A system and method for reliable control of a high rotor pole switched reluctance machine (HRSRM) utilizing a sensorless reliable control system. The method comprising: energizing at least one of the plurality of stator phases; measuring a first current value and time taken by the first current value to reach a first peak value or preset threshold value of current; determining a self-inductance value; storing the self-inductance value and the first current value for each of the stator phases; measuring a second current value and time taken by an adjacent un-energized stator phase to reach a second peak value of current; determining a mutual inductance value; storing the mutual inductance value and the second current value for each of the stator phases; estimating a rotor position utilizing the self-inductance and mutual inductance values; and controlling the HRSRM based on the estimated rotor position.