King Mihir Bhoj

Subject: History

Section: Ancient India

Concept:

The controversy around the lineage of Mihir Bhoj has surfaced recently in Haryana.
The current controversy in Haryana
The Gurjar community in Haryana’s Kaithal had planned to unveil a statue of Mihir Bhoj, calling him a GurjarPratihar Samrat (king).
The Rajput community members objected to this.

About Mihir Bhoj

Mihir Bhoj (c. 836-885 CE) was a successful and ambitious ruler of ninth century India.
At that time, the Gurjara-Pratiharas were ruling over a vast empire, from Kashmir to Gujarat.
Mihir Bhoj successfully conquered areas of Deccan and Malwa too.
During the ninth century, the major political struggle was for control over Kannauj as it was considered that whoever conquered Kannauj would be emperor of the country.
Hence, the country witnessed a tripartite struggle among three big powers of the times —
the Gurjara-Pratihara,
the Rashtrakutas of Deccan and
the Palas of Bengal.
In that struggle, Mihir Bhoj was, by and large, the most successful.
He conquered areas of Gujarat and Malwa from the Gujarat-Rashtrakutas.
Similarly, the king launched a campaign towards Bengal and conquered territories of Gorakhpur from the Palas of Bengal too.

His contested lineage:

Gurjar Pratiharas, the group to which Mihir Bhoj belonged, are often considered both Rajputs and Gurjars.
Gurjars were a nomadic tribe in ancient India, initially spreading in Rajasthan and Gujarat regions.
It is believed that Mihir Bhoj belonged to this tribe.
However, it is also believed that he claimed Kshatriya status for himself.
The Pratihara branch of the dynasty was linked to Rajputs.
It was considered that only a Kshatriya (warrior) could become a king.
In ancient India, all kings claimed Kshatriya status.