateh Singh— One of the Rajput warriors is believed to have confronted the Mughal army at that time following Jaimal's death It is believed that Fateh Singh also died here Akbar had ordered a general massacre According to historian Colonel James Todd the British historian Yes it is believed tha Thirty thousand people were being executed They were being slaughtered and butchered After some time Akbar realized he had made a grave mistake Okay And to be precise He has made a serious mistake by doing so So in the fort of Agra he has two statues made Okay And both of the statues are like One statue depicts Jaimal the other Fateh Singh another warrior and both warriors are seated atop elephants So where was Rana Uday Singh at this time He had retreated into the jungles Rana Uday Singh had also passed away Rana Uday Singh was Succeeding him was his son known as Pratap Singh also referred to as Maharana Pratap one of the greatest Rajput warriors Is it clear Do you want me to repeat anything Please let me know—I'll repeat it again Okay I'll go over it once more for easier understanding of the concept Just listen to me carefully—I'm explaining It's essential to remember Mewar because unless you grasp its strategic importance You won't fully grasp the battle of Haldighati fought in 1576 Okay I'll repeat this point: within a short time Mewar—whose capital was Chittor—came under Akbar's gaze not merely because of s strategic significance was evident yet it showed a particular inclination toward Gujarat's coastal regions giving it additional economic importance At that time the ruler Who was the ruler of Mewar Rana Uday Singh son of Maharana Sangram Singh also known as Rana Sangaji Now the fort of Chittor was Protected by Jaimal Rana Uday Singh was instructed to leave the fort and retreat into the jungles to safeguard the royal family Jaimal was defending the fortress of Chittor and although Akbar had laid siege to it he failed to capture the stronghold for the next five months One fine day Jaimal was inspecting the walls of the fort when a gunshot from the Mughal side initially wounded him and later killed him Another significa warrior Fateh Singh who initially defended the fort of Chittor also met his end Akbar then ordered a widespread massacre where more than 30 000 people were killed Meanwhile Maharana Uday Singh also passed away and was succeeded by one of e most valiant warriors of Rajputana namely Pratap Singh also known as Maharana Pratap had now secured the fort of Chittor was being captured by the Mughals—not the entire region of Mewar That’s right It wasn’t e entire region of Mewar being conquered by Akbar He had just captured Chittor and now it is believed that Akbar specifically before the Battle of Haldighati He demanded that Maharana Pratap surrender the entire region of Mewar to him or accept Mughal suzerainty and he dispatched envoys to carry out the request Ten times for Maharana Pratap Every time a delegation was sent Maharana Pratap rejected the offer presented by Mughal Emperor Akbar A very Small example For the first time a delegation was sent 1572 under Jalal Khan Karochi It was being rejected by Maharana Pratap Ji Second time delegation in 1573 led by Man Singh We have discussed the grandson of Bhagwan Das right now Sorry the son of Bhagwan Das and the grandson of — yes we've discussed this before Apart from this Bhagwan Das in 1575 and finally in 1576 the last invitation Sorry the last invitation It was sent during the time of Raja Todarmal who was also one of the nine jewels in Akbar's court Raja Todarmal is also renowned for one of the land revenue systems of that time known as the Zabti system or Bandobast system which we will examine in detail later So every time the delegations were sent to Maharana Pratap Ji he rejected them He was fully aware of one crucial fact: each time he turned down a delegation he was standing firm in his resolve sent by Akbar he is inviting the And finally the day arrived when the battle began This is nothing short of the battle of Haldighati fought between the forces of the Mughals and Maharana Pratap Ji Now let's understand the battlefield of Haldighati I'll give you a brief example This is actually the battlefield of Haldighati The narrow trench between the two mountain ranges Okay Now what happens here Just understand one thing These are the two mountain ranges Between these two mountain ranges lies a narrow trench What did Maharana Pratap do It is believed that Maharana Pratap faced an army of Mughals that comprised approximately 80 000 soldiers war elephants chariots cannons and the like On the other hand Maharana Pratap's army numbered 20 000 soldiers Thus at the Battle of Haldighati Maharana Pratap Ji had to adopt a different strategy in order to overcome the Mughal forces Thus this narrow ravine at Haldighati was selected Alright Now what happened Just in front of the mountain ranges Maharana Pratap Ji positioned his army So what happened then In that case if the Mughal army approaches them initially they'll feel they have more space to fight But as soon as the Mughal forces come closer to us we will retreat into the narrow trench and trap the enemy there It is utterly impossible to bring the elephants and heavy cannons through this narrow trench The plan initially worked perfectly Now the Mughal army It was being led by Man Singh and Asaf Khan On the other hand Maharana Pratap Ji was being supported by Bheem Singh of Dodia Bida Jhala Ramdas Rathod Okay who was Ramdas Rathod He was the son of Jaimal Then Hakim Khansur All these were supporting the army Bhamasha All of these were backing Maharana Pratap Thus there was a force of around 80 000 Here there was a force of 20 000 And in this way the battlefield was selected Maharana Pratap Ji and his army this side As soon as Asaf Khan and Man Singh and the Mughal forces began advancing this way What happened Maharana Pratap's forces began retreating here When they started retreating into the narrow trench what occurred The elephants upon entering the narrow trench They became confused And one major issue with elephants in warfare is when elephants grow angry or disoriented they begin trampling their own troops causing utter chaos on the battlefield That's what initially happened with the Mughals Beyond that the Mughals also became confused What just occurred As soon as the Mughal army entered the elephants became agitated and began trembling trampling their own men Many Mughal soldiers died Some soldiers were utterly confused If the enemy was ahead who was firing arrows in a downward arc Because there were men standing atop the hill And these were men from the Bhil tribe Maharana Pratap ji had formed an alliance with the men of the Bhil tribe who were firing their arrows in a downward trajectory The initial phase of the battle of Haldighati fought in 1576 favored Maharana Pratap ji What happened next It is believed that the horse of Maharana Pratap whose name was Chetak sustained injuries and as soon as he was wounded this was seen as an opportunity by whom This was seen as a perfect chance by Man Singh to attack Maharana Pratap ji but there was one man named Bida Jhala One of the Jhala clan's men So Bida Jhala swiftly took the crown from Maharana Pratap ji and placed it upon his own head So that the enemies could be diverted As a prime example I’ll give you a very small one You may have heard of or studied the revolt of 1857 The 1857 uprising in the Jhansi region was led by Maharani Lakshmi Bai ji True But there was another woman as well who was the leader of Durga Dal and that woman was known as Jhalkari Bai According to many historians there was a certain resemblance Between Jhalkari Bai and Rani Lakshmi Bai So that they can easily betray whom The Britishers As soon as the Britishers approached Jhans And they overheard what we said—Jhalkari Bai—they thought she was Rani Lakshmi Bai but she was actually Jhalkari Bai Right So this was meant to confuse the British Likewise what did Bida Jhala do here As soon as he saw that Maharana Pratap ji was being targeted With Mansingh he placed the throne upon his head And now in the midst of the entire chaotic situation Mansingh was also bewildered And they began chasing Bida Jhala instead of Maharana Pratap ji Maharana Pratap ji to be precise there was a river just behind the battlefield known as Kiran And his horse Chetak was severely wounded The horse leapt forward and after clearing a seven-foot gap across the river collapsed and died Tears streamed down Maharana Pratap ji's eyes after losing Chetak Our historians and our historical texts conclude the battle of Haldighati by stating that Akbar emerged victorious But is this the whole truth or just part of it This is only part of the truth Why Because if the Battle of Haldighati was decisive then the Battle of Diver— e battle fought in 1582 at Haldighati which is often referred to as a marathon how let's now understand this Maharana Pratap ji Now he moved into the jungles of Aravali And at this point in time he was left with exactly 6 000 to 7 000 soldiers At that time one of his ministers had given him the name Bhamashah who provided him with financial assistance And apart from this it is said that Maharana Pratap ji raised an army of 25 to 30 thousand soldiers with the help of Bhamashah e Bhil tribe Okay After raising an army it is believed that meanwhile the Mughal had conquered the region of Kumbhalgarh Gogunda Udaipur Chhapan So they established 36 Mughal garrisons and conquered these territories Finally in 1582 On the day of Vijayadashami or Dashera the army of Maharana Pratap ji was divided into two parts The first part of the army was led by Maharana Pratap himself The second part of the army was led by one of his sons known as Rana Amar Singh And all thirty-six Mughal forts that had been captured by the Mughals were being retaken by Maharana Pratap ji And about this time there had been six ambushes Six minor battles In all of them Akbar's army or the Mughal army suffered a most humiliating defeat And in 1582 Maharana Pratap ji reclaimed all 36 Mughal-held posts And until 1597 the region of Mewar remained an independent Rajputana principality refusing to acknowledge Mughal suzerainty And this renowned battle fought in 1582 is known as the Battle of Devair correct So in the simplest terms if it is said tha I'll give you a very small example These are the words of Colonel James Todd and Colonel James Todd says one thing— the Battle of Devair is an ominous omission in history It has been erased from the books of history It has been expunged from the records of history Yet it stands as one of the most pivotal battles that demonstrates at the Rajputana suzerainty still existed in the region of Mewar even during the time of Akbar Okay So precisely this was about the famous battle of Haldighati Fought in 1576 Another significant battle of Devair took place on the day of Vijayadashmi also known as Dashera in 1582 Clear So now Let's move forward Did you understand the Battle of Haldighati and the Battle of Devair Any questions my friends Any doubts Feel free to ask anything Okay The session will last more than four to five minutes Is that clear Now we've discussed Amer We've discussed Merta We've talked about Mewar Now just focus on the factual details of Ranthambore and Kalinjar Okay The ruler of Ranthambore whose name was specifically Raja Surjan Rai Okay He accepted Mughal suzerainty and after doing so he remained under Mughal authority Even Ranthambore came under Mughal control Then comes the region of Kalinjar I've told you countless times about the The strategic importance of the fort of Kalinjar In fact it is also said that Sher Shah Suri himself wanted to lay siege to the fort of Kalinjar Why Because Kalinjar when compared to the Gwalior fort both situated in the Bundelkhand region Okay Compared to Gwalior The fort like Gwalior Fort stands roughly 400 to 450 feet above the surrounding plain area On the other hand the fort of Kalinjar stands approximately 800 to 850 feet above the surrounding plain giving it significant strategic importance Okay And Sher Khan or Sher Shah Suri died from an accidental explosion of gunpowder while laying siege to the Kalinjar fort We've studied this So Kalinjar It held both historical and strategic significance And now Akbar sought to establish strong influence in the Bundelkhand region Bundelkhand Therefore it was essential to capture the fortress of Kalinjar At that time the ruler of what is known as Kalinjar The fort was under Raja Ramchand Okay At this particular time the region of Kalinjar also came under Mughal suzerainty me Marwad the ruler of Jodhpur whose name was Chandrasen also submitted to Akbar Thus the majority of the Rajputana rulers submitted to or accepted Mughal suzerainty except for the region of Marwad This was primarily due to military campaigns led by Akbar Okay Now what exactly did Colonel James think about Akbar Akbar was the true founder of the Mughal Empire the first successful conqueror of Rajput independence Okay So to be precise during Akbar's reign he conquered the major part of Rajputana except for Marwad Tomorrow's session We will discuss the other expeditions led by Akbar such as the campaign in the Malwa region and the campaign in the Gondwana region I'll also talk about one of the brave queens Rani Durgawati Okay And apart from that we're also going to Discuss the key systems of Akbar such as the Mansabdari system the Zabti system and the Dahsala system as well as the Navratnas who graced his court of Akbar Thus these were the principal Rajputana campaigns conducted by the Mughal forces under Akbar I hope you understood everything covered in this brief session Alright everyone So before I wrap up for the day the morning batch for the 20th of August has been launched today and the prize has now begun at 9999 You can use the code ALOKLIVE Okay To unlock the benefits of this course Apart from this here is another option Complete coverage tailored specifically for P2I Okay Focus properly on answer-writing skills with comprehensive and systematic treatment of all topics So you can visit the website of studyIQIS and there you can go through the entire specifications of the course The most important aspect is that the entire course is in English perfectly tailored to the needs of students from what we refer to as South India and the North Eastern part of India Yes Abdul the prize starts from 9999 Okay So it's quite pocket -friendly and very affordable in comparison o the substantial prizes awarded in the Delhi categories Alright everyone With that I'll wrap up my thoughts for today See you all tomorrow with a new topic Thank you and have a wonderful day Bye-bye