An historical sketch of the native states of India/Bharatpur

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An historical sketch of the native states of India

By Col. G. B. Malleson, Publisher: Longmans, Green & Co. London (1875)


Part I - Chapter XI: Bharatpur

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Area: 1,974 sq. miles. Population: 650,000. Revenue: 21,00,000 rupees.

THE state of Bharatpur is bounded on the north by the British district of Gurgaon ; on the north-east by Mathura ; on the east by Agra ; on the south and south-west by Karauli and Jaipur ; and on the west by Alwar.

It enjoys the distinction of being the only Jat principality of any magnitude in India, and has, perhaps, the only government of a truly national character where a great proportion of the people belong to the same tribe as the nobles and princes of the state. The tribe of Jats recognised by Colonel Tod 1 as the Getae and Massagetae of the ancient writers, the Jutes of Jutland, and consequently as the people who founded the first Teutonic kingdom in England, 2 is said to have emigrated from the province of Multan, during the seventeenth century, and to have settled in the Duab as cultivators.

But they are mentioned before this in history. They were Jats who, in 1026, harassed Mahmud of Ghizni in his march from Somnath to Multan, and who, in the following year were nearly destroyed by him. They were Jats who, in 1398, were encountered and massacred by Tamerlane on his march by Multan towards Delhi ; and, finally, they were Jats who disquieted Baber during his advance through the Punjab in 1525.

Migrating, as I have said, to India, in the seventeenth century, they settled down in the Duab. There, the native turbulence of their character brought upon them more than once the imperial wrath, and with it condign punishment. But the disruption which followed the death of the Emperor


1. Journal Asiatique, May 1827.
2. Freeman's Old English History.

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Aurangzib offered a full scope for the play of their hardy and daring character. Taking advantage of the civil wars which then ensued, they, under their chief, Churaman, erected petty castles in the villages, the lands of which they cultivated, and soon obtained the distinction of being denominated Kuzzāks or robbers, a title which they were not slow to merit, by their inroads as far as the royal abode of the Emperor Farokhsir. The Seiads, then in power, commanded Jai Singh, Raja of Jaipur to attack them in their strongholds. But the Jats, even in the very infancy of their power, evinced the same obstinate skill in defending mud walls as that which, in more recent times, gained them such celebrity. They beat off their assailants. Not long after this, Badan Singh, brother of Churaman, and who had been imprisoned by him, made his escape, and, invoking the aid of Raja Jai Singh, induced him to renew the war. This time it was Jat against Jat, and the assailants triumphed. Churaman and his son fled, and Badan Singh was proclaimed chief of the Jats, and installed as Raja, by Jai Singh, at Dig, destined also in after times to have its share of fame.

Badan Singh had a numerous progeny, and four of his sons, Surajmal, Subharam, Pertap Singh, and Birnarain obtained notoriety. He subjected several of the royal districts to his authority. He abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Surajmal, having first made a provision for the youngest, Pertap Singh. Surajmal inherited all the turbulence and energy requisite to carry on the plans of his predecessors. His first act was to dispossess a relative named Kaima of the fortress of Bharatpur, and to make it his capital. In 1754 he baffled the allied forces of the Vizir Ghazi-u-din, the Marhatas, and the Raja of Jaipur, though in the end he preferred to compound with them by the payment of 7,00,000 rupees. Six years later he joined, at the head of 30,000 men, the great Marhata confederacy which, under Seodaseo Bai, marched to Delhi to strike its great blow for the empire of India.

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But the incompetency of the Marhata leader made itself so patent, and his insolence was so galling to Surajmal, that he withdrew from the confederacy, and thus escaped the blow at Panipat, which crushed, and for the moment annihilated, the Marhata power. He even did more. Profiting by the confusion consequent upon that terrible defeat, he seized and garrisoned Agra. Three years later he carried his audacity so far as to make an attempt on the imperial city. But when encamped close to the enemy, he went out hunting, was set upon by a party of Beluchi horse, and was slain.

His son, Jowahir Singh, succeeded him. He was defeated in an attempt to invade Jaipur, and was subsequently assassinated. His brother, Ratan Singh, followed. He was assassinated by a Brahman from Mathura, who had undertaken to teach the Jat prince the transmutation of metals, and had obtained considerable sums under the pretence of preparing the process. The day having arrived on which the transmutation was to take place, the Brahman saw no way of escape from the punishment due to his imposture but by driving his knife into his dupe.

His son, Kesri Singh, an infant, succeeded, under the guardianship of his uncle, Newal Singh. Newal Singh was a man of great ability, but events were too strong for him. He was unable to make head against his enemies in the field, and was forced to shut himself up in Dig. Here he died of dropsy in 1773.

Namal Singh, third son of Surajmal, succeeded his brother by right as regent. But his younger brother, Ranjit Singh, ambitious to rule, threw himself into the arms of Mirza Najaf Khan, then wielding the supreme power of the Mogul, and invited him to espouse his cause. The Mirza did so, and took possession of Agra. But called away immediately afterwards into Rohilkhand, Namal Singh, taking heart, determined to carry the war into the enemy's country. He therefore marched on Delhi and occupied Sikunderabad. Attacked, and re-

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pulsed thence, he retired, only however to make a second onward movement, reinforced by the trained mercenaries of Samru. They had reached Hodal, a town sixty miles south of Delhi, when they were attacked and dislodged by Mirza Najaf Khan, who had returned for the purpose, accompanied by Ranjit Singh. Namal Singh and Samru then retired, first on Kotban and ultimately on the fortress of Dig, followed by the Mirza. The latter, finding Dig extremely strong, enticed the Jats to Barsana, where he attacked and completely defeated them. Dig resisted for a twelvemonth before it was captured.

By this defeat, Ranjit Singh was enabled to get possession of Bharatpur, though that alone remained of all the possessions of his family. By the intercession of his mother, however, with Najaf Khan, the latter restored to the family lands yielding nine lakhs of rupees. Subsequently, when the death of the Mirza in 1782 reopened the seams of disorder, the whole of the territories of the Jats, including Bharatpur, fell into the hands of Sindhia, but, again, on the intercession of the widow of Surajmal, he restored to Ranjit Singh eleven districts, yielding ten lakhs. To these, three districts yielding four lakhs were subsequently added as a reward for services rendered to General Perron.

Meanwhile, by the death of his relations nearer to the succession than himself, Ranjit Singh had become Raja of Bharatpur. His previous career had not been fortunate for his country, but his reign was destined to connect his name and that of his capital with a deed of great daring, and, in Indian annals, of unsurpassed success.

Ranjit Singh had been one of the first of the petty chieftains of Hindostan who evinced a desire to connect their interests with the British Government. A treaty was therefore concluded with him at the beginning of the Marhata war, by which he was guaranteed in the independent possession of his territories, and was permanently relieved from the payment of tribute to the Marhatas,

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and from the apprehension of exactions or encroachments of any foreign state. In the campaign against Daolat Rao Sindhia which followed, Lord Lake was joined by a Bharatpur contingent of horse, which did good service at the battle of Laswari, and continued to serve with the British army until the end of the campaign. For his services in this campaign, the British Government transferred to Bharatpur five districts, yielding seven lakhs of rupees.

It was on his return from Laswari, in December 1803, that the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Lake, had an interview with Raja Ranjit Singh, at Kanoar. It must have been in every respect satisfactory, for by his alliance with the British the Raja had been compensated for the losses of the earlier period of his career, and no cause of dissatisfaction had been given to him. Yet it is certain that very shortly after this time he was in active correspondence with Holkar, then about to measure swords with the British.

When war did break out with Holkar, the Raja of Bharatpur was called upon to send his contingent to the army. This requisition he first evaded, afterwards refused. His contingent, in fact, joined Holkar, and fought with his troops against the British at Dig. It happened that when the routed troops of Holkar were pursued to the glacis of that fortress, November 1804, the Raja's troops opened a destructive fire upon the pursuers.

This overt act of hostility showed the Raja of Bharatpur as a declared enemy. Thenceforth he was so dealt with, and the British army proceeded to attack his forts. Dig was carried by assault on December 23, and Bharatpur invested on January 7. But Ranjit Singh, seeing that the fall of the fortress would be a certain prelude to his own overthrow, resolved to defend it with all the resources at his disposal. In this he was well seconded by his army and his people. He repulsed a first assault on January 9, a second on the 21st, a third on February 20,

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and a fourth on February 21, inflicting on the British army in all these a loss in killed and wounded of 3,203 men. But though Ranjit Singh had repulsed the British he was by no means confident of ultimate success. Between February and April Holkar had become once again a fugitive. Weary, then, of his allies, disliking the enormous expenses imposed upon him, and, above all, having a just dread of the pertinacity of the English general, he took advantage of receiving the intimation of the elevation of General Lake to the peerage to offer him his congratulations, accompanying them by a profession of his desire for peace, and of his readiness to proceed in person to the British camp. This offer met a corresponding return. Negotiations were opened, and on April 10 the terms of a treaty were agreed upon. By these, Raja Ranjit Singh agreed to pay an indemnity of twenty lakhs of rupees (seven of which were subsequently remitted), and was guaranteed in the territories he had held prior to the suzerainty of the British Government. The districts which had been granted him in 1803 were resumed.

But though the Raja of Bharatpur lost by the line he had taken both money and territory, he gained in prestige and credit. His capital was the only fortress in India from whose walls British troops had been repulsed, and this fact alone exalted him in the opinion of the princes and people of India. For more than twenty years subsequently Bharatpur was a 'household word' in their habitations; and it required a reversal of the result of the first siege to deprive the taunt of its efficacy and sting.

Raja Ranjit Singh died in less than two years after his moral triumph, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Randhir Singh. As a general rule this chief conducted his policy towards the paramount power by a system of irritating to the utmost limit of forbearance. Peace was however maintained, and in the Pindari war (1817) the Raja duly furnished his contingent of troops to the British

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army. He died, childless, on October 7, 1823, and was succeeded by his brother, Baldeo Singh.

Raja Baldeo Singh reigned only about eighteen months, as he died on February 26, 1825. He left a son six years old, named Balwant Singh, whose succession was recognised by the British Government. His cousin, however, Durjun Sal, supported by the Raja of Karauli and others, attacked, dethroned, and imprisoned him. Upon this the British Resident at Delhi, Sir David Ochterlony, who was also the agent for Bharatpur, promptly assembled a force to reinstate the rightful heir, and there can be little doubt that if he had been allowed to proceed, no serious hostilities would have followed. But the Governor-General, Lord Amherst, trusting that the family differences would be peaceably adjusted, and not considering that the recognition of an heir-apparent during the life- time of the father imposed upon it any obligation to maintain him under the circumstances which had occurred, disapproved of Sir David Ochterlony's policy, and summarily removed him from his post. But in the end, the Government of India was forced to take up and carry out the policy thus rejected, and under circumstances far less favourable. For Durjan Sal, in the interval, whilst negotiating and professing to leave the decision of his claims to the British Government, had been engaged in strengthening the fortifications, in levying troops, and in soliciting aid, which was secretly promised, from the Rajput and Marhata states. The attitude of Durjan Sal, combined with the prestige attaching to his capital, produced at last so great an excitement and commotion throughout the country, that to prevent a general conflagration, the Government resolved in the end to adopt the policy of Sir David Ochterlony, viz., to replace Balwant Singh and expel the usurper. An army of 25,000 men, well provided with artillery, was collected, and sent, under the personal command of the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Combermere, against the fortress. The siege was

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begun in December 1825, but as the mud walls were of great height and sixty feet thick, fronted by a deep wet ditch, mining operations were resorted to. These commenced on December 23, and the mines were sprung on January 17 following, when a sufficient breach was effected, and the fortress carried by assault on the 18th. Durjun Sal was made prisoner, and sent to Allahabad ; whilst the young Raja was installed (February 5, 1826) under the regency of the principal widow of the late Raja, and the superintendence of a political agent. The regent, however, Rani Mirut Kour, having shown a great disposition to intrigue, and have gone so far on one occasion as to lock herself up with the young Raja for several days in the palace, threatening to destroy herself if any opposition were offered to her, or any attempt made to remove him, was displaced, and the ministers were formed into a council of regency, with the entire administration of the government in all departments.

In 1830 the government of Bharatpur sustained a great loss by the death of its chief minister, Jawahir Lal. He had been the principal revenue minister for the twenty-five years preceding ; and it is recorded of him that it was his thorough knowledge of revenue matters, combined with a degree of temper, patience, and forbearance, which have seldom, perhaps never, been surpassed, that enabled him to discharge the duties of his office in a manner most beneficial to the interests of his country. After his death a change for the worse was quickly , perceptible, and the deterioration became so rapid, that, in June 1831, the British agent suggested the appointment, as finance minister, of Bholanath, a man of some reputation in the town. Matters then improved.

In 1835 Raja Balwant Singh assumed charge of his government, and the political agency was withdrawn. The detachment of troops which had till then been stationed in the capital was also recalled, and the Raja was left to the independent management of the country.

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This freedom from restraint was not abused. From the accession of Raja Balwant Singh to 1840 the affairs of the state continued to be managed by the minister Bholanath, and it would have been difficult to point to a state better governed during that period than was Bharatpur. To such an extent was this appreciated by the British Government that in 1839 it excused the Bharatpur state from the payment of the accumulated arrears of interest with which the unliquidated war charges incurred in 1825-6, and which amounted to 25,49,000 rupees, were burdened according to agreement.

Raja Balwant Singh died in 1853, and was succeeded by his son, Jeswant Singh, a minor. The administration during his minority was conducted by five of the nobles under the superintendence of a political agent.

Subsequently nothing of prominent importance has occurred, unless the birth of an heir to the Maharaja on January 26, 1868, be considered such.

The Maharaja of Bharatpur has been granted the right of adoption. He is entitled to a salute of seventeen guns.


End of Part I - Chapter XI: Bharatpur

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