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ravichaudhary
July 2nd, 2003, 12:35 AM
JATS IN THE TRANS-CHAMBAL REGION


Lt. General K.K. Singh, MVC (Retired)

Of a fine winter's day, but now longer ago than I care to remember, I
had unsuspectingly intruded into what subsequently turned out to be
the 'Jatwara' Tract of the Trans-Chambal plain. The Hindi appellation
of 'Jatwara'-literally the "Abode of Jats"-is succinctly descriptive
of the past political dominance of the Trans-Chambal Jats in the area
of Bhind and Gwalior rather than of their numerical strength, which
now as in the past remains very meager in proportion to other ethnic
groups in that Region. Whereas, the past association of the Jat Ranas
of Dholpur with the Gohad and Gwalior Tract is generally known. What
came as a surprise, however, was the contemporaneous existence of two
other
Jat principalities during medieval times in areas contiguous to
Gohad.


The ethnic pattern in the Trans-Chambal Valley is similar to that
obtaining in the contiguous tract of the Agra plain except that the
population of the Jats tapers off to an insignificant proportion.


The approximate axis of the "Jatwara Tract" could be taken to
comprise the general line represented by Bhind, Gohad and Indargarh,
overlapping the modern districts of Bhind, Gwalior and Datia in the
present day Madhya Pradesh. Astride this axis and in a fan-like
direction from it, there is a scattered population of Jats: to the
East, it extends towards the lower reaches of the Chambal and Sind
Rivers: to the West towards Gwalior, Shivpuri, Dabra, Magrora, and
Bhitarwar

As a rule exclusive Jat habitations are few. More often the Jat is to
be found in solitary homesteads in composite ethnic villages, his
remote ancestor probably having been assigned the custody of the
local Jat garhi (minor fortification), still precariously perched
atop the neighboring hillock.


THE JATS OF GOHAD


According to local tradition, the Bambrolia Jats of Gohad had
migrated from Taxila in Western Punjab. In the 16th century the
Bambrolia Jats sent an armed contingent to the confederate army
mustered by Rana Sangram Singh of Mewar for challenging the supremacy
of Babur. They must have suffered heavy losses.

By a coincidence some two hundred and more years later, the Bambrolia
Jats, under the Rana of Gohad, fought against Slabat Khan as allies
of Badan Singh, the then ruler of Bharatpur. Badan Singh in turn gave
them patronage, which ensured their political survival Badan Singh. A
much-married prince also contracted matrimonial alliance with the
Trans Chambal Jat rulers, which subsequently proved to be an enduring
bond.


The high tide of the soaring ambition of the Bambrolia Jats coincided
with the capture of Gwalior. Twice they dared and succeeded in
capturing that naturally formidable fortress, once in 1771 and again
in 1780, but in neither case did the acquisition endure for long.
Mahadji Sindhia by some repostes recaptured Gwalior in 1766 and 1783
respectively. The Rana of Gohad was defeated by Mahadji in 1784 and
was rendered homeless.

The Rana was politically resurrected when in 1803 when the East
India Company defeated Daulat Rao Sindhia. He was allowed to retain
the territory of Nimrol in the Trans-Chambal region, as it contained
the ancestral Bambrolia Samadhis, (monuments) which incidentally
still adorn that arid landscape. Much to his disappointment Gohad
passed out of the hands of the Rana, but in lieu of his hereditary
kingdom, he was assigned instead a principality in Dholpur.

The rest is at uRL below.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/671


Enjoy

Ravi

Does any one know the author and his contact address . e mail, etc

uday
July 2nd, 2003, 01:25 PM
nice info ..
Thanx