07-06-2006, 08:05 AM
India first
for a broad narrative see the extract below from the book: ;.History of the Jats' by R S Joon
It is online in the files section.
Desraj's book in hindi is also online.
You need membership to access these books.
Both are quite good.
************************************
Extract:from Chapter 10.
SAWAI MAHARAJA JAWAHAR SINGH-BHARAT INDRA
Maharaja Jawahar Singh was extravagant, willful, ambitious and energetic. He could never get on well with his father. Suraj Mal always felt that he would be responsible for bringing about the end of the Jat Kingdom. .That is why he wanted his younger son Nahar Singh to be his successor. This created a big problem for all his nobles. At the time of Raja Suraj Mal's death Jawahar Singh was in Farukhnagar.
Raja Suraj Mal's nobles placed Nahar Singh on the throne. On hearing this news Jawahar Singh lost his temper and sent a letter to Bharatpur expressing how painful it was that while the dead body of his father Suraj Mal was restless for his head, his sons were quarrelling among themselves for the throne. Jawahar Singh announced that he would soon return to Bharatpur and would contend for the throne only after taking revenge for his fathers head.
By the time he reached Bharatpur, the news had spread that Jawahar Singh took shelter with the Raja of Karauli. Bal Ram brother in-law of Raja Suraj Mal the commander of Bharatpur forces, closed the gates of Bharatpur fort and prepared for war against Jawahar Singh. Ultimately, however, he accepted Jawahar Singh's claim to the throne.
In October 1764, Jawahar Singh marched against Delhi with 100 guns 60,000 soldiers of his own, 25,000 Maratha soldiers of Holkar and 15,000 Sikh soldiers.
After a siege of several months Najibuddin appealed for peace. But Jawahar Singh was determined to take revenge for his father, by severing the head of Najibuddaulah. After several days, some Rohilla leaders came to the camp of Jawahar Singh with Zubita Khan who sought the intervention of Maharaja Holkar.
Holkar tried to persuade Jawahar Singh to make peace on the condition that the hand of a Moghul Princess would be given to him in marriage and the whole expenditure for war would be paid by Najibuddaulah.
Jawahar Singh accepted this offer and returned to , Bharatpur.
In February 1765 a treaty was signed on payment of Rs. 60 Lakhs as war indemnity and the hand of & Moghul Princess, who was later married to a Frenchman, Captain Samru. In this treaty Holkar had accepted a bribe from Najibuddaulah and acted treacherously towards Jawahar Singh.
When these things became known to Jawahar Singh relations between him and Holkar became strained.
Maharaja Sawai Jawahar Singh ascended the throne of Bharatpur with the title of Bharat Indra.
He punished all those courtiers who had opposed his succession to the throne. Nahar Singh fought a war against him with the help of Karauli and the Marathas, but was defeated. Jawahar Singh helped the Raja of Dholpur to be independent of the Marathas. He also made alliances with the East India company against the Maratha Leader, Raghunath Rao. He had his maternal uncle Balram murdered. Raja Suraj Mal had been maintaining superficially friendly relations with Raja Madho Singh of Jaipur, inspite of his having a born foe of the Bharatpur 'Raj'.
Jawahar Singh, did not approve of it. After the death of Nahar Singh, his wife and his children were called back by Jawahar Singh from Jaipur to Bharatpur, but Madho Singh refused to send them.
In reply, Jawahar Singh gave shelter to Pratap Singh, a rebel Sardar of
Jaipur, and demanded Pargana Kama of Jaipur which was adjacent to Bharatpur. He further annoyed Madho Singh by adopting the title of Sawai, which was the title adopted by Madho Singh's father, Raja Jai Singh only
THE PUSHKAR EPISODE
Kishori, wife of Suraj Mal, who had adopted Jawahar Singh, was adept at political intrigues. She was pained to see that Jawahar Singh was not adopting a favourable policy towards the members of the family and the nobles.
She knew that he could be controlled only by keeping him engaged in warfare. She also knew that the Rajputs could never tolerate this abrupt rise of Jat rule and would always resist the latter's efforts to gain power. The solution for both the problems lay in war.
Kishori epressed her desire to her proud son that she wanted to go for a sacred bath at Pushkar. Jawahar Singh pointed out that Pushkar was situated in the territory of his eternal and deadly foe, Raja Madho Singh, who would not tolerate her arrival at Pushkar with a large retinue, and advised her that if at all she was keen to go for
Pushkar bath, she would go with only a few followers and Rupa Ram the Purohit.
The Rani retorted by saying that she was the mother of Jawahar Singh, and the Rani of Suraj Mal and taking a bath like Marwari women would hurt her pride, and that she would like to take her bath along with the Rajput Ranis there.
She would also like to give away alms surpassing the Rajput Ranis. She said, she did not understand why the Jats should be afraid of the Rajputs any longer. Jawahar Singh knew well that this would lead to warfare and bloodshed.
Jawahar Singh made the big mistake of leaving Pratap Singh the rebel of Jaipur, for the defence of Bharatpur. He considered Partap Singh to be a reliable man, but in this he was deceived.
Jawahar Singh marched to Pushkar with 60,000 Cavalry, 1 lakh Infantry and 200 guns. With fluttering banners and beating drums they entered Jaipur territory and set up a impressive camp in the sandy plains of Pushkar.
Rani Kishori was weighed in gold which was given in charity. The other Ranis who had come on this occasion felt humiliated because they were not in a position to match the charity of Rani Kishori. The Rajput vanity was hurt.
Pratap Singh, who was left as the guardian of Bharatpur in the absence of Jawahar Singh, also came to know of this. He left Bharatpur undefended, and joined the camp of Madho Singh. Pratap Singh instigated Madho Singh against Jawahar Singh. All the Rajput rulers assembled at Pushkar and held a conference in which no Jat rulers were invited. Raja Madho Singh said in this conference that the Jat ruler had injured the vanity of all the Rajputs. It was here that a witty Marwari, Raja Vijay Singh pointed out that after all the Jats were also Hindus and if they donated liberally on this auspicious occasion according to their financial position, it must not be taken as humiliation by Rajputs. Madho Singh, however, rejected this advice and appealed for war. The decision of this conference soon reached Jawahar Singh. He was expecting it.
Madho Singh laid on ambush in a valley to intercept Jawahar Singh on his return. Jawahar Singh had anticipated this and took the alternative route via Turna Wati, which was a bottle-neck surrounded by hills.
The column of troops with cavalry and artillery was marching under the leadership of Captain Samru.
The palanquins of te Ranis were escorted by Jawahar Singh in the
rear of the column. All of a sudden they were attacked by Rajputs from three sides It was a fierce battle, in which the Rajputs suffered great losses. In the battle, it was found that only 11 tender aged members were left in the family of Raja _Madho Singh. The rest lost their lives.
It is said that 25,000 casualties occurred in this battle. Jawahar Singh reached Bharatpur. Both of Jats and Rajputs claimed themselves victorious in this battle, but apparently the loss did not have not much of a repercussion on the strength of Jats, whereas Madho Singh had to suffer such a severe blow that his power never recovered.
Later Jawahar Singh was killed by some unknown person while he was out on hunting.
***********
The above account is broadly correct.
Their is more material available, and I will provide it, as time allows. The interplay and relationships between the various powers, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bharatpur, the Mahrattas is quite complex.
Best regards
Ravi
for a broad narrative see the extract below from the book: ;.History of the Jats' by R S Joon
It is online in the files section.
Desraj's book in hindi is also online.
You need membership to access these books.
Both are quite good.
************************************
Extract:from Chapter 10.
SAWAI MAHARAJA JAWAHAR SINGH-BHARAT INDRA
Maharaja Jawahar Singh was extravagant, willful, ambitious and energetic. He could never get on well with his father. Suraj Mal always felt that he would be responsible for bringing about the end of the Jat Kingdom. .That is why he wanted his younger son Nahar Singh to be his successor. This created a big problem for all his nobles. At the time of Raja Suraj Mal's death Jawahar Singh was in Farukhnagar.
Raja Suraj Mal's nobles placed Nahar Singh on the throne. On hearing this news Jawahar Singh lost his temper and sent a letter to Bharatpur expressing how painful it was that while the dead body of his father Suraj Mal was restless for his head, his sons were quarrelling among themselves for the throne. Jawahar Singh announced that he would soon return to Bharatpur and would contend for the throne only after taking revenge for his fathers head.
By the time he reached Bharatpur, the news had spread that Jawahar Singh took shelter with the Raja of Karauli. Bal Ram brother in-law of Raja Suraj Mal the commander of Bharatpur forces, closed the gates of Bharatpur fort and prepared for war against Jawahar Singh. Ultimately, however, he accepted Jawahar Singh's claim to the throne.
In October 1764, Jawahar Singh marched against Delhi with 100 guns 60,000 soldiers of his own, 25,000 Maratha soldiers of Holkar and 15,000 Sikh soldiers.
After a siege of several months Najibuddin appealed for peace. But Jawahar Singh was determined to take revenge for his father, by severing the head of Najibuddaulah. After several days, some Rohilla leaders came to the camp of Jawahar Singh with Zubita Khan who sought the intervention of Maharaja Holkar.
Holkar tried to persuade Jawahar Singh to make peace on the condition that the hand of a Moghul Princess would be given to him in marriage and the whole expenditure for war would be paid by Najibuddaulah.
Jawahar Singh accepted this offer and returned to , Bharatpur.
In February 1765 a treaty was signed on payment of Rs. 60 Lakhs as war indemnity and the hand of & Moghul Princess, who was later married to a Frenchman, Captain Samru. In this treaty Holkar had accepted a bribe from Najibuddaulah and acted treacherously towards Jawahar Singh.
When these things became known to Jawahar Singh relations between him and Holkar became strained.
Maharaja Sawai Jawahar Singh ascended the throne of Bharatpur with the title of Bharat Indra.
He punished all those courtiers who had opposed his succession to the throne. Nahar Singh fought a war against him with the help of Karauli and the Marathas, but was defeated. Jawahar Singh helped the Raja of Dholpur to be independent of the Marathas. He also made alliances with the East India company against the Maratha Leader, Raghunath Rao. He had his maternal uncle Balram murdered. Raja Suraj Mal had been maintaining superficially friendly relations with Raja Madho Singh of Jaipur, inspite of his having a born foe of the Bharatpur 'Raj'.
Jawahar Singh, did not approve of it. After the death of Nahar Singh, his wife and his children were called back by Jawahar Singh from Jaipur to Bharatpur, but Madho Singh refused to send them.
In reply, Jawahar Singh gave shelter to Pratap Singh, a rebel Sardar of
Jaipur, and demanded Pargana Kama of Jaipur which was adjacent to Bharatpur. He further annoyed Madho Singh by adopting the title of Sawai, which was the title adopted by Madho Singh's father, Raja Jai Singh only
THE PUSHKAR EPISODE
Kishori, wife of Suraj Mal, who had adopted Jawahar Singh, was adept at political intrigues. She was pained to see that Jawahar Singh was not adopting a favourable policy towards the members of the family and the nobles.
She knew that he could be controlled only by keeping him engaged in warfare. She also knew that the Rajputs could never tolerate this abrupt rise of Jat rule and would always resist the latter's efforts to gain power. The solution for both the problems lay in war.
Kishori epressed her desire to her proud son that she wanted to go for a sacred bath at Pushkar. Jawahar Singh pointed out that Pushkar was situated in the territory of his eternal and deadly foe, Raja Madho Singh, who would not tolerate her arrival at Pushkar with a large retinue, and advised her that if at all she was keen to go for
Pushkar bath, she would go with only a few followers and Rupa Ram the Purohit.
The Rani retorted by saying that she was the mother of Jawahar Singh, and the Rani of Suraj Mal and taking a bath like Marwari women would hurt her pride, and that she would like to take her bath along with the Rajput Ranis there.
She would also like to give away alms surpassing the Rajput Ranis. She said, she did not understand why the Jats should be afraid of the Rajputs any longer. Jawahar Singh knew well that this would lead to warfare and bloodshed.
Jawahar Singh made the big mistake of leaving Pratap Singh the rebel of Jaipur, for the defence of Bharatpur. He considered Partap Singh to be a reliable man, but in this he was deceived.
Jawahar Singh marched to Pushkar with 60,000 Cavalry, 1 lakh Infantry and 200 guns. With fluttering banners and beating drums they entered Jaipur territory and set up a impressive camp in the sandy plains of Pushkar.
Rani Kishori was weighed in gold which was given in charity. The other Ranis who had come on this occasion felt humiliated because they were not in a position to match the charity of Rani Kishori. The Rajput vanity was hurt.
Pratap Singh, who was left as the guardian of Bharatpur in the absence of Jawahar Singh, also came to know of this. He left Bharatpur undefended, and joined the camp of Madho Singh. Pratap Singh instigated Madho Singh against Jawahar Singh. All the Rajput rulers assembled at Pushkar and held a conference in which no Jat rulers were invited. Raja Madho Singh said in this conference that the Jat ruler had injured the vanity of all the Rajputs. It was here that a witty Marwari, Raja Vijay Singh pointed out that after all the Jats were also Hindus and if they donated liberally on this auspicious occasion according to their financial position, it must not be taken as humiliation by Rajputs. Madho Singh, however, rejected this advice and appealed for war. The decision of this conference soon reached Jawahar Singh. He was expecting it.
Madho Singh laid on ambush in a valley to intercept Jawahar Singh on his return. Jawahar Singh had anticipated this and took the alternative route via Turna Wati, which was a bottle-neck surrounded by hills.
The column of troops with cavalry and artillery was marching under the leadership of Captain Samru.
The palanquins of te Ranis were escorted by Jawahar Singh in the
rear of the column. All of a sudden they were attacked by Rajputs from three sides It was a fierce battle, in which the Rajputs suffered great losses. In the battle, it was found that only 11 tender aged members were left in the family of Raja _Madho Singh. The rest lost their lives.
It is said that 25,000 casualties occurred in this battle. Jawahar Singh reached Bharatpur. Both of Jats and Rajputs claimed themselves victorious in this battle, but apparently the loss did not have not much of a repercussion on the strength of Jats, whereas Madho Singh had to suffer such a severe blow that his power never recovered.
Later Jawahar Singh was killed by some unknown person while he was out on hunting.
***********
The above account is broadly correct.
Their is more material available, and I will provide it, as time allows. The interplay and relationships between the various powers, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bharatpur, the Mahrattas is quite complex.
Best regards
Ravi